“The Great Tribulation“

[Buff Scott Jr.]

“The Great Tribulation“

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” [Matt. 24:21].​

Most of you who has access to this column probably believe this “tribulation” is a future event, in spite of Jesus’ forecast in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 that this terrible distress would occur in His generation, and did occur in A. D. 67-70 when the Roman Army destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish State.

Biblical scholarship, including Adam Clarke, understands “the whole world” in verse 14 as “the whole world” of the Roman Empire. [Compare Acts 17:6 & I Peter 5:9 on the “whole world.”] Please note the symbolisms of Matthew 24.

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth” [or Roman Empire] will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” [Matt. 24:30-31].

1] The destruction of Jerusalem was such a terrifying example of divine judgment, described in terms like the “clouds of the sky and with power and great glory,” that all the Jewish tribes mourned.
2] “His angels” [messengers] were the apostles and those who followed afterwards.
3] The “trumpet call” was the trumpet call of the Gospel, which was heard throughout the Roman provinces and beyond.
4] The “gathering of His elect” were the Gentiles who had been chosen for salvation, in place of the rebellious Jews.
5] It should be obvious to the logistic mind that the following warnings by Jesus relate to the destruction of Jerusalem, not to His second and final coming.

Verses 17 & 18— “Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.” Why? Because their time to escape the Roman Army would be limited.

Verse 19— “And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!” Why? To flee the Roman Army under such circumstances would almost be impossible.

Verse 20— “Pray that your flight [escape] may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.” Why? Escaping the pending tribulation would be uncommonly difficult. Under such horrific conditions, “...let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” [V. 15].

Another interesting thought is recorded in Luke 21:28, the parallel chapter. Jesus spoke of the believers’ deliverance or liberation—“redemption.” This points to the flight out of Jerusalem and safety from the horrible calamity. This was a warning for believers to flee, as noted in verse 15 of Matthew

I think it is safe to say that Matthew 24 and Luke 21 do not refer to the second personal coming of our Lord, but rather to His coming in judgment upon the stiff-necked and rebellious Jewish nation. In light of this biblical evidence, it seems reasonable to conclude that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish State are alluded to, which occurred in A. D. 67-70.

A little over 2,000 year ago a Jewish historian by the name of Josephus witnessed and recorded the war between the Roman Army and the Jewish people. The major part of the battle occurred in and around Jerusalem. The account by Josephus is almost an echo of the predictions of Jesus, as recorded in the 24th chapter of Matthew and the 21st chapter of Luke.

The war began in 67 A.D. and ended in 70 A.D. On August 10, 70 A.D., Jerusalem was stormed and what followed was a universal massacre of the Jewish people—1,100,000 perished, and 100,000 survivors were sold into slavery. Such was the “tribulation” our Lord prophesied of in verse 21.​

 

[CrowCross]

“The Great Tribulation“

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” [Matt. 24:21].​

Most of you who has access to this column probably believe this “tribulation” is a future event, in spite of Jesus’ forecast in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 that this terrible distress would occur in His generation, and did occur in A. D. 67-70 when the Roman Army destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish State.

Biblical scholarship, including Adam Clarke, understands “the whole world” in verse 14 as “the whole world” of the Roman Empire. [Compare Acts 17:6 & I Peter 5:9 on the “whole world.”] Please note the symbolisms of Matthew 24.

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth” [or Roman Empire] will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” [Matt. 24:30-31].

1] The destruction of Jerusalem was such a terrifying example of divine judgment, described in terms like the “clouds of the sky and with power and great glory,” that all the Jewish tribes mourned.
2] “His angels” [messengers] were the apostles and those who followed afterwards.
3] The “trumpet call” was the trumpet call of the Gospel, which was heard throughout the Roman provinces and beyond.
4] The “gathering of His elect” were the Gentiles who had been chosen for salvation, in place of the rebellious Jews.
5] It should be obvious to the logistic mind that the following warnings by Jesus relate to the destruction of Jerusalem, not to His second and final coming.

