Yes, but He also said that His return they would be eating and drinking, marry and giving in marriage until the flood comes. The tribulation will be worse than anything in history, but you wouldn't describe the holocaust as "marrying and giving in marriage". So it will be very fast, like throwing a switch.
Revelation 18 -- The Great Babylon is destroyed in an hour, like a millstone being tossed into the sea. If something catastrophic happened to the US, let's say an EMP wipes out the entire electric grid of the entire continental US, and then 7 major cities are vaporized in a nuclear attack, that could all take place in an hour. If that were to happen the entire stock market and bond market of the US would sink like a millstone to the bottom of the ocean. But it would be worse than just everyone being totally bankrupt and jobless in a single hour. All transportation nationwide would stop. An EMP would fry all the electronics and pumps. Without electricity the cars and trucks will not be able to drive, won't be able to get gas, and as a result all the major cities will be without food in two or three days. Without electricity you won't have any lights, any cameras, any security. Looting will skyrocket, riots will skyrocket, and within two weeks it will be bedlam. But it will be worse than that. The rapture is the "rescue", it is the Lord snatching us out of the way of this catastrophic event. When the church/remnant is raptured the angels and demons are released and sent to the earth. You will have 3 days of darkness like that described in Exodus and which the Lord referred to as "outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". That is how it starts. The country will be overrun with UN peacekeepers, many more Americans will fight back and be killed but then the Antichrist will ride in, take his mark, and order will be restored, of course if you do that you lose any chance at salvation. Refuse to take the mark and they chop your head off. This will take months and during that time you will see a very big revival as saints repent, turn to the Lord and spend their time in prayer and fasting. But eventually they will come looking for you, and you can run, but you can't hide. They will find every single one, they will hunt you down, and chop off your head including all your loved ones.