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Discussion on Matthew 24:22, days being cut short

August 17th, 2015

And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. (Mat 24:22)

Do you guys think this means the number of days are cut short or the length of a day, like from 24 hours to 16?

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  • JP Rasmussen I have always understood it to mean the entire duration, not the length of sun-up/sun-down.
    August 15 at 12:36pm · Like · 1
  • Ed Chait Me too. My pastor believes in the other option, but I haven’t asked him why yet. The only argument that I can come up with is that if the total number of days were shortened, it would change the length of the Tribulation?
    August 15 at 12:44pm · Like
  • JP Rasmussen Interesting. Can you post his reasoning when you find out? I’m curious.
    August 15 at 12:45pm · Like · 1
  • Ed Chait Will do. I meant to ask him this morning but I forgot.
    August 15 at 12:46pm · Like
  • Joseph Ford Number of days. And it is about the remnant of Israel.
    August 15 at 9:25pm · Edited · Like · 1
  • Alyson Dreyer I took it as shorter days. The number of days is very specific but the length could be cut short by spinning the world a little faster. Somewhere it says a third of the day and a third of the night, the sun and moon wouldn’t shine their light. Sorry, don’t have time to look it up right now.
    August 16 at 6:43pm · Like · 1
  • Ed Chait Thanks guys. I’ll ask my pastor about it at Bible study this week and report back.
    August 16 at 6:44pm · Like
  • Timothy Craig Munger No, but limited to the seven years of Tribulation.
    August 17 at 12:24pm · Like · 1
  • Patrick Thompson I believe in this context of Scripture, it is referring to the number of days. When reading the preceding verse, this period of time definitely refers to the great tribulation, and nothing has ever compared to it from the beginning of the world to thi…See More
    August 17 at 3:44pm · Like · 1
  • Julie Kimani I’d always thought it to mean that those “days” were to last much longer than the 7 years, but He restricted it to only 7 years for the sake of the elect.
    August 17 at 5:26pm · Like · 1
  • Alyson Dreyer The seven years are set to the day by Daniel’s prophecy. The number of days and the years are in no way shortened. Revelation 8:12 gives some to think the length of the day will be shortened. A day is measured by “There was evening and there was morning,” a day. Put another way, there was darkness and there was light, a day. If a third of the day turns dark and a third of the night is darker than normal, would there be a gap in both day and night of total darkness? Or is it saying that the day will be cut by a third and darkness, which is night will come? Night has it’s own lighting so will it be pitch black for a time? Or will the light of night turn to day being shortened by a third?
    August 19 at 3:55pm · Like · 1
  • Joseph Ford Alyson, how would that relate to the lives of the elect? “For the sake of the elect, those days would be shortened.” How does having more or less light in a day affect their lives? Growing crops, maybe?
    August 19 at 4:55pm · Like
  • Alyson Dreyer For the sake of the elect, or non would survive to enter the millennial kingdom. These will be the mortal believers who will enter in and repopulate the earth. By that time in the tribulation there will be nothing like a normal life. Believers will be just trying to survive until Christ Jesus returns. They will know when he is coming because he has already given the exact number of days.
    August 19 at 6:10pm · Like · 1
  • Ed Chait I had an opportunity to ask my pastor why he believes the correct interpretation is that the length of the day would be shortened. Interestingly, he told me that he had never even considered that the number of days would be shortened. He agrees with Alyson’s interpretation and said that this would relate to the elect in regards to the sun’s intensity scorching people. He also mentioned that the Tribulation would last a specific prescribed number of days and that rules out the possibility of the number of days being shortened.

    (Revelation 16:8-9)
    The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire. They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory.

    If the day is shortened, the number of hours of exposure to a scorching sun are lessened.
    20 hrs · Edited · Like · 1

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