In the Gospel of Matthew, the disciples asked the Lord Jesus what the sign of His coming would be and when the end of the age would come (Matthew 24:3).

In His answer, the Lord Jesus describes the events that will take place before His second coming. He speaks of the deception of false messiahs, of wars, earthquakes, famines, and epidemics characteristic of the period described as “the beginning of birth pains.”

The fact that the events prophesied in the Bible are unfolding in our time leads us to believe that we are now living in the last days of this age and that the Lord Jesus will come soon. This is our blessed hope. The prophecies show that, despite the troubles and sufferings on earth, those who trust in the Lord will have a happy ending. The Lord Jesus will return to save humanity from its own destruction and will judge it with justice. Then He will cast out the wicked—those responsible for the present evil—and establish His Kingdom on earth, where peace and justice will reign.

The less encouraging news is the warning that the Lord Jesus gives regarding a unique period of the Great Tribulation. Human wickedness will reach its peak in history, and the earth will be struck by calamities: “For then there will be such great tribulation as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would survive; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short” (Matthew 24:21–22).

We are already in the last days, so the outlook is not very encouraging. We are already seeing the problems that plague the world, with the marginalization of Christianity and the persecution of Christians, particularly in the Muslim world and in communist countries such as China and North Korea.

How will we be able to cope with these calamities? The Bible says that true believers, born again of the Spirit of God, will be raptured into heaven before the Great Tribulation begins. First, we must note that, regardless of one’s view on the timing of the Rapture, Christians will face certain trials: “I have told you these things so that you may have peace in Me. In the world you will have trouble; but take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

It is true that Christians in Europe or America face lighter trials than those living in countries ravaged by war or persecution. However, no one can guarantee that this situation will not change before the Lord’s return. It is possible that the West will be shaken by massive crises that could bring a wave of persecution upon Christians here as well. On a personal level, each of us faces hardships and severe trials at every stage of life. However, distinct from this, the Bible describes a specific period of Tribulation, not only in the books of Matthew and Revelation but also in other passages of the Bible.

This period of great tribulation will follow the Rapture and will last seven years. The Apostle Paul writes to the Thessalonians about this event: “For the Lord Himself, with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).

Those who are caught up to heaven will be brought before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10), where they will be judged for their deeds (1 Corinthians 3:13–15), receive glorious bodies  (1 Corinthians 15:50–54), and will take part in the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:1–9). Then they will return to earth with the Lord Jesus in glorified bodies and will reign with Him in the Messianic Kingdom (Revelation 19:11–20:6).

After the Rapture, the earth will go through the Great Tribulation. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse will bring war, famine, and death to millions of people (Revelation 6). When the Beast and the False Prophet come to power, enforcing worship of a false god, humanity will be ruled by the darkest tyranny in history (Revelation 13).  God’s judgment will be unleashed upon the Beast, the False Prophet, and those who follow them through the calamities that will strike the earth—through the judgment of the seals, the trumpets, and the bowls. Finally, the nations of the world will gather at Armageddon for the final battle, before the Messiah returns with great power and glory, bringing this terrible period to an end. He will judge the world and reign from the Temple that will have been rebuilt in Jerusalem on a renewed earth during the 1,000-year millennial reign (Revelation 16–19).

Even during the Tribulation, there will be people who will receive the Lord Jesus as their Savior, and many of them will have to seal their professed faith with their lives (Revelation 7). We believe, however, that these will be people who had not previously attended church and had not been flirting with sin as many Christians do today, because God Himself will send them a delusion so that they may believe a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11).

The faithful who die during the Tribulation after the return of the Lord Jesus, will be resurrected (Revelation 20), and those who survive the Tribulation as believers will enter the millennial period in mortal bodies and repopulate the earth. The unbelievers who survive will stand before the Lord at the judgment of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25), will be cast out of the earth, and will not enter the Messianic Kingdom. Satan will be bound during the millennial period and then released for a short time at the end of the millennium, when he will gather those who have rebelled against the Lord. Then will come the end of this world, for the Lord Jesus will create a new heaven and a new earth where believers from all ages will dwell forever.

In verses 36–44, He describes an event that will take place at an unknown time, involving “one taken and another left behind,” and tells the disciples to be prepared for this event “because the Son of Man will come when you least expect it.” This message is given to believers, and it stands to reason that it refers to the same event mentioned by the apostle Paul (1 Thessalonians 5:1–2 / Matthew 24:36, 43).

