BBP: 3 The Nature of The Beginning of the Endtimes

Chapter 3

The Nature of the Beginning of the Endtimes

Contents

A) The primary nature of The Beginning of Birth Pains: Increasing pain!

B) Are The Beginning of Birth Pains Christ’s Wrath? No!

C) God’s sovereignty over The Beginning of Birth Pains

D) God’s purposes & plan for The Beginning of Birth Pains

Primary Points

• The devastation that occurs during The Beginning of Birth Pains is really unimaginable. It is estimated that 2 billion people will be killed during this time.
• The nature of The Beginning of Birth Pains can be summed up in one word: PAIN.
• The wars, famines, and plagues are just The Beginning of Birth Pains. The Greatest Persecution will be an intensification of the Birth Pains. And the Trumpet and Bowl Punishments of Christ’s Wrath, ending with The Battle of Armageddon, will be the climax and conclusion of the Birth Pains.
• The Beginning of Birth Pains is not Christ’s Wrath, but demonic forces unleashed on the world.
• Because God is sovereign over everything in the Universe, there is always good news in everything in the Universe. Including The Beginning of Birth Pains.
• All of the painful events in the Endtimes are ultimately empowered, ordained, and controlled by God’s purposes and power.
• God’s good purposes for The Beginning of Birth Pains is first to purify the life and worship of Christians so they glorify God more.
• Another reason God will want His people to face The Beginning of Birth Pains is to test them.
• We must remember that a Christian’s primary purpose on this Earth is not to be blessed, but tested.
• The most important question a Christian must answer in this life is this: Will you love God unconditionally?
• The many trials that Christians will have to endure during The Beginning of Birth Pains will test the quality of your faith in God and LOVE for God.
• The painful destruction of this current world is a necessary painful step to the creation of a whole New World.

A) The primary nature of The Beginning of Birth Pains: Increasing Pain (Rev 6:8)

The Apostle Paul wrote, There will be terrible times in the last days (2 Tim 3:1 NLT). However, many students of prophetic Scripture believe the real “bad stuff” does not occur until The Greatest Persecution or Christ’s Wrath and the Trumpet and Bowl Punishments described in Revelation. But the devastation that occurs during The Beginning of Birth Pains is really unimaginable. It was written elsewhere:

How will we recognize The Beginning of Birth Pains as signs of Christ’s Return? They will occur with unprecedented intensity in a relatively short period of time. Revelation 6:1-8 graphically portrays these same “beginning of birth pains.” There it is explained that they will culminate in the Endtimes to have power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth (Rev 6:8 NIV). Some have estimated that would be about 2 billion people dying in a relatively short period of time. That has never happened before. Not even close.

Can you imagine the death of 2 billion people in the world? As of this writing, our world is experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic. Its death toll is estimated to be currently over 6 million people. Its effects on society and the economy have been enormous. But the death of 2 billion people will be over 300 times the deaths that have occurred from Covid.

In fact, how many people have been killed in all of human history from wars, genocides, massacres, famines, and plagues? Some have carefully estimated the total to be about 700 million people. ^[1] This has occurred over thousands of years of human history. But in just a few short years during The Beginning of Birth Pains, perhaps three times as many people will die from war, famine, and disease, than in all of the similar catastrophes in human history combined. Indeed, these kinds of catastrophes have been occurring throughout human history. But when the Endtimes begin, the beginning of birth pains will occur with an unprecedented intensity. (Christ’s Endtimes Teaching, ch. 3, sec. B)

Therefore, the nature of The Beginning of Birth Pains can be summed up in one word: PAIN. And the causes of death described in The Beginning of Birth Pains are some of the most painful and gruesome imaginable. People will suffer from being cut with a sword, suffering the slow death of famine and disease, and being attacked and eaten by wild animals (Rev 6:8 NLT).

There is a reason Jesus called this period of the Endtimes the beginning of birth pains (Matt 24:8). As noted in CET:

Of course, only women who birth a child can fully appreciate the metaphor. In Jesus’ day it was relatively common for women to die a painful death in childbirth. Modern hospitals have reduced the risk, and medications can diminish the pain. Still, giving birth is among the most painful of all human experiences. That is one reason Jesus used it to represent the suffering of the Endtimes. (ch. 2, sec. A)

Indeed, throughout Scripture, birth pains illustrate the worst suffering in Creation and among humanity (cf. Isa 13:8; Jer 4:31; John 16:21-22; Rom 8:21-22; 1 Thess 5:2-3).

