What do Christians call it? I'm still learning, but I believe we're in the times where there's war like in Ukraine vs Russia and rumors of war like China vs Taiwan, various pestilences, and we're coming into famine it seems. Do you call it the tribulation or am I wrong. Rapture is not what you call it until later right? Perhaps you call it pre-tribulation. Thanks
Jesus called it "the beginning of sorrows" (Matthew 24:6-8).
In Matthew 24:6 though, He revealed a point which many miss. He said we would hear of wars and rumors of wars,
but don't be troubled, because the end is not yet.
Many preachers simply skip over that last part underlined above, especially the Pre-trib Rapture theory preachers.
But what Jesus showed with that is that as long as wars and rumors of wars are going on, the "great tribulation" He warned about, is not yet. This means the opposite of 'wars' is the identifier for the 'end'.
So what's the opposite of a time of wars? Peace. So for the very end, the trib, it is to be a time of world peace, all wars having ended ("Who is like unto the beast? who is able make war with him?" - Rev.13:4).
At the setting up of the "abomination of desolation" by the false one prophesied in the Book of Daniel (Daniel 11, Daniel 9:27), that is officially when the "great tribulation" will have begun. That point is when the pseudo-Christ will demand that all bow to the "image of the beast" or be killed (Rev.13). And that is when the majority will say, "Christ is here, or there", and Jesus said to not believe it (Matthew 24:23-26). This is when the countdown of the 1260 days latter half of the Daniel 9:27 final "one week" will start.
Before that, with the "beginning of sorrows", is what we are in today, with wars and rumors of wars still going on, and earthquakes in various places, and pestilences and famines. When false-Messiah arrives, all that will stop. He will then setup a one-world Utopia-like kingdom over all peoples and nations, and proclaim himself as God and over all that is even called God, or that is worshiped.