“Prophetic” Years?

In the book of Daniel, and then echoed in Revelation, you will encounter the phrase “time, times, and half a time” — a period that should be understood in context as referring to years. The plural in “times” here is actually the Hebrew/Aramaic dual marker — a feature that English speakers may not be familiar with. Unlike the simple plural which just means “more than one,” this specifically indicates exactly two. In other words, the phrase is literally “one, two, and half” — 3½ years.

In end times contexts, one of the first things you are likely to encounter is the assertion that the spans 1,260 days and 42 months (both of which are only encountered in Revelation) are just synonyms for this same 3½ year period. To make this claim, one needs to appeal to the concept of a “prophetic year” where years are simplified to exactly 12 months consisting of exactly 30 days each. Thus, 3½ years × 12 months each = 42 months, and 42 months × 30 days each = 1,260 days.

However, this may actually be an example of circular reasoning: because the math is so clean, equality is assumed and supports the prophetic year interpretation … which then justifies the claim to equality. To break this circular reasoning, we would need to find an example outside of these texts to support the claim, and it is here that people will point to the fulfillment of the first 69 weeks.

The First 69 Weeks

In Daniel 9:24-26, we are told that the first 69 weeks (seven year periods), or the first 483 years, will begin with the issuing forth of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Of the post-exilic decrees the Bible records, only one fits this description: the decree of King Artaxerxes recorded in Nehemiah 2 which occurred in 445 BC. Adding 483 years to this date results in a date of AD 39 — bypassing any possible time that Jesus was on earth.

This is where the appeal to “prophetic years” comes into play, and it goes something like this: If you take the number of days in a prophetic year (360) and multiply by 483 years you get 173,880 literal days. If you then map that back to solar years by dividing by 365.25, then you get ≈476 solar years. 445 BC + 476 solar years lands you right around AD 32.

What many fail to see is that the application of the prophetic year hermeneutic gets reversed in application between past and present:

• The Past (Daniel 9): Uses figurative years to derive literal days.
• The Future (Revelation): Uses literal years to show figurative days (1,260) and months (42).

When it comes to the 2300 “evenings and mornings” (1150 days) of Daniel 8:13-14, it gets even more complicated. People try to use prophetic years to understand the Antiochus timing. We know that Antiochus defiled the temple on the 15th of Kislev in 167 BC, and then the temple was rededicated on the 25th of Kislev, 164 BC three years later. That’s 3 prophetic years (360 × 3 = 1,080) + 10 days = 1,090. Then you drop back into solar time and add two leap months of 30 days each to get 1,090 + 60 = 1,150 days.

We must ask, though, why are we adding leap months in one span but ommitting them in the other?

This isn’t an example of a consistently applied hermeneutic, it’s an example of a calendrical rescue device.

An Unnecessary Appeal

French historicist and linguist Gerard Gertoux performed a re-examination of the documents, coins, language, and astronomy pertaining to the succession of Persian kings. In 2016-2018 he published his findings which included the assertion that there was a previously unrecognized co-regency period which results in the decree of Artaxerxes being issued in 455 BC — ten years later. From this new date adding 483 lands in AD 29 with no special pleading or convoluted math necessary.

The 455 BC date isn’t just a Gertoux invention; it was also a historical position held by some earlier chronologists (like Ussher or even certain Jewish traditions) before the Ptolemaic timeline became the “undisputed” standard. If this date is correct, and I believe it is, this destroys the only solid reason for us to consider “prophetic years” in the end times sequences and spans.

When it comes to the 1,150 days for Antiochus, the more reasonable interpretation is to recognize that sacrifices were stopped before the desecration of the Temple and to place the start date there rather than at the desecration even though the date was not recorded.

And just to be clear, even though the other dates were recorded, there’s no way to know exactly how many days transpired between them. Since the calendar was still based on lunar observation at that time, we don’t know the actual number of days in each year (could vary by a couple of days) nor do we know when leap months landed, it would have been either 1 or 2 over that period. We’ll get into Hebrew calendar mechanics in the next section, but the actual span would have been either 1102±3 days or 1132±3 days, which would put the cessation of sacrifices either at the end of Tishrei or the end of Cheshvan, ≈18 or ≈48 days earlier.

The Case Against Genesis 7-8

Some will point to Genesis 7-8 as a precedent for using a 360-day year. In it, there is very clearly a 150 day span that indicates seven 30-day months. This may seem like a good parallel, but there are a fiew reasons why it doesn’t apply:

• There’s no guesswork involved in Genesis: We are given the exact day span (150), the exact month span (5), and a corresponding containing year span (1). There’s absolutely no ambiguity involved here. In the Daniel and Revelation spans, there are zero indicators that a reader should deviate from the normal understanding of a year (aside from the circular reasoning from math already pointed out).

• Prophecy demands more precision: If the purpose of prophecy is to serve as a divine hallmark, then why would God hide the actual time span in convoluted math not indicated anywhere in the text itself? When the non-standard understanding (360-day years) is desired, as in Genesis, we see that it is almost over-explained, but here when precision matters, it’s left up to the reader to guess?

• Genesis might be literal: As a proponent of Hydroplate Theory, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that one of the postulations of the theory is that the earth was created with perfectly divisible 360-day years and 30-day months, and it was the violence of the flood itself that slightly increased the angular momentum of the earth (increasing its rotation speed) resulting in slightly shorter days and therefore slightly more days per year. Under this theory, Noah’s 30-day months weren’t symbolic but literal as the flood hadn’t yet affected the calendar. Subsequently, we should expect that any later dates would not be using the shorter year.

• There’s no connection: Finally, even if we grant that Genesis 7-8 is using a figurative/symbolic “prophetic” year, there is nothing in either Daniel or Revelation related to the given spans that indicate we should use the 360-day year seen in Genesis. I will cede the point that one could cite Jesus referring to the end times as being “like the days of Noah” as the necessary cross-reference, but it is far more likely that Jesus is speaking only of impending judgement and rescue, not making an appeal to the calendar.

The Hebrew Calendar

If we are talking about Biblical times and dates, then it stands to reason that we should understand the calendar that the Bible uses — the differences between it and our modern Gregorian calendar are notable.

The Hebrew calendar is luni-solar: months are based off of the lunar cycle, but adjustments are made (leap months) to keep the calendar seasonally aligned with the solar year. Traditionally, months began with the sighting of the first crescent after a new moon, although sightings would only postpone by a single day in practice. This would have resulted in 29- or 30-day months unevenly distributed throughout the year. Around the 4th century, though, the calendar changed to a calculated one — still aligned with the lunar cycle, but more predictable. Some minority groups today, like the Karaite Jews, still use lunar sightings to determine month starts, but it is the calculated calendar that the vast majority of Jews have used for centuries.

💡 Because of its predictability, anyone doing future calendar calculations must use the calculated form of the calendar. Over long spans, the differences should be minimal, but for transparency, the difference should be acknowledged.

Breakdown

• There are 12 months in a normal year that alternate between 29 and 30 days.

  • BUT two of these months can be either 29 or 30 days in any given year.

• To maintain seasonal alignment, every 2 to 3 years a 30-day leap month is inserted.