The extent of pain in The Beginning of Birth Pains is illustrated in the predicted response of God’s people. Jesus said even Christians will be tempted to be frightened (Luke 21:9) and alarmed (Matt 24:6; panic NLT) at this time. So much so they might conclude the end has already come (Matt 24:6). The wars, famines, and plagues (Matt 24:6-7; Luke 21:11) of The Beginning of Birth Pains will bring unprecedented pain to this world. This is one reason the unbiblical Pre-tribulation Rapture view is so popular. It promises the Church will never experience The Beginning of Birth Pains.

Notice that Jesus labeled these events as merely the beginning of birth pains (Matt 24:8). The NLT is more descriptive saying: “this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.” Indeed, the wars, famines, and plagues of The Beginning of Birth Pains will be horribly painful. But The Greatest Persecution (Satan’s wrath against God’s followers) and Christ’s Wrath (against Satan’s followers) will be even worse. ^[2]

Jesus tells us that when the Antichrist comes to full power, “then there will be the greatest persecution of God’s elect people. It will be greater than any persecution since the world began, and it will never be equaled again” (Matt 24:21 ^[3]). Christ went on to say, “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened” (v. 22 NIV). At this point in the Endtimes, the killing of Christians is added to the ongoing birth pains that are killing everyone else.

This indicates that even after the Antichrist comes to power, the wars, famines and earthquakes, and plagues of the birth pains continue (Matt 24:6-8; Luke 21:11). Indeed, in Daniel we read: War and its destruction and horrors have been determined by God to continue to the very end of the world (Dan 9:26 ^[4]).

The Beginning of Birth Pains will seem like the end of the world and as bad as things can get. But they will be neither. The worst is yet to come. Even after The Greatest Persecution of the Church, the Birth Pains will continue after Christ’s Return and the world’s punishment with Christ’s Wrath. All of these are Birth Pains. The wars, famines, and plagues are just The Beginning of Birth Pains. The Greatest Persecution will be an intensification of the Birth Pains. And the Trumpet and Bowl Punishments of Christ’s Wrath, ending with The Battle of Armageddon, will be the climax and conclusion of the Birth Pains.

At that point, will be the birth and arrival of the new Millennial Kingdom of Christ on Earth. And unlike the Antichrist, He will bring peace and prosperity to this world.

Of course, the Kingdom of God on Earth has been initiated in its infant stage through the establishment of the Spirit-indwelled people of the Church. And with Christ’s physical presence on Earth during the Millennium, the Kingdom of God can be described as being in its toddler stages. But after the Millennium, with the creation of the New Earth and God the Father’s arrival to it and living on it, the rule of God’s Kingdom on Earth will be in its mature and eternal stage. Some of the above points can be depicted in the following graphic:

B) Are The Beginning of Birth Pains Christ’s Wrath? No

It will be demonstrated below that the wars, famines, plagues, and earthquakes of The Beginning of Birth Pains are ultimately allowed by God’s power. But they are not Christ’s Endtime Wrath. By Christ’s Endtime Wrath is meant God’s Endtime punishment of unbelievers on Earth for their sin. This is the Wrath all Christians are promised to be rescued from when we are told to wait for … Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath (1 Thess 1:10; cf. 5:9; Rom 5:9; Col 3:6).

Claiming that The Beginning of Birth Pains is Christ’s Wrath is a primary argument for the false belief that the Church’s Rescue occurs before any of these Endtime events occur (Pre-tribulationism). The error of this view was addressed elsewhere (cf. CET ch. 14). There are two primary reasons to reject it. First, Revelation 6 describes the wrath of the Lamb! (v. 16) as not occurring until the opening of the Sixth Seal. Secondly, this popular but false view forces it to label the persecution of God’s people described in the Fifth Seal, and elsewhere in Revelation (cf. 6:9-11; 12:17; 13:7-10), as Christ’s Wrath. It is an unacceptable false teaching that the persecution of God’s people occurs during Christ’s Wrath.

