Those Days: Duration Of The AD70 Great Tribulation

📕Jesus' Prophecy About Those Days: Duration  Of The AD70 Great Tribulation

📕Meta Description

Discover the duration of the AD70 great tribulation and how it mapped the parable of the fig tree timeline.

Related Post

Great Tribulation Preceding The AD70 Destruction

Historic Tower of David citadel under clear skies in Jerusalem

📕Bible Verses About Those Days: Duration  Of The AD70 Great Tribulation

Matthew 24 (also Mark 13,

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

25 Behold, I have told you before.

26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

Luk 17:37

And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.

Luk 19:43
For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,


Luk 19:44
And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Luk 21:20
And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

A historic minaret in Jerusalem, featuring stone buildings under a bright blue sky.

📕 Review of Jesus' prophecy about great tribulation 

Matthew 24 revealed that Jesus' prophecy about great tribulation  was given when He foretold the destruction of the amazing  Jerusalem temple. He said that the days would come when not one stone would be left standing - they would be thrown down.

In the prophecy, Jesus gave many signs about the Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire. However, He warned that the destruction of the temple would be near when armies surrounded the city (Luk 21:20).

The armies would:

• cast a trench around Jerusalem
• compass the city.
• Hem in the inhabitants.

Jerusalem would encounter great tribulation because of the surrounding armies 

The Lord then warned that no one should remain in the city because great tribulation would ensue.   The synonyms used in related bible passages are:

• great tribulation, 
• affliction, 
• great distress
• wrath
• days of vengeance  
• desolation.

 Thlipsis (Strong's G2347) is the Greek word for tribulation 

1. Great Tribulation

Mat 24:21

For then shall be great tribulation (thlipsis - Strong's G2347), such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

2. Affliction

Mar 13:19

For in those days shall be affliction (thlipsis - Strong's G2347), such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

3. Great distress and wrath

Luk 21:23

But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress (Strong's G318 - anagkē) in the land, and wrath upon this people.

Fig tree

📕 Review of Jesus prophecy about the timeline of that great tribulation

Jesus then gave the parable of the fig tree growth to give clues as to the timing of Jerusalem's destruction. That time would begin in Spring when the fig tree begins to bloom after summer up to the time that summer is impending.

In other words, armies would surround Jerusalem in the spring and the siege would go up to summer. This would be that time of great tribulation.

Mat 24:32
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:


Mat 24:33
So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

👉Related Post

How Jesus'  Parable Of The Fig Tree Timeline Was Fulfilled

Great Tribulation Preceding The AD70 Destruction

Jesus prophesied about great tribulation or affliction preceding the AD70 destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem 

Meta Description

Discover the fulfillment of Jesus' "great tribulation" prophecy around the time of the AD70 destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. 

👉Learn more about Jesus' prophecy about the destruction of the 

temple.

Wailing wall in Jerusalem Israel

Bible verses about great tribulation in the period preceding the destruction of the temple

Mat 24:15

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Mat 24:16

Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

Mat 24:17

Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

Mat 24:18

Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

Mat 24:19

And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

Mat 24:20

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Mat 24:21

For then shall be great tribulation (Strong's G2347 - thlipsis), such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Mat 24:22

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Mat 24:23

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

Mat 24:24

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

Mat 24:25

Behold, I have told you before.

Mar 13:14

But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

Mar 13:15

And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:

Mar 13:16

And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

Mar 13:17

But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

Mar 13:18

And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

Mar 13:19

For in those days shall be affliction (Strong's G2347 - thlipsis), such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

Mar 13:20

And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

Luk 21:20

And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Luk 21:21

Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

Luk 21:22

For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Luk 21:23

But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

Luk 21:24

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Understanding the context of Jesus' "great tribulation" prophecy

It is important to understand the context in which Jesus spoke about that "great tribulation" prior to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

When He got to this part of the prophecy, He warned His church to flee from the city when they saw certain specific signs that the destruction was very near. Those specific signs were the presence or approaching presence of the destroyers of the city.

The presence of armies around Jerusalem was the specific sign of the impending destruction of the temple:

Mat 24:15

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 

Mat 24:16

Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

Mar 13:14

But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: 

Luk 19:41

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

Luk 19:42

Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Luk 19:43

For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

Luk 19:44

And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Luk 21:24

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

Luk 21:20

And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

Luk 21:21Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.

The disciples were to flee because great tribulation would occur due to the armies around Jerusalem 

Mat 24:19

And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

Mat 24:20

But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

Mat 24:21

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Mar 13:18

And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

Mar 13:19

For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

Luk 21:23

But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

Luk 21:24

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

 

Temple Mount Jerusalem, Israel

THREE Synonyms For The Severity Of The Siege

Jesus said that the Jewish nation would experience great tribulation, affliction, great distress and wrath that they had never seen in all of their history. This is a prophecy of the sufferings and calamities that would ensue.

The Greek word for tribulation is thlipsis (Strong's G2347).  

1. Great Tribulation

Mat 24:21

For then shall be great tribulation (thlipsis - Strong's G2347), such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

2. Affliction

Mar 13:19

For in those days shall be affliction (thlipsis - Strong's G2347), such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

3. Great distress and wrath

Luk 21:23

But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress (Strong's G318 - anagkē) in the land, and wrath upon this people.

Historical evidence that Jesus' prophecy about great tribulation was fulfilled 

Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote about the horrors and suffering that were endured by the Jews who were hemmed into the city by the Roman army. Just as Jesus prophesied, they had never seen anything like it in their entire history.

