In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation (Ancient Greek: θλῖψις μεγάλη, romanized: thlîpsis megálē) is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end.
In the futurist view of Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation is a relatively short period of time where everyone will experience worldwide hardships, persecution, disasters, famine, war, pain, and suffering, which will affect all of creation, and precede judgment of all when the Second Coming takes place.
Another feature of the pre- and mid-tribulation beliefs is the idea that after the rapture, Christ will return for a third time (when also counting the first coming) to set up his kingdom on the earth.
Generally neither the Catholic Church, the various Orthodox and Anglican communions, nor the older Protestant denominations use the term "rapture", and tend toward amillennialism.
In this view, the millennium is regarded as the initial period of Christ's reign (manifested in the life and activity of the church) that began with the Pentecost and will lead up to the messiah's eventual return, with the outcome being a single and permanent event at the end of present time.
[10][11][12] In the Preterist view, the Tribulation took place in the past when Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70 during the end stages of the First Jewish–Roman War, and it only affected the Jewish people rather than all mankind.
Christian preterists believe that the Tribulation was a divine judgment visited upon the Jews for their sins, including rejection of Jesus as the promised Messiah.
A preterist discussion of the Tribulation has its focus on the Gospels, in particular the prophetic passages in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21, rather than on the Apocalypse or Book of Revelation.