Luke 21:7They questioned Him, saying, "Teacher when, therefore will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?"

The apostles questioned Jesus about the time of His return and the signs associated with it.   Jesus in turn, answered them with a chronological description of the events they would go through before His return. We use this Chronology to create the Tribulation Timeline.

Jesus gave his apostles the details of a persecution that would end with the rapture/escape from the tribulations we would suffer.  He also mentioned that the tribulation would reach an intensity that "for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short" Matthew 24:22. 

The book of Matthew, chapter 24, the book of Luke, chapter 21 and the book of Revelation, chapter 6 and 7, all relate the same sequence of events.  These events are also discussed in Timeline for Revelation, and  Time for the Rescue.  In this discussion we will follow the references given in the book of Luke.

Timeline

1- Persecution of Christians

Luke 21:12
But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake.

Luke 21:13-16
It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.  So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,

Luke 21:17-19
and you will be hated by all because of My name. Yet not a hair of your head will perish.  By your endurance you will gain your lives.

Even though some of them would pay with their lives, they would gain eternal life, because God has the power to resurrect them.

2- Jerusalem Surrounded by Armies

Luke 21:20
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near.

Luke 21:21
Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city;

Here the persecution shifts to a national scale.
It is well know historically that the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem 2 years before AD 70 and then they left.  Two years later the armies returned and destroyed the city.  Those that did not heed the warning of leaving the city when they first saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies had to suffer a lot more than the ones who left at the first sign of trouble.

3- Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple

Luke 21:6
As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.

Luke 21:22
because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

Luke 21:23
Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land and wrath to this people;

4- Fall by Edge of Sword, Captive into All Nations

Luke 21:24
and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations;

The tribulation that Jesus is relating was for the Jews inhabiting the land of Israel, especially Jerusalem; it cannot be construed that it has anything to do with other nations or a tribulation at a later time.

5- Jerusalem Trampled by Gentiles 

Luke 21:24
and Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The time of the gentiles has not been fulfilled yet.  The ruins of JHWH's Holy Temple are still in gentile  hands and the Jews have no access to the grounds of the temple.  Instead of  JHWH's temple there is an abomination  rising on  its grounds.

The control of Jerusalem by gentiles is an event that has spanned centuries -- but our Messiah Jesus prophesied that it would end.

6-False Teachers

Luke 21:8
And He said, "See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not go after them.

False teachers started since the time of Christ and they are still with us.  This is another way in which Satan tries to deceive those that could be saved.

7-Wars

Luke 21:10
Then He continued by saying to them, "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,

8-Earthquakes, Plagues, and Famines

Luke 21:11
and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines;

9-Signs in Heaven, Earth, and Sea

Luke 21:11
and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Luke 21:25
There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves,

The signs in the sun, moon and stars come along when there will also be  roaring of the sea.  

July 19, 2001 Posted: 8:23 PM EDT (0023 GMT)

More powerful hurricanes could blast the East Coast

By John Zarrella
CNN Miami Bureau Chief

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Weather researchers think the evidence is now clear: A major shift in the climate has taken place that has brought about an increase in major hurricanes. The period of heightened activity could last for decades, and unleash a catastrophic storm on the United States, according to meteorologists.

These huge storms develop not only in the Atlantic, but also in the Pacific ocean, where they are called typhoons.

September 11, 2001 Posted: 5:01 AM EDT (0901 GMT)

After hitting land, Danas is forecast to weaken further

TOKYO, Japan -- Typhoon Danas bore down on Japan's capital after killing five people, triggering landslides and floods and shutting down the country's famous bullet trains.

Although weakening to severe tropical storm status early in the day, Danas was still packing winds of 108 kph (67 mph).

It made landfall near the ancient capital city of Kamakura, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) southwest of Tokyo, and marched slowly over the modern capital of Tokyo at 25 kph (15 mph).

