The time of Jacob's Trouble, also known as the Great Tribulation, is a period of intense punishment and humbling for the nations of Israel, as foretold in biblical prophecy. This time is a necessary part of God's process to prepare Israel for their role in the Millennium, refining a people who will have the right attitude to fulfill their covenant promises. It is a unique and unprecedented era, marked by ultimate fear, bloody and cruel war, defeat from the Israelite perspective, captivity, enslavement, and a great scattering of the people from their land. Most significantly, God Himself is the cause of this tribulation, owning it as a necessary act of justice and correction due to Israel's unfaithfulness and amassed sins. Despite the severity, it is done in love, though it will offer little comfort to those enduring it. God has warned Israel from the beginning of their covenant relationship of the consequences of disobedience, with escalating disasters promised for continued sin and refusal to repent. These punishments, detailed in ancient texts, include terror, disease, military defeat, humiliation, famine, siege, cannibalism, desolation, and scattering. Such warnings are seen as prophetic of the Great Tribulation, indicating that Israel's Day of the Lord will be a time of divine wrath preceding that of the rest of the world, as God deals with His people first as an example. The historical fall of Israel serves as a type for the coming fall of modern Israel, with the Great Tribulation being an antitype of far greater severity due to the culmination of centuries of sin. Specific sins of Israel, such as preying on the righteous and poor, corrupting the humble, engaging in sexual perversity, taking advantage of the less fortunate, distorting justice, committing idolatry, forgetting God, and silencing those who teach His way, contribute to the burden of sin that weighs heavily upon Him. This burden becomes so great that God declares it is enough, responding in wrath to cleanse His people. The Great Tribulation is set to occur immediately before the return of Christ, lasting three and a half years, during which Israel will face severe trouble due to their sins. God will save a remnant of Israel, not making a complete end of them, and those saved will be restored as servants of God. This period of Jacob's Trouble serves as a stark reminder of the consequences of unfaithfulness, urging a focus on overcoming sin to avoid being caught in the impending wrath.

Jacob's Trouble will be a time of unprecedented severity, described by Jesus Christ as a great tribulation unlike any since the beginning of the world. This intense distress is necessary to break through the stubbornness of the Israelites, a tough people who have grown increasingly secular and resistant to God's Word. It will take a tremendous amount of suffering for them to relinquish their worldly predispositions and accept the truth of their identity and obligations as God's people. Through this tribulation, Israel will be humbled and brought to a point of weeping and pleas for mercy. They will finally recognize their need for God, a concept foreign to the nations of Israel today. This period of breaking through destruction will pave the way for reconciliation with God, allowing them to see how they have fallen short and what is expected of them. God will once again be their Father, and they will resume their place as His people.

The descendants of Israel, scattered from their God-given homeland, now face a dire future due to their sins. As foretold, their excess of evil defiles the good they produce, invoking God's punishment as described in Deuteronomy 28:15, 20. Just as the Assyrians once drove ancient Israel from their land, so too will modern Israel reap the whirlwind of war, captivity, and exile for their transgressions. Jeremiah 30:7-11 speaks of Jacob's Trouble, a time of severe devastation for Israel, yet also of God's deliverance. He, as a wise Father, disciplines His children to provoke change and repentance. Though Israel remains stiff-necked and stubborn, refusing to yield until they suffer terribly, God will eventually gain their attention. Once they turn to Him, He is quick to help, promising a second exodus. God will regather Israel after their punishment, not for mere nostalgia, but to bring them to conversion, desiring them to once again be a model nation showing the world His way. Though the coming days are dark and terrible, with many perishing, those who remain will be humbled and ready to submit to God, pleading for His forgiveness, redemption, and salvation, which He will gladly grant.