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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 24:21

Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 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.

21. great tribulation ] “Jerusalem, a city that had been liable to so many miseries during the siege, that had it enjoyed as much happiness from its first foundation, it would certainly have been the envy of the world.” Josephus, B. J. vii. 6. 5.

No words can describe the unequalled horrors of this siege. It was the Passover season, and Jews from all parts were crowded within the walls. Three factions, at desperate feud with each other, were posted on the heights of Sion and on the Temple Mount. These only united to fling themselves at intervals upon the Roman entrenchments, and then resumed their hate. The Temple-courts swam with the blood of civil discord, which was literally mingled with the blood of the sacrifices. Jewish prisoners were crucified by hundreds in view of their friends, while within the city the wretched inhabitants were reduced by famine to the most loathsome of food and to deeds of unspeakable cruelty. Jerusalem was taken on the 10th August, a. d. 70. 1,100,000 Jews perished in the siege, 100,000 were sold into slavery. With the fall of Jerusalem Israel ceased to exist as a nation. It was truly the end of an on.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

There shall be great tribulation – The word tribulation means calamity or suffering. Luke Luk 21:24 has specified in what this tribulation would consist: 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 shall be fulfilled. That is, until the time allotted for the Gentiles to do it shall be fully accomplished, or as long as God is pleased to suffer them to do it.

The first thing mentioned by Luke is, that they should fall by the edge of the sword – that is, would be slain in war, as the sword was then principally used in war. This was most strikingly fulfilled. Josephus, in describing it, uses almost the very words of our Saviour. All the calamities, says he, which had befallen any nation from the beginning of the world were but small in comparison with those of the Jews. – Jewish Wars, b. i. preface, section 4.

He has given the following account of one part of the massacre when the city was taken: And now, rushing into the city, they slew whomsoever they found, without distinction, and burned the houses and all the people who had fled into them; and when they entered for the sake of plunder, they found whole families of dead persons, and houses full of carcasses destroyed by famine, then they came out with their hands empty. And though they thus pitied the dead, they had not the same emotion for the living, but killed all they met, whereby they filled the lanes with dead bodies. The whole city ran with blood, insomuch that many things which were burning were extinguished by the blood. – Jewish Wars, b. 6 chapter 8, section 5; chapter 9, section 2, 3. He adds that in the siege of Jerusalem not fewer than eleven hundred thousand perished (Jewish Wars, b. 6 chapter 9, section 3) – a number almost half as great as are in the whole city of London. In the adjacent provinces no fewer than two hundred and fifty thousand are reckoned to have been slain; making in all whose deaths were ascertained the almost incredible number of one million three hundred and fifty thousand who were put to death.

These were not, indeed, all slain with the sword. Many were crucified. Many hundreds, says Josephus (Jewish Wars, b. v. chapter 11, section 1), were first whipped, then tormented with various kinds of tortures, and finally crucified; the Roman soldiers nailing them (out of the wrath and hatred they bore to the Jews), one after one way and another after another, to crosses, by way of jest, until at length the multitude became so great that room was lacking for crosses, and crosses for the bodies. So terribly was their imprecation fulfilled – his blood be on us and on our children, Mat 27:25. If it be asked how it was possible for so many people to be slain in a single city, it is to be remembered that the siege of Jerusalem commenced during the time of the Passover, when all the males of the Jews were required to be there, and when it is estimated that more than three million were usually assembled. See Josephus, Jewish Wars, b. 6 chapter 9, section 3, 4.

A horrible instance of the distress of Jerusalem is related by Josephus. The famine during the siege became so great that they ate what the most sordid animals refused to touch. A woman of distinguished rank, having been plundered by the soldiers, in hunger, rage, and despair, killed and roasted her own babe, and had eaten one half of it before the deed was discovered. – Jewish Wars, b. 6 chapter 3, section 3, 4. This cruel and dreadful act was also in fulfillment of prophecy, Deu 28:53, Deu 28:56-57.

