Matthew Chapter 24

VERSE 22 “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

 What is the thought of “for the elect’s sake”?

“By means of” or “through” the elect, these days will be shortened because the Church glorified and with Jesus at this time, will stop the trouble. The word “sake” is not in the original Greek—it should be italicized in the King James as a spurious word. “But through the elect those days shall be shortened” or “But if it were not for the elect …” In other words, the elect, the Church, as well as Jesus, are the instrument who will cut short the trouble.

Obadiah 21 reads, “And saviors [plural] shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the LORD’S.” This prophecy about cutting short the trouble is addressed particularly to Israel, but by inference the stoppage will be worldwide. The trouble will be stopped in connection with the rescue of Israel at the end of the age. If that rescue did not take place, not only would Israel be destroyed but all mankind; that is, “no flesh [would] be saved.”

The Greek word dia, translated “for the elect,” can be rendered “by the elect” or “through the elect.” This Greek word, which can be used with the ablative or the accusative case, has various meanings. Therefore, it should be translated with the word that best fits our vocabulary according to the meaning of the context. The word “but” has a larger thought; namely, “If it were not for the elect shortening those days, there would be no flesh saved.” It is through or by the elect—and not on their behalf—that the days will be shortened.

The Church will be the benefactors, and not the recipients of the benefaction. The elect class will be the instrumentality for cutting short those days and thus terminating Jacob’s Trouble by delivering Israel.

“Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved.” This trouble is yet future. It will occur after all the elect are beyond the veil.

The trouble we see in various locations in the world today is not THE Great Time of Trouble (Armageddon), for the real trouble will shatter the nations like a potter’s vessel, causing the complete destruction of the social order. Troubles to date are merely the overthrow of one satanic government and its replacement by another satanic government. When the true smiting occurs, it will be accomplished by the Lord’s stone (The Christ). Hence the Church will be instrumental in the trouble as well as the salvation.

As we look around the earth today, we see evil men crushing other men. This is not the Kingdom. After the stone smites the image, it will start to GROW. At present, things are getting darker. When the stone smites, it will get still darker—and then lighter as the stone grows. In addition, many Scriptures stress the suddenness of the trouble.

“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1 Thess. 5:3). “And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon (the professing church) be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all” (Rev. 18:21). Papacy will be LIFTED UP as a millstone (as a religious institution receiving some of its former power and authority for a short space), and then hurled into the sea (the anarchist masses of mankind).

Today we see both the Papacy (Catholicism) and Protestantism lifted up, not their being cast into the sea. Understand this “lifting up” does not imply that they are getting more “Christ like”, far from it, but rather that they are beginning to exercise a wider influence upon the affairs of this world (in government, laws and policy), howbeit most of this presently behind the scenes. Satan likewise is getting stronger every day too, with more and more influence in the church systems.

Verse 21 and 22 “For then shall be great tribulation,such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

When the trouble comes, it will be the greatest trouble to ever have befallen mankind. Imagine if you will all the various troubles which up to this time mankind have suffered, many of which are of his own making others due to natural occurrences disasters and etc., wars, revolutions, famines and plagues.

Some are of the opinion that the great tribulation refers specifically to the trouble which befell Jerusalem in (70 A.D.) when their city were laid siege by the Romans. This was indeed a very trying experience; it witnessed the starvation and deaths of most of the citizens of Jerusalem, in all including Romans soldiers it is estimated that over 1,000,000 lives were lost.

But this was not the greatest trouble to ever befall mankind.

Others claim it was the trouble which befell France during the French Revolution (1787-1799) in which over 1,400,000 died, this followed shortly by what was designated as the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) in which another 3,500,000–7,000,000 died worldwide.

But this was not the greatest trouble to ever befall mankind.

Perhaps you imagine it to have been during the Inquisitions (1231- 1826) in all it is estimated that nearly a 1,000,000+ people either through execution or withering away in prison perished.

Perhaps you imagine it to have taken place during the Mongol conquests in (1206–1368) which witnessed the deaths of over 30,000,000 people, or perhaps more recently WWII (1939-1945) which saw the deaths of near 85,000,000 worldwide, including 6,000,000 Jews in Nazi death camps.

But these too were not the greatest troubles to ever befall mankind.

The Great Famine of (1315-1317) in Europe killed over 7,500,000.

Four different famines took place in China between the year (1810-1849) in which over 45,000,000 people died.

The Plague of Justinian (541–542) a pandemic that afflicted the whole of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, especially its capital Constantinople, the Sasanian Empire, and port cities around the entire Mediterranean Sea was one of the deadliest plagues in history, the devastating pandemic resulted in the deaths of an estimated 25–50,000,000 people in two centuries of recurrence, equivalent to 13–26% of the world’s population at the time of the first outbreak.

Through (1331–1353) Europe, Asia and North Africa suffered the Black Death which resulted in the death of upwards to 200,000,000; 30–60% of population, and between (1918–1920) an influenza pandemic broke out worldwide known as Spanish flu killing over 75,000,000 souls.

But sill none of these was the greatest troubles to ever befall mankind.

In 1815 the Volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora one of the most powerful in recorded history resulting in the deaths of 71,000+.

In 1931 floods in China killed between 1,000,000-4,000,000 people.

In 1556 the Shaanxi earthquake in China the deadliest earthquake in recorded history, killed approximately 830,000 people.

And in 1970 the Bhola cyclone that struck East Pakistan and India’s West Bengal remains the deadliest tropical cyclone ever recorded and one of the deadliest natural disasters of all time killing at least 500,000 people.

Nor were any of these natural disasters the greatest troubles to ever befall mankind.

So what then was the most devastating trouble to ever befall mankind?

That’s right it was the flood, with estimates ranging between 1 billion to 40 billion lives lost.

Just as the troubles which befell Adam due to sin spread to all men so that every intent of his heart was on evil (this along with the interference of the fallen spirits in the affairs of men) led to the most violent time period in man’s history resulting in the flood in which only eight persons survived, so too the great tribulation is a “time”, or period of trouble having a beginning and an a climax viz. Armageddon, in which if not for divine interference no flesh would be saved.

Of all the previous troubles that have befallen mankind the flood was the greatest and is therefore the best illustration of just how bad things will get.

Continued with next post.