the time is nigh - Shortening of the Tribulation Days

The Shortening of Days and the 42-Month Duration

Jesus' statement in Matthew 24:22 directly addresses the necessity of limiting the duration of the intense suffering that defines the 42-month period in Revelation. The two texts are functionally and numerically congruent, reinforcing the Dynamic God's active control over the timeline of judgment.

I. The Factual Constraint of Survival

Matthew 24:22 states: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."

The Problem: The severity of the suffering during the "days" (referring to the Great Tribulation) is so extreme that if its full duration were allowed to run its course, no life ("flesh") would survive.
The Solution: The days are "shortened" (or cut short) for the sake of "the elect" (those whom God knows as the faithful). This is a divine action of limitation and intervention.

II. Congruence with the 42-Month Timeline

The 42 months (or 1,260 days) in Revelation is the verifiable duration of the most severe judgment and persecution (the Beast's authority, Revelation 13:5). This period is the fulfillment of the suffering referred to in Matthew 24.

The Shortening as the Boundary: The very existence of the 42-month fixed duration is inferred to be the result of the divine act of shortening mentioned in Matthew 24:22. The total potential duration of the Great Tribulation was conceptually longer, but it was cut short to 3.5 years to ensure the survival of the faithful ("no flesh should be saved").
The Mechanism of Preservation: The 42 months in Revelation are not just random numbers; they are the measured period that balances judgment with the need for preservation. This measured time frame is the Dynamic God's method of applying the "shortening" promised by Christ, ensuring that the covenant people and the witnesses (the 144,000 and the Two Witnesses, who prophesy for 1,260 days) can survive the ordeal and fulfill their mission.

The constraint of 42 months in Revelation is thus the prophetic realization of the necessary shortening promised in Matthew 24:22.

The Shortened Days: A Dynamic Intervention (Matthew 24:19-22)

The passage describes the intense suffering and the necessity of divine intervention during the period known as the Great Tribulation. Within the Open Theism framework, the "shortened days" are not a cancellation of a fixed script, but an active, compassionate decision by the Dynamic God to limit the consequences of human rebellion to ensure the survival of the faithful.

I. The Necessity of Flight and the Intensified Suffering

The verses preceding the shortening factually emphasize the urgency and unparalleled severity of the era. Jesus instructs His followers in Judea to flee immediately when they see the climactic sign (Matthew 24:16-18). The woe pronounced upon the pregnant and nursing women (Matthew 24:19) underscores that the severity of the crisis will make simple, sustained survival or mobility nearly impossible.

The Unparalleled Crisis (Matthew 24:21): The time is factually described as "great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." The Dynamic God is allowing conditions of suffering so extreme that, if left unchecked, they would consume all life.

II. The Shortening as Dynamic Intervention (Matthew 24:22)

The most critical statement is the conditional intervention: "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened."

The Contingency: The shortening is not automatic; it is an active, compassionate choice made by the Dynamic God specifically for the sake of the elect (the faithful who choose endurance). This refutes Meticulous Providence, which would view the duration as a fixed, unchangeable decree.

The Purpose: The purpose is not merely to save souls, but to ensure physical survival ("no flesh be saved"). God's response to the extremity of human rebellion is a self-imposed limitation on the disaster to preserve His covenant people. And, the words of Jesus infer there is no "rapture".

III. Connection to Revelation's Timeline

The concept of the "shortened days" strongly supports the inference that the woes in Revelation could have occurred in a rapid, concentrated sequence of minutes or hours, and that this rapid execution is itself the intended "shortening."

The Rapid Execution: The initial sequence of the seals and early trumpets (Revelation 6-8) is factually described as a series of immediate, catastrophic completions. By executing the initial judgments in a concentrated, rapid sequence (hours/minutes) rather than allowing them to spread out over many years, God limits the overall exposure of the faithful to the initial shock.

The Final Boundary: The resultant 42-month fixed duration (Revelation 11:2), which defines the period of the Beast's reign, is the prophetic realization of the shortened boundary. The period of chaotic, all-consuming destruction is cut short to ensure the elect can enter the final phase of persecution and witness (the 42 months) with their lives preserved.