• The number of days in a non-leap Hebrew year:

  • 354±1 Days (353-355)

• Baseline number of days in a 3½-year span:

  • 354±1 × 3.5 = 1,239±4 Days (1,235-1,243)

• In any 3½-year span, there will be either 1 or 2 leap months.

• This actually gives us two valid, non-overlapping spans:

  • 1,239±4 + 30 = 1,269±4 Days (1,265-1,273)
  • 1,239±4 + 60 = 1,299±4 Days (1,295-1,303)

From this we can see that for any given 3½-year span, it will never equal either 1,260, 1,290, or 1,335 days on a purely mathematical basis. Given the requisite leap months, we can also see that it will never equal 42 months either (always 43 or 44).

We can look at this math and say that 1,260, or perhaps even 1,290, is “close enough” and continue on with existing interpretations … OR … we can ask ourselves “what if these spans are literal? What if the Bible means what it says?”

What follows is at least one answer to that question.

The Hermeneutic

Looking at fulfilled prophecy, especially the first coming, we see an established pattern: exactness and symbolic alignment — exactly 70 years to the month of Babylonian exile (fulfilling the completion of missed Sabbath years), Christ dying as the sacrificial lamb at the very hour the Passover lambs were slaughtered and rising on the third day as the firstfruits offering, the Holy Spirit descending on the apostles on the very day that commemorated Moses descending Sinai with the law, and so much more.

Given that, I propose the following criteria be used to search for possible placement of literal spans on the actual Hebrew calendar:

• Spans should be exact. We disallow any “fudging” of the numbers.

• Spans should align meaningfully with festivals, fasts, and other meaningful dates (mo’edim) on the Hebrew calendar. Primarily this means that there will be a mo’ed marking the beginning AND the ending of each span. We should never have a span that only begins or ends on a mo’ed leaving the opposite end “dangling.”

• Our calculations should adopt the default Hebrew method of inclusive reckoning unless the text indicates otherwise. For example, a phrase like “after N days” would indicate exclusive reckoning rather than inclusive.

• For mo’edim, we should only consider those found in Tanakh. This reduces any chance of cherry picking random, obscure, or even localized events.

• For reckoning spans, we must match the level of precision given in the Bible. If years, we can ignore leap months and exact day counts. If months, we can ignore exact day counts, but leap years will necessarily be counted individually. If days, then month-lengths also matter. Some of the spans we are given even have half-day precision, and that should be accounted for also.

• If there is a dispute in the timing of a mo’ed, we will favor a scripturally explicit date over one based on Talmud or oral tradition. For example, the Karaite Jews (a minority community) observe the four fasts seen in Zechariah 8 on slightly different dates, but it is their dates that are based in actual Tanakh rather than the mainstream ones.

• If for any particular span we encounter multiple alignments satisfying the above requirements, we should carefully examine the symbolism, typology, and scriptural parallels of each candidate and choose the one that carries the most weight.

Calculations

One of the first things we can do is to create a spreadsheet of all of the mo’ed-to-mo’ed spans and the number of inclusive days between each that are even mathematically possible. Once done, this reveals that our hermeneutic can, in fact, produce valid results.

Daniel 12: 1,290 / 1,335 Days

First of all, we must consider what we are measuring in this instance. Daniel states that he who “arrives at” the 1,335th day will be blessed. This surely, then, must exclude the Antichrist, the False Prophet, or their armies from reaching this day. The description of their destruction in Revelation is one of swift annihilation at Christ’s return followed by the millennial reign of Christ.

I posit, then, that the 1,335th day is the first day of the Millennial Kingdom which occurs the day after the battle of Armageddon. This means that we should be looking for either a 45-day span symbolically aligned to the Millennial Kingdom or a 44-day span symbolically aligned to the destruction of Satan’s forces.

Secondly, for any 44/45-day span to match, it must be preceded by a corresponding 1,290-day span whose start symbolically aligns with the midpoint abomination. This creates a clear pattern for us to match:

A → 1,290 days → B → 44/45 days → C

When we check the spreadsheet, there is only one chain that matches this pattern (using 44 days from the pivot):

Yom Kippur → Religious New Year → Second Passover

Symbolic Alignment:

Yom Kippur > Abomination of Desolation:

• Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the only day in the entire year when anyone (the High Priest) was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. This would be the same day that the Antichrist enters the Holy of Holies for its desecration — an “anti-atonement” if you will.

• If not performed correctly, an improper atonement ceremony causes desolation of the temple (the absence of God’s presence). This is the very day that the antichrist puts a stop to sacrifices (atonement included) and desecrates the temple via some “abomination” which causes desolation. Stopping atonement mid-ceremony is about as literal of a fulfillment of “abomination that causes desolation” as you can get.

Religious New Year > 1,290 End:

• Daniel never lists any purpose or event tied to the end of the 1,290 days. Indeed, it only seems to serve as a pivot to the 1,335 days which are marked with the blessing.

• What we can see from our spreadsheet, however, is that by presenting the 1,290 > 1,335 pivot, Daniel creates a pattern that has only one fulfillment on the Hebrew calendar. The 1,290 is absolutely necessary for identifying the correct span, but no purpose is indicated beyond that.

Second Passover > Armageddon:

• Passover commemorates the night of the final plague of the Exodus when the angel of death descended on the land, and Armageddon is the final “plague” of God’s judgement when Jesus descends to kill the evil armies.

• There is a provision in Torah for anyone who missed the main Passover (Numbers 9:9-16); those who miss the first because of impurity or travel may observe Second Passover one month later. Anyone who lives through Armageddon — those who missed the rapture because of impurity (no imputed righteousness of Christ), but who also did not take the mark of the beast — will have been “passed over” in judgement and blessed to arrive at the 1,335th day marking the beginning of Christ’s earthly kingdom.

• Unlike the main Passover, Second Passover does not require full removal of leaven. Where the saints had their leaven (sin) removed, receiving immortal, glorified bodies at the rapture, these would survive into the Millennium still in their mortal, sinful bodies.

• Unlike the main Passover, the Second Passover does not require presentation at the temple. Indeed, those rescued at the rapture will be taken to the temple in heaven to celebrate the wedding feast of the lamb — an honor that these will not receive.

The 70th Week

Most of the 360-day, prophetic-year frameworks are forced to interpret the the 1,260-day span as beginning at the midpoint and ending with the end of the 70th week. Since the 1,290 and 1,335 are explicitly anchored to the midpoint, this then creates additional 30-day and 75-day spans past the end of Daniel’s 70th week.

Almost without exception, you will find in these interpretations the “extra” days containing events like the restoration of Israel, the consecrating of the temple, or often Armageddon itself. These events occurring after the 70th week ends present a very real contradiction with the stated purposes that are to be accomplished by the 70 weeks:

This framework, though, by recognizing each of these spans as literal and independent of one another, as well as the variability of the Hebrew year, is free to make the following deductions:

• If all purposes listed in Daniel 9:24 are fulfilled within the 70 weeks as the text suggests, then the battle of Armageddon, on day 1,334, should mark the end of the 70th week.

• By placing the endpoint at Iyar 14, the beginning of the 70th week would be seven years earlier, also on Iyar 14. However, given our level of precision here (years), I believe only month-level granularity is warranted for placement of the start — a start of Iyar 14 would be precise, but a start any time in the month of Iyar would still fulfill the text of seven years.

