Matthew 24:14
24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, 1 and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:21
24:21 For then there will be great suffering 2 unlike anything that has happened 3 from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.
1 tn Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).
2 tn Traditionally, “great tribulation.”
3 sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. While the events of a.d. 70 may reflect somewhat the comments Jesus makes here, the reference to the scope and severity of this judgment strongly suggest that much more is in view. Most likely Jesus is referring to the great end-time judgment on Jerusalem in the great tribulation.