Verses 17 & 18— “Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.” Why? Because their time to escape the Roman Army would be limited.

Verse 19— “And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!” Why? To flee the Roman Army under such circumstances would almost be impossible.

Verse 20— “Pray that your flight [escape] may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.” Why? Escaping the pending tribulation would be uncommonly difficult. Under such horrific conditions, “...let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” [V. 15].

Another interesting thought is recorded in Luke 21:28, the parallel chapter. Jesus spoke of the believers’ deliverance or liberation—“redemption.” This points to the flight out of Jerusalem and safety from the horrible calamity. This was a warning for believers to flee, as noted in verse 15 of Matthew

I think it is safe to say that Matthew 24 and Luke 21 do not refer to the second personal coming of our Lord, but rather to His coming in judgment upon the stiff-necked and rebellious Jewish nation. In light of this biblical evidence, it seems reasonable to conclude that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish State are alluded to, which occurred in A. D. 67-70.

A little over 2,000 year ago a Jewish historian by the name of Josephus witnessed and recorded the war between the Roman Army and the Jewish people. The major part of the battle occurred in and around Jerusalem. The account by Josephus is almost an echo of the predictions of Jesus, as recorded in the 24th chapter of Matthew and the 21st chapter of Luke.

The war began in 67 A.D. and ended in 70 A.D. On August 10, 70 A.D., Jerusalem was stormed and what followed was a universal massacre of the Jewish people—1,100,000 perished, and 100,000 survivors were sold into slavery. Such was the “tribulation” our Lord prophesied of in verse 21.​

There are many problem with this line of thought....Why????.....Because there is a lot of events in the book of Revelation that haven't happened yet.

Foe example from Revelation we read...7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

or
15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

or

8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.....when did this happen around 70AD?

Other problems.....We see the term...dwell on the earth....not dwell in Jerusalem.

I could go on but I don't want to overload you on the first post.

 

[Buff Scott Jr.]

There are many problem with this line of thought....Why????.....Because there is a lot of events in the book of Revelation that haven't happened yet.

Foe example from Revelation we read...7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth.

or
15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind.

or

8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.....when did this happen around 70AD?

Other problems.....We see the term...dwell on the earth....not dwell in Jerusalem.

I could go on but I don't want to overload you on the first post.

CrowCross: As you should know, the bulk of the Book of Revelation is composed of symbols and figures of speech. If you try to connect a symbol to a factual event, you have a contradiction--at least in most cases.

 

[CrowCross]

CrowCross: As you should know, the bulk of the Book of Revelation is composed of symbols and figures of speech. If you try to connect a symbol to a factual event, you have a contradiction--at least in most cases.

Well Buff...I don't disagree there is some symbols such as "lamp stands" and "stars" in Rev 1.... but the bible then explains it....

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches”

But, you fail to realize much of Revelations is literal. The mark in Rev 13 is literal....in fact I can show you a very possible proto-type of the mark and what it can do. There was no world wide mark in 70AD. Please don't tell me it was an ash smudge on the forehead.

Keep in mind....you need to show me how the book of Revelation already happened. Now I can agree that the smoke from the burning city of Jerusalem could have blocked out the sun....but it didn't do it were the 7 letter that were written to the 7 churches in the opening chapters of Revelation were located.

you started your post off with this quote

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be”

What happened to Jerusalem is nothing compared to what has happened through out the world......and what has happened through out the world over the last 2,000 years is nothing compared to what is going to occur.

 

[Buff Scott Jr.]

Well Buff...I don't disagree there is some symbols such as "lamp stands" and "stars" in Rev 1.... but the bible then explains it....

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches”

But, you fail to realize much of Revelations is literal. The mark in Rev 13 is literal....in fact I can show you a very possible proto-type of the mark and what it can do. There was no world wide mark in 70AD. Please don't tell me it was an ash smudge on the forehead.