• Because the 1,290 and 1,335 alignments require two leap months, and any 1260-day alignment from that same mo’ed is only possible using a single leap month, we know that there is no 1,260-day span possible that begins on the same day as the 1,290. The 1,260 days is more likely to be an independent, overlapping span floating sometime within the 70th week. Indeed, nowhere in revelation is the 1,260-day span anchored to any other event; alignment comes only from the mathematical assumptions underlying the prophetic year interpretations.

Real World Alignment

With our unique pattern locked in, we can now pull actual spans on the Hebrew calendar and see if — and how often — these exact alignments actually occur. Those only familiar with the Gregorian calendar may find this approach a bit odd — we tend to think of spans aligning every year — but the much broader range of year-length variability in the Hebrew calendar means that these alignments cannot occur every year.

Since the shorter 44-day span from Nisan 1 to Iyar 14 remains invariably fixed on the calculated calendar, we only need to test the roughly 3.5 year spans from Tishrei 10 to Nisan 1 for exact 1,290-day counts. To solve this, I was able to pull dates from HebCal.com (I pulled from AD 100 to AD 10,000), do a little calendar math, and then dump the results into a spreadsheet.

THE RESULT: the 1,290/1,335 pattern repeats somewhat frequently, but not with absolute regularity — roughly every 11 to 16 years. This confirms real-world alignment and allows us to identify possible matches on the actual calendar, and since we’ve now already pulled real dates, we can begin testing future alignments against the next occurring cycle.

⚠️ The next cycle that matches the 1,290/1,335 pattern begins on Tishrei 10 in 2029. This situates the 70th week from Iyar, 2026 to Iyar, 2033.

We will use this particular period on the actual Hebrew calendar to test the alignment of the remaining spans.

It should be noted that using this particular cycle is not an absolute statement that it is “the one” (nor is it a denial). Using the actual calendar just makes testing spans much easier given available tools.

The Woman’s Flight: 3½ Years

Two Flights? Recapitulation?

In this chapter there are two depictions of the woman’s flight: verse 6 places the flight at 1,260 days while verse 13 places the flight at “time, times, and half” (3½ years). Many mainstream interpretations see these two descriptions as recapitulation — two views of a singular event — a view that has strong linguistic support in the mirrored language of each. Logic, on the other hand, seems to exclude a straight recapitulation interpretation.

The chapter seems to point in two different directions.

Recapitulation Language

The case for a single flight is found in the significant overlap of descriptors for each flight: a prepared place, Yahweh gave her, in the wilderness, sustained, nourished. This is not an unusual device for Hebrew with two views to a single event. I will, however, point out that a lot of what we’re doing throughout this paper is breaking connections that are seemingly there but are really just built on a foundation of similarity not explicit equivalence.

The Logic Chain

In the beginning of the chapter, the dragon (Satan) pursues the pregnant woman (Israel) in the hopes to devour her soon-to-be-born child (Jesus). Immediately after the birth, the child is taken to heaven (Jesus’ ascension) and the woman flees for 1,260 days (verse 6).

Verse 7 kicks off with a sequence marker: “then…” We are told of a war in heaven where Satan is defeated and cast out “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” — a clear reference to the crucifixion. Thus, the war in heaven MUST take place after the first flight which is itself after the crucifixion.

In verse 13, we are told that the dragon begins pursuing the woman again because he had been cast down — the war in heaven is the cause of the second pursuit, to which the two wings and the woman’s 3½-year flight are a response.

In summary:

• The 3½-year flight is a response to the second pursuit…

• Which is caused by Satan’s downfall…

• Which marks the end of the war in heaven…

• Which begins after the 1,260-day flight…

• Which comes after the ascension…

• Which comes after the crucifixion…

NOTE:

We don’t need to speculate what the first flight is — that’s a completely separate discussion. We just need to note that the time specifically pertaining to the end is 3½-years, not the 1,260-day span.

What if it’s both?

The logic clearly forces us to view two separate spans, but the linguistic features strongly pulls us towards one. What if both are intentional? What if we are supposed to see two overlapping spans? When we examine the only other 1,260-day span in the Bible, the Two Witnesses, I think you will see that this is exactly what is intended.

Calendar Placement

For a 3½-year span with only year-level precision (ignoring month and day variability), we need only identify mo’ed that are exactly 6 months apart on the calendar; any such pairs can mark the beginning and end points of this span. There are exactly 2.

• Nisan 1, Religious New Year ←→ Tishrei 1, Civil New Year

• Nisan 15, Feast of Unleavened Bread ←→ Tishrei 15, Feast of Booths

Since we have, essentially, four options for placement, we need to fall back on symbolism and typology — out of these four mo’ed, the starting point is an easy choice. Those familiar with Torah should immediately recognize that Nisan 15 was the night that the Hebrews began their flight out of Egypt into the wilderness. Same woman. Same action. Perfect typological alignment. Now, with a start date in hand, we have to figure out which Nisan 15 within the 70th week makes the most sense.

If we place the start any time after the midpoint, the the end falls well outside the 70th week itself which is a violation of Daniel 9:24’s purposes for the weeks themselves and also fails the sequence in Revelation 12 where the woman is pursued by Satan prior to the Great Tribulation (where Satan turns his attention to “her offspring,” Christians).

We run into the same Daniel 9:24 violation if we try to pin the end of the woman’s flight close to the midpoint as this pushes the start date outside of the 70th week at the beginning. This also introduces another logistic problem: if the Woman is in flight — indeed her flight is almost over by the midpoint — then how is Israel performing the sacrifices that the antichrist puts a stop to?

The best alignment, I believe, is to place the start at the Nisan 15 immediately preceding the midpoint. In the cycle we’re examining, that places the Woman’s Flight about six months prior to the Abomination of Desolation in 2029. Most views place the beginning of the Woman’s Flight at the midpoint itself, so this offset might seem counterintuitive at first. It does, however, hold up quite well upon examination.

The Exodus Typology

The Festival of Unleavened Bread, which kicks off both the first and this Future Exodus, lasts exactly seven days. The 3½-year Woman’s Flight can be divided into seven 6-month periods, giving us a 6-month = 1 “day” typological overlay that provides striking alignment between the two.

The Biblical Narrative

Looking back at the narrative provided in Revelation 12:13-17, we see a perfect alignment with the offset sequence:

1. v13: The Dragon pursues the Woman after being cast down

2. v14: The Woman is given Two Wings and begins her flight — Just as in the First Exodus, “flight” begins with consecration, still in the land. This is the Nisan 15 moment where, I believe, the Passover sacrifice is performed (by far, the most likely sacrifice to be performed first on the Temple Mount). It marks the beginning of Israel’s return to Torah obedience.

3. v15: After the Woman’s flight begins, the dragon sends a flood to destroy Israel — the inevitable and overwhelming response from the Islamic world to Israel sacrificing on the mount. Daniel 9:26 uses the same language (flood) to describe the AD 70 siege on Jerusalem.

