What did Jesus mean in Matt 24:22 that the days would be 'cut short' or shortened?

Hi,

You are correct that we do not know the specific day of the Lord's return. There are many Christians that seem to think that it is our job to try to work it out beforehand, and spend a lot of their time going from one date to the next... but that is not our job. And it eventually causes believers to be discouraged and disappointed when one 'sure thing' date after another comes and goes. We watch, as Jesus said, because we do not know the exact day that our master is returning. But we are to know the season and signs of His return though. Some verses on this:  

Mar 13:32-37  "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.  (33)  Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.  (34)  It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch.  (35)  Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning--  (36)  lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping.  (37)  And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!"

Mat 16:1-3  The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.  (2)  He replied, "When evening comes, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,'  (3)  and in the morning, 'Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

Mat 24:32-33  Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.  (33)  Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.

Heb 10:25  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Unless those days had been cut short

Now concerning the Lord's statement about the days of the Tribulation days being 'cut short', this is about His second coming and not the rapture. Here is the verse and immediate context:

Mat 24:15-22  So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand--  (16)  then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains... (21)  For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now-- and never to be equaled again.  (22)  If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

The context is the Great Tribulation after the 'abomination of desolation'. This is commonly known as the 2nd half of the Tribulation period - the period where the Antichrist has full control and power. So what does it mean that those days will be cut short or shortened? This is debated as Jesus didn't define in what way this happens. Here are three possibilities that have been proposed:

1. The number of days is shortened from what it was going to be. This is how you have taken the verse. This would mean that the number of days of the Great Tribulation will not be as has been assumed from other verses, but the Lord will cut the period shorter.
2. The length of the days, and not the number of them, is what will be shortened. That is, it may not be a 24 hour period of time in a day, or the daylight hours themselves in which man can operate, may be shortened during this time of darkness.
3. The word for 'cut short' implies an abrupt cutting off of those days that were in full swing by a sudden and even violent intervention. This means that the full number of days will still be carried out as scripture has said, but that these terrible days of the Great Tribulation will be suddenly cut off and stopped by divine intervention, right when it seems that all human life could be destroyed.   

What do I think?

1. Position 1: The number of days are shortened: I don't agree with the first position as the Bible is clear, both in the Old and New Testament, how long the Antichrist will reign for. This is set in stone. For example:
   
   Dan 7:25  He (the Antichrist) will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. (3 1/2 years)
   Dan 12:6-7 One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?"... and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, "It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed."
   Dan 12:11  From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
   
   Rev 11:1-2 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there. (2) But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.
   Rev 12:14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.
   Rev 13:5 The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.
   
   So scripture is clear that the reign of the Antichrist will be in the second half of the tribulation and will last 42 months or 3 1/2 years (a time (1), times (2) and 1/2 a time).
    
2. Position 2: The length of the day is shortened: This is an interesting one. It takes a literal approach that it is the length of the day itself, and not the number, that is shortened. We do know that there are going to be all sorts of cosmic disturbances during the Tribulation that affect the sun, the moon, and massive earthquakes on this planet - unlike any that have happened before. If the length of the day itself is shortened, this would mean that the rotational speed of the earth is increased so that a day is less than 24 hours in time. There is an unusual judgment that is poured out which states:
   
   Rev 8:12  The fourth angel sounded his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them turned dark. A third of the day was without light, and also a third of the night.
   
   This is a very interesting judgment as it affects both the day and the night by a third. So the light in the day is shortened by one third, and so is the night. Does this imply a shorter day? Or is it some cosmic disturbance that means that the light is cut off completely for a third of the time, in both day and night? Either way it affects the length of what we currently consider 'a day'. So I see merit in this. We don't know exactly how judgments such as this play out but they do seem to affect the time that we currently have as a day. Even if it is just a darkened time during the day and night.
   
   
3. Position 3: That radical, even violent divine intervention is implied, to stop the horrors of those days: This to me is valid as well. The word for 'cut short' in the Greek is kolobóō meaning 'maimed, cut off, to dock, amputate, mutilate'. It has radical implications. When I looked to see how it is used in Greek literature it said 'This is a vivid, physical word that carries a much stronger sense in Greek than it does in English. While English translations often use the polite word "shorten," the Greek root implies a more forceful and even violent reduction.' It is used in the Septuagint (where Jewish scholars translated the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek) for 2 Sam 4:12 where the enemies hands and feet were cut off. So it implies an abrupt, even violent, ending. In the case of Matt 24 it would imply that God in His sovereignty is not going to allow the days to continue as they were, but will step in radically to stop them in their tracks before total destruction occurs. This fits with what we know is happening at the end of the Tribulation. The Antichrist assembles all nations against Israel in what we call the battle of Armageddon. It seems like God's people Israel will be completely destroyed. But as they look to 'the One they have pierced' and call upon His name, He comes! The days of the Antichrist's reign of terror and the Great Tribulation are cut short, amputated as it were, as Jesus comes to judge and rule.

Conclusion

So to sum up, I don't believe that the number of the days of the tribulation are reduced as there are several prophetic scriptures that tell us how long this period will be and scripture doesn't contradict itself. It is possible that the length of the day itself is reduced through cosmic disturbances. Certainly the 4th Trumpet judgment affects both a third of the day and a third of the night. And I definitely agree that Jesus was using a radical word to also declare that these days would be cut off suddenly and even violently. An AI search around the meaning of the Greek word used, and Jesus' use of it, said 

'In using this word kolobóō, Jesus wasn't just saying the days would be a little shorter. He was using a "picturesque" and "shocking" term to describe a divine amputation of history... Just as a docked tail or an amputated limb leaves behind a "stump," the Great Tribulation is described as being lopped off, leaving only a fragment of the time that human evil would have otherwise consumed... It implies that if left to its own devices, human violence would naturally continue until total extinction. God has to "give it the chop" to stop the bleeding.'

I agree with that - that is what Jesus' return will do. The days of the Antichrist's reign over planet earth will be violently and suddenly cut off and ended. This day truly will be a divine amputation of history... and a new glorious day will begin!  

Hope this helps.

Iain.