Another thing added by Luke Luk 21:24, was, that they should be led away captive into all nations. Josephus informs us that the captives taken during the whole war amounted to ninety-seven thousand. The tall and handsome young men Titus reserved for triumph; of the rest, many were distributed through the Roman provinces to be destroyed by wild beasts in theaters; many were sent to the works in Egypt; many, especially those under seventeen years of age, were sold for slaves. – Jewish Wars, b. vi. chapter 9, section 2, 3.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 21. For then shall be great tribulation] No history can furnish us with a parallel to the calamities and miseries of the Jews:-rapine, murder, famine, and pestilence within: fire and sword, and all the horrors of war, without. Our Lord wept at the foresight of these calamities; and it is almost impossible for any humane person to read the relation of them in Josephus without weeping also. St. Luke, Lu 21:22, calls these the days of vengeance, that all things which were written might be fulfilled. 1. These were the days in which all the calamities predicted by Moses, Joel, Daniel, and other prophets, as well as those predicted by our Saviour, met in one common centre, and were fulfilled in the most terrible manner on that generation. 2. These were the days of vengeance in another sense, as if God’s judgments had certain periods and revolutions; for it is remarkable that the temple was burned by the Romans in the same month, and on the same day of the month, on which it had been burned by the Babylonians. See Josephus, WAR, b. vi. c. 4.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

For then shall be great tribulation,…. This is urged as a reason for their speedy flight; since the calamity that would come upon those who should remain in the city, what through the sword, famine, pestilence, murders, robberies, c. would

be such as was not since the beginning of the world, to this time, no, nor ever shall be. The burning of Sodom and Gomorrha, the bondage of the children of Israel in Egypt, their captivity in Babylon, and all their distresses and afflictions in the times of the Maccabees, are nothing to be compared with the calamities which befell the Jews in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Great desolations have been made in the besieging and at the taking of many famous cities, as Troy, Babylon, Carthage, c. but none of them are to be mentioned with the deplorable case of this city. Whoever reads Josephus’s account will be fully convinced of this and readily join with him, who was an eyewitness of it, when he says m, that

“never did any city suffer such things, nor was there ever any generation that more abounded in malice or wickedness.”

And indeed, all this came upon them for their impenitence and infidelity, and for their rejection and murdering of the Son of God for as never any before, or since, committed the sin they did, or ever will, so there never did, or will, the same calamity befall a nation, as did them.

m De Bello Jud. l. 6. c. 11.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

21 For there will then be great tribulation. Luke says also, that there will be days of vengeance, and of wrath on that people, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. For since the people, through obstinate malice, had then broken the covenant of God, it was proper that alarming changes should take place, by which the earth itself and the air would be shaken. True, indeed, the most destructive plague inflicted on the Jews was, that the light of heavenly doctrine was extinguished among them, and that they were rejected by God; but they were compelled—as the great hardness of their hearts made it necessary that they should be compelled—to feel the evil of their rejection by sharp and severe chastisements. Now the true cause of such an awful punishment was, that the desperate wickedness of that nation had reached its height. For not only had they haughtily despised, but even disdainfully rejected the medicine which was brought for their diseases; and, what was worse, like persons who were mad or possessed by the devil, they wreaked their cruelty on the Physician himself. (147) Since the Lord executed his vengeance on those men for their inveterate contempt of the Gospel, accompanied by incorrigible rage, let their punishment be always before our eyes; and let us learn from it, that no offense is more heinous in the sight of God, than obstinacy in despising his grace. But though all who in like manner despise the Gospel will receive the same punishment, God determined to make a very extraordinary demonstration in the case of the Jews, that the coming of Christ might be regarded by posterity with greater admiration and reverence. For no words can express the baseness of their criminality in putting to death the Son of God, who had been sent to them as the Author of life. Having committed this execrable sacrilege, they did not cease to incur the guilt of one crime after another, and thus to draw down upon themselves every ground of utter destruction. And, therefore, Christ declares that never afterwards will there be such tribulation in the world; for, as the rejection of Christ, viewed in itself, and especially as attended by so many circumstances of detestable obstinacy and ingratitude, was worthy of abhorrence above all the sins committed ill all ages, so also it was proper that, in the severity of punishment with which it was visited, it should go beyond all others.

