In re Ted's post at http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/feb2013/tedp226.htm, I would conclude Yeshua was Messiah from all of eternity past.

In re the issue of how long is a "time, times and half a time", in Hebrew thought, when a plurality is used in a time certain way, it is considered to be double, or twice the singular, although in English it would look like an ambiguous amount of time.  I'm sure Revelation was originally communicated in Hebrew, and this harkens back to the use of the same phrase in Daniel.

Dan 7:25 uses the Aramaic phrase "עִדָּן וְעִדָּנִין וּפְלַג עִדָּן" = "time, times and half a time"

Dan 12:7 uses the Hebrew phrase "לְמוֹעֵד מוֹעֲדִים וָחֵצִי" = "for a time, times and a half"