But let’s take a closer look at the passage in the Gospel of Matthew 24. In the first three sections, we see that each one describes, in turn, a different aspect of the Lord’s coming. Each section concludes with the Lord’s coming and then returns to describe specific details about the events of the last days. The first section, verses 5–14, describes the general signs: wars, famines, earthquakes, the persecution of Christians, false prophets, the wickedness of people, and the Gospel reaching the Gentiles. Verses 15–30 describe the events of the Great Tribulation in greater detail, from the “abomination of desolation” to “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with great power and glory.” Verses 31–44 describe the gathering of the elect, where “one is taken and one is left,” and conclude with “the Son of Man coming at an unexpected hour.” Three parables follow: the parables of the good and the wicked servants, the wise and the foolish virgins, and the talents. The conclusion, with the image of “the sheep and the goats” (25:31–45), is not actually a parable, but a description of the coming of the Son of Man at the Last Judgment.

It is worth noting that in the following verses, the Lord Jesus emphasizes several times the unknown date of His coming and the repeated call to watchfulness. “But about that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). “Watch, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If the master of the house had known at what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. Therefore, you also must be ready; for the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him” (Matthew 24:42–44).

The Lord Jesus gives us a sign to recognize regarding His return—the sign of the fig tree. The fig tree is a symbol of the life of the nation of Israel in Hosea 9:10 and Jeremiah 24. When the Lord Jesus said that the fig tree would be cut down if it did not bear fruit, He was clearly speaking of Israel without the fruit of God’s righteousness and of Israel’s impending judgment, the fall of Jerusalem, and the scattering of the Jewish people (Luke 13:6–9).

In the Gospel of Matthew 21:19, we read that the Lord Jesus cursed the fig tree, and the fig tree withered (Matthew 21:19). This unusual miracle had spiritual significance—that the national life of Israel was about to wither away. The sprouting of the fig tree will be a visible sign to people throughout the world of a great event—the return of the Messiah. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 24:32–33: “Learn this lesson from the fig tree: When its branch becomes tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, you will know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door.” (Matthew 24:32–33)

The fig tree’s sprouting—that is, the rebirth of Israel as a nation—along with the other signs of the coming, are taking place right in our own day—we recognize the coming of the Lord to gather His people to Himself.

The two parables emphasize that the Lord’s coming will be at an unexpected time: “But about that day or hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36)   “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come” (Matthew 25:13). At the moment of the Lord Jesus’ coming, life will be proceeding as usual, when, suddenly, one will be taken and another left behind: “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Just as it was in the days before the flood, when people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, right up to the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away—so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:37–39). Everything becomes even clearer in the account in the Gospel of Luke, where the Day of the Lord will come like the days of Lot: “What happened in the days of Noah will happen just the same in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark; and the flood came and destroyed them all (Luke 17:26–36).

What happened in the days of Lot will happen in the same way: people were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building; but on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.

Imagine what it would mean not to be caught up to heaven and to find yourself in the time of Tribulation, seeing the sun grow dark, the moon turn to blood, and the stars fall from the sky like figs, with all the mountains shifted from their places: “When the Lamb broke the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake. The sun turned black as sackcloth, the moon turned entirely blood-red, and the stars fell from the sky to the earth, just as unripe figs fall from a tree when it is shaken by a strong wind. The sky rolled up like a scroll. And all the mountains and islands were moved from their places. The kings of the earth, the rulers, the commanders of the armies, the rich and the powerful—all the slaves and all the free people—hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of His wrath has come, and who can stand?” (Revelation 6:12–17). These verses depict the unique events that foreshadow the great day of God’s wrath—the disintegration of the fixed and stable world as we know it—as also described in the Old Testament prophecies about “the Day of the Lord” (Isaiah 13:10, Joel 2:10, 3:15).

Knowing all these biblical passages, we must be ready for the Lord’s coming, have the assurance of salvation through repentance and faith in Him, be cleansed from sin and filled with the Holy Spirit, and await His coming: “For the grace of God, which brings salvation to all people, has been revealed, teaching us to renounce idolatry and worldly desires and to live in this present age with self-control, righteousness, and godliness, as we await our blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11–14).