4. v16: This flood will be ineffective, and we can see this reflected in Israel’s overconfidence in their own security in the land in Ezekiel 38. However, these forces, unified under Gog, will eventually be effective in capturing Jerusalem Ezekiel 38:8-16 Zechariah 14:1-2 Luke 21:20. The siege culminates with the Abomination of Desolation Matthew 24:15-18.

5. v17: The Antichrist is only successful in capturing half of the city Zechariah 14:2, the rest enter the wilderness (spoiler: guided by the Two Witnesses). Frustrated, the Dragon turns his attention to making war against the Woman’s offspring (Christians) marking the start of the Great Tribulation — the midpoint of Daniel’s 70th week.

The Multitude in heaven

This lays out the beginning of the Woman’s Flight and the uncanny alignment with the First Exodus, but now let’s turn to the mo’ed marking its end: Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, which in this cycle lands about three years past the midpoint on Tishrei 15 in 2032.

The Feast of Booths celebrates God’s protection through the wilderness — God dwelling with man. It is also known as the Feast of Ingathering, the celebration of the end of the harvest season and the ingathering of the final harvests of the year — God’s provision and gathering His people. Observations of this festival include building sukkah/tabernacles (temporary shelters), waving palm branches, cries of Hosannah (God save us!), the water drawing ceremony, and prayers for rain.

The signs that Jesus said would accompany his return Matthew 24:29-31 and the gathering of his elect (the rescue) can be seen at the breaking of the 6th seal Revelation 6:12-17. What immediately follows in chapter 7 is the sealing of the 144,000 Revelation 7:1-8, and then the great multitude in heaven which are accompanied with several allusions to Sukkot:

• v9: Carrying palm branches
• v10: Cries of Hosannah (salvation belongs to God)
• v15: God says he will “tabernacle” (shelter) them with his presence
• v17: Springs of living water

Revelation 6 shows us that Christ’s arrival initiates the harvest of his people; Revelation 14:14-20 gives us a different angle showing us that it is also the time of the harvest of the grapes of God’s wrath. A perfect alignment with the Festival of Ingathering.

The 7+1 Typology & the 8th Assembly

On the day immediately after Sukkot, there is an additional, separate festival known as Sh’mini Atzeret, the 8th Assembly — when the King tarries for just one more day of intimate connection with his beloved. This day features more prayers for rain, the end of dwelling in booths, and the end of the Torah reading cycle.

Now that we’ve placed the span on the calendar, we can see that there are exactly seven months from the end of the 3½ years on Tishrei 15, 2032 to the first day of the Millennium on Iyar 15, 2033. … at least, there normally would be, except that a leap month is inserted here making it eight months.

This creates another typological layer similar to the Exodus pattern we saw. With a 1 month = 1 “day” typological overlay, the multitude is in heaven for an exact mirror of the Booths + 8th Assembly period. This time ends with Christ riding out of heaven dressed for battle with his holy ones following. The end of the Torah cycle. The end of the 70th week — indeed, the end of the entire 70-week arc completing the purposes outline in Daniel 9:24. And the final battle of Armageddon sees the destruction of the Beast’s armies by a great hail (60-pound hailstones!) — the answer to the prayers for rain.

The Two Witnesses: 1,260 Days

Two Witnesses = Two Wings

I’ll just say it up front, I believe the Two Witnesses are the Two Wings given to the Woman. The textual clues tying them together appear deliberate and cumulative.

• The “1,260” Parallel: As we have seen earlier, the 1,260-day flight logically separates itself from the 3½-year one, but the strong linguistic parallels between the two leading some to interpret recapitulation are real. The text seems to be showing us something that is “the same, but not the same” by giving us the only other reference to 1,260 days in the entire Bible right after chapter 11’s reference.

• “They” Sustain: There is a second callback to the two witnesses in the first flight. This is often smoothed over in English translations, but the Greek reads something like “they feed her there 1,260 days.” The referent for “they” is never named. Paired with the 1,260 number just mentioned in the previous chapter, a strong tie is formed to the witnesses themselves being the “they” here.

  • In fact, even if you hold to the recapitulation view of a single flight, the text still separates the two spans: 3½ years for the flight, 1,260 for the sustenance within the flight.

• The “Give” Parallel: Both chapters include a striking, open-ended “give” structure where God himself is the giver. English translations usually supply Revelation 11:3 with an object (e.g., “authority”), but the Greek just reads, “I will give to my two witnesses” without actually stating what is given. It forms an open-ended statement pointing forward. In Revelation 12:14, the woman is given two wings. This is a passive verb not explicitly naming who is doing the giving. Though the giver is presumably God, it still forms an open-ended structure pointing backward. You have the same actor (God) performing the same action (giving) in back-to-back chapters structured such that each points at the other.

• The “Two” Parallel: Chapter 11 hammers the number two: two witnesses, two olive trees, two lampstands, two prophets. Then in the very next chapter when the Woman is given wings, a callback to Exodus 19:4, ”…I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself,” but the text in Revelation adds that she is given two wings. Linguistically, this is unnecessary (eagles only have two wings to give, so the plural alone is sufficient) unless the number itself is important.

Calendar Placement

For this time span, then, we should be looking for something that aligns very closely with the Woman’s Flight — preferably entirely encompassed by it given that 1,260 days will, by definition, be shorter than any 3½-year one and the treatment of the two in Revelation 12. That connection provides us with the biggest clue for placement via the original Exodus narrative. The two pillars in the First Flight — the mirror of the Two Witnesses — are first mentioned on the second day of the Exodus, when they were camped at Etham Exodus 13:20-22. This perhaps points us to Nisan 16 as a target for placement.

Nisan 16, in modern Judaism, is the day of the Firstfruits offering, but it wasn’t always. There is a debate dating back to at least the 2nd century over when to begin the count leading to Shavuot (Pentecost) between the Pharisees and the Boethusians/Sadducees. The debate is over Leviticus 23:15, “You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath.”

• The Pharisees argued that “Sabbath” here refers to the high Sabbath of Nisan 15 which means the count should always begin on Nisan 16.

• The Boethusians and Sadducees argued that it refers to the weekly Sabbath occurring in the 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread which means the date of the count floats from year to year, but always begins on a Sunday.

Despite the earliest records like the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Book of Jubilees, and even the Samaritan Torah indicating the always-Sunday view, the Pharisaic interpretation won out in mainstream Judaism. Karaite Jews today, though, still hold to the “day after the weekly Sabbath” interpretation.

This dispute creates a tension if we decide to place the 1,260-days on Nisan 16 which aligns with the modern Rabbinic view, but not with the likely older and more Torah-driven method. Fortunately, in the cycle we are examining, this ends up being a moot point. Nisan 15, 2029 lands on the weekly Sabbath meaning that both methods place the Firstfruits offering on Nisan 16 in 2029.

Symbolic Alignment

The symbolism for a Nisan 16 placement works well. The same day that the pillars are given is the same day that the Two Witnesses are given. These two who are, perhaps, the first to be raised from the dead, are given during the offering of the Firstfruits of the harvest.

Before we look at the end of the span, we need to be certain of what span we are, in fact, measuring. We are told that the witnesses give their testimony for 1,260 days after which they are killed and lie dead in the street for an additional 3½ days before being raised up. Thus, the span we are actually placing is 1,263½ days with a half-day level of precision.