(147) “ Il s’estoyent ruez cruellment, contre la personne mesme du Medecin, le mettant à mort.” — “They had pursued with cruel rage the very person of the Physician, putting him to death.”

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(21) Such as was not since the beginning . . .The words come from Dan. 12:1. One who reads the narrative of Josephus will hardly hesitate to adopt his language, that all miseries that had been known from the beginning of the world fell short of those of the siege of the Holy City (Wars, v. 13, 4, 5). Other sieges may have witnessed, before and since, scenes of physical wretchedness equally appalling, but nothing that history records offers anything parallel to the alternations of fanatic hope and frenzied despair that attended the breaking up of the faith and polity of Israel.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

21. Great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world That is, in Jewish history. Yet the statement of Josephus would warrant a stronger interpretation than this. “Our city,” says he, “of all those subjugated to the Romans, was raised to the highest felicity, and was thrust down again to the lowest depth of misery. For if the misfortunes of all from the beginning of the world were compared with those of the Jews, they would appear much inferior in the comparison.”

It is important to note that this term “tribulation” covers, according to this verse, not merely the incipient parts of the downfall, but its height and close also. The “tribulation” which was the severest part of human history, must have been the severest part of the whole series of woes, and that was the late and latest stages. It is also evident from the fact that the Roman eagles are already in the temple in the fifteenth verse, and the consequences of that decisive event are the subject of the verses following, including this twenty-first verse and farther. The tribulation is then a term embracing the whole process of the downfall and desolation of Jerusalem.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

“For then will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.”

And the reason for their flight would be so as to avoid ‘great tribulation and suffering’ that would come on those who remained behind. First there would be the unbelievable intensity of the suffering of the siege (the story of what happened in the city is almost incredible) combined with the devastation caused by the besieging army to the surrounding area, and this would be followed by the appalling treatment meted out to the besieged once the siege was over, with many being crucified and large numbers being forced into a long, unceasing exile, from which they would never return. Luke describes it graphically, ‘they will be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trodden down of the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled’ (Luk 21:24). Thus the great tribulation would extend into the unknown future, as graphically described in Deu 28:49-68, and including the whole miserable history of the Jews. It would be such that none other would ever suffer the like again. Note the ‘nor ever will be’, which indicates a considerable time gap following the initial commencement of the tribulation. A long period of time was expected to follow the first initial experiences of this event, and it is true that no other nations have suffered throughout their history like the Jews. (This is in contrast with the time of trouble in Dan 12:1 where the time of trouble described there does not end with the words ‘nor ever will be’. It is therefore referring to a different time of trouble).

Combining the three accounts in the Gospels we would come up with the following:

“But woe to those who are with child and to those who are breast feeding in those days!  “And pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on a sabbath,”  “For then will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the creation which God created, until now, no, nor ever shall be, for there will be great distress on the land, and wrath to this people.”  “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.  “And except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved, but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Mat 24:21. Then shall be great tribulation In the preceding verses our Saviour warned his disciples to fly as soon as ever they saw Jerusalem besieged by the Romans, and now he assigns a reason for his giving them this caution. The words used in this verse seem to be a proverbial form of expression, as in Exo 10:14. Joel 2 :1Ma 9:27. Our Lord, therefore, might fitly apply the same manner of speaking upon the present occasion: but he does not make use of proverbial expressions without a proper meaning; and this may be understood even literally. For indeed all history cannot furnish us with a parallel to the calamities and miseries of the Jews; rapine and murder, famine and pestilence within, fire and sword, and all the terrors of war without. Our Saviour wept at the foresight of these calamities; and it is almost impossible for persons of any humanity to read the relation of them without weeping too. The Jewish historian might well say, as he does in the preface to his history: “If the misfortunes of all, from the beginning of the world, were compared with those of the Jews, they would appear much inferior upon comparison. In short, no other city ever suffered such things, as no other generation from the beginning of the world was ever more fruitful of wickedness.” See Luk 21:22; Luk 21:38 and Bishop Newton

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Mat 24:21 . Those hindrances to flight are all the more to be deprecated that the troubles are to be unparalleled, and therefore a rapid flight will be a matter of the most urgent necessity.

