Matthew 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.

Ps 69:22-28; Isa 65:12-16; Isa 66:15,16; Da 9:26; Da 12:1; Joe 1:2; Joe 2:2; Zec 11:8,9; Zec 14:2,3; Mal 4:1; Mr 13:9; Lu 19:43,44; Lu 21:24; 1Th 2:16; Heb 10:26-29

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.