Preface
The note explains a prophetic interpretation of the two witnesses in Revelation 11 within the context of the three woes. It uses typology from the Torah and Prophets—Moses (Mosheh) and Elijah (EliYahu)—to analyze biblical chronology and symbolism.
This note explores the meaning behind the two witnesses described in Revelation 11, interpreting them through the lens of Hebrew scriptures and biblical typology. By connecting Moshe and EliYahu to the prophetic ministry and divine judgment, it reveals how their stories align with events and symbols in Revelation. The discussion emphasizes chronology (3.5 years, 3.5 months), appointed feast times, and spiritual fulfillment within the biblical narrative.
Let’s begin!
Firstly The two witnesses are typology of EliYahu (prophets) and Mosheh (Torah) as this is what Rev 11:6 says
Rev 11:6 These possess authority to shut the heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy. And they possess authority over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they wish.
EliYahu shut the heavens and Mosheh turned waters into blood.
In the transfiguration vision Kepha saw EliYahu and Mosheh with Yahusha on the mount and it was just a vision to show Yahusha is the fulfilment of Torah and Prophets.
1Ki 17:1 And Ěliyahu the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gil‛aḏ, said to Aḥaḇ, “As יהוה Elohim of Yisra’ěl lives, before whom I stand, there shall be no dew or rain these years, except at my word.”
Jas 5:17 Ěliyahu was a man with feelings like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
Luk 4:25 “But truly I say to you, many widows were in Yisra’ěl in the days of Ěliyahu, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a great scarcity of food in all the land,
The period of 3 years 6 months matches with the 3.5 years (a year has 12 months so half of it is 6 months) and we will see this period a bit later.
Turn waters into blood, and smite with plagues” → Mosheh (Exo 7–12).
Typological alignment with 3.5 years
Eliyahu’s drought = judgment on heaven (no rain).
Mosheh’s plagues = judgment on earth (waters, land, livestock, people, sun, firstborn).
Together, they symbolize heaven and earth under witness-authority for a divided time (3.5 + 3.5 = 7 years).
Revelation 11 fuses them:
Witnesses can shut heaven (Eliyahu).
Witnesses can smite earth with plagues (Mosheh).
So, while Eliyahu’s 3.5 years is explicit in Scripture, Mosheh’s plague cycle is not dated but functions as the earth-side counterpart of the heavenly drought cycle but we can figure out how it would have worked out to 3.5 months in the 215th year from Yaaqob to YasharEL being in Egypt.
Firstly we must understand the typology of the two witnesses which stood as testimony to Torah and Prophets where Torah representative was Moshe and the Prophets representative was EliYahu.
Then we must understand the judgements that happened to YasharEL were for not obeying the Appointed Times and Law of the land resulted in severe judicial punishments including captivity.
And the period of these Appointed times was 3.5 months in a year
So if we take the precise time of 2.5 (Spring feasts ) and 1 month of fall feasts we get 3.5
We then now can see first half of two witnesses where disobedience to Yahuah’s Appointed times resulted in plagues to YasharEL
The second half of 3.5 the living creature overcomes the two fold testimony and takes over the appointed times which are now carnal in observance as Yahusha fulfills the appointment in His visitation
1. First 2.5 months → Spring Feasts (Nisan → Sivan)
Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Shavuot
Pattern: YasharEL’s disobedience → plagues in Egypt (Moses’ ministry)
Typology: First half of the two witnesses’ ministry
Authority exercised (heaven, waters, earth)
Witness given to YasharEL , nations, and Pharaoh
Disobedience to Elohim’s appointed times triggers judgment.
2. Second 1 month → Fall Feasts (Tishri → early Cheshvan)
Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Tabernacles
Pattern: Living creature / new authority takes over
Typology: Second half of the 3.5 period
Two-fold testimony (Moseh + EliYahu typology) overcome / silenced
Appointed times become fulfilled in Yahusha’s visitation
Observance is now spiritual, not carnal
Resurrection / vindication / Messianic fulfillment (Rev 11:11–12)
By counting actual feast months, you get a literal 3.5-month span that mirrors the 3.5-year / 1260-day pattern of Revelation 11, but in Israel’s sacred calendar.
The first half emphasizes judgment for disobedience, the second half emphasizes fulfillment and spiritual authority, matching Moshe + EliYahu typology → two witnesses → Yahusha.