Keep in mind....you need to show me how the book of Revelation already happened. Now I can agree that the smoke from the burning city of Jerusalem could have blocked out the sun....but it didn't do it were the 7 letter that were written to the 7 churches in the opening chapters of Revelation were located.

you started your post off with this quote

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be”

What happened to Jerusalem is nothing compared to what has happened through out the world......and what has happened through out the world over the last 2,000 years is nothing compared to what is going to occur.

We partly agree and partly disagree, brother.

 

[EarlyActs]

“The Great Tribulation“

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” [Matt. 24:21].​

Most of you who has access to this column probably believe this “tribulation” is a future event, in spite of Jesus’ forecast in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 that this terrible distress would occur in His generation, and did occur in A. D. 67-70 when the Roman Army destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish State.

Biblical scholarship, including Adam Clarke, understands “the whole world” in verse 14 as “the whole world” of the Roman Empire. [Compare Acts 17:6 & I Peter 5:9 on the “whole world.”] Please note the symbolisms of Matthew 24.

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth” [or Roman Empire] will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” [Matt. 24:30-31].

1] The destruction of Jerusalem was such a terrifying example of divine judgment, described in terms like the “clouds of the sky and with power and great glory,” that all the Jewish tribes mourned.
2] “His angels” [messengers] were the apostles and those who followed afterwards.
3] The “trumpet call” was the trumpet call of the Gospel, which was heard throughout the Roman provinces and beyond.
4] The “gathering of His elect” were the Gentiles who had been chosen for salvation, in place of the rebellious Jews.
5] It should be obvious to the logistic mind that the following warnings by Jesus relate to the destruction of Jerusalem, not to His second and final coming.

Verses 17 & 18— “Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.” Why? Because their time to escape the Roman Army would be limited.

Verse 19— “And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!” Why? To flee the Roman Army under such circumstances would almost be impossible.

Verse 20— “Pray that your flight [escape] may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.” Why? Escaping the pending tribulation would be uncommonly difficult. Under such horrific conditions, “...let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” [V. 15].

Another interesting thought is recorded in Luke 21:28, the parallel chapter. Jesus spoke of the believers’ deliverance or liberation—“redemption.” This points to the flight out of Jerusalem and safety from the horrible calamity. This was a warning for believers to flee, as noted in verse 15 of Matthew

I think it is safe to say that Matthew 24 and Luke 21 do not refer to the second personal coming of our Lord, but rather to His coming in judgment upon the stiff-necked and rebellious Jewish nation. In light of this biblical evidence, it seems reasonable to conclude that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish State are alluded to, which occurred in A. D. 67-70.

A little over 2,000 year ago a Jewish historian by the name of Josephus witnessed and recorded the war between the Roman Army and the Jewish people. The major part of the battle occurred in and around Jerusalem. The account by Josephus is almost an echo of the predictions of Jesus, as recorded in the 24th chapter of Matthew and the 21st chapter of Luke.

The war began in 67 A.D. and ended in 70 A.D. On August 10, 70 A.D., Jerusalem was stormed and what followed was a universal massacre of the Jewish people—1,100,000 perished, and 100,000 survivors were sold into slavery. Such was the “tribulation” our Lord prophesied of in verse 21.​

A pretty good summary. Yes, we must think of the 'whole world' as being as large as the list of Acts 2. The resistance lasted a bit longer, to 72 at Masada. The term tribulation is for what believers experienced, who might have been close by as long as they could. Wrath is what befell the zealot Jews. The bar-Cochba revolt was about 50 years later but was a failure. We should also note that Judas the Galilean started one about the census in 6, and this is cited in Acts 5 by Gamaliel.

The abomination is either the revolt's leader (John of Gischala) or the act of rebelling, because, compared to being in Christ's mission, it sunk the nation.

 

[EarlyActs]

Well Buff...I don't disagree there is some symbols such as "lamp stands" and "stars" in Rev 1.... but the bible then explains it....