Given the half-day precision, there are actually two events on Nisan 16 that we can use for alignment: the harvesting of the barley sheaf — this was done at nightfall (remember, Hebrew days start at sunset) — and the offering of the omer in the Temple — this was done in the morning after sunrise. There is some flexibility here with the exact timing we choose, but for reasons that will unfold as we go, I am choosing to split the difference between these post-sunset and post-sunrise events and place the start just after midnight.

Now, from just after midnight on Nisan 16, 2029 we need only add 1,260 days which lands at just after midnight on Tishrei 7, 2032. Add 3½ more days, and you end up mid-afternoon on Tishrei 10, 2032: Yom Kippur and the day of Jubilee.

Resurrection & Return

The description of the resurrection of the Two Witnesses’ ties together several verses regarding the Rapture and Jesus’ second coming.

• The Clouds: In Acts 1:9-11 we see Jesus standing with the apostles on the Mount of Olives before being taken up in a cloud. Angels then tell the apostles that Jesus would return “in the same way” they saw him go. A reversal of this aligns far better with the Rapture imagery of Jesus returning on the clouds (and continuing all the way to the Mount of Olives), rather than when Jesus appears from heaven astride a white horse in blood-stained robes and prepared for battle. Many passages throughout the New Testament tie Jesus’ second coming and the Rapture itself to Daniel 7’s anointed one “coming on the clouds.” Here the Two Witnesses are taken up “in a cloud” showing the same second-coming imagery.

• The Earthquake: Zechariah 14:4-5 shows the Mount of Olives splitting in two when the Lord’s feet touch the ground. It is no stretch at all to tie this event to the earthquake that accompanies the signs of the Day of the Lord at the breaking of the 6th seal Revelation 6:12 and the earthquake that occurs at the time of the Two Witnesses’ resurrection Revelation 11:13.

• The Shout: Revelation 11:12 tells us exactly what is being shouted: “Come up here!”

• The Dead in Christ: The Witnesses, lying dead for 3½ days, are raised first (along with all dead believers) immediately at the command of the returning Messiah.

• The Trumpet: 1 Corinthians 15:51 adds the detail that this trumpet will be the last trumpet. Many interpret this as last in sequence, but if this trumpet is the trumpet of Jubilee, then it will be the last in quality. The Jubilee trumpet is the only one scripture commands to be blown “throughout all the land” to proclaim freedom for the captives and the return of the land to its rightful owner. Once Christ has reclaimed his kingship over the earth and permanently freed his people, there will never again be the need for the Jubilee to sound.

The Midnight Cry

If the resurrection of the Two Witnesses is the Rapture itself, then the timing of their death just after midnight possibly sheds light on some enigmatic details in the parable of the 10 Virgins in Matthew 25. In it there are 10 Virgins representing those who haven’t defiled themselves with other gods. Five of them are wise and have lamp oil (the Holy Spirit), and five of them are foolish and have no oil. Five representing Christians, and five representing unbelievers who have refused the mark of the beast. The “midnight cry” then becomes the midnight death of the Two Witnesses signaling the imminent return of Christ. This is certainly interpretive, but notable enough to mention.

THE OLIVET RAPTURE

The placement of the Woman’s Flight and the Two Witnesses creates a noteworthy 5-day gap between the return of Christ on Tishrei 10, and the beginning of the Wedding Feast on Tishrei 15. Given the placements that are already on the calendar, a new, more detailed image of the Rapture begins to take shape:

• On the day of Jubilee, Jesus returns on the clouds with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the sounding of the final trumpet of Jubilee.

• The elect are raised and meet him in the air. The Greek here is apenthesis they join the procession, not to heaven, but to the earth.

• Jews in Jerusalem, captive since the midpoint, see him coming on the clouds, understand that their Messiah has come, and proclaim “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Matthew 23:39. This is important because Jesus stated that he would not return until Israel made this proclamation.

• Christ lands on the Mount of Olives with his people looking on, arriving just the way he left Acts 1:11.

• At his landing, the earth quakes and the Mount splits forming a new valley through the city Zechariah 14:4. This quake kills 7,000 Revelation 11:13 which, interestingly, is the upper estimate of the number of Pharaoh’s men drowned in the Red Sea (another parallel for the Exodus typology).

• Captive Jews in the city escape along the new valley Zechariah 14:5, joining Christ and the glorified saints in his return to Zion.

• Over the five days, Jews are brought family by family to see the Messiah up close, they see the scars and the wounds, and they realize who he is, and they mourn Zechariah 12:10-14. The restoration of Israel happens the very moment the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled Romans 11:25. The glorified Christians standing with Christ provide the evidence and the jealousy to stir Israel’s faith Romans 11:11 Revelation 3:9.

• Jesus seals the 144,000 with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of His return, marking them as the firstfruits of the mortal nation of Israel for the Millennium Revelation 7:4-8, 14:1-5. Jesus then establishes a canopy (sukkah) of protection for the 144,000 over Zion Isaiah 4:5-6 — another parallel to the Sukkot imagery at the end of the Woman’s Flight.

• Jesus (the root) and his saints — the cultivated and the wild olive branches united together — return to heaven for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Revelation 14 reveals this return trip: it begins with Christ on earth on Mount Zion with the 144,000, then shows Him on the clouds before chapter 15’s return to heaven. This is logically necessitated: if Jesus is on earth with the 144,000 prior to the pouring out of the bowls of wrath and Jesus is coming out of Heaven for the Battle of Armageddon that ushers in his Messianic reign, then there must be a return to Heaven at some point — this is the clearest place in scripture that shows an upward movement.

• Revelation 14:20 shows the gathering of the grapes of wrath at the return to heaven, and it is at this point that God begins to fight as only He can, with plagues and catastrophe Zechariah 14:3, just as He fought against Pharaoh in the land of Egypt (another parallel).

There is no more dividing wall between Jew and Gentile; it was destroyed at the cross. Yeshua rescues ALL of His people before he pours out his wrath. The Restoration of Israel is not a separate, later event from the Rapture of the Church, it is the grafting of the two olive branches into the single root that is Christ. The touchdown on the Mount of Olives is not the warrior on horseback come to destroy the armies of darkness, it is the arrival of the groom to gather his bride.

This flies in the face of Supersessionism (Replacement Theology); the Church was never meant to supplant Israel. This denies ethnic hierarchy; the nations were always meant to be grafted in as equals. This denies the separation of Dispensationalism; God sees one people joined together. Israel gives birth to the Church. The Church brings the restoration of Israel. This is a better understanding that retains the roles and characteristics of each while recognizing their unity in Christ. I propose a new term: MUTUALISM.

2,300 Evenings and Mornings

At first blush, this might seem like it is saying 2,300 days, but it is actually saying 2300 sacrifices — the twice-daily tamid sacrifices. This span, then, is actually 2,300 half days, or to put it another way, 1,150 days with half-day level of precision. It covers the tamid, the Abomination, the trampling of the sanctuary, and ends when the sanctuary is “restored”.

