Matthew 24:22

Unless God ends (Gr. ekolobothesan, "to terminate or cut off") the Tribulation, no living thing will remain alive.

"This does not mean that the period will be less than three-and-a-half years, but that it will be definitely terminated suddenly by the second coming of Christ." [Note: Walvoord, Matthew: . . ., p. 188. Cf. Pentecost, Thy Kingdom . . ., p. 253; and Showers, pp. 50-54.]

The antecedent of "those days" is the days Jesus just described in Matthew 24:15-21: the days of the Tribulation. Jesus will shorten them a little out of compassion. Later revelation of this period in the Book of Revelation helps us appreciate the truth of Jesus’ statement here (cf. Revelation 6-18). Not just people but all forms of life (Gr. pasa sarx, lit. "all flesh") will experience drastic cutbacks during the Great Tribulation (cf. Revelation 6:7-8; Revelation 16:13-21). Antichrist will target the Jews and then Jews who believe in Jesus particularly (Revelation 12:13-17), but great multitudes of people will perish because of the distress that he brings. The "elect" are believers (cf. Matthew 20:16; Matthew 22:14; Matthew 24:22; Matthew 24:24; Matthew 24:31).

Many interpreters, however, take this verse as describing the present age rather than a future tribulation. [Note: E.g., Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, pp. 696-707.] This is the typical amillenarian and postmillenarian interpretation, though some premillenarians, such as Carson, also hold it. Weighing the distress of the present age against that of the Tribulation, I must conclude that Matthew 24:22 and this whole passage describes the future Tribulation, not the present age.

"This entire paragraph [Matthew 24:15-22] relates only to Jews, for no Christian believer would worry about breaking a Sabbath law." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:88.]