The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches”

But, you fail to realize much of Revelations is literal. The mark in Rev 13 is literal....in fact I can show you a very possible proto-type of the mark and what it can do. There was no world wide mark in 70AD. Please don't tell me it was an ash smudge on the forehead.

Keep in mind....you need to show me how the book of Revelation already happened. Now I can agree that the smoke from the burning city of Jerusalem could have blocked out the sun....but it didn't do it were the 7 letter that were written to the 7 churches in the opening chapters of Revelation were located.

you started your post off with this quote

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be”

What happened to Jerusalem is nothing compared to what has happened through out the world......and what has happened through out the world over the last 2,000 years is nothing compared to what is going to occur.

The last expression simply means, in Roman-world terms, it would be worse than Carthage, the worst so far.

God's final day of wrath will not be like a news event.

Here are some details on how John was interpreting the events of the 60s for the reader in the Rev:








Barnett, BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE NT: “Patmos”
IVP, late 90s

Using coded language John writes of the menace of Rome to Christians. Rome is portrayed as the instrument of “a great red dragon…” (ch 12).
This dragon gave authority to two beasts, a sea beast and an earth beast, to “make war on the saints…” (ch 13). The sea beast (from his location) is John’s code for the Roman emperor (who had just required all people to refer to him as “Lord and God”), while the earth beast represents the high priest of Asia, who officiates at the major cultic activities within in the province… The earth beast engages in magical arts to hoodwink the populace into worshipping the image of the “sea beast” (ch 13).
Although the dragon appears to be rampant on earth he is in fact, bound, limited, circumscribed through the period between Christ’s resurrection and his return—symbolically a thousand years (ch 20). Those who have lost their lives for Jesus’ sake, …reign with him throughout the millenium, sharing his victory over the dragon.
John’s book, therefore, was written above all to strengthen and encourage Christians facing harassment and persecution from Roman officials in the city s of the Province of Asia. John was deeply conscious of the political events in the wider world. He made many references, in particular, to the critical events of the sixties, but in tantalizing and elusive ways.
The massing of the dreaded Parthian cavalry near the Euphrates in AD 62 and the barely averted conflict with Rome’s eastern legions appears to be in mind on a number occasions (chs 6, 9). John develops horrific images of fiendish galloping cavalry based, apparently, on his knowledge of the Parthians and Euphrates region.
The great fire which devasted the world capital in AD 64 seems to have supplied John with imagery for the coming judgment of the “harlot city.” Despite her gaudy opulence and immorality and her immense wealth and power (inspired by memories of Claudius wife, the notorious Messalina?), God will bring upon her overwhelming destruction in a single day. (ch 18)
Once again John has apparently taken an event in recent history and converted it into powerfully vivid apocalyptic language.
Nero’s bloody onslaught on Christians which followed and was a direct result of the fire of Rome also provided much of John’s descriptive language. He wrote about the woman, the harlot Rome in ch 17 and 13.
The writer’s enigmatic description of the two witnesses/two prophets who were killed and who bodies lay in the streets of the great city (ch 11) is probably but not certainly) a reference to the martyr-deaths of the apostles Peter and Paul which occurred in Rome during Nero’s persecutions. (ch 11).
Nero’s own career ended in disaster. He was condemned by the Senate…and took his own life. There were widespread beliefs in Nero redivivus that may lay behind Johns’ description of one of the heads of the sea beast which revived. (ch 13)
Nero dominated the sixties. To that point in history he had been the greatest enemy of the Christians, satanic in his dimension of evil…
The eighth king is, in all probability, Domitian. …John was using the events of the recent past to depict the future…
In contrast to Domitian’s requirement to worship him, the true Lord of Lords and King of Kings declares a gospel from heaven in which we are to worship God. It is only in this century that scholars have begun to have an appreciation of John’s profound awareness of and audacious attack upon the theological pretentiousness of Roman civilization.
It is, in my opinion, of great significance that John used the dramatic historical events within his book. In earlier decades, Christians had expected Jesus to return at any moment (2 Th 2, 3). If one had experienced the firey destruction of the ‘eternal city’ in AD 64 and the bloodbath that followed, removing as it did the great apostles Peter and Paul, or the sacking of Mount Zion and desecration of the Holy Place in AD 70, it would easily have seemed that the end would come at any moment.
But…in fact John saw the return of Jesus as not occurring for some considerable time.