The word translated as “restored” or “vindicated” or “consecrated” or “cleansed” or “put right” is a hapax legomenon; it is the only instance of this word in the Bible. The root carries the primary sense of restoration to a rightful state or rightful ownership. If the Man of Lawlessness has taken the sanctuary as his throne Daniel 8:11 2 Thessalonians 2:4, then this is the moment that it is returned to its rightful owner.

Calendar Placement

Since this span must include the Abomination, we know that it must end during the second half of the 70th week. Of all the dates we have so far, the one that most closely aligns with a restoration of the temple is the day that Christ returns, retakes the city, and joins his people on Zion.

The verse tells us that 2,300 sacrifice periods occur and then the sanctuary is restored. Pairing this with our afternoon arrival placed by the span of the Two Witnesses, we can conclude that the end point of the 1,1150 days is mid-morning of the same day: Tishrei 10, 2032. Working backwards 1,150 days places the first sacrificial period on the afternoon of Av 11, 2029.

Tisha B’Av

Zechariah 8:18 lists four fasts that will become “times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals.” One of these is Tisha B’Av, the 9th of Av, the fast of the fifth month. This fast mourns the destruction of the temple in the Babylonian conquest, and here again we see a disparity between rabbinic tradition and strict Torah observance. The rabbis place this on the 9th of Av, while the Karaite Jews place this on the 7th through the 10th.

Interestingly, in the cycle we are examining, the 9th of Av lands on a Sabbath, and since no fast is permitted on the Sabbath, rabbinic tradition pushes the fast to the 10th, the same day as the Karaite observance. Av 11, where the 1,150-day span lands, is the day after this fast.

My interpretation is this: The fast itself lands on a Sunday, the symbolic “eighth day” — the day of completion — and the very next day marks the reversal of that fast into joy, as Zechariah predicted. Daniel 8 tells us directly that the span encompasses the regular sacrifice, and what better way to reverse the mourning of the Temple’s destruction than with the restoration of the Temple to full functionality?

This is almost exactly two months prior to the midpoint — enough time to establish the regular sacrifices that the Antichrist halts (we know that they have to restart some time before the midpoint), but not so early that it strains geopolitical plausibility; the dragon’s flood can’t be held at bay indefinitely.

At this point, this alignment might seem like a stretch, but I believe that all four fasts will prove to follow this same pattern as we will see moving forward.

The Gentile Trampling: 42 Months

The key detail in this passage that is easy to overlook is that John is told to measure not just the temple and the altar, but those who worship there. This implies active worship at the time of measuring.

As an aside, the description here of an alter and a sanctuary with the outer court being given over to the Gentiles implies a few key details. There will be an altar and a sanctuary (not just a tabernacle) by the midpoint. The placement of the sanctuary will allow the continued use of the rest of the Temple mount by other groups. This seems to indicate the placement of the temple over the Dome of the Spirits, not the Dome of the Rock. This is absolutely a minority position, but it does have some compelling supporting evidence.

Calendar Placement

Following our clue about the worshippers, if we place the beginning on the same day as the tamid restart, exactly 42 months later lands on Tevet 11, 2032. This is the day after Asara B’Tevet, the 10th of Tevet, Zechariah 8:18’s fast of the 10th month — and yes, it’s on a Monday. This is about three months into the 8-month period of God’s wrath. I speculate that the 144,000 are not left on earth idling twiddling their thumbs, but will be tasked by Jesus to prepare for his return to reign. Removing any Gentile presence on the Temple Mount (al-Aqsa, the Dome of the Rock, etc.) is a task that could be easily accomplished in three months by 144,000 men.

Asara B’Tevet

The fast of the 10th month mourns the beginning of the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. The end of the Gentile Trampling, the removal of centuries of Gentile presence from God’s mountain, seems to me like a fitting reversal of the fast where it all started.

Tzom Tammuz & Tzom Gedaliah

The remaining two fasts of Zechariah 8:18 are not indicated by spans, but I think it worthwhile to examine the calendar with this emerging pattern in mind to see if anything stands out.

Tzom Tammuz

The fast of the 4th month mourns the breach of the walls in the Babylonian siege, and this is another fast that has a disparity in observation. The rabbinic tradition places this on the 17th of Tammuz, and in our cycle we can see that the 17th of Tammuz just prior to our Av 11 also falls on a Sabbath and is observed the following Sunday — the same pattern we’ve been tracking. However, the Karaite community, citing Jeremiah 52:6, places this fast on the 9th, which is a Friday, and the stricter Tanakh-based alignment is what our hermeneutic demands.

Let’s pause here, and think about what the reversal of this fast might plausibly be. If the temple is rebuilt, and the tamid are restarted, then necessarily the sacrifice of the red heifer must have taken place prior. This sacrifice is done outside the camp to produce the ashes necessary to purify the priests for service. A fitting reversal of the mourning of the loss of the city’s integrity and the entry of the defiling armies would be this red heifer sacrifice done outside an intact city for the restoration of purity.

With that in mind, let’s defer to the fast date indicated in Jeremiah, Tammuz 9th, 2029. Since that day is a Friday, making the following day a Sabbath, our reversal lands on Sunday, Tammuz 11. Then, the purification ritual for the priests (the ones who will be rebuilding any Temple structures) would begin on Monday, Tammuz 12. This purification ceremony lasts 7 days, making the first day that work could begin on construction the following Monday, Tammuz 19 — the day after the rabbinic observation.

Thus, in a way, both observations are fulfilled. The Karaite date is reversed by the restoration of ritual purity. The rabbinic date is reversed by the restoration of the physical structure.

From Tammuz 19 to Saturday, Av 9 there are 19 days. Subtract two Sabbaths and you are left with 17 total days for construction of the altar and the sanctuary, but is this plausible? Currently, the Temple Institute has trained priests, Temple implements, clothing, blueprints, models, and even an altar. If stones and materials were prepared and even prefabbed ahead of time (highly likely), then it becomes a matter more of assembly than straight construction. For a motivated priesthood whose already shown to be prepared and resourceful, 17 days is probably more plausible than you might think.

Tzom Gedeliah

The fast of the 7th month remains the most speculative in this examination. It marks the assassination of Gedeliah, the last governor of Jerusalem, and with his death, the loss of Jewish sovereignty. It stands to reason that for Jews to perform the Passover sacrifice, then the red heifer sacrifice, then rebuild a sanctuary and restart the tamid, they would first need to reclaim their sovereignty over the Temple Mount — the sovereignty that, thus far, they have willingly given up to the Islamic Waqf.

This also is a fast with disparate observance. The Karaite date, based on Nehemiah 9:1, is the 24th of Tishrei. The rabbinic date is the 3rd of Tishrei. When we look in our cycle at the month of Tishrei immediately preceding the events surrounding the midpoint (indeed, 1 year before the midpoint), we see the same exact patterns. The rabbinic date lands on a Saturday, and is observed on a Sunday. The Karaite date lands on a Friday and is followed by a Sabbath.

We can speculate that this is the time that Israel will reclaim its sovereignty through some means… law? election? edict? treaty? If the loss of sovereignty came with the murder of a leader, perhaps the reversal will come with the rise of new leader of some kind. If so, will this be a political figure or a religious one?