It is true that the supernatural intensity, pain, and powers of Endtime wars, famines, plagues, and earthquakes during The Beginning of Birth Pains will be ultimately allowed by God. But that does not mean that He intends even such painful things to be His Endtime Wrath. The same is true of catastrophic events that occur in the world today. It is normally unclear if they are simply the result of humanity’s sin or the supernatural intervention of God’s Wrath. Nevertheless, the specific purpose of Christ’s Endtime Wrath will be to punish the unbelievers remaining on the Earth after Christ’s Return and the Church’s Rescue. ^[5]

Rather than being Christ’s Wrath, The Beginning of Birth Pains seem to be empowered by demonic forces ultimately allowed by God. The “Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” (cf. Rev 6:1-8, Seals 1-4) and The Greatest Persecution (Rev 6:9-11, Fith Seal) will all be led by the Antichrist to achieve his goal of worldwide dominion. But Antichrist’s activities on Earth will be supernaturally empowered by the powers of this dark world and … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12 NIV).

Daniel confirms this, describing Antichrist’s Rise to power like this: He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the saints (8:24 NIV). There is a supernatural power at work in the Antichrist’s Rise and unprecedented devastations occurring in The Beginning of Birth Pains and The Greatest Persecution. It is a demonic power that has been ultimately delegated by God. ^[6]

That demonic power is especially evident in the Horseman of War who is given power to take peace from the Earth and to make men slay each other (Rev 6:4 NIV). Obviously, it is God who is ultimately allowing and empowering all of these events, but such language suggests a power working that is beyond human.

Therefore, The Beginning of Birth Pains, and certainly The Greatest Persecution are not Christ’s Wrath on His enemies, but Satan and Antichrist’s work in the world and eventually wrath on their enemies.

C) God’s sovereignty over The Beginning of Birth Pains

There is a lot of bad news about The Beginning of Birth Pains. But nothing happens on this Earth apart from God’s permission and purpose. Because God is sovereign over everything in the Universe, there is always good news in everything in the Universe. Including The Beginning of Birth Pains.

God’s permission and sovereignty over The Beginning of Birth Pains is evident in Revelation. At the very beginning of the most frightening and overwhelming book that exists on Earth, we read: Grace and peace to you from the One Who is, and Who always was, and Who is still coming, God the Father (Rev 1:4 ^[7]). Your Father greets you with grace and peace before He reveals the unprecedented and world-ending wars, famines, plagues, earthquakes, and persecutions. Why?

Because a few verses later: The Lord God the Father says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the One Who is, and Who always was, and Who is still coming. I am the Almighty One” (Rev 1:8 ^[8]). God the Father is the Beginning, the End, and Everything in between of everything in the Universe. Everything exists for His purposes and glory. Including the creation and destruction of this Earth. And despite the powerful evil forces that currently control this world, they are no match for the Almighty. It is by His will and by His power and for His glory that everything in the Revelation will be fulfilled exactly how He says it will.

God the Father is called the Almighty nine times in Revelation (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22). This title for Him only occurs once elsewhere in the NT (cf. 2 Cor. 6:18). The Greek word is pantokrator. It comes from two words, pantos meaning “all” or “everything” and kratein meaning “to hold.” God your Father is telling you 9 times throughout the book of Revelation that He holds and controls everything in His power, including the Endtimes. ^[9] Which is why before describing the unleashing of His punishments for Earth, we read:

Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of God the Father Who was sitting on the throne. There was writing on the inside and the outside of the scroll, and it was sealed with seven seals. (Rev 5:1 ^[10])

Revelation reveals that this scroll contains the Trumpet and Bowl Punishments that God the Father has ordained for this world (cf. CET ch. 14, sec E). God the Father gives the scroll to God the Son (Rev 5:7) because He alone is worthy to take the scroll and open its seals (5:9). And it is Jesus Christ who breaks every one of the seven seals on the scroll, unleashing the disasters they contain (cf. 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 8:1). The intent of these revelations is to ensure we understand that God is in complete control of the devastations occurring in The Beginning of Birth Pains, and all the events predicted in the Revelation.

