In Luke 21:20-24, Jesus continued his description of the global events that would come to pass because Israel rejected him. This text uses language that could apply to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. However, a closer look reveals that Jesus looked beyond the first century to the years immediately preceding his Second Coming. His description of those days tells a heart-wrenching story of human cruelty and divine judgment. But the paragraph concludes with a glimmer of hope. The trouble of those days signals the immanent return of Jesus the King.