Perhaps this marks the rise of a rabbi to Messianic status among the Jews fulfilling Jesus’ words in John 5:43, “I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.” In addition to fulfilling Jesus’ words, such a person could indeed motivate the broader community to activity, fulfill the requirement by many orthodox Jews that the Messiah be the one to rebuild the Temple, and shift the popular consensus to a northern placement of the sanctuary.😉

So, the date pattern continues even here, but as I stated, how this one will play out can only be largely speculative at this point.

⚠️ OBSERVATION

In the cycle we are examining, the following events all take place in a shmita year, a Sabbath year, according to the mordern rabbinic calendar — the year of God’s restoration. To say that all of this happening in a shmita would hold significance for the rabbis would be an understatement.

• Reclamation of Sovereignty (Tishrei, 2028)
• The Passover sacrifice (Nisan, 2029)
• The Red Heifer sacrifice (Tammuz, 2029)
• The Rebuilding of the Temple (Tammuz to Av, 2029)
• The Restart of the Regular Sacrifices (Av, 2029)

The Beast’s Authority: 42 Months

The beginning of this span is universally accepted as the midpoint itself with the Antichrist receiving 42 months of authority, and I completely agree with this placement.

Calendar Placement

Counting 42 months from Tishrei 10, 2029 lands on Wednesday, the 10th of Adar I in 2033, about 3 months prior to Armageddon. A potential problem arises, though, with the fact that this is a leap year.

If this were the normal month of Adar, it would be the day before the observation of Esther’s fast. Rabbinic rules place the fast on the 13th of Adar (just before Purim) unless the 13th is a Sabbath (in this case it is) at which point it can’t be moved back to the 14th (Purim) so it gets moved up, not to Friday the 12th because that’s a day of preparation, but to Thursday the 11th. However, this isn’t the normal Adar, it’s Adar I in a leap year, and the rabbis pinned observance of Esther’s Fast and Purim to Adar II, the 13th month, to keep observances closer to Passover.

For this endpoint to have meaning, you have to recognize that it is rabbinic tradition that moved Esther/Purim observation to Adar II. The book of Esther reminds readers four times that Adar is the 12th month. If you keep observation to the 12th month (Adar I), then there’s no issue. The pattern, in a way, continues: alignment with a fast that has been moved because of the Sabbath, only this time, it’s the fast itself that marks the reversal of mourning.

God’s Wrath: Trumpets and bowls

The trumpets and bowls of Revelation warrant an entire article unto themselves, but instead of doing a deep dive here, I will just make a few assertions:

• The trumpets and bowls are distinct, overlapping narratives. To give it a shorthand, I believe that each trumpet causes the corresponding bowl.

• All of the trumpets and bowls are 1 day events. The effects of the 5th trumpet & bowl last for 5 months (explicitly stated) and are ended by the 6th.

• The 7th trumpet and the 7th bowl are descriptions of the same event: Jesus riding out on the white horse for Armageddon.

• Counting exactly 5 months for the effects of the 5th trumpet & bowl from Tishrei 15, 2032 — the beginning of the Wedding Feast period and the beginning of God’s judgement — lands you on Adar I, 15, the observance of Purim for walled cities.

• That leaves exactly 3 months for the 6th bowl, the gathering of Antichrist’s armies.

The Esther / Purim Typology

Haman and his 10 sons are an archetype of the Antichrist and the 10 horns. In the story of Esther we see the plot of Haman to destroy all Jews discovered by Esther who initiated a nation-wide, three-day fast to call for God’s favor in stopping him. At the end of the fast, Haman was stripped of his authority and executed by the very means he sought to destroy the Jews, but his irrevocable edict for a timed genocide had already been sent throughout the kingdom.

To counter Haman’s decree, another edict was sent out allowing the Jews to defend themselves when the time came. In the end, Haman’s sons and all those that sought to kill the Jews were killed in battle. In the rural towns the fighting lasted a day, Iyar 13, and celebrations were held on the 14th. In the walled city of Susa, the fighting lasted an extra day, and celebrations were held on the 15th.

The final three months of the 6th-bowl army gathering is a typological mirror of the Fast of Esther that led to Haman’s downfall and a reversal of the destruction sought against God’s people onto those seeking it. Just as in Purim, the final battle will be over a walled city (Jerusalem) and the battle will rage until the 14th, with celebrations on the 15th.

There is, I think, a small shift in understanding needed here that makes things a bit clearer. Revelation 19:20 tells us that the Beast and the False Prophet are thrown into the lake of fire at the battle of Armageddon. This verse presents us with two valid options for interpretation, and I think the less common one fits a little better.

1. BEAST = ANTICHRIST: This is certainly the most common read of the passage, but raises an issue: if the beast is a person who survives until the end, gathering armies and continuing to lead, then how can we say that his authority ends three months earlier? We can spin a narrative, no doubt, that might fit, but I think the second interpretation is the better path.

2. BEAST = KINGDOM: When you look at Revelation 13, the references to the first Beast out of the sea all seem to be pointing to a kingdom, and not an individual. In verse 5, the focus shifts to a mouth given to the Beast, and it is the mouth that is given authority. Things make more sense when you retain this distinction, not just throughout chapter 13, but throughout the remaining chapters. In chapter 19, the Beast is spoken of like an individual, but this is completely inline Revelation which shows Israel as a woman, and Babylon as a prostitute who is killed in a similar fashion.

If the Beast is the empire, destroyed at armageddon, and it is the mouth that is given authority for 42 months. Then it is entirely plausible that the end of the Antichrist’s authority (the mouth’s authority) marks his death. This would, in fact, be far more inline with the story of Esther where Haman, the one who put the plot in motion, was killed months before the final battle in which his sons, the archetypes for the 10 horns/kings, were killed.

The Gog/Magog War

The placement of all of the spans together, especially with the Olivet Rapture in view, I think allows a cleaner interpretation of the Gog/Magog war of Ezekiel 38. This overarching narrative is implied by the events across the spans more than indicated by anything in particular, but I think it warrants a quick aside here of how I think it all fits together. Importantly, I think many frameworks envision the conflict of Gog/Magog as a battle — a relatively short skirmish that lands somewhere within/alongside the end times narrative. On the contrary, I believe that Gog/Magog is a long-term war; it is the conflict spanning the entire second half of Daniel’s 70th week.

NOTE:

The Gog/Magog conflict found at the end of the Millennium is not the same scene as the one in Ezekiel, it is a future final battle that typologically mirrors the one in Daniel’s 70th week.

• During the Dragon’s Flood period, disparate forces are ineffective in their attacks against Israel Revelation 12:15-16

• Israel begins to get overconfident in their security and their ability to fend off attack Ezekiel 38:11, 14.

• Gog, the chief prince of Meschech and Tubal (southeastern Turkey and northern Syria and Iraq), who is the Antichrist, the mouth of the Revelation 13’s Beast from the Sea, consolidates these Islamic forces into a single coalition and wages a siege against Jerusalem Ezekiel 38:14-16 Zechariah 14:1 Luke 21:20-23.

• Gog’s siege of Jerusalem will be successful and culminates in the retaking of the temple mount, the stopping of the sacrifices, and the abomination of desolation Zechariah 14:2 Luke 21:24 Matthew 24:15-20.