This allows a literal chronological mapping without needing symbolic stretching of decades.
1. Exodus 13:4 & 12:51 – Key points
Exo 13:4 – “Today you are going out, in the new moon Abib”
Marks the start of the Hebrew religious year (Nisan/Abib). Exodus occurs on a feast day, signaling Elohim’s timing.
Exo 12:51 – “And it came to be on that same day that יהוה brought Yisra’ěl out of Mitsrayim”
Confirms that the plagues and deliverance culminated precisely on Abib 15, the start of Unleavened Bread.
The plagues must therefore have occurred within the 215th year of sojourning in Egypt, finishing on Abib / Nisan.
The sequence of plagues + pauses compressed into ~3.5 months, ending with YasharEL’s deliverance.
2. Mapping to Revelation 11 – 3.5 pattern
Plagues with pauses (≈3.5 months). People only see plagues in Egypt sequentially to say it was a few days, maybe a few weeks, without looking at the pauses between them during the year ending into transitioning into a New Year ie. Abib when the armies of YasharEL went out of Egypt.
While the plagues would have happened in a 3.5 months period but with the pauses, it spanned to a year until the new year.
This is a perfect tie to Two witnesses prophesying 1260 days / 3.5 years
Literal 3.5 months = precise span of plagues + pauses within the 215th year.
Textual proof: Exo 13:4 and 12:51 anchor the end of the plagues and beginning of deliverance on Abib, which is fully measurable in Scripture.
Key insight:
The literal 3.5-month period of plagues + pauses in Egypt is fully supported by the text, compressed into the Revelation 11, 3.5-year period.
The pattern of judgment → witness → deliverance mirrors the two witnesses’ ministry in Revelation 11 exactly:
First half = plagues (witness, authority, judgment)
Second half = deliverance / vindication / fulfillment of appointed times.
Exo 12:39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual.”
Exo 12:51 And it came to be on that same day that יהוה brought the children of Yisra’ěl out of the land of Mitsrayim according to their divisions.
The same day was the beginning of Abib. It confirms the bread was still unleavened at the moment of departure.
Practical takeaway
For Moses’ ministry in Egypt, a literal 3.5-month plague period is reasonable if we count both plagues and interludes.
This helps us to map it directly to Revelation 11’s 1260-day / 3.5-year period, without needing to stretch Moses’ life or wilderness years as we all know he stood before Pharaoh when he was 80 and died when he was 120, right before YasharEL crossed over the Yarden. So, the Exodus happened in his 80th year of life whereas the new cycle of year reset to Abib which became the first year or 216th year of YasharEL’s exodus from Egypt.
The principle: pattern of authority, witness, judgment, pause, and vindication is what matters — just like the two witnesses in Revelation.
Moses cannot literally fit into a 3.5-year period like EliYahu which is called out in scripture, unless we see the plagues and their interlude in the 215th year of YasharEL (3.5 months) in Egypt matching Rev 11 text (from Yaaqob and 430th year from Abraham which includes the sojourn of Canaan as a stranger), building to the year of Exodus which was the new year when their bread was still unleavened. A feast kept in transition, while they walked on foot into the wilderness.
Eliyahu (1 Kings 17–18) → His shutting up the heavens (3.5 years) brought drought and famine on the whole land of YasharEL, directly judging the people and their leaders who had turned to Baal. The showdown at Mount Carmel proved who was Elohim, and it exposed the people’s wavering heart.
Mosheh (Exodus 7–12) → The plagues fell on Pharaoh and Mitsrayim, targeting their mighty ones (Nile, frogs, sun, etc.) and Pharaoh’s stubborn refusal to let YasharEL go. They were judgments on Egypt, while at the same time signs to YasharEL that Yahuah was delivering them.
So:
Eliyahu = witness against apostasy within YasharEL (prophets = calling people back to Torah).
Mosheh = witness against the nations (Pharaoh/Egypt = powers holding YasharEL in bondage).
That’s why in Revelation 11:6 the two witnesses mirror both dimensions:
Authority to shut the heavens (Eliyahu, judgment inside YasharEL).
Authority to smite waters and plagues (Mosheh, judgment outside, on the oppressor nations).
