<p>13:24 <i>But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened- </i>After the tribulation, as it was when Jesus died (Lk. 23:45 s.w.). Israel&rsquo;s tribulation will make them understand what He went through. The context has been the Lord&rsquo;s insistence that His coming will be obviously visible, like lightening in the sky, and the reference to &ldquo;the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven&rdquo; / the sky (Mt. 24:30) would suggest that a literal sign in the sky is what the Lord has in mind. The allusion to the crucifixion would also require a literal element of fulfilment. The additional information given in Rev. 8:12; 9:2 suggests that this darkening of sun and stars happens progressively, although that may be over a period of only a few literal days. There are reports of such signs being seen over Jerusalem in the lead up to AD70, the appearance of comets etc. However it seems to me that Josephus had access to the Olivet prophecy and some of the wording of his historical claims is so similar to the Lord&rsquo;s words that I personally doubt the degree of real fulfilment that was going on; rather do I suspect he was consciously alluding to the Lord&rsquo;s words and wishing to see them fulfilled in the history he was recording. That is not the same thing as AD70 actually fulfilling in detail the Olivet prophecy.</p><p><i>And the moon shall not give her light</i>- Joseph's dream clearly identifies these symbols as representing Israel. The passages which make this same identification are many: Gen. 37:9,10; 15:5; 22:17; Amos 8:8-10;&nbsp; Micah 3:6; Song of Solomon 6:10; Is. 24:23; Jer. 33:20-26; JoeI 2:10,30-32; 3:15; Acts 2:20; Rev. 6:12; 8:12; 12:1. Jer. 31:35,36 is likely the Old Testament passage the Lord specifically had in mind: &quot;Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who divides the sea when the waves thereof roar; the Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from before me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever&quot;. Only here do we find &quot;sun, moon, and stars&quot; combined with &quot;sea and waves roaring&quot; as in the Olivet prophecy in Luke 21. In Luke He spoke of &quot;On the earth distress of&nbsp;<i>nations&nbsp;</i>(Gentile nations causing distress in the earth / land of Israel) with perplexity&hellip; men's hearts failing them for fear and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth (or land, of Israel)&rdquo;. The Greek word translated &quot;perplexity&quot; is used in the LXX concerning the final tribulation of Israel (Lev. 26:16; Dt. 28:22; Is. 5:30; 8:20 LXX).&nbsp;</p>