How do the tribulation judgments intensify over time?
The tribulation judgments intensify progressively, resembling birth pangs that start mild and far apart. After the midpoint, when the Antichrist defiles the temple and demands worship, the final three-and-a-half years bring escalating trumpet judgments that grow stronger and more frequent, crescendoing toward the delivery hour.
Les teaches that the tribulation judgments intensify over time like birth pangs. He explains that after the treaty is signed, triggering the final seven years, the two witnesses come to Jerusalem and the 144,000 are sealed as evangelists. A Russian invasion occurs sometime after the tribulation begins, and then the various judgments of God start to fall. It will not be three-and-a-half years of peace and prosperity; there will be famine, pestilence, and earthquakes until the midpoint. At the midpoint, when Israel has temple worship, the Antichrist moves from Europe to the temple, defiles it, stops Jewish worship, and demands worship as God. This triggers the final three-and-a-half years and the trumpet judgments. Les makes the analogy Jesus gave in Matthew 24: birth pangs begin mild and far apart, but as delivery approaches, everything increases and crescendos.