Mark 13:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.

NIV: "If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them.

NASB: And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

CSB: If the Lord had not cut those days short, no one would be saved. But he cut those days short for the sake of the elect, whom he chose.

NLT: In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, not a single person will survive. But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.

KJV: And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

NKJV: And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

The first half of the tribulation will be horrible with war, disease, and persecution of those who come to Christ after the rapture. The last half, per a traditional interpretation, will be even worse. Over the course of these catastrophes, one-third of the vegetation will burn, all the sea creatures will die, a third of mankind will die in war, and a great earthquake will shake the world around the same time that hundred-pound hailstones fall to earth (Revelation 8:1–9:21; 16:1–21). At the end, nations will rebel against the Antichrist. All the armies will join to fight Jesus as He returns to earth (Matthew 24:30; Revelation 19:11–21). Jesus will destroy everyone who doesn't follow Him.

God established in prophecy that the tribulation will last seven years and the great tribulation, or "wrath of God," will be the last three and a half years of this period (Daniel 9:27). This passage doesn't mean that He will cut those years short, but that He will halt the natural progression of the violence and terror before all His followers are destroyed. "Shortened" is from the Greek root word koloboo, and means to stop suddenly, to chop off. God will end the tribulation very quickly.

Those believers who survive the tribulation—"the elect"—will live in the millennial kingdom with resurrected or raptured believers who have received glorified bodies (1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; 1 Corinthians 15:21–23, 51–53; Revelation 20:4–6). The people with glorified bodies will neither die nor sin, but the survivors of the tribulation will be as mortal and human as we are now. They will marry, have families, and die. Although Jesus will reign from Jerusalem, the survivors' children and grandchildren will still have a choice whether to accept Him as their savior or not. After a thousand years, many of the descendants of these tribulation saints will have rejected Jesus. When Satan is released from the abyss, he will build an army to fight Jesus one more time. The short battle will result in Satan being thrown into the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:10) and his human followers facing the great white throne judgment where they, too, will be sentenced to hell (Revelation 20:11–15).

Mark 13:14–23 describes Peter, James, John, and Andrew asking Jesus for the signs that the temple will be destroyed and He will return to establish His kingdom (Matthew 24:3). Jesus has explained that wars, natural disasters, false teaching, and persecution will increase (Mark 13:5–13). Now He speaks of the second half of the end-times tribulation. It will start with the Antichrist erecting the abomination of desolation in the temple and end right before war and natural and supernatural disasters would cause worldwide extinction. Matthew talks a bit more about false prophets in Matthew 24:15–28 while Luke gives a shortened version in Luke 21:20–24.

Days before the crucifixion, the disciples praise the glory of the temple. When Jesus tells them the temple will be destroyed, they ask for signs of that coming destruction and of His return (Matthew 24:3). Jesus answers their second question with information crucial for believers in the end times, and any time. Tribulation Christians will face horrifying hardships and violence, as may believers of any era, but they must remember that the hardships will not last. Jesus will return so quickly, any attempt to live by the world's rules will be futile.

The prior chapter contained several parables and Jesus' answer to assorted questions. In this section, Jesus turns His teaching towards the disciples. He explains concepts related to the end times: the still-future period when God will complete His plan for judgment on sin. Those details include a prophecy about the impending destruction of the temple. The final chapters of Mark then describe events up to and after the crucifixion of Jesus at the hands of His enemies.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.