• Half of the Israelites will manage to flee to the wilderness, escaping Gog’s clutches and enraging Satan who then turns his attention to Christians (although neither captive Israel nor fleeing Israel is likely to be having a good time through this period either) Zechariah 14:2 Matthew 24:21-28 Revelation 6:9-11, .

  • For the Great Tribulation period, see my article about the Seven Letters of Revelation (coming soon).

• The Great Tribulation is cut short by the Olivet Rapture (see previous section)

  • It is at this moment that Jesus retakes Jerusalem and expels the Antichrist’s armies.

• When Christ and his people return to Heaven, the tide of the war completely reverses. God begins to fight “just as he fought battles in ancient days.” In other words, God fights with catastrophe and plagues, just as he fought the Egyptians in the time of the Exodus. Zechariah 14:3

  • Note that “Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him,” in Zechariah 14:5 is pivot. It invisions Yeshua’s trek from the Mount of Olives to Mount Zion with his Holy Ones (the raptured Church) following the events of the preceding verses, and it invisions Yeshua’s return from heaven on the white horse after the wedding with his Holy Ones (Church, Israel, angels) prior to the events of the following verses.

• The first five trumpets and bowls are poured on the earth. Isaiah 24:1-13 Zechariah 14:12-15 Revelation 8:7-9:12, 16:1-11

• Then the sixth trumpet “clears the way” for the Beast’s armies. God uses the clearing to entice the Antichrist to gather his armies and retake Jerusalem Isaiah 24:14-16 Ezekiel 38:4, 39:2, this gathering is the sixth bowl.

• With Gog’s armies assembled, Christ emerges from heaven for battle and destroys the armies of Beast, this is the seventh trumpet and the seventh bowl. The greatest earthquake the earth has ever scene is accompanied by a deluge of impossibly large hail to destroy the armies.Isaiah 24:17-20 Ezekiel 38:18-23, 39:4-6 Zechariah 14:6-10 Revelation 11:15-19, 16:17-21, 19:11-21

  • The Birds and beasts are invited to dine on the corpses of the armies that Jesus is about to leave. Ezekiel 39:4 Revelation 19:17-18
  • This is the moment that the False Prophet and the Beast are throne into the lake of fire, and Satan is bound in the Abyss Revelation 19:20, 20:1-3.

• I believe this is also the moment that any other rebellious spiritual entities are also bound up in the abyss.

  • In Psalm 82:6-7, God condems the “gods” (spiritual beings) of the divine council for leading mankind astray. He tells them that they will “die like mortals” and “fall like all the other rulers.”
  • Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against … the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” These powers were at work in Paul’s day (post ascension) and are thus presumably still at work today.
  • If Satan is bound for the Millennium which evokes pictures of peace and longevity, then what of these other “principalities and powers”?
  • Isaiah 24:21-22 tells us that on the Day of the Lord, Yahweh will punish “heavenly forces in the heavens” and “the earthly kings on earth” — a clear parallel to both groups mentioned in Psalm 82.
  • Both of these groups will be locked in a pit-prison — evoking the imagery of Satan’s binding in Revelation 20 — and aren’t punished until they have stayed there “for a long time.” In other words, they will be judged alongside mortals at the final judgement at the end of the Millennium.

• With the massive geological upheavel accompanying Christ’s return after the wedding, a spring issues forth from the Temple Mount and flows along the valley created at Jesus’ Mount Olive touchdown. Zechariah 14:8

The Cleanup: 7 Months

After the battle of Armageddon, Ezekiel tells us that it will take 7 months to bury the bodies in the aftermath. Since the first day of the Millennium is a Sabbath, we can assume that the cleanup starts the following day, Sunday, Iyar 16, 2033. Counting exactly 7 months lands on Thursday, Kislev, 17.

Afterward, those burying the bodies would need to perform the 7-day purification ceremony which would then run from Friday, Kislev 18 to Thursday, Kislev 23. That leaves one day (preparation day) before the Sabbath which also happens to be the first day of Hannukah, the Feast of Dedication.

If the cleanup crew were to start one day later, either because of an extra day of celebration for entering the Millennium, or just as part of a normal Monday work week, then there would be no gap at all.

The Reading cycle

The Torah reading cycle has been around a long time. We see in the above passage, Jesus possibly setting a precedent of prophetic alignment with the reading schedule itself.

Major festivals like Passover or Yom Kippur have special readings that override the normal schedule, so those won’t hold any special meaning beyond what is already there by design. It is, perhaps, worthwhile to see what readings will land on (or nearest to) the other dates we have identified.

Some of these are eerily on point.

70th Week Start

• Iyar 14, 2026
• Leviticus 21:1–24:23  •  Ezekiel 44:15-31
• This reads almost like an outline for the entire 70th week: priestly qualifications, acceptable offerings, a list of the festivals, the two lampstands and 12 loaves, closing with the blasphemer being stoned outside the camp.

Fast of the 7th Month (Sovereignty Reclaimed)

• Tishrei 24, 2028
• Genesis 1:1-6:8  •  Isaiah 42:5-43:10
• The beginning of the reading cycle. God promises to make Israel a light to the nations, to restore what was lost, and do a new work.

Fast of the 4th Month, Karaite (Red Heifer)

• Tammuz 10, 2029
• Numbers 19:1-22:1  •  Judges 11:1-33
• This reading begins with the Bible’s only description of the Red Heifer sacrifice and the purification ritual.

Fast of the 4th Month, Rabbinic (Temple Build)

• Tammuz 17, 2029
• Deuteronomy 1:1-3:22  •  Isaiah 1:1-27
• Deuteronomy’s image of wandering in the desert ended by entering the promised land. Isaiah’s warnings against meaningless sacrifices and a call to sacrifices with a pure heart.

End of the Gentile Trampling

• Tevet 11, 2032
• Genesis 44:18-47:27  •  Ezekiel 37:15-28
• The reading talks about Joseph being sent ahead through a perilous situation to prepare a place for his brothers, a message for the 144,000? Ezekiel talks about the two sticks (the two brothers) becoming one — a perfect image of the union of the two olive branches in Jesus’ hand.

End of the Beast’s Authority / Clearing the Way for Armageddon

• Adar I 13, 2033
• Exodus 27:20-30:10  •  Ezekiel 43:10-27
• The appointment of Aaron and his sons as priests, instructions for clothing, sanctity, inauguration, and how to build the golden alter. Ezekiel talks about revealing the Temple and all its territory. All preparatory for the coming worship.

The Start of the Millennial Kingdom

• Iyar 15, 2033
• Leviticus 25:1-26:2  •  Jeremiah 32:6-27
• The reading lists all of the promises of Jubilee — redemption of property, freedom for captives, kindness for brothers — all land at the beginning of the ultimate Jubilee. It ends not with a command, but a promise from the God who said the law would one day be written on our hearts: “You shall keep my Sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.” Jeremiah also talks about restoration after exile, where God ends with the question: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?”

The End of the Land Purification

• Kislev 25, 2033
• Genesis 37:1-40:23  •  Numbers 7:1-17  •  Zechariah 2:14-4:7
• Includes the story of Joseph and his brothers. Numbers includes the completion of the Tabernacle and the offering of gifts for its use. Zechariah talks about the high priest, the branch, and the golden lampstand.