The “three days’ journey” in Exodus 3:18 is very rich in meaning, both literal and prophetic. Let’s unfold it carefully:
1. Literal meaning
Exo 3:18 – “… let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to Yahuah our Elohim.”
Mosheh was instructed to ask Pharaoh for three days’ journey into the wilderness so YasharEl could hold a feast and offer sacrifices to Yahuah.
On the surface, it appears as a reasonable request, but it concealed the larger plan of full deliverance. Pharaoh’s refusal exposed his hardness of heart.
2. Prophetic / Symbolic meaning
Three days = death, burial, resurrection.
Just as Yahusha rose on the third day (Luke 24:46), YasharEl’s going out for three days points to resurrection life from the bondage of Egypt (death) into covenant worship (life).
→ Egypt = death; wilderness = new life with Elohim.
Separation for worship.
Three days’ journey marks complete separation (a divine boundary) between Egypt’s gods and Yahuah’s set-apart worship. Sacrifice to Yahuah could not be mingled with Egypt’s idolatry.
Pattern of testing.
Abraham journeyed three days before offering Isaac (Gen 22:4).
Jonah was three days in the fish (Jonah 1:17).
Yahusha was three days in the grave (Matt 12:40).
→ All of these link sacrifice, death, and resurrection after three days.
Wilderness = place of covenant. For Covenant YasharEL in Rev 12 is portrayed as fleeing from the face of the dragon into the Wilderness for 1260 days or time, times and dividing of time or 3.5.
The three days’ journey into the wilderness foreshadows Sinai, where Yahuah gave Torah after YasharEl left Egypt. It is only after separation that true covenant sacrifice can happen.
3. Connection to Revelation
In Rev 11:9, 11 the two witnesses lie dead for 3.5 days before resurrection. This echoes the same “three days” separation: death → waiting → resurrection → vindication.
YasharEl could not serve Yahuah in Egypt.
The witnesses cannot be vindicated in the “great city” (Sodom/Egypt), only after resurrection.
Rev 11:13 And in that hour there came to be a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. And in the earthquake seven thousand men were killed, and the rest became afraid and gave esteem to the Elohim of the heaven.
1. “In that hour” (Rev 11:13) – שׁעה (shaʿah) = to look / gaze / turn attention
In Hebrew, shaʿah is not only “hour” but also “to look, gaze, turn the face.”
Example: “But to Cain and his offering He did not shaʿah (gaze with regard)” (Gen 4:5).
So, the “hour” is not only chronology but also the gaze of Yahuah.
In Rev 11:13, the “gaze” is one of turning away His face from carnal Yerushalayim (the place “where also our Adon was crucified,” Rev 11:8).
This links directly to judgment—when Yahuah no longer regards the city.
2. The city = Sodom / Egypt (Rev 11:8)
Yerushalayim is spiritually renamed Sodom (perversion) and Egypt (bondage).
“Sodom” recalls not only immorality but the crowd of men surrounding the house, pressing violently against the messengers (Gen 19:4–9).
Revelation draws on that imagery for the perverse hostility of the city against the witnesses.
3. Faces as men / hair as women (Rev 9:7–8)
The locust-army has faces as men (authority / outward strength) but hair as women (seductive covering, false glory).
This duality is perversion of roles, an inversion of creation order.
Spiritually, it points to assemblies that appear “mighty” yet are inwardly enslaved to lusts and idolatry.
This does echo Sodom:
Men seeking men → face of a man turned toward man.
Long hair (womanly glory) → mixture of identities, a confusion.
4. The assembly as woman bringing forth “man of the heart” (Rom 2:29)
True assembly = woman (bride) bringing forth inner man / spiritual man.
False assembly = woman bringing forth beastly man / carnal perversion.
In Revelation’s imagery:
Bride (New Yerushalayim) vs. Harlot (Babylon/Yerushalayim below).
The harlot produces “men” who are beasts—perverse images rather than renewed ones.
7000 killed → a complete number of carnal “men” (beasts) brought to nothing when the gaze turns away.