] usque ad hoc tempus , Rom 8:22 . is not to be supplied here (Fritzsche). See, on the other hand, Mar 13:19 ; 1Ma 2:33 ; Plat. Parm . p. 152 C, Ep . xiii. p. 361 E. On the threefold negative , see Bornemann in the Stud. u. Krit . 1843, p. 109 f. For the expression generally, Plat. Tim . p. 38 A: ; Stallbaum, ad Rep . p. 492 E.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

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.

Ver. 21. Tribulation, such as was not, &c. ] Those very days “shall be affliction;” so Mark hath it, Mar 13:19 , . As if the very time were nothing else but affliction itself. He who can read the history of it without tears hath hardly the heart of a man in him. Besides those many that perished within the walls, Josephus tells us of 1,100,000 of them slain by the Romans, and 97,000 carried captive. Oh, see the severity of God and tremble! Rom 11:22 . Alterius perditio tua sit cautio. Scipio wept when he saw Carthage on fire. And when Saguntum was taken, the Romans were as much affected as if Hannibal fuisset ad portas, the enemy had been beating upon the walls of the Capitol.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

21, 22. ] In Mat 24:19 there is probably also an allusion to the horrors of the siege, which is here taken up by the . See Deu 28:49-57 , which was literally fulfilled in the case of Mary of Pera, related by Josephus, B. J. vi. 3. 4.

Our Lord still has in view the prophecy of Daniel (ch. Mat 12:1 ), and this citation clearly shews the intermediate fulfilment, by the destruction of Jerusalem, of that which is yet future in its final fulfilment: for Daniel is speaking of the end of all things. Then only will these words be accomplished in their full sense: although Josephus (but he only in a figure of rhetoric) has expressed himself in nearly the same language (B. J. prom. 4): .

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Mat 24:21-22 . he extremity of the distress .

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Mat 24:21 represents it as unparalleled before or after, n terms recalling those of Dan 12:1 ; Mat 24:22 as intolerable but for the shortness of the agony. (from , , mutilated) literally to cut off, e.g. , hands or feet, as in 2Sa 4:12 ; here figuratively to cut short the time: nisi breviati fuissent (Vulgate). The aorist here, as in next clause ( ), is used proleptically, as if the future were past, in accordance with the genius of prophecy. , etc.: the must be joined to the verb, and the meaning is: all flesh would be not saved ; joined to the sense would be not all flesh, i.e. , only some, would be saved. refers to escape from physical death; in Mat 24:13 the reference is to salvation in a higher sense. This is one of the reasons why this part of the discourse is regarded as not genuine. But surely Jesus cared for the safety both of body and soul ( vide Mat 10:22 ; Mat 10:30 ). The epistle of Barnabas (iv.) contains a passage about shortening of the days, ascribed to Enoch. Weizscker ( Untersuchungen , p. 125) presses this into the service of the Jewish apocalypse hypothesis. . : the use of this term is not foreign to the vocabulary of Jesus ( vide Mat 22:14 ), yet it sounds strange to our ears as a designation for Christians. It occurs often in the Book of Enoch, especially in the Similitudes. The Book begins: “The words of the blessing of Enoch, wherewith he blessed the elect and righteous who will be living in the day of tribulation when all the wicked and godless are removed” ( vide Charles, The Book of Enoch , p. 58). The idea attaching to the word here seems to be: those selected for deliverance in a time of general destruction = the preserved. And the thought expressed in the clause is that the preserved are to be preservers. Out of regard to their intercessions away amid the mountains, the days of horror will be shortened. A thought worthy of Jesus.

