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Me: Matthew 24, how many “tribulations” does Jesus mention?

You: It does not seem possible that he could only be talking about the destruction of Jerusalem.

But i will not go as far as trying to set a point where he went from the destruction of Jerusalem to the end of the world.

Tribulation 1:

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. Matthew 24:9

This isn’t the first time Jesus told His disciples this:

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. Matthew 10:21-23

And to whom does Jesus lay the blame for this tribulation? He repeats this prophecy to an extended audience in Matthew 23:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

“So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

“Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Matthew 23:29-37

Not two verses later, Jesus mentions the second tribulation of Matthew 24 to which He alluded in the passage cited above:

Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” Matthew 24:1-2

Everything that follows is set in this context: the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. It’s in this context we see His second use of the word “tribulation” in Matthew 24:

“Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. “Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Matthew 24:15-22

Further proof that this passage refers to the destruction of Jerusalem can be found in the parallel passage in the gospel of Luke:

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. Luke 21:20-22

Rome’s legions are the armies that would surround Jerusalem, and its these legions that are referred to in Matthew 24 as the “abomination of desolation”, which literally means, “hated thing that causes destruction.”

When taken together, Matthew 24:9 (first tribulation) is the persecution of Christ’s apostles and the churches they planted at the hands of first, the Jews and only much later, at the hand of Nero. This “tribulation” is both a cause (Matthew 23) and a sign (Matthew 24) of the “great tribulation” that would befall Jerusalem in the destruction of its Temple and city.

So, when you read Revelation, the first 7 chapters deal with the persecution of the apostles and believers. Those under the altar in Revelation 6 are those that have died under this persecution. Chapters 8-20 deal with the judgment and destruction of Jerusalem as a result of its persecution of Christ’s apostles (His messengers) and the church.

When you study the Olivet Discourse and Revelation closely, they are structured the same way: tribulation/persecution of apostles first, great tribulation of Jerusalem second.

This, by the way, was not the first time Jerusalem and its Temple was destroyed by God for its persecution of His messengers (but it would be the last).

The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy.

Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand.

All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon.

Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete. 2 Chronicles 36:15-21

See anything familiar when comparing 2 Chronicles 36 with Matthew 23?

In closing, how did John address his audience in Revelation 1?

I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Revelation 1:9

John does not partake of the modern church’s tribulation, but he was right in the thick of it with them in 68 AD, when he penned these words.

Just something to think about.