I hear people regularly citing a variety of things as signs of Jesus' return. However, the things they cite are listed by Jesus as simply things that will happen. Matthew 24:6 - "And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. " None of these are signs of the end.
The end is not yet.
More things are listed as things that will happen that are not signs.
Then, we come to a specific statement whose punctuation has muddled the waters since 1611. People say things like, "once the Gospel is preached in every language, Jesus will come back." All of that comes from verses 13 through 15.
They read, "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
"
The punctuation makes the last "sentence" a sequence of phrases that do not make a sentence. That is the first clue.
They SHOULD read:
"But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. (This gospel is 'he that endures to the end will be saved.')
And then shall the end come when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place. (whoso readeth, let him understand
"
The abomination of desolation is THE sign of the end. All the other things may happen. But they are not the signs of the end. They are signs of the ongoing depravity of humankind. Verse 21 tells us the great tribulation will begin. Verse 29 says the great tribulation will end. Only then will the believers be gathered.
Verses 33 and 34 say, "So likewise ye, when ye shall see
all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."
"All these things"
include the abomination of desolation and the great tribulation. The generation that sees the abomination of desolation AND the great tribulation will not pass until all these things are fulfilled. At this time in history, things will be the worst they have ever been. In spite of the horror around us, we are told to not lose hope. "He that endures to the end will be saved."
We have a second confirming witness.
2 Thessalonians 2;1-5 says Jesus will not return, and the believers will not be gathered, until the man of sin is revealed. How is he revealed? He goes into the Temple and sits on the throne of YHVH, de facto declaring himself to be God. This is the abomination of desolation. Sitting on YHVH's throne, declaring himself to be God, enrages the Father. This is what triggers the sequence of events that lead to the end.
So, where is YHVH's throne?
For more info about the abomination of desolation, read the books of the Maccabees.