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

shall be, &c. See App-117. Quoted from Dan 12:1.

was not = has not arisen, or happened; same as “fulfilled”, Mat 24:34.

since = from, as in Mat 24:1.

the beginning. See note on Joh 8:44.

world. Greek. kosmos App-129.

nor ever = ou me. App-105; i.e. shall by no means happen.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

21, 22.] In Mat 24:19 there is probably also an allusion to the horrors of the siege, which is here taken up by the . See Deu 28:49-57, which was literally fulfilled in the case of Mary of Pera, related by Josephus, B. J. vi. 3. 4.

Our Lord still has in view the prophecy of Daniel (ch. Mat 12:1), and this citation clearly shews the intermediate fulfilment, by the destruction of Jerusalem, of that which is yet future in its final fulfilment: for Daniel is speaking of the end of all things. Then only will these words be accomplished in their full sense: although Josephus (but he only in a figure of rhetoric) has expressed himself in nearly the same language (B. J. prom. 4): .

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Mat 24:21. , from the beginning of the world) in the time of the Deluge, etc.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Psa 69:22-28, Isa 65:12-16, Isa 66:15, Isa 66:16, Dan 9:26, Dan 12:1, Joe 1:2, Joe 2:2, Zec 11:8, Zec 11:9, Zec 14:2, Zec 14:3, Mal 4:1, Mar 13:9, Luk 19:43, Luk 19:44, Luk 21:24, 1Th 2:16, Heb 10:26-29

Reciprocal: Exo 9:24 – none like 2Ki 21:12 – whosoever Psa 37:18 – the days Isa 30:17 – till ye Jer 12:12 – no Jer 30:7 – so Lam 1:12 – if Lam 4:6 – the punishment Eze 5:9 – that which Eze 7:5 – General Dan 9:12 – for under Zec 13:8 – two Mat 21:41 – He will Mar 13:19 – in those Luk 13:3 – ye shall Rom 9:28 – and cut 1Co 10:13 – hath 1Pe 4:10 – good

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

4:21

That the predictions of this verse were fulfilled can be proved by a number of historians. However, I shall quote from Josephus only on this point because he was a Jew and hence had a genuine interest in that nation. Moreover, not being a Christian, his testimony as a historian that so completely verifies the predictions of Jesus will be of special value. I will first quote direct from his own estimate of the sufferings of the Jews in Jerusalem in his preface to the history of the war. “Because it had so come to pass, that our city Jerusalem had arrived at a higher degree of felicity [happiness] than any other city under the Roman government, and yet at last fell into the sorest calamities again. Accordingly it appears to me, that the misfortune of all men, from the beginning of the world, if they be compared to those of the Jews, are not so considerable as they were; while the authors of them were not foreigners neither.” If Josephus had intended to point out the exact fulfillment of Christ’s predictions, he could not have used stronger language. That was not his purpose, for he was

not a disciple of Jesus and hence had no personal interest in him. But he was an able and truthful historian and gave us the facts of history. In giving the readers some details of the sufferings endured by the people in the city I shall not quote verbatim as it would require too much space. Instead, I shall make the statements and give the references to his history of the Jewish war, that the reader may find them and see the full account by consulting the volume, The Wars of the Jews.

The troubles of the people of Jerusalem during the war were many and great for they were divided into three seditious factions (5-1-1), provisions were wantonly destroyed (5-1-4), they ate corn unground and uncooked (5-10-2), children would snatch the last morsel from the parent, and the mother from the infant. Children were lifted from the ground by the food they held in their mouths. People were beaten who ate their food before the robbers arrived. Those who were suspected of having hidden some food were tortured by having sharp stakes driven up into their lower bowels (5-10-3), and the famine consumed whole families. Many died as they were burying others. There was no lamentation as the famine confounded all natural passions. A stupefying silence and awe overcame them (5-12-3). Some had swallowed their money, and then had their bodies ripped open by robbers (5-14-4). Some searched the sewers and manure piles for food (5-13-7) and ate hay, old shoes and leather (6-3-3). A mother roasted and ate her son (6-3-4); bloodshed was so great as to quench fire in the houses (6-8-5).

