44. “Please, sir,” I asked, “if you think I am able to understand it, can you
45. tell me one more thing? Is the time that is still to come longer than the past that has already gone by?
46. I know how long the past has been, but I don't know the future.”
47. “Come here and stand at my right,” he commanded, “and I will show you a vision and explain its meaning.”
48. So I stood by him and looked, and I saw a blazing fire pass by in front of me, and when it was gone, I saw that smoke was still there.
49. Then a rain cloud passed by in front of me, bringing a heavy downpour of rain; and when the downpour was over, there was still a light rain.
50. “Think about this,” said Uriel. “Just as the downpour was greater than the light rain that followed it and the fire was greater than the smoke left behind, in the same way the time that has passed is much longer than the time to come. The time that is left is like the rain and the smoke.”
51. “Please tell me,” I asked, “do you think I will be alive until that time? If not, who will be alive when it happens?”
52. He answered, “I can tell you some of the signs of the end, if that is what you are asking about; but I am not here to tell you how long you will live, and in any case, I don't know.