--pages 237—241.

 

[EarlyActs]

I tried an inventory of %s of personnel and materiel of the Rev once; I got to the 10th judgement event and I was at -275%, and still had no answer how the earth survives a star encounter.

 

[CrowCross]

The last expression simply means, in Roman-world terms, it would be worse than Carthage, the worst so far.

God's final day of wrath will not be like a news event.

Here are some details on how John was interpreting the events of the 60s for the reader in the Rev:








Barnett, BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE NT: “Patmos”
IVP, late 90s

Using coded language John writes of the menace of Rome to Christians. Rome is portrayed as the instrument of “a great red dragon…” (ch 12).
This dragon gave authority to two beasts, a sea beast and an earth beast, to “make war on the saints…” (ch 13). The sea beast (from his location) is John’s code for the Roman emperor (who had just required all people to refer to him as “Lord and God”), while the earth beast represents the high priest of Asia, who officiates at the major cultic activities within in the province… The earth beast engages in magical arts to hoodwink the populace into worshipping the image of the “sea beast” (ch 13).
Although the dragon appears to be rampant on earth he is in fact, bound, limited, circumscribed through the period between Christ’s resurrection and his return—symbolically a thousand years (ch 20). Those who have lost their lives for Jesus’ sake, …reign with him throughout the millenium, sharing his victory over the dragon.
John’s book, therefore, was written above all to strengthen and encourage Christians facing harassment and persecution from Roman officials in the city s of the Province of Asia. John was deeply conscious of the political events in the wider world. He made many references, in particular, to the critical events of the sixties, but in tantalizing and elusive ways.
The massing of the dreaded Parthian cavalry near the Euphrates in AD 62 and the barely averted conflict with Rome’s eastern legions appears to be in mind on a number occasions (chs 6, 9). John develops horrific images of fiendish galloping cavalry based, apparently, on his knowledge of the Parthians and Euphrates region.
The great fire which devasted the world capital in AD 64 seems to have supplied John with imagery for the coming judgment of the “harlot city.” Despite her gaudy opulence and immorality and her immense wealth and power (inspired by memories of Claudius wife, the notorious Messalina?), God will bring upon her overwhelming destruction in a single day. (ch 18)
Once again John has apparently taken an event in recent history and converted it into powerfully vivid apocalyptic language.
Nero’s bloody onslaught on Christians which followed and was a direct result of the fire of Rome also provided much of John’s descriptive language. He wrote about the woman, the harlot Rome in ch 17 and 13.
The writer’s enigmatic description of the two witnesses/two prophets who were killed and who bodies lay in the streets of the great city (ch 11) is probably but not certainly) a reference to the martyr-deaths of the apostles Peter and Paul which occurred in Rome during Nero’s persecutions. (ch 11).
Nero’s own career ended in disaster. He was condemned by the Senate…and took his own life. There were widespread beliefs in Nero redivivus that may lay behind Johns’ description of one of the heads of the sea beast which revived. (ch 13)
Nero dominated the sixties. To that point in history he had been the greatest enemy of the Christians, satanic in his dimension of evil…
The eighth king is, in all probability, Domitian. …John was using the events of the recent past to depict the future…
In contrast to Domitian’s requirement to worship him, the true Lord of Lords and King of Kings declares a gospel from heaven in which we are to worship God. It is only in this century that scholars have begun to have an appreciation of John’s profound awareness of and audacious attack upon the theological pretentiousness of Roman civilization.
It is, in my opinion, of great significance that John used the dramatic historical events within his book. In earlier decades, Christians had expected Jesus to return at any moment (2 Th 2, 3). If one had experienced the firey destruction of the ‘eternal city’ in AD 64 and the bloodbath that followed, removing as it did the great apostles Peter and Paul, or the sacking of Mount Zion and desecration of the Holy Place in AD 70, it would easily have seemed that the end would come at any moment.
But…in fact John saw the return of Jesus as not occurring for some considerable time.