This is why Revelation 6 says the first horseman depicting the beginning of Antichrist’s activities will be given a crown … as a conqueror (v. 2 NIV). Likewise, the horseman depicting War will be given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword (v. 4 NIV). The horseman of Death will be given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth (v. 8 NIV).

Likewise, God’s sovereignty in this is described in Revelation chapter 13 where we read of the beast Antichrist:

There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him… It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. (vs. 5, 7 NASB)

Who gives these demonic forces the power to do their deeds, including overcoming the saints? Ultimately, it is God the Father, the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. ^[11] In one sense, these horsemen are doing the Devil’s will and derive power and authority from Him. But the Devil is only an Angel originally created by God. It is God the Father alone who ultimately grants the power and authority for anyone to do anything in His Creation. Including the demonically empowered disasters of The Beginning of Birth Pains.

D) God’s purposes & plan for The Beginning of Birth Pains

As noted above, Satan of course has his purposes for the painful events in The Beginning of Birth Pains. They will help him rule the world when he indwells the human Antichrist. But God also has His purposes in The Beginning of Birth Pains for every person involved.

What are God’s good purposes during The Beginning of Birth Pains? First, to purify the life and worship of Christians so they glorify God more. A purpose of God-ordained pain for His people is to help them be holier. The same wars, famines, plagues, and wild beasts were predicted in the OT as God’s way of purging His people from idolatry (cf. Rev 6:8; Ezek 5:12,17; ch. 14; Jer 15:2,3; 24:10). The Beginning of Birth Pains will do this for the Christians who experience them.

There is a second reason God will want His people to face The Beginning of Birth Pains. To test them. The Apostle Peter wrote to Christians who were suffering:

So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. (1 Pet 1:6-7 NLT)

We must remember that a Christian’s primary purpose on this Earth is not to be blessed, but to be tested. For all eternity on the New Earth we will only be blessed and never tested. But on this Earth, God wants to test our faith, like He did with Job. More specifically, He wants to test our LOVE for Him. The most important question a Christian must answer in this life is this: Will you love God unconditionally? Will you praise Him, serve Him, trust Him, and LOVE Him even when you are suffering? Do you LOVE Him only when He blesses you, or also when He tests you?

Contrary to what too many Christians think, it is not God’s love for us that is on trial in this life. God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. (Rom 5:8 NLT). If that is not enough for you, then nothing else will be. We will never have a good reason to doubt God’s love for us. He has already proven it for all time. There is nothing worse than Hell that He could save you from, and there is nothing better than forgiveness that He could give you.

God has proven His love for us over and over again. What still needs to be proved is how much we LOVE God. And the many trials that Christians will have to endure during The Beginning of Birth Pains will test the quality of their faith in God and LOVE for God. That is certainly one purpose God will have for allowing the Last Generation Church to encounter The Beginning of Birth Pains and The Greatest Persecution.

What is God’s purpose for Israel during The Beginning of Birth Pains? To allow their ultimate apostasy. It is during this time that the nation of Israel agrees to Antichrist’s Religious Covenant (cf. Dan 9:27; BBP ch. 14, sec. D).

What is God’s purpose for the world during The Beginning of Birth Pains? To enable the Antichrist’s Rise to power over the entire world. Eventually, He will be given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life (Rev 13:7-8 NIV). The Antichrist’s miraculous deceptions and the world’s disasters will all lead to this.

What is God’s purpose for allowing the Antichrist to Reign on this Earth? To give Satan one last opportunity in the ancient and Cosmic War for Glory. This biblical theme is beyond the scope of this chapter. However, the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is about the very real battle between both God’s and Satan’s desires to be glorified on this Earth. That Cosmic War for Glory is especially displayed in the events described in the book of Revelation. This includes Antichrist’s Reign and Wrath and persecution of God’s people. The Christians’ refusal to worship the Antichrist in the Endtimes will glorify God greatly! ^[12]

There is one more primary purpose of God for The Beginning of Birth Pains. As discussed in section B above, this purpose is implied by the very words that Christ used to describe these events: birth pains. Why does He use this terminology? Because THE END OF THIS WORLD IS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ONE. It was written elsewhere:

[T]here is another reason He called this period birth pains. God has ordained that pain comes before blessing. Accordingly, birth pains are the necessary human anguish that produces the wonderful new life of a baby. Likewise, the painful destruction of this current world is a necessary painful step to the creation of a whole New World. Which is why Jesus commanded us: “Do not be frightened. These things must happen first” (Luke 21:9).

