Imagine that the nations have just made their long-awaited proclamation of “peace and security.” They may boast that the world has never been so safe. The nations will want us to think that they have the world situation under control. But they have absolutely no control over what will follow. “Babylon the Great” will be destroyed! (Rev. 17:5, 15-18) “God [will] put it into their hearts to carry out his thought.” What is that thought? To destroy the world empire of false religion, including Christendom. God will put his thought into the hearts of “the ten horns” of the “scarlet-colored wild beast.” The ten horns represent all the political powers that support “the wild beast”​—the United Nations. (Rev. 17:3, 11-13; 18:8) When those political powers turn on false religion, that will mark the beginning of the great tribulation. It will be a truly catastrophic world event. w19.10 14 ¶1, 3

In the first century, Diotrephes envied those who took the lead in the Christian congregation. He wanted “to have the first place” among congregation members, so he spread malicious talk to discredit the apostle John and other responsible brothers. (3 John 10) Although not going as far as Diotrephes, we too could begin to envy a fellow Christian who receives an assignment that we had hoped to get​—especially if we feel that we are just as qualified as he is to care for that responsibility. Envy is like a poisonous weed. Once the seed of envy takes root in our heart, it can be difficult to destroy. Envy feeds on other negative feelings, such as improper jealousy, pride, and selfishness. Envy can choke the development of good qualities, such as love, compassion, and kindness. As soon as we see envy starting to sprout, we need to uproot it from our heart. w20.02 15 ¶6-7

The apostle Paul was saying that he faced a painful personal trial of some sort. He called this trial “an angel of Satan” that kept “slapping” (“beating,” ftn.) him. Satan or his demon angels may not directly have caused Paul’s trials, as if driving a thorn into his flesh. But when those wicked spirits noticed the “thorn,” they may have been eager to push it in deeper, so to speak, to increase Paul’s pain. What did Paul do? At first, Paul wanted to be rid of the “thorn.” He admits: “Three times I begged the Lord [Jehovah] . . . that it would depart from me.” Yet, despite Paul’s prayers, the thorn in the flesh remained. Does this mean that Jehovah did not answer Paul’s prayers? Not at all. He did answer them. Jehovah did not remove the problem, but he did give Paul the strength to endure it. Jehovah said: “My power is being made perfect in weakness.” (2 Cor. 12:8, 9) And with God’s help, Paul was able to maintain his joy and inner peace!​—Phil. 4:4-7. w19.11 9 ¶4-5