With new last-days scenarios being introduced practically every week, I wanted to throw out my two cents.
The Lord spoke of the “days being shortened” in his Olivet discourse referring, of course, to the days of tribulation. (Matthew 24:22; Mark 13:20) And the ones for whom the days will be shortened are “the elect”. But according to the prevailing view, the church will be raptured before the tribulation. (The pre-tribulational view) So, if the elect is to be understood as the church, how might the days of tribulation be shortened? The church must be present for part of the tribulation period in order for Jesus’ statement to be meaningful.
And how will the days be shortened? There is an explicit time period given multiple times in the Bible for the End Times. The 70th week of Daniel is a seven-year period, at the middle of which the anti-Christ will be revealed and will persecute the people of God. The anti-Christ will be given 42 months during which time he will be ruler over the people on the earth. (Revelation 13:5) And the anti-Christ’s time begins at the midway point of the last seven years before the second coming of Christ to rule and reign with His saints. (Daniel 9:27) So this is referring to the second 3-1/2 years of the tribulation period.
Then there is the matter of the “woman clothed with the sun” of Revelation 12, who is protected in the wilderness for 1260 days. Who does the woman represent? Is she the remnant of the Jews, or is she the church, or a portion of it? We must begin with the man-child who is brought forth in Revelation 12:5. This sounds like an apt description of Christ Jesus. But that would make the woman be Mary, and she never was hidden in the wilderness for 1260 days. Or it could be Israel, since Jesus was born to that nation. But, who else is told that he will rule the nations with a rod of iron? Revelation 2:26-27 promises this to the overcomers. So I believe that the man-child is a company of overcoming Christians who are raptured to God’s throne at the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation period, and that the woman is the remnant End Times church which will go through the bulk of the rest of the tribulation.
This escape is not the rapture foretold in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, which comes later. No, this event–occurring at the time when Satan and his angels are cast down to the earth–is the Escape of Luke 21:36, of which we will need to be watchful and prayerful in order to be counted worthy. It is the Escape promised to the church of Philadelphia. (Revelation 3:10) So who out of the church would be left behind? There are many Christians who do not have much treasure stored up in heaven, but they think they are rich. (Revelation 3:16-19) They will be given extra time to store up heavenly rewards and maybe even be martyred for the name of their Savior.
The parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-12) supports this view of the mid-tribulation escape, by the fact that the bridegroom comes at midnight (Matthew 25:6), and that some are taken and some are left (Matthew 25:10). In another passage about the tribulation, there is a description of two working in a field, with one taken, and one left. (Matthew 24:37-44; Mark 13:14-19; Luke 17:26-36; Luke 21:20-24) Comparing between the gospels will lead the careful student to conclude that the timing of this separation coincides with the time that the Jewish residents of Jerusalem are fleeing to the mountains in a mad rush because the anti-Christ has desecrated the temple and turned his sights on them. The timing of this abomination of desolation is (you guessed it) the midpoint of the seven-year tribulation.
But, for their sake the days shall be shortened. How? Soon after the abomination of desolation occurs in Jerusalem, the first four trumpet judgments will come upon the earth from the sky. Hail and fire mixed with blood burning up a third of the tress and grass, a great burning mountain falling into the sea, and a great burning star poisoning the rivers and springs lead to a catastrophic change in the rotation of the earth, causing the day to lose one-third of its time, and the night also. (Revelation 8:12) Then the earth would rotate in a 16-17 hour period, but the month and the year would still keep their former lengths of time. It would take 42 days from new moon to new moon, making a 42-day lunar month.
And with there still being 12 months in a year, we can now calculate how long the woman must wait in the wilderness until the rapture of all the Christians who are alive and remain until the seventh trumpet. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52) If the days are shortened to 16.75 hours soon after the 3-1/2 year point, then 1260 days will be 30 months into the last 42 months, meaning that there will be one year for God to pour out the bowl judgments upon the followers of anti-Christ after the Christians are raptured, and the dead in Christ are resurrected. Could this be the meaning of the phrase “the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion”? (Isaiah 34:8)
I hope this all makes sense, and prompts the reader to make spiritual preparation to be ready for whatever comes, whether it be determining in his heart to be the overcomer, being master of his fleshly lusts, or developing prayer habits to be able to survive the long night. Just know that the Lord will provide for His own, for those who call to Him out of a contrite heart.