--pages 237—241.

The above is how John interpreted Revelation? OK, if you say so.

 

[CrowCross]

I tried an inventory of %s of personnel and materiel of the Rev once; I got to the 10th judgement event and I was at -275%, and still had no answer how the earth survives a star encounter.

What is a star?

What is the star encounter?

 

[EarlyActs]

The above is how John interpreted Revelation? OK, if you say so.

No, the Rev is interpreting the events especially the 60s when the end of everything was expected, by some 50 NT references

 

[EarlyActs]

What is a star?

What is the star encounter?

Several fall to the earth..

 

[CrowCross]

Several fall to the earth..

I read that....but what are the stars?

 

[EarlyActs]

I read that....but what are the stars?

The assumption that is being addressed is that the text is literal. The inventory was done about the literal usage of the terms in the book.

There is no problem if the material is rich in Judaic/priesthood symbolism, which it is.

 

[eclipseEventSigns]

“The Great Tribulation“

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” [Matt. 24:21].​

Most of you who has access to this column probably believe this “tribulation” is a future event, in spite of Jesus’ forecast in Matthew 24 and Luke 21 that this terrible distress would occur in His generation, and did occur in A. D. 67-70 when the Roman Army destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish State.

Biblical scholarship, including Adam Clarke, understands “the whole world” in verse 14 as “the whole world” of the Roman Empire. [Compare Acts 17:6 & I Peter 5:9 on the “whole world.”] Please note the symbolisms of Matthew 24.

“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth” [or Roman Empire] will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” [Matt. 24:30-31].

1] The destruction of Jerusalem was such a terrifying example of divine judgment, described in terms like the “clouds of the sky and with power and great glory,” that all the Jewish tribes mourned.
2] “His angels” [messengers] were the apostles and those who followed afterwards.
3] The “trumpet call” was the trumpet call of the Gospel, which was heard throughout the Roman provinces and beyond.
4] The “gathering of His elect” were the Gentiles who had been chosen for salvation, in place of the rebellious Jews.
5] It should be obvious to the logistic mind that the following warnings by Jesus relate to the destruction of Jerusalem, not to His second and final coming.

Verses 17 & 18— “Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.” Why? Because their time to escape the Roman Army would be limited.

Verse 19— “And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!” Why? To flee the Roman Army under such circumstances would almost be impossible.

Verse 20— “Pray that your flight [escape] may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.” Why? Escaping the pending tribulation would be uncommonly difficult. Under such horrific conditions, “...let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains” [V. 15].

Another interesting thought is recorded in Luke 21:28, the parallel chapter. Jesus spoke of the believers’ deliverance or liberation—“redemption.” This points to the flight out of Jerusalem and safety from the horrible calamity. This was a warning for believers to flee, as noted in verse 15 of Matthew

I think it is safe to say that Matthew 24 and Luke 21 do not refer to the second personal coming of our Lord, but rather to His coming in judgment upon the stiff-necked and rebellious Jewish nation. In light of this biblical evidence, it seems reasonable to conclude that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish State are alluded to, which occurred in A. D. 67-70.

A little over 2,000 year ago a Jewish historian by the name of Josephus witnessed and recorded the war between the Roman Army and the Jewish people. The major part of the battle occurred in and around Jerusalem. The account by Josephus is almost an echo of the predictions of Jesus, as recorded in the 24th chapter of Matthew and the 21st chapter of Luke.

The war began in 67 A.D. and ended in 70 A.D. On August 10, 70 A.D., Jerusalem was stormed and what followed was a universal massacre of the Jewish people—1,100,000 perished, and 100,000 survivors were sold into slavery. Such was the “tribulation” our Lord prophesied of in verse 21.​

You answered your own question:
" such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be”"

70 AD was bad. But was not as bad has ever been.

 

[CrowCross]

The assumption that is being addressed is that the text is literal. The inventory was done about the literal usage of the terms in the book.