There is a lot of very bad news revealed in Scripture about the Endtimes. But in all the bad news about the temporary pain experienced in this world, do not forget where everything is headed: a new, perfect, sinless, and Satan-less world where God reigns and we live forever! (CET ch. 2, sec. A)

What is being born during the painful period of The Beginning of Birth Pains? As noted above, the Millennial Kingdom of Christ on this Earth. After 1,000 years, this will lead to A new heaven and a new earth in which the first Heaven and the first Earth eventually and completely pass away such that there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things [will] pass away and everything will be made new! forever (Rev 21:1-5 NIV).

Jesus would seem to have been alluding to this same idea when He told His disciples near the time of His death:

I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born, she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. (John 16:20-22 NIV) ^[13]

Like a woman giving birth to a child, the Last Generation Church will experience a lot of pain during The Beginning of Birth Pains. That will be their time of grief. But they can be encouraged by the fact that these “birth pains” are leading to a world where they will rejoice, and no one will take away their joy for all Eternity.

Likewise, the Apostles Barnabas and Paul told Christians, We must go through many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God (Acts 14:22 NIV). They understood that God’s people would suffer on this Earth before there would be a New Earth.

Accordingly, we are reminded that Heaven is not here yet, and we should expect great difficulty in this life. This includes experiencing unprecedented and painful tests, trials, and challenges in the Endtimes. But if we find ourselves in the greatest difficulties to come, we are to remember that Heaven is coming too, and the perfection, paradise, and pain-free life we yearn for. Our present difficulties, and the greatest difficulties to come, are just temporary birth pains preparing us for an eternity of joy.

1. See the Wikipedia article: “List of Wars and Anthropogenic Disasters by Death Toll.” The article documents the median estimate of 380 million killed in 115 wars, 50 million in “war crimes, massacres, and ancient war atrocities,” 62 million in “genocides, ethnic cleansing, and religious persecutions,” 10 million from “political purges and oppressions,” and 180 million in “outbreaks of disease and famine.” This equals about 700 million. ↑

2. Thomas writes regarding The Beginning of Birth Pains:

   After such terrifying developments, could matters get worse? How can the gloom of the fourth rider be exceeded? The remaining seals [depicting The Greatest Persecution and the beginning of Christ’s Wrath] will tell. After all, these are only “the beginning of birth-pains.” (715)

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3. For an explanation of the suggested translation of Matt 24:21 see CET ch. 3, sec. E.

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4. (Dan 9:26) War and its destruction and horrors have been determined by God to continue to the very end of the world.

   The suggested translation has v. 26d as a separate sentence. The initial part of v. 26 refers to the end of the temple, not the end of the world. Therefore, the NASB reads: The prince who is to come [Antichrist] will destroy the city and the sanctuary [at the abomination of desolation, v. 27]. And its [the sanctuary, temple] end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

   Destruction and horrors translates the Hebrew word shāmēm which means both “desolation” and “horror.” Most versions have desolations (cf. NIV, NASB, ESV etc.). But the meaning of this word is not well known. Therefore, destruction in the suggested translation (and NET) seems better. For horror the TWOT explains: “From [its use for devastation] it is not difficult to see how the second major use of the root is derived, the sense of “horror” and “shock” brought about by the vision of desolation. It is the inner response to the outward scene” (937).

   Determined translates the Hebrew hāras meaning “decide, determine” (TWOT, 326). This is better and more accurate English then the more obscure and common use of decreed (NIV, NASB, NLT, ESV).

