The Endtime Mystery of
“The Days Shall be Shortened”
Robert D. Pace
Jesus said the Endtime would include the appearance of MEGA-SIGNS–signs of unequaled magnitude (Luke 21:11). It’s especially important to notice Christ’s description in Matthew 24:21 where he said, “There will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” Ominous indeed! But it’s the next verse that portents horrors of this dystopian epoch. Matthew 24:22 says, “Unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
Should Christians of the Endtime expect the Lord to literally constrict time to the point that it will work for their survival? If so, how will this occur? I have heard people postulate that God will shorten the seven-year timespan of the Great Tribulation in order to fulfill this prophecy. However, one must recognize that the Bible has carefully measured Daniel’s 70 Weeks and has mandated those days to fully run their course. So what is the answer?
Again, notice closely Christ’s words. He said, “unless the days were shortened.” That phraseology indicates that God will actually shave off the hours of a day. Before this assertion is relegated to the realm of fiction it should be noted that geophysical science affirms this postulation! In fact, the days have already been shortened! They just haven’t been shortened to the magnitude that Jesus forecasted.
Geophysicists have calculated that since 2004 the Earth has accelerated its spin and shortened our 24-hour day by about 10 microseconds. And they even explain how this has happened. The planet is made to increase its spin when a violent earthquake pushes Earth’s landmass closer to its polar axis. This concept is best illustrated by watching Olympic ice skaters. At some point in their routine, the skater glides to center rink and with arms wide out gracefully begins spinning. But as the skater slowly pulls in their arms to their body (or axis), their spin increases to a blazing, indiscernible speed.
Consider this: once a series of violent earthquakes ripple around the globe (Isaiah 24:19—20), massive portions of landmass could shift toward the north and south poles, resulting in an unprecedented increase of Earth’s spin. The velocity of this spin could constrict a 24-hour day by eight hours! But does Christ’s prophecy of the “shortened days” appear anywhere else in Scripture? Yes! Revelation 8:12 shows what will occur immediately after the blazing star, “Wormwood,” collides with our planet: “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.” As I see it, this cosmic event could literally fulfill Christ’s prophecy to “shorten the days,” as well as mercifully alleviating the suffering of the “elect.”
In cryptic and wondrous ways Christ and the Prophets reveal man’s march into the Endtime drama with precise accuracy. Without restraint, the Bible uses prophecy 1,817 times to capture our attention and convince us that God’s Word is true!
ATTENTION:
If you enjoyed this Endtime insight of Robert D. Pace, you can order his fascinating book, APOCALERT!, which discloses the Bible’s irrepressible forewarning of its walk into the Apocalypse. To order, postage free, click here.
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