Rev 11:13 gives us two data points:
1. A tenth (1/10) of the city fell.
2. Seven thousand (7000) men were killed.
Now, if 7000 = 1/10 of the city’s population, then the whole city’s population would be:
7000 times 10 = 70,000
So the ratio of part fallen (1/10) to the whole city (10/10) is:
7000 : 70,000 = 1 : 10
Comparing Rev 11:13 with Rom 11:4 / 1Ki 19:18:
“I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal…”
So in one place, 7000 are preserved, but in Revelation 7000 are killed. Let’s unpack the paradox:
1. In Elijah’s day (1Ki 19:18 / Rom 11:4):
The 7000 are the faithful remnant.
They represent those preserved by Elohim who do not compromise with idolatry.
It’s a number of completeness (7 × 1000 = covenant fullness in large scale).
2. In Revelation 11:13:
Here, 7000 are killed when the tenth of the city falls.
Notice: the earthquake is a judgment scene.
The death of “7000 men” is seen by their enemies, and it causes the rest (the survivors) to give esteem to Elohim.
So these 7000 are not the remnant, but the counterpart/opposite:
In Elijah’s day → 7000 preserved.
In Revelation’s judgment → 7000 destroyed.
It’s a reversal motif: the covenant-keeping remnant vs. the covenant-breaking multitude.
3. Why the same number?
Symbolic irony: the number 7000 is a “complete measure” of men either preserved or judged.
Contrast of outcomes:
In the days of Ahab → faithful spared.
In the last days → unfaithful fall.
It emphasizes that Yahuah knows exactly His remnant number, and likewise knows the exact measure of the judged.
The seven is shebua which is an oath, oath breakers vs oath keepers.
While we saw why carnal Yerushalayim is called Sodom, let’s see why it’s called as Egypt:
Rev 11:8 and their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Seḏom and Mitsrayim, where also our Master was impaled,
1. Egypt and Horses / Chariots
Egypt was renowned for its war horses and chariots (Exo 14:6–7; Isa 31:1).
Exo 14:6 So he made his chariot ready and took his people with him.
Exo 14:7 And he took six hundred choice chariots, and all the chariots of Mitsrayim with officers over all of them.
Isa 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Mitsrayim for help, and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, but who do not look to the Set-apart One of Yisra’ěl, nor seek יהוה!
We saw in Revelation 9, the four messengers bound at Euphrates prepared for the hour and day and month and year, their armies were on horses.
2. Psalm 20:7
“Some trust in chariots, and some in horses, but we will remember the name of Yahuah our Elohim.”
This is the exact contrast:
Egypt = carnal reliance.
Remnant = covenant reliance on the Name.
YasharEL was forbidden to pick a king causing them to return to Egypt for horses (Deu 17:16), yet the kings often broke this (Solomon in 1Ki 10:28).
1Ki 10:28 And Shelomoh had horses brought out from Mitsrayim and Quěh; the sovereign’s merchants bought them in Quěh at a price.
To trust in Egyptian chariots = to lean on human power rather than Yahuah.
3. Egypt in Revelation
When Rev 11:8 calls the city “Egypt,” it points to:
Reliance on fleshly strength.
Military pride (horses/chariots).
Bondage and oppression.
Opposite of deliverance in the Name of Yahuah.
4. Link with Sodom + Egypt together
Sodom = perversion of the man of the heart.
Egypt = carnal strength / bondage.
Together = the full picture of fallen Yerushalayim occupied in carnal letter.
Perversion in carnal worship.
Reliance on human strength.
Hostility toward the witnesses which reveal the Ruach in the letter.
5. Prophetic Fulfillment in Rev 11
The “hour” (שעה, gaze) = Yahuah turns His face away.
City = Sodom + Egypt = carnal man revealed in woman’s heart + pride of fleshly boasting.
7000 men = completeness of fleshly man brought low.
Contrast: true remnant = those who remember the Name of Yahuah, not horses or chariots.
1. Dead bodies for 3.5 days (Rev 11:9–11)
The witnesses lie “dead” (their testimony silenced) 3.5 days.
In apocalyptic language, “days” here echo years (prophetic day-for-year principle and vice versa, even revealed in months as 42 months).
3.5 = “half of seven,” symbolizing incompletion, interruption, tribulation.
2. 3.5, 1260, time–times–half (Dan 7:25; 12:7; Rev 12:6, 14; Rev 13:5)
1260 days = 42 months = time, times, and half a time = 3.5 years.
This is the prophetic period of tribulation where the beast makes war against the saints.
