108. and Samuel prayed for them in the days of Saul. David prayed at the time of the epidemic, and Solomon prayed for those who were going to worship in the Temple.
109. Elijah prayed that the people might have rain and for a dead person to come back to life.
110. Hezekiah prayed for the people during the time of Sennacherib. And there are many other examples.
111. If righteous people prayed for the unrighteous during such times when corruption increased and injustice multiplied, why won't the same thing happen at the Judgement Day?”
112. “The present age is not the end of everything,” the angel answered. “Even in this age, the glorious presence of God is not always seen. That is why the strong have prayed for the weak during this age.
113. But the Judgement Day will be the end of the present age and the beginning of the future age. Then all corruption will end,
114. self-indulgence and disloyalty will be eliminated. Righteousness and truth will reach their full maturity.
115. So on Judgement Day, no one will be able to have mercy on those who have been condemned, and no one will be able to harm those who have been acquitted.”
116. I answered, “I made this point before, and I will make it again. It would have been better if the earth had never produced Adam, or when it had done so, if it had made him so that he could not sin.
117. What good is it for any of us to have life in the present age, when it is full of misery and when all we can look forward to after death is punishment?
118. O Adam, what have you done? Your sin was not only your own downfall; it was also the downfall of all of us who are your descendants.
119. What good is it to us that we have the promise of immortal life, when we have committed sins that condemn us to death?
120. What good is the hope of eternity, when we find ourselves in such a completely hopeless situation?
121. What good is it that safe and secure homes have been prepared for us in the future world, when we have lived such wicked lives?
122. What good is the promise that the glorious presence of God Most High will protect those who have lived pure lives, when our own lives have been so full of sin?
123. What good is it that Paradise is shown to us, that its imperishable fruit can heal us and provide all we need? We can never go there
124. because we have lived unacceptable lives.
125. What good is it that the faces of those who practise self-control will shine more brightly than the stars, when our own faces will be blacker than the night?
126. Never in our whole lives, when we sinned, did we think about what we would have to suffer after death.”