Deuteronomy 31:14-18 God told Moses that one day Israel would fall away and end up in idolatry and become the object of God's wrath. He declared He would "surely hide My face in that day." What day? Deuteronomy 32:15-21 Jeshurun (Jerusalem) will grow self-sufficient and forget God. They will provoke God to the point He will spurn them.
Deuteronomy 32:20-21
20 "Then He said, 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom is no faithfulness.
21 'They have made Me jealous with what is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation,
God the Father, rebukes His children and goes on to warn them He will scatter them and provoke them to anger by a foolish nation (The Gentiles). Paul quotes this passage in Romans 11 where he declares God has temporarily hardened the hearts of the Jews, until the fullness or times of the Gentiles has come in, and then all Israel will be saved! It's an incredible rebuke. But, take note, it ends on a high note for God will not reject his people permanently;
Deuteronomy 32:36
36 "For the LORD will vindicate His people, And will have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their strength is gone, And there is none remaining, bond or free.
In the last days God will bring Israel to the end of their strength so that Israel will cry out to Him. In total and complete brokenness the Remnant of Israel will cry out to God.
Jeremiah 30:5-7
5 "For thus says the LORD, 'I have heard a sound of terror, Of dread, and there is no peace.
6 'Ask now, and see If a male can give birth. Why do I see every man With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth? And why have all faces turned pale?
7 'Alas! for that day is great, There is none like it; And it is the time of Jacob's distress (trouble), But he will be saved from it.
Daniel 12:1
1 "Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
How does the future "Time of Jacob’s Trouble" begin? It will break out in the land of Israel, in the city of Jerusalem when the Abomination of Desolation occurs in the holy place on the Temple Mount (rebuilt temple). If, and when, you see the Abomination Of Desolation, it means you are most definitely living in the days of the Second Coming of the Messiah.
How long will Jacob’s Trouble last? The prophecy is clear, 42 months, or 3 ½ years or 1,260 days, or a time, times and half a time. None of this has happened yet.
What is the scope or magnitude of Jacob’s Trouble? Using hurricane measurement, it will far exceed a category 5! Daniel 12:1 tells us it will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time. To put in in perspective, that suggests it’s going to be more devastating than the Babylonian invasion, Antiochus Epiphanes' abomination of the temple, Rome's destruction in Jerusalem in 70 A.D and the Nazi holocaust. The Time Jacob’s trouble will be beyond staggering.
Jesus warns us;
Matthew 24:21-22
21 "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
22 "Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
It is referred to as the Great Tribulation by Jesus. Nothing in the past or future will be worse that the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. It is the greatest crisis Israel will ever endure.
Zechariah 13:7-9
7 "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the LORD of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.
8 "It will come about in all the land," Declares the LORD, "That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it.
9 "And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"
Two thirds of Israel will be destroyed in the future great tribulation, leaving only one third to be preserved alive to fight against Antichrist and make up the nation that will be born again in a day at the second coming of Christ. The remnant will be saved.
Zechariah 14:1-4
1 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle.
4 In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south.
Luke 21:24 (NASB)
24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Zechariah 13:8 Two parts of Israel will be destroyed in the future great tribulation, leaving only one part (the remnant) to be preserved alive to fight against Antichrist and make up the nation that will be born again in a day at the second coming of Christ.
Romans 9:27
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel, "THOUGH THE NUMBER OF THE SONS OF ISRAEL BE LIKE THE SAND OF THE SEA, IT IS THE REMNANT THAT WILL BE SAVED;
Isaiah 4:2-6 In that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel. Those who are left in Zion, who remain in Jerusalem, will be called holy, all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion; he will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire. Then the LORD will create over all of Mount Zion and over those who assemble there a cloud of smoke by day and a glow of flaming fire by night; over all the glory will be a canopy. It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.
See Video "Jacob's Trouble" by Joel Richardson