The reading of moed (appointed time), moedim (appointed times), khatsay (half) is spot on—Daniel’s Aramaic and Hebrew matches Revelation’s Greek expression.
3. Two halves of history
First 1260 → testimony active (Torah + Prophets witnessing).
Second 1260 → beast from the abyss rises, silences the testimony.
The two halves together = full 7 (completeness of the “tribulation week”).
4. After 3.5 days… resurrection of witnesses (Rev 11:11–12)
At the end of the period, the Spirit of life enters them, and they ascend.
This parallels the end of the Great Tribulation when:
The remnant is vindicated.
The beast’s reign collapses.
The witnesses (Torah + Prophets in Messiah) are seen as true.
5. The 7th trumpet (Rev 11:15)
Immediately after their ascension:
“The seventh messenger sounded: ‘The reign of this world has become the reign of our Master…’”
This is the consummation:
End of Great Tribulation.
Final transfer of kingdoms.
Time of reward for prophets, saints, and those who fear Yahuah (Rev 11:18).
1. The Structure Around the Three Woes
First Woe = 5th Trumpet (Rev 9:1–12)
Second Woe = 6th Trumpet (Rev 9:13–21)
It stretches forward through the interlude (Rev 10–11) and only concludes in Rev 11:14:
“The second woe is past…”
Third Woe = 7th Trumpet (Rev 11:15–19)
Immediately follows:
“…and see, the third woe is coming speedily.”
2. Where the Two Witnesses Fit
Their death, resurrection, and ascension (Rev 11:7–12) take place during the 6th Trumpet / 2nd Woe.
When they ascend and the earthquake strikes (Rev 11:13), John closes the section by saying:
“The second woe is past…” (Rev 11:14).
• Then he pivots:
“…the third woe is coming speedily.”
3. Why This Feels Confusing
The story flow makes it sound like the ascension of the witnesses = end of tribulation, but John still inserts a transition note:
The tribulation’s climax (witnesses vindicated, city judged) = end of 2nd Woe.
The final consummation (Kingdom announced, wrath, reward, temple opened) = 3rd Woe, 7th Trumpet.
So there’s a two-stage climax:
1. End of the 6th trumpet judgments (earthquake, 7000 killed, city shaken).
2. Beginning of the 7th trumpet = Kingdom transfer, final wrath, consummation.
Think of it like birth pangs:
The “death” of the witnesses = darkest point.
Their resurrection = transition moment.
The “seventh trumpet” = final push where Kingdom of Elohim breaks forth and ushers second death for the rebellious.
That’s why the messenger pauses in 11:14:
We are done with the second woe, now brace yourself — the third one is at the door.
Summary
Typology: The two witnesses in Revelation are linked to Moses (Torah, bringing plagues) and Elijah (Prophets, shutting the heavens), both holding authority over judgment on earth and heaven.
Chronology: The note displays that the timelines of their biblical ministries can be mapped to the prophetic periods in Revelation, specifically the 3.5 years or 1260 days, and connects this with the pattern of YasharEL’s feast calendar (3.5 months).
Interpretation: Disobedience to appointed times results in judgment (plagues/drought), while fulfillment comes with spiritual authority—ultimately culminating in resurrection and messianic vindication as seen in Yahusha.
Symbolic Mapping: The dual witness represents heaven and earth, Torah and Prophets, with their ministry divided into two testifying halves ending in vindication and spiritual transition.
City Symbolism: The “great city”—called Sodom and Egypt—symbolizes immorality and oppression; the death and resurrection of the witnesses is cast as both literal and prophetic for spiritual YasharEL.
Numerical Paradox: The number “7000” connects faithful remnant and complete judgment, demonstrating reversal motifs in biblical prophecy.
Woes Structure: The two witnesses’ ministry, death, and resurrection occur during the second woe (sixth trumpet); their ascension signals the transition to the third woe (seventh trumpet), threading individual and collective redemption and judgment across Revelation’s climax.
This interpretation presents the witnesses as symbolic bearers of Elohim’s authority and message—fusing scriptural patterns from Moshe and EliYahu, feast chronology, and the spiritual lessons of obedience, judgment, deliverance, and ultimate fulfillment in the Messiah.
Lastly, the book of Revelation is not chronological in order and hence, it’s woven in prophetic threads which needs to be mapped with scriptures to understand both the imagery and the timing of the judgement’s
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