Who Are the Prophetic Forerunners of the Man-Child/144,000 of the Book of Revelation? Part 1
Adam & Noah
Introduction
Throughout this article I will make reference to the man-child in Revelation 12. However, remember in previous articles how we have seen thematically that the man-child of Revelation 12, the 144,000 in Revelation 7 and 14, and the overcomers of Revelation 2 and 3, are all one in the same entity—an end-time army of saints who Adonai will use to crush the devil’s head. In my previous article, I showed how Moses’ life contained all five major themes that characterize the life and ministry of the man-child of Revelation 12. I believe Moses is the quintessential man-child, revealed to us so that we can understand the mission of the man-child in Revelation 12. You should remember how previously I showed that no one Biblical figure completely fulfilled the prophecy of Revelation 12, not even Yeshua. This is because the man-child of Revelation 12 has not made his appearance in ministry yet. However, I showed that Moses was the person who identified with the themes revealed in Revelation 12 the most. In this article, I want to show you how there have been many others throughout the pages of Scripture who have taken on the man-child mantle, but not to as great an extent as did Moses. Nonetheless, they too are prophetic forerunners of the 144,000, and their lives will teach us many things about the true man-child who will one day take front and center stage during the tribulation. The list I provide is not meant to include all man-child forerunners, but it will give you an idea of how many Bible characters help paint the portrait of the man-child! Amos’ words seem to be so relevant in our study!
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7).
Hopefully you will be able to see how true this is concerning the man-child of Revelation 12. Much has already been revealed about him through the shadowy prophetic lives of Adonai’s prophets of the past.
Let’s review our foundational themes that are associated with the man-child.
The man-child is born from a woman in great travail (Revelation 12:1-5 and Genesis 3:16).
There is a deadly conflict between the man-child and the serpent (Revelation 12:1-5, Genesis 3:15, Psalm 2, Psalm 8, and Psalm 91).
The man-child is given authority to exercise dominion on Adonai’s behalf (Revelation 12:5, Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 2, Psalm 8, and Psalm 91).
Adonai will supernaturally preserve the life of the man-child, protecting him from the wiles and destructive scheme of the serpent (Revelation 12:5, Genesis 3:15, Psalm 2, Psalm 8, and Psalm 91).
The man-child is someone of very lowly status who will be exalted to a position of authority, power, dominion and rulership (Revelation 12:5, Genesis 1:26-28, and Psalm 8).
Adam
Let’s begin our journey with man-child forerunner #1, Adam, the first person given authority to exercise dominion on Adonai’s behalf.
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:26-28).
This was Adam’s original commissioning. This commission is also reflected in Psalm 8. Notice how it is Psalm 8 that adds context to Genesis 1:26-28, because Psalm 8 shows us that when someone exercises authority over something, it is likened unto him standing over/on it!
For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas (Psalm 8:5-8).
Notice in Genesis 1:26-28 that Adonai’s authority has two expressions. The first expression is verbal. Adonai’s servant is given authority to rule, reign and exercise authority over the works of Adonai’s hands. This authority is verbally bestowed upon Adam by Adonai. This includes the living and inanimate portions of God’s creation. In Adam’s case, he was to rule over the inanimate physical world and the animals. Second, Adam’s authority over creation is expressed as a picture of him standing over it. The creation is under his feet, meaning that he will have dominion over it. This first section shows how Adam’s life fulfills the third foundational theme associated with the Revelation 12 man-child - The man-child is given authority to exercise dominion on Adonai’s behalf (Revelation 12:5, Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 2, Psalm 8, and Psalm 91).
However, notice how the creation story ends! In Genesis 3:15 we are told that a seed of the woman is coming. When he comes he will crush the serpent’s head, meaning that he will exercise ultimate authority, power, and dominion over the serpent.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis 3:15).
As stated in previous articles, this promise in Genesis 3:15 is a dual prophecy. It was fulfilled the first time by Yeshua defeating hasatan on the cross through His death (Hebrews 2:14-15):
Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
It will be fulfilled a second time by the man-child of Revelation 12:5 at the end of the age. The point I wish to make here is that the deadly conflict between the serpent and the man-child began with Adam. The serpent waisted no time initiating hostility with Adonai’s first man-child, Adam, by tempting him and causing him to lose a significant portion of his God-given authority over the earth. This was the first battle to the death. In this battle, Adam suffered death in two ways. First, the process of death and decay began after his sin against Adonai. Secondly, he died in that He was banished from the garden, which contained the Tree of Life. In other words, he was separated from the tree that would impart life and prevent his death, thus ensuring his death. This section shows how Adam’s life fulfills the second foundational theme associated with the Revelation 12 man-child - There is a deadly conflict between the man-child and the serpent (Revelation 12:1-5, Genesis 3:15, Psalm 2, Psalm 8, and Psalm 91).
