Those days shall be shortened

[exrockstar]

Hello I am new again here. I was on this board a few years ago. I am not sure what user name I was using because I was on several differ forums with different names, but I wasn’t banned or anything.

Good read. Interesting

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, A Rogue Spook.

Hello I am new again here. I was on this board a few years ago. I am not sure what user name I was using because I was on several differ forums with different names, but I wasn’t banned or anything. I had to travel for work the last few years and I am now settled in one location for awhile and have found some time to try to participate in a prophecy forum once again.

I have found many interesting studies over the years concerning Matthew 24, and I believe this chapter of Matthew has some of the most misinterpreted conclusion in the study of prophecy. On this topic I believe there are only two conclusions in an analytical study of what is actually being said. First we must establish context. In verse 22 CHRIST says, “ And except those days should be shortened”. What days are CHRIST referring to? In the context of what is being read we must conclude HE is referring to the days of the period of time HE was just describing in verses 15-21 of Matthew 24. This time period to be shortened begins during the period after the A.O.D. has taken place. Most believe this is the second 3 ½ half year period of the tribulation. Each 3 ½ year period of time are also described in Revelation as 42 months, or 1260 days.

Matthew 24 JKV

15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

16Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:

17Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:

18Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

19And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

21For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

I also believe most all prophetic scripture has a parallel scripture describing its fulfillment, and I believe the parallel fulfillment for Matthew 24 verse 22, is Revelation 8 verse 12.

Revelation 8 KJV

7The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

8And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;

9And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

10And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

11And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

12And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.

Now, here is where we must look very close at what we are reading. CHRIST reveals in Matthew that HE will shorten the days. There are only two possible physical conclusions here. HE either shortens the number of days of the 1260 days mention as the duration of the period HE describes, or HE shortens the length of the days themselves, shortening the actual time in hours for the 1260 days to pass. This is a physical possibility. Looking at the judgments of the first three trumpets, the earth is being pounded by objects entering the atmosphere from space. The first trumpets are the smaller objects crashing into the earth causing fires that destroy a third of the tree and all the grass. The 2nd trumpet describes an object the size of a mountain being cast into the sea. The 3rd is another object hitting the earth poisoning the fresh waters. I believe the 4th trumpet is the result of the aftermath of the first three. I believe these are meteors or possibly asteroids. Read the 4th trumpet very carefully as to what it is actually saying. In the description of trumpet 4, “the day shone not for a third part of it”, it then says, “and the night likewise”. I believe the impacts from the inbound objects as described in the first three trumpets may accelerate the speed of the earth’s rotation. This will shorten the length of the remaining days by a third, and also the night likewise. Shortening the day in hours by a third equals 8 hours, so the length of a day will be 16 hours instead of 24.

This sounds bizarre, wild, even crazy, but under an analyst this is one of the two possible conclusions. Not saying that this is the correct possibility, only that it is a possibility.

However if this is the correct assumption of the two, here is what can be explained and expected.

1.CHRIST can fulfill HIS promise to shorten the days, not in number, but by their length.

2.The 1260 days can be maintained, because Genesis defines a day as an evening and a morning. Accelerating the speed of the earth’s rotation will not change the definition of a day as described in the Bible.

3.The time it takes for the 1260 days to transpire will be shortened as promised, by a third.

4.We can understand the timing of the trumpet judgments to begin as happening after the A.O.D. takes place.

5.This could explain why men’s hearts are failing them by what is transpiring in the heavens (space) when these events happen.

Again I am not dogmatic here. I present this as a possibility. I also hope that I have spawned an interest of closer examination (analyst) of what the scriptures may be actually saying.

We don't truly know that it was Christ who shortened the days. Matthew does NOT reveal that information. Rather, Mark 13:20 gives us the information that "the Lord had shortened those days." However, here we have a bit of a dilemma. In translation of the Greek, the word translated "Lord" is "kurios," but sometime "kurios" is used as "master" or "sir" for a human being and sometimes "kurios" is used as "ADONAI" in the Complete Jewish Bible or "LORD" in the KJV OT, as a translation of the tetragrammaton, the Name of God spelled yud-hei-vav-hei (transliterated as YHVH or YHWH, and pronounced as "Yahweh" or "Yahuwh" and sometimes as "Jehovah," the English "J" at one time pronounced like a German "J" or the "Y" sound). So, was Yeshua` speaking of Himself or was He speaking of God the Father shortening the days?

