Been out of the loop all day traveling from one end of the country to the other, which is why I haven't been able to respond.
Just to make things clear, Jesus did say there would be "A great tribulation" before His coming, but that great tribulation was meant for Jerusalem. It has nothing to do with us.
{20} "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. {22} because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. {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; {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. Luke 21:20-24 (NASB)
This is the same desolation Christ told them would befall Jerusalem in Matthew 23:
{37} "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. {38} "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! Matthew 23:37-38 (NASB)
Now, where most people get confused is the "coming" part of the Olivet Discourse and what they need to understand that what He meant by His coming is not how people today understand it!
He was coming in judgment upon those who pierced Him and to reward those who remained true to God's Word: His elect, the remnant of Israel God has always saved through times of judgment. You can find them in Revelation 7: they are the 12,000 from every tribe of Israel.
Now, if the following passage doesn't convince people here to adjust their thinking about His coming, then there's simply nothing left to write:
{29} Then He told them a parable: "Behold the fig tree and all the trees;
{30} as soon as they put forth
leaves, you see it and know for yourselves that summer is now near.
{31} "So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. {32} "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. {33} "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
{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;
{35} for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth [land,YLT].
{36} "But keep on the alert at all times,
praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:29-36 (NASB)
Let me reiterate verse 35 from Young's Literal Translation:
{35} for as a snare it shall come
on all those dwelling on the face of all the land,
Luke 21:35 (YLT)
What land? The land of Israel.
This all happened in 70 AD. But don't take my word for it, take Jesus at His word. :yes
(I wonder where those crazy apostles got the idea He was coming back in their lifetime?)