In the summer of 2004, four hurricanes hit the State of Florida as in a rapid fire attack, causing devastation along their path.

Hurricane Charley hit Punta Gorda, Florida on Saturday August 14, 2004 like a 145 mph sledgehammer, leaving almost a million people without power and 7-8 billion in damage.

Hurricane Frances struck Port St. Lucie, Florida on the eastern seaboard 3 weeks after Charley, on Saturday September 4, 2004.  This hurricane was as big as the state of Texas causing the biggest evacuation in Florida's history.  Four million people were left without power and 2-4 billion in damage.

Insurance experts  say claims will go over 2 million, surpassing the 700,000 claims filed in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew, the nation's most costly hurricane in history. 

In 2005 three monster hurricanes caused major damage; Katrina, Rita, and Wilma.  Katrina devastated New Orleans to an extreme in which no city had suffered from a hurricane any time before in history.
The hurricanes that are developing nowadays are huge storms of a magnitude never before experienced -- due to global warming.

Although old people could faint and have heart attacks with the experience of  a hurricane, we believe that what is coming is much worse than any hurricane.  The reason is 

Luke 21:26
men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

We believe that the "powers of heaven shaken" will be possible when the earth is struck by a meteor.  See newsletter.

This shaking will create enormous tidal waves that will wipe out all life from islands and coastlands.  The tidal waves will go in through major rivers and devastate cities along their banks.

We know people will hide under the earth as stated in. 

Revelation 6:15-16. The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. They say to the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb."

See the file - Into the Caves.

This is because the are afraid of something from above. They believe that Christ the lamb is responsible for the "falling stars" and other events that are happening. The devastation caused by an incoming meteor is far worse than any earthquake, volcano, or hurricane. To move every island and mountain on the face of the earth requires a large impact.

Revelation 6:14. The sky separated as if a scroll were being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. 

Isaiah 34:4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falls off from the vine, and as a falling [fig] from the fig tree. 

The sequence of events is as follows. 

1. People feel a great earthquake. (the impact)
2. Sun turns black. (dust from meteor hitting ground blocks out sun)
3. Moon turns blood red. (fine dust stays in upper atmosphere)
4. Falling stars (smaller fragments of  meteor reach the earth)
5. Heaven separated as a scroll (caused by fragments that bounce off the atmosphere)
6. Every mountain and island moved from their places (multiple impacts causing tidal waves)
7. Men hide in caves (the fragments keep coming)

After these events, things go back to normal.  The survivors will be eating and drinking. 

10-Christ Appearance

Luke 21:28
But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.

Luke 21:29-32
Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.  Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place.

The generation that sees the signs in the sun, moon, stars and raging of the sea will not pass away till the coming of Christ is fulfilled.

Luke 21:33
Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

Luke 21:34
Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap;

Luke 21:35
for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth.

Luke 21:36
Watch you therefore, and pray always, that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

We should be praying that we will be able to escape the tribulation on this earth to the new heavens and new earth where Jesus will be taking us.  Satan will try to impede the escape as it is related by John in  Revelation 12:15  but God will help us if we are faithful and keep close to Him in prayer.  See The Woman with 12 Stars, 

The tribulation for JHWH's followers will therefore end when they are rescued out of this earth from the persecution instigated by Satan.  Away from this earth Satan has no more access, and  the  humans which are taken to Paradise will not  have the  negative influence of the Devil. 

Compare the details about the tribulation given in  Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Re 7.  

Revelation 7 has the same sequence of events that Christ gave in the book of Luke.

Revelation 7:14
I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The people that decide not to go with Jesus during the rapture are the group that is left behind.  These Christians will realize that it is no fun to suffer the persecution of the one-world government of the beast.  

The wrath of God starts after the seventh seal is opened. This is the way God finally dethrones Satan and the unrepentant human leaders responsible for the destruction of this planet.  

Actually this information is explained in more detail in Wrath of God and Timeline for Revelation.