In Jesus' foretelling of the time just before His return, the days will be so perilous that unless God had put a limit on the number of the days, no flesh would be saved. Yet for the sake of the elect, a limit has already been placed. Luke's phrase, the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled, is parallel to the statement that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. The overwhelming end-time peril is vengeance rather than technology. The time when mankind's survival hangs in the balance parallels the prophesied time of divine vengeance in the lead-up to Christ's return. At that time, He will take His vengeance against all flesh, first Israelite and then Gentile. Because of the hardness of the human heart, that day will manifest primarily in wrath, though there will be mercy for the elect's sake.

Herbert Armstrong often pointed to Matthew 24:22 as a key sign that we are in the last days: "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened." This verse highlights the critical nature of the time before Christ's return, indicating that the severity of events would be so great that without divine intervention to shorten the days, no one would survive. Yet, for the sake of the elect, God will intervene to curtail this period of intense tribulation. This shortening of days serves as a profound indicator of the nearness of the end and the urgency for readiness among His children.