Matthew 24:21

24:21 For then there will be great suffering ¹  unlike anything that has happened ²  from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.

Matthew 24:29

The Arrival of the Son of Man

24:29 “Immediately ³  after the suffering ⁴  of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. ⁵ 

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¹ tn Traditionally, “great tribulation.”

² 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.

³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁴ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

⁵ sn An allusion to Isa 13:10, 34:4 (LXX); Joel 2:10. The heavens were seen as the abode of heavenly forces, so their shaking indicates distress in the spiritual realm. Although some take the powers as a reference to bodies in the heavens (like stars and planets, “the heavenly bodies,” NIV) this is not as likely.