A fairly typical response to my assertions on Matthew 24:24. Who is the elect, and can they be deceived?

 Within a couple of hours of posting on Matthew 24:24, Who is the elect, and can they be deceived?  I received a comment. I am showing you this because this is a fairly typical response. At least this one is readable.

She said, “All very interesting. Note that Matthew 24:22 (KJV) and Matthew 24:24 (KJV) speak of 2 different groups, ‘the elect’ and ‘the very elect’. It is not possible for ‘the very elect’ to be deceived. I believe that ‘the elect’ of 24:22 refers to the Jews, while ‘the very elect’ could very well be a mixed group of Jew and Gentile believers who will miss the tribulation period.”

Sometimes I feel like I am stuck in a bad joke and they are just trying to make me look. I took her comment as a challenge, and I looked.

Since I sent the same message to you, then you effectively understand what I was saying, and why.

Together, we considered the context, the culture, their understanding of the scriptures – the Old Testament, and who Jesus had been talking to. We also compared Matthew 24:24 with Mark's version (Mark 13:6,) which told us, that many would be deceived; this information is in sharp contrast to NO ONE can be deceived.

It was clear, in my mind, who the elect was that Jesus pointed to, and never once did Jesus say, there are various levels of the elect. Most of us know that in any religious organization there are varying levels of authority, although, even the lowest on the totem pole think that they are in charge and will aggressively try to push you around. 

The disciples, whom the elect believed to be uneducated and common, understood what Jesus was telling them – how that the decision-makers, capable of influencing the attendees of the synagogues, should wholeheartedly follow this new way of looking at things (deception). 

But what if it looks like Islam?

I may not be an educated man, but I lived in the days of the hippies, and I refuse to accept everything that comes my way, just because “the man” says so.

With all that, let me show you, once again, Matthew 24:24 and then Matthew 24:22, and let's see if verse twenty-two, is pointing to a group of untouchable super elites if you will. 

We will also ask the question, who are they, and will they miss the tribulation period?

For there will appear false Messiahs and false prophets performing great miracles—amazing things!—so as to fool even the chosen, if possible.
(Matthew 24:24 CJB)

I used this translation because it uses the word Messiahs. This word conveys an effort to represent themselves as someone sent from God when clearly, they are not.

Now on to Matthew 24:22, but before I insert the passage, I need to ask you a question that only has validity if you read my previous post.

Did the context change?

The answer is NO, and therefore the same understanding that we applied to Matthew 24:24, applies to Matthew 24:22.

"Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
(Matthew 24:22 NASB)

The first thing that catches my eye is the fact that Jesus pointed out how a merciful God shortened the effects of a deadly period of time, which is not defined within the verse (we have an idea of who and what that something is because we were wise and read the previous verses.) This deadly onslaught is directly associated with the Abomination of Desolations, spoken of through Daniel the prophet.

Alright then, let's look at Daniel and see what it says.

“And he (the antichrist) shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon the wing or pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator.”
(Daniel 9:27 AMP)

• “And he”

  This is understood to be the antichrist.

• “shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for seven years.”

  Most understand this “many” to be ten world leaders. It is becoming easier, by the day, to guess who these ten might be. There is a good chance this covenant/treaty takes place right after the rapture and Israel will be the target of a massive and possible nuclear attack. This is what Ezekiel 38 speaks of, where God steps in and fights for Israel by sending firebombs from the heavens.

• “And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]”

  The antichrist will break his own covenant, and stop all sacrifices and offerings in the temple.

• “... Then the "Horrible Thing" that causes destruction will be put there. And it will stay there until the time God has decided to destroy this one who destroys.” (CEV)

  At this point, there is a hand-off to the false prophet - the one that Jesus spoke of who will portray himself as a messiah and will perform signs and wonders, just as Moses did.

  This false prophet will ally himself with the god of the antichrist, and Islamic prophecies call him the enforcer of Sharia law. I used the CEV because it conveys, better than most, the idea that this man is a destroyer. Here is where we need to jump back to Matthew 24, once again. 

  “Someday you will see that "Horrible Thing" in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand! If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. If you are on the roof of your house, don't go inside to get anything. If you are out in the field, don't go back for your coat. It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. And pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath. This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again.” 
  (Matthew 24:15-21 CEV)

And this is the lead-in to Matthew 24:22.

If God doesn't make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God's chosen ones, he will make the time shorter.
(Matthew 24:22 CEV)

Yes, I used a different translation, because the NASB uses the term elect, while the CEV employs the word chosen.

Since we started by addressing how Jesus had been referring to the “elect” as the ones who would be deceived, is He still concerned with the chief priests, scribes, and rabbis here?

Not so much, as He now includes commoners and women among those who should run for their lives.

“then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. "Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. "Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.” "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.”
(Matthew 24:16-20 NASB)

Here, the emphasis is on God's chosen people, the Jews, and NOT just the chief priests and elders; the focus on them comes two verses later in Matthew 24:24.

So, once again, here is the quote I started with.

“All very interesting. Note that Matthew 24:22 (KJV) and Matthew 24:24 (KJV) speak of 2 different groups, ‘the elect’ and ‘the very elect’. It is not possible for ‘the very elect’ to be deceived. I believe that ‘the elect’ of 24:22 refers to the Jews, while ‘the very elect’ could very well be a mixed group of Jew and Gentile believers who will miss the tribulation period.”

If I wanted to stretch my thinking, then I suppose I can see two groups of “elect.” The problem is, there is nothing I see that gives them these titles, they did that too and for themselves. I can see them as dumb and dumber, for following the priests who ignored the Tenach and rejected scriptures that speak of the Messiah Yeshua; and then, there are the followers who merely accepted the teachings of the Jewish leadership without question.

For this lady to advocate that “It is not possible for the very elect to be deceived,” demonstrates how little she knows, and, how easy it is to be deceived. 

If God was merely toying with us, using a cultist, class game, then He would be a liar against His own Word, and subject to death; and we would be slaves to Satan's deceptions as they manipulated our attempts to improve our social status and class. In God's eyes, all of this feeds into the struggle for the things of this world. (See James 4:4)

When the disciples ask Jesus about the destruction of the temple, (which was not speaking directly to 70AD, but even further down the timeline,) the sign of His coming – (back as the Messiah, for they had no concept of the church or the snatching away of said church,) and, the end of the age, they expected a Jewish response.

The word they used for the end meant the completion of this Godly plan, and when they said age, they spoke the word aiōn, which is the Greek version of the Hebrew word eon, meaning an age, - in either case, these words are only defined by the words used in conjunction with it; for the Jews asking the questions, it meant the Messianic age. They might as well have asked, when are you going to come back as the warring Messiah?

Since we know that their questions were centered on the Jews and Israel, then we can also know that their concern had nothing to do with Gentiles believers; and strangely, God never mixes the two into one conversation, as He describes the events of the Revelation. It is because of this, that we don't indiscriminately bring them into the mix.