   Very end of the world specifies what the end here is referring to (cf. NLT). ↑

5. Others recognize that The Beginning of Birth Pains and The Greatest Persecution contained in the first 5 Seals of Revelation 6 should not be considered Christ’s Wrath in the “Day of the Lord.” However, they deny these forces are demonic. Morris writes:

   The first four seals … show us the self-defeating character of sin. When the spirit of selfishness and conquest is operating, all God needs to do is let events take their course and sinners will be inevitably punished. (Rev)

   Likewise, Osborne writes:

   The four horsemen flow together, as the action proceeds from lust for conquest to … war to famine to pestilence and death. In this sense God is not so much pouring down judgment on the Earth-dwellers as allowing their depravity to come full circle (274).

   However, like Morris, Osborne does not see the supernatural and even demonic nature of these events, stating: “These are not demonic forces but human” (277). For reasons shared in this section of BBP this does not seem to adequately reflect Scripture. ↑

6. For more on the nature and timing of Christ’s Wrath in the sequence of Endtime events, see CET ch. 14. ↑

7. The suggested translation of Rev 1:4 is based on the NLT. Because v. 5 includes Jesus Christ, it is clear that the One being described in v. 4 is God the Father, thus the suggested translation inserts this meaning. Accordingly, Thomas writes:

   Though one might at first see a reference to Jesus Christ here, such a possibility is excluded by His being named as the third part of the source in 1:5 (Swete). Instead, this refers to God the Father. (131) ↑

8. The suggested translation of Rev 1:8 is based on the NLT. However, the identical description of God the Father in 1:4 makes it clear that Who is speaking here is The Lord God the Father. ↑

9. Thomas adds that the repeated mention of the throne in heaven (Rev 4:2) throughout the Revelation is an additional indication of God’s sovereignty”

   Thronos is used thirteen times in the eleven verses of chapter 4 (cf. 4:2 [twice], 3, 4 [three times], 5 [twice], 6 [twice], 9, 10 [twice]), eleven of the occurrences referring to the throne of God and the other two to the thrones upon which the twenty-four elders sat (cf. 4:4). It is used thirty-seven times in the whole book. The major focus of chapter 4 upon the throne is its symbolism of God’s sovereignty exercised in judgment. From this point of origination proceeds the outworking of God’s wrath described in the body of the Apocalypse (cf. 6:10, 16-17; 14:7; 15:1; 16:5, 19; 18:20; 19:2, 11). Though evil reigns for a time on earth, God will ultimately prevail. (561) ↑

10. The fact that the Lamb Who had been slain (Rev 5:6) is portrayed as the One Who took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne (v. 7), makes it clear that the One on the throne in both Rev 5:1 and 7 is God the Father. Thus the suggested translation. ↑

11. Some want to deny that God is ultimately responsible for Antichrist’s ability to afflict the saints (Rev 13:7). However, Thomas explains:

    A significant question is whether his [Antichrist’s] ability is God-given or not. It relates to both occurrences of (edothē, “was given”) in v. 5 [and v. 7]. One opinion relates the verb to (edōken, “gave”) in vv. 2, 4, and concludes that it comes from the dragon. It reasons that the use of the same form in v. 7a could not say that God gives the beast the ability to overcome the saints (Smith). This rationale does not appear valid, however, because vv. 5-8 have a different perspective from vv. 1-4.

    The new perspective notes the providence of God that allows the beast his degree of authority so that the saints will be able to endure it for a while (Kiddle). Furthermore, if this were the provision of the dragon, he would hardly limit the operation of the beast to forty-two months (Beasley-Murray). He would have him continue indefinitely.

    The better opinion is that edothē carries the connotation “granted by God” as it does throughout the rest of the book (cf. 6:4, 8; 7:2; 9:5) (Alford, Swete, Lenski). God allows the beast to blaspheme for a limited time [and kill the saints], but will still hold him accountable. One of the great lessons in Daniel from which John draws so heavily is the sovereignty of God over the world’s governments (cf. Dan. 4:17, 25, 32) (Caird). The future will be no different. (1121-22) ↑

12. For more on the Cosmic War for Glory, see Suffering: Why Bad Things Happen to God’s People; online at www.trainingtimothys.com. ↑

13. Nolland seems to miss the good purpose for the Endtime birth pains when he writes, “There is no sense in the imagery that the pain is for a good cause and is meant to have a happy outcome” (963). That is not true. ↑