There is no problem if the material is rich in Judaic/priesthood symbolism, which it is.

Are they angels falling to earth? Meteorites? Satellites?

 

[EarlyActs]

Are they angels falling to earth? Meteorites? Satellites?

The question is whether we should read the Rev in the popular literalism of today’s self-proclaimed prophecy experts. That means it is 100% accurate and a star is a star. Why on earth would it be an angel?

There might be a case on smaller objects as they had the expression ‘wandering star’ in 2 P and Jude. The problem is that whatever happened in the text affected 1/3 of life on earth. Neither a meteor nor a star does that, one too small, one too large. And the literalists will tell us that 1/3 is precise and literal.

The wandering star image about permissive teachers suggests a leader of a church group who dazzles quickly and disappears into darkness. That kind of thing is helpful for reading the Rev as a collection of metaphors about that generation of Judaism and sometimes about Rome, in Western Asia (Turkey). You have to know 1st cent Judaism and times very well for starters. Lk 23:28 already informs us that events like ‘wishing the mountains would fall on them’ is despair about the horrid conditions of that destructive event. Cp Hos 10.

(The Caribbean meteor/asteroid theory about dinosaurs has one small problem; the locating of samples of dead-in-place carcasses. Meanwhile there are millions of examples of hydrologic cataclysm deaths in piles.)

 

[EarlyActs]

You answered your own question:
" such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be”"

70 AD was bad. But was not as bad has ever been.

The known world was the Roman world. Beside the famine and other natural events, the unity of the empire nearly collapsed. The expression is in a section about 1st century Judea and was worse than 586.

He also didn’t seem to be concerned to compare it to the cataclysm (it was not worse than that) but was similar on the question of alertness vs apathy.

 

[eclipseEventSigns]

The known world was the Roman world. Beside the famine and other natural events, the unity of the empire nearly collapsed. The expression is in a section about 1st century Judea and was worse than 586.

He also didn’t seem to be concerned to compare it to the cataclysm (it was not worse than that) but was similar on the question of alertness vs apathy.

Again you make statements that are not according to historical fact. Where do you get your version of history from? The known world was Roman? Not true at all. The Parthian Empire. The Nabbatean Empire. The nations of the East. Even commerce with the continent across the western ocean. The world was not just Roman.

 

[CrowCross]

The question is whether we should read the Rev in the popular literalism of today’s self-proclaimed prophecy experts. That means it is 100% accurate and a star is a star. Why on earth would it be an angel?

Because angels have been called stars in the bible. That's one reason.

There might be a case on smaller objects as they had the expression ‘wandering star’ in 2 P and Jude. The problem is that whatever happened in the text affected 1/3 of life on earth. Neither a meteor nor a star does that, one too small, one too large. And the literalists will tell us that 1/3 is precise and literal.

If you think that's bad enough...prior to that 1/4 of the population dies as a result of the pale green horseman.

The wandering star image about permissive teachers suggests a leader of a church group who dazzles quickly and disappears into darkness. That kind of thing is helpful for reading the Rev as a collection of metaphors about that generation of Judaism and sometimes about Rome, in Western Asia (Turkey). You have to know 1st cent Judaism and times very well for starters. Lk 23:28 already informs us that events like ‘wishing the mountains would fall on them’ is despair about the horrid conditions of that destructive event. Cp Hos 10.

There are those who think John was writing about what he saw in the future and trying to put it into the words of his day.
‘Wishing the mountains would fall on them’ could be.....didn't say it is, but could be people hiding out in bunkers built inside of mountains...which we have many of today...

(The Caribbean meteor/asteroid theory about dinosaurs has one small problem; the locating of samples of dead-in-place carcasses. Meanwhile there are millions of examples of hydrologic cataclysm deaths in piles.)

I don't disagree...the flood is a better answer.