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Mat 24:21. Great tribulation, etc. Josephus, a Jew by birth and education, but a Roman in religion and sympathies, in describing the siege of Jerusalem, almost repeats the words of our Lord. From this great tribulation the Jewish Christians escaped by fleeing to Pella. The siege began at the time of the Passover feast, when the city was crowded. Internal dissensions combined with scarcity of food to multiply the horrors. One woman of rank, named Mary, too, killed and roasted her own babe (comp. Deu 28:53; Deu 28:56-57), and was discovered only by those who sought to rob her of food; yet even they shrank back at the sight. The resistance to the Romans was fanatical, despite the bloody discord within the city. When at last it was successfully stormed by Titus, the rage of the Roman soldiers, raised to the utmost by the stubborn resistance, was permitted to wreak itself unchecked upon the inhabitants. The sword made the whole city run with blood; while crucifixions by way of jest were very frequent. Eleven hundred thousand persons perished, the remainder were sold into slavery, or distributed throughout the Roman provinces to be destroyed by wild beasts. Thus the prophecy of Luk 21:24 was literally fulfilled. Yet the Roman leader who conducted these operations was one of the most excellent among the heathen.

Nor ever shall be. This seems to indicate that nothing analogous will occur again. But Mat 24:22 is so closely connected with this verse, that a double reference is probable even in Mat 24:15-21, which were most strikingly fulfilled in the first century. The final application would be to a sudden catastrophe before the coming of our Lord, which His people will be enabled to avoid, by recognizing the appearance of the signs He has given. Still these verses, of themselves, shed little light as yet on the subject of the last days. The final catastrophe is more plainly indicated in the subsequent part of the chapter.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

The doleful miseries and dreadful calamities which were coming upon the Jews in general, and upon Jerusalem in particular, are here foretold by our Saviour, partly from the Roman army without, and partly from the seditions and factions of the zealots within, who committed such outrages and slaughters, that there were no less than an hundred thousand slain, and ninety-seven thousand carried away captive, and made prisoners. They that bought our Saviour for thirty pence, were now themselves sold thirty for a penny. Now did the temple itself become a sacrifice, a whole burnt-offering, and was consumed to ashes.

Yet observe, Christ promises that these calamitous days shall be shortened for the elect’s sake. God had a remnant, which he determined should survive this destruction, to be an holy seed; and accordingly the providence of God so ordered, that the city was taken in six months, and the whole country depopulated in eighteen.

Whence observe, How the Lord intermixes some mercy with the extremest misery that doth befall a people for their sin. On this side hell, no sinners can say that they feel the strokes of justice to the utmost, or that they have judgment without mercy.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Jesus explained the reason for such hasty retreat. A tribulation much greater than any the world has ever seen or ever will see would be about to break on the Jews. This description fits the Old Testament pictures of the Great Tribulation, the last three and a half years of the Tribulation (Rev 11:2; Rev 13:5).

Again, the term "Tribulation" refers to the future seven-year period of distress, Daniel’s seventieth week (Jer 30:7; Dan 9:26). The term "Great Tribulation" refers to the last half or three and one-half years of that seven-year period (Mat 24:15-22), which Jeremiah called "the time of Jacob’s trouble" (Jer 30:6-7). During the first half of the Tribulation Israel will enjoy the protection of Antichrist’s covenant (Dan 9:27), but during the second half, after Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel, she will experience unprecedented persecution (Dan 9:27).

The description in this verse is not a fitting description of the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, as bad as that was. Certainly the Nazi holocaust in which an estimated six million Jews perished and other purges in which added multitudes have died have been worse times than the destruction of Jerusalem. Yet the Great Tribulation will be the worst of all times for the Jews. The coming distress would be unprecedented in its suffering (cf. Dan 12:1; Rev 7:14).

"In a century that has seen two world wars, now lives under the threat of extinction by nuclear holocaust, and has had more Christian martyrs than in all the previous nineteen centuries put together, Jesus’ prediction does not seem farfetched. But the age will not run its course; it will be cut short." [Note: Carson, "Matthew," pp. 502-3.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)