Beginning of the End: Foreword

This volume is an adaptation of From Eternity Past, the 1983 condensed edition of Ellen G. White’s classic, Patriarchs and Prophets. The condensed volume included all the stories and major applications in the original book. Moreover, except for supplying a word here or there for a smooth transition, it rigidly retained Mrs. White’s own words. The Beginning of the End has taken a step beyond that. It has substituted some modern words, expressions, and sentence constructions for twenty-first century readers. But it is not a paraphrase. It follows From Eternity Past sentence by sentence and maintains the force of Mrs. White’s writing. It is hoped that new readers will thus develop a taste for Mrs. White’s writings and will be led to read and enjoy the original books, though written in the style of an earlier time.

Except where noted, Scripture passages have been quoted from the New King James Version. It closely parallels the King James Version that Mrs. White usually used, but many people today find that they can read it more easily.

The Beginning of the End is rich in insight into the Bible stories of origins—the origin of sin, of this world, of the plan of salvation, and of the people of God. It makes the treasures of Patriarchs and Prophets accessible to more people. In this way it helps to make more widely known the beginning of “the great controversy” story that Mrs. White told so compellingly in the five-volume “Conflict of the Ages” series of books. That many more readers may experience the life-changing power of these books and their presentation of Bible themes is the hope and prayer of

The Trustees ofThe Ellen G. White Estate