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Matthew 24 is part of the Olivet Discourse, a prophetic section of Scripture in which Jesus provides an overview of future events as they relate to Israel. In the discourse, Jesus answers three questions the disciples had just asked in Matthew 24:3: 1) When will the destruction of the temple happen? 2) What will be the sign of Your coming? And 3) What will be the sign of the end of the age? “Those days” that Jesus mentions in verses 19, 22, and 29 refer to the seven-year end-times tribulation, specifically the second half of that period, often called the “Great Tribulation” based on Matthew 24:21 (ESV).
Jesus’ first mention of “those days” comes in Matthew 24:19. Here is the context of that statement:
So when you see standing in the holy place “the abomination that causes desolation,” a spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:15–24)
In the context of the Olivet Discourse, Jesus sketches a rough timeline of events preceding and following “those days”:Before Those Days
Leading up to “those days,” or the Great Tribulation, many false messiahs “will deceive many” (Matthew 24:5). There will be “wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6) and “famines and earthquakes in various places” (Matthew 24:7). Followers of Christ will face deadly persecution, many will turn apostate, and wickedness will increase. Tragically, “the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).
Based on some of the events that occur during the Great Tribulation, the temple in Jerusalem must also be rebuilt in the time leading up to “those days.”
During Those Days
Jesus points to a singular event that will usher in the Great Tribulation: “The abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, [will be] standing in the holy place” (Matthew 24:15, ESV). The prophet Daniel spoke of this abomination of desolation three times (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). The NLT’s wording is “the sacrilegious object that causes desecration.”
The person who causes this desecration is the Antichrist, who will consolidate his political power midway through the tribulation period. Daniel says that his “armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice” (Daniel 11:31). John predicts the duration of the Antichrist’s rule, saying he will “utter proud words and blasphemies and . . . exercise [his] authority for forty-two months” (Revelation 13:5). Paul calls him “the man of lawlessness” and prophesies that “he will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
Under the Antichrist’s dictatorial rule, “those days” will include intense persecution of the Jews. This is why Jesus says, when those times begin, anyone in Judea should “flee to the mountains” (Matthew 24:16). The Antichrist will also demand to be worshiped and seek to kill anyone who refuses to follow him (Revelation 13).
Throughout the seven-year tribulation, God sends judgment on the rebellious world. Revelation 6–16 detail the plagues that will befall the ungodly. Jesus summarized the second half of the tribulation as a time of “great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive” (Matthew 24:21–22). “Those days” will be terrible in the extreme (see the bowl judgments of Revelation 16).
After Those Days
Jesus said that “immediately after the distress of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven” (Matthew 24:29–30; cf. Isaiah 13:10; 34:4). This describes the end of the tribulation. Celestial signs will appear, and Christ Himself will return to earth. John further describes the scene:
I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. . . . He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. (Revelation 19:12–15; cf. Psalm 2:9)
When Jesus returns, He will establish Himself as king in Jerusalem, sitting on the throne of David (see Luke 1:32–33). He will separate the righteous from the unrighteous (Matthew 25:31–46) and rule the earth in peace and justice for 1,000 years (see Isaiah 35; Ezekiel 36; Revelation 20:1–6). During the millennial reign of Christ, the Abrahamic, David, and Land covenants will be fulfilled as Israel is re-gathered from the nations (Matthew 24:31), converted (Zechariah 12:10–14), and restored to their land.“Those days” in Matthew 24:19—those awful days of judgment and destruction—will be followed by a time of obedience (Jeremiah 31:33), holiness (Isaiah 35:8), truth (Isaiah 65:16), and the knowledge of God (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14). God will restore His people, and His plan for them is one of prosperity and hope (see Jeremiah 29:11).