Frankly, when Yeshua` usually spoke in the third person about Himself, He would use the words "Son of man," although He was also comfortable with others calling Him "Lord" and occasionally referred to Himself in His parables and prophecies as "Lord."

Thus, it is more likely that He was referring to His Father than to Himself.

Now, with regard to the shortening of the days, there is a third option that you should consider (because I think it's the correct option): Within an immutable span of time, it's the number of days of thlipsis or pressure or distress or tribulation that are shortened, not the whole number of days! Consider percentages: Let's say that 100% of the time period was 100 days. (I believe it's considerably more.) Then, 70% of that 100-day period would be 70 days of pressure leaving 30 days of relative peace. If the number of days of pressure were reduced to 50%, then the 70 days would be reduced to 50 days of pressure, leaving 50 days of relative peace! And, if the number continued to drop to 20%, then there would only be 20 days out of the 100 that would be days of pressure, and they would be relieved of that pressure for 80 days out of that 100 days.

I believe this is the correct interpretation of that passage because of the reason:

Matthew 24:22

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

KJV

Mark 13:20

20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

KJV

Thus, neither the number of total days, nor the length of the day need be shortened. These verses are talking about God giving His chosen people (the Jews, in particular, but also persecuted Gentile believers) BREATHING ROOM TO SURVIVE! If the pressure - the distress - was constantly on, no one would survive! So, God would make the pressure - the distress - come in spurts; so that even if the pressure were great where thousands or millions died over a period of time, there would be reprieves to allow them to repopulate!

This is what has happened to the Jews for the last 2000 years. There have always been pressures put upon them since they were first declared "desolate" by Yeshua` (Matt. 23:38)! The destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., the destruction of Jerusalem in 135 A.D., the persecutions at the hands of the Romans, the Crusades by the Europeans, the Inquisitions, the Pogroms in Russia, the banishments from one country to the next, always killing, always destroying property, always pushing them away as undesirables, the Holocaust in Germany and Poland, and more lately the threats and shellings and car bombs and bus bombs and suicide bombers from their Arab neighbors, and now the current threat of nuclear aggression from Iran are all examples of the pressure - the distress - they have suffered over the last 2000 years!

This is what I believe that Yeshua` was warning His students about and we are already IN the distress and have been over the last two millennia! The tribulation is not just a mere 7 years. It's been going on a LOT longer!

HOWEVER, there have been periods of relative peace, the greatest one being the relative safety in the isolation and Christian morality of the United States of America and their protection for the fledgling state of Isra'el since its inception. Jews will still suffer persecution from time to time, even here in the USA, but those who live here, whether citizens or foreigners on a temporary basis, ALL have protection under the rights and laws of our government. And, until recently threatened by our national leaders who don't have a clue about what is at stake, the determent of all-out war between Isra'el and her Islamic and Arabic neighbors has been possible because of the protection provided by England and the USA.

I believe that the first half of the seventieth seven of Dani'el 9:24-27 was fulfilled in the ministry of Yeshua` during His First Advent. I believe the second half of the seventieth seven will be fulfilled when Revelation is fulfilled, but we are already IN the distress, the "Tribulation," and that it describes the Times of the Gentiles, when Jerusalem is overrun by Gentiles, trodden underfoot by the Gentiles. And, as long as there is a Dome where the Temple should be, it hasn't ended, yet.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Retrobyter

[OneLight]

Ever have days that just never end, while other just fly by? Could this be what is meant?

[Retrobyter]

Shalom, OneLight.

Ever have days that just never end, while other just fly by? Could this be what is meant?

I suppose anything is possible, but I don't think so. Usually, when we have BAD days, they seem to CRAWL by. Our GOOD days are usually the days that fly by. These would be BAD days because they have to be shortened to reduce the slaughter, so that some flesh might be saved (rescued).