Read more in other posts:

Fulfillment Of Jesus' Prophecy About Famines And Pestilences

Wars And Commotions Prophecy Fulfilled Prior The AD70 Destruction Of Jerusalem

Historical Evidence That Jesus' Disciples Escaped Jerusalem Before Its Destruction

Parabolic Meaning: The Sun Will Be Darkened Matthew 24: 29

Is There A Parabolic Meaning In Jesus' Prophecy: The Sun Will Be Darkened Matthew 24: 29

Meta Description

Discover hidden secrets and warnings to the Jews about the cessation of hte nation of Israel in His discourse about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Bible Texts: The Sun Will Be Darkened 

Matthew 24:29

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mar 13:24-27 KJV


24 But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

Luk 21:25-28 KJV

25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 

26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Context of the Matthew 24 : 29 prophecy

We're in the context of the Jesus's prophecy about the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. The destruction took place in AD 70. On the Jewish calendar it was the year 6001, 9th or 10th of Av- month five.

Earlier in the chapter, the Lord gave His disciples warnings about the revolt, and about the events around that time. However,  He said you will know the destruction of the Temple  is near armies surround Jerusalem and build a trench around it.

When those armies surround Jerusalem, the Lord said it would be a time of great tribulation that the nation would have never seen at any other time in their history. 

To be absolutely clear, the period of great tribulation is the five  month period that began with Titus' siege and that ended with the Temple's destruction. When we map the  timeline we know that the time beginning with the revolt to the destruction of the temple is three years and five months:

• time - one year. 
• times - two years and 
• half a time - five months.

Differences in the texts of the writers

a. Luke said signs would be in the heavens

When the text of Matthew 24: 19 is cross referenced with Mark and Luke, we see instantly that there are differences in the rendering.  For example,  Luke said he said there'll be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars. These signs in the heavens were fulfilled:

• For example the entire nation saw a vision of chariots hurtling around the sky 
• They also saw a comet in the sky - the sword-shaped star. This is Haley's comet and it appeared longer than it usually would remain.

 

b. Matthew and Mark gave a rendering that seemed to suggest eclipses and shooting stars

However Matthew and Mark gave a rendering that suggested solar and lunar eclipses and shooting stars. They said that after the tribulation of those days (that is, the five months of siege and destruction of the Temple) that the:

• sun would be darkened 
• the moon shall not give her light 
• and the stars shall fall from heaven 

Were there any eclipses and shooting stars after the tribulation (AD70 siege to destruction of the temple?

I tried several times to elicit this information from the historical records. However, Josephus did not record these kinds of events. Since there were no historical records of eclipses or shooting stars, Jesus' words had a parabolic meaning as well. 

In other words,  there is a parable in the prophecy that the sun would be darkened, the moon would not give light and the stars would fall from heaven.

The meaning of the parable is given in Joseph's prophetic dream - Genesis 37: 9-11.

The darkening of the sun, darkening of the moon and stars falling from heaven is a parable about the cessation of the nation of the Jews.  The parabolic meaning lies in Joseph's prophetic dream found in  Genesis 37 from verse 9.

Joseph dreamt that the sun the moon and the 11 stars bowed down to him.  Jacob his father interpreted the dream correctly.  He said this sun in the dream represented himself; the moon represented Joseph's mother while the stars represented his eleven brothers. 

Thus we know that sun, moon and stars represent the family of Israel. In this instance, it is the nation of the Jews: 

9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 

11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

The stars falling in the book of Daniel

To understand the stars falling, also we need to cross reference to the Daniel 8 prophecy about the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. The little horn:

10 ... waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

The darkening of the sun and moon and stars falling is a parable about the cessation of the nation of the Jews.

With this parallel at hand, we understand that the  darkening of the sun, moon and falling of stars represent the cessation of  the nation of the Jews (Judah). 

Here's how the prophecy was fulfiled:

• It means that the light of the nation was  exterminated...
• The Jews ceased to offer the sacrifices and other acts of worship to God
• The beautiful temple was totally destroyed - not one stone was left.
• Jerusalem was razed to the ground
• 97000 Jews were carried off into activity
• Over 1 million Jews were killed during the siege
• The Gentile occupation began to this day...

Daniel 8 also prophesied about the cessation of the light becaue of the little horn (Roman Empire):

11 He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.

 

12 Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

God Removed The Jews' Candlestick in AD70

The light of the Jews was removed in AD70 because of their transgression against God. The Holy Ghost reminded me of a warning that Jesus sent to the church of Ephesus (Revelation 2) about the removal of their candlestick due to loss of their first love:

2 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

The Jews had long lost their first love for God. They had rejected their Messiah and God literally removed all traces of their temple and city.

This is a warning for churches right in our era. When we lose our first love, when we become cold and apathetic towards the Lord, He will put out the candlestick of the ministries. People can even lose their lives, like the Jews.  

Note that the Jews were going through their religious routines prior to the revolt and siege. Those things did not save them. 

The church of Ephesus also had good works, but those would not be enough to save them...because they had lost their first love.

Jesus is looking for people who love Him with all their heart, soul nad might and who give Him their allegiance...

He can destroy the ministry or even kill people if they lose their first love...

Let us examine ourselves and see if we have lost our love for the Lord. 

Let us repent of all sins and cleanse our lives from all iniquity. lest He remove our  candlestick from its place.

Learn more about the Fig Tree Parable at this link.