Reply to Gino  http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/june2013/gino61-3.htm

#2) Matthew 24:22, Jesus said, “except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened”.

From the Foundation of the world, the Father knew exactly those days are to start and to end.

The Father would not have had an original number of days, but then discover that it was too long, and have to shorten them.

No, he is omniscient, as well as eternal, outside of time, which he created.

However, the days shall be shortened from what they were originally were to be.

Is this, like question #1, a result of the prayers of the elect, resulting in the changing of the timing?

Hi Gino,

Answer: I believe the shortening of the days in Matt 24:22 is given to us in scripture as one year. The days of the Antichrist's persecution of the elect during the Great Tribulation are what is cut short, by the "gathering together of the elect" (a/k/a Pre-wrath Rapture) and are replaced with the wrath of God. This occurs following the Sixth Seal, and the wrath of God begins at the Seventh Seal, and includes all the Trumpet and all the Bowl judgments.

Matt 24:29-31 KJV "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken (Sixth Seal): And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."

Mark 13:24-27 KJV "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven."

The "gathering together of the elect" is after the opening of the Sixth Seal, when these signs in the sky occur and only then the Wrath of God will begin after the opening of the Seventh Seal.

Rev 6:12-17 (KJV) 'And I beheld when he had opened the Sixth Seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?'

Rev 7:9-10 (KJV) 'After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.'

Rev 7:13-14 'And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'

Rev 8:1-2 'And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.' (The seven trumpets are given to the seven angels after the Seventh Seal is opened, not before.)

The Apostle Paul explains that the 'gathering together of the elect' (Pre-wrath Rapture) is when the all dead in Christ are raised first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up (and gathered) together with them.

1Thess 4:13-17 'But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive [and] remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up (and gathered) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.'

The Wrath of God is the 'Day of Vengeance' and lasts about One year: 

Isaiah 34:8 “For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion."  A "day of the Lord's vengeance” refers to the Wrath of God; and “a year of recompences” indicates that this period will last for about one year. (Also, Day = Year principle)

Isaiah 63:4 “For the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come”.  The “day of vengeance” is linked here to “the year of my redeemed". During this year, God will take vengeance on unbelievers, but all believers will be raptured beforehand at the Pre-Wrath Rapture, which follows the opening of the Sixth Seal. This tells us when the Sixth Seal is opened.

The Lord Jesus Christ also linked Noah's Flood, which lasted for about one year, and was the Wrath of God in it's time, to the end time events immediately preceding the Second Coming, further illustrating that the Wrath of God lasts for about one year. Matt 24:37 "But as the days of Noe (Noah) were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

(I also believe there's an earlier "Open Door" Rapture event which will go virtually unnoticed by the world (the dead aren't raised), near the beginning of the Great Tribulation, for those born-again believers who are watching, praying and repenting. Luke 21:36 "Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.") 

YBIC,

Bill Griese