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Will You Be Saved When God Acts?The Watchtower—1996 | August 15
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Jesus added: “In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:22) What did that mean then, and what does it mean now?
10. How have we previously explained Matthew 24:22?
10 In the past it was explained that the ‘flesh to be saved’ referred to Jews who survived the tribulation on Jerusalem in 70 C.E. The Christians had fled, so God could let the Romans bring a swift destruction. In other words, on account of the fact that the “chosen ones” were out of danger, the days of the tribulation could be cut short, allowing some Jewish “flesh” to be saved. It was felt that the surviving Jews foreshadowed those who would survive the great tribulation coming in our day.—Revelation 7:14.
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Will You Be Saved When God Acts?The Watchtower—1996 | August 15
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12. Who were the first-century “chosen ones” in whom God was interested?
12 By 70 C.E., God no longer viewed the natural Jews as his chosen people. Jesus showed that God had rejected that nation and would let its capital city, temple, and system of worship come to an end. (Matthew 23:37–24:2) God chose a new nation, spiritual Israel. (Acts 15:14; Romans 2:28, 29; Galatians 6:16) It was composed of men and women chosen out of all nations and anointed with holy spirit. (Matthew 22:14; John 15:19; Acts 10:1, 2, 34, 35, 44, 45) Some years before the attack by Cestius Gallus, Peter wrote to “the ones chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, with sanctification by the spirit.” Such spirit-anointed ones were “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” (1 Peter 1:1, 2; 2:9) God would take such chosen ones to heaven to reign with Jesus.—Colossians 1:1, 2; 3:12; Titus 1:1; Revelation 17:14.
13. What sense might Jesus’ words at Matthew 24:22 have had?
13 This identifying of the chosen ones is helpful, since Jesus foretold that the days of tribulation would be cut short “on account of the chosen ones.” The Greek word translated “on account of” can also be rendered “for the sake of” or “for . . . sake.” (Mark 2:27; John 12:30; 1 Corinthians 8:11; 9:10, 23; 11:9; 2 Timothy 2:10; Revelation 2:3) So Jesus could have been saying, ‘Unless those days are cut short, no flesh will be saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.’c (Matthew 24:22) Did something occur that benefited or was ‘for the sake of’ the Christian chosen ones trapped in Jerusalem?
14. How was “flesh” saved when the Roman army unexpectedly retreated from Jerusalem in 66 C.E.?
14 Recall that in 66 C.E., the Romans moved through the land, occupied upper Jerusalem, and began undermining the wall. Josephus comments: “If only he had persevered with the siege a little longer he would have captured the City at once.” Ask yourself, ‘Why would the powerful Roman army suddenly abandon the campaign and “flying in the face of all reason” retreat?’ Rupert Furneaux, a specialist in interpreting military history, comments: “No historian has succeeded in supplying any adequate reason for Gallus’s strange and disastrous decision.” Be that as it may, the effect was that the tribulation was cut short. The Romans retreated, with the Jews savaging them as they went. What of the anointed Christian “chosen ones” who had been trapped? The lifting of the siege meant that they were saved from any slaughter that threatened during the tribulation. Hence, those Christians who benefited from the cutting short of the tribulation in 66 C.E. were the saved “flesh” mentioned at Matthew 24:22.
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