Adam was also someone of very lowly status who will be exalted to a position of authority, power, dominion and rulership. Psalm 8 is written about Genesis 1:26-28!
For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas (Psalm 8:5-8).
This then is the third foundational theme associated with the Revelation 12 man-child. The man-child is someone of very lowly status who will be exalted to a position of authority, power, dominion and rulership (Revelation 12:5, Genesis 1:26-28, and Psalm 8). As you can see, Adam’s life manifested three of the five foundational themes indicative of the man-child of Revelation 12. Therefore, Adam’s life and mission provides a prophetic picture or blueprint for the life and mission of the man-child.
Authority Over the Animal Kingdom
Adam ruled over the creation. The animals were at peace with him and they freely came to Adam to be named by him. They served him and he ruled over them. Do we see that today? Well, mankind still has authority over the animals, but not the complete authority Adam had. Animals are afraid of mankind, fearing him. Furthermore, although some animals fear man enough to stay away from him, if threatened, they will kill man. Think of animals such as lions, tigers, and bears, who generally stay away from man, but they will surely attack and kill humans if needed. Animals attacking humans is an obvious manifestation of us not being able to rule over them to the extent that Adam did in the garden. In other words, we as humans still exercise a significant amount of dominion over the animals, but it is not complete in scope as it was in the beginning of creation. There are still ways they can overcome our dominion. Furthermore, many animals do not willingly subject themselves to our authority as in the beginning. This situation will be reversed for the man-child of Revelation 12! They will rule and reign over the animals as Adam did, and the animals will recognize their authority and be subject to them. We can easily prove this by looking at how other man-child forerunners exercised authority over the beasts of the field. Our first two examples pertain to instances where a man was able to conquer a beast that in all normal circumstances would have simply torn him apart. David was able to kill a lion and a bear with his bare hands!
But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, 35 I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.” 37 Moreover David said, “The LORD, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:34-37).
In a similar manner, Samson was also able to rend a lion with his bare hands.
5 So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. 6 And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done (Judges 14:5-6).
Even these two examples, however, do not demonstrate the absolute authority the man-child will exercise over the animals. The man-child will walk in complete authority over the animals of the earth as did Elisha, Daniel and Yeshua! Elisha was able to cause a bear to attack a band of unruly youth, as we read in 2 Kings 2:23-24:
Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!” 24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.
Daniel also exercised authority over lions. He was thrown into a den of hungry lions and they dared not touch him!
Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you” (Daniel 6:21-22).
Lastly, Yeshua was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil for forty days. Most notably, the Scripture states that Yeshua was with the wild beasts! And, we know what kind of wild beasts are in the wilderness—scorpions, poisonous snakes, etc.!
Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. 13 And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him (Mark 1:12-13).
Did you notice the connection between Daniel 6:21-22, Mark 1:12-13 and Psalm 91 regarding angels? In our previous article I posited to you that Psalm 91 was a psalm describing the complete authority of the man-child (and the forerunners of the man-child) over creation. Psalm 91 specifically states that angels will accompany the man-child to guard and help him. This is exactly what we notice in Mark 1:12-13 and Daniel 6:21-22, where angels are engaged in manifesting Adonai’s power to help his prophet exercise authority over the beasts of the earth which was lost when Adam sinned. The man-child of Revelation 12 will also walk in this authority. The 144,000 will have missions that take them in harm’s way of animals and wild beasts of the earth, and they will not be harmed. Like Daniel, Yeshua, Elisha and a host of others, they will manifest authority over the animals of the earth in order to accomplish their tasks during the apocalypse.
Please read Ezekiel 14. What do you think is the meaning of this prophecy? Well, in its most literal reading, it’s a prophecy of how Noah, Daniel or Job’s intercession on behalf of their children would not be sufficient to deliver them when Adonai brings His judgments upon the land of Israel. Notice the judgments. Do they look familiar? Sure they do. They are the four seal judgments! Therefore, this passage is also a prophecy of the four seal judgments of Revelation 6. Notice that one of the judgments is wild beasts.
“If I cause wild beasts to pass through the land, and they empty it, and make it so desolate that no man may pass through because of the beasts, 16 even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord GOD, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate” (Ezekiel 14:15-16).
These verses, which are prophetic passages about the judgments in the book of Revelation, are specifically teaching what I’m endeavoring to show you through the examples of the lives of these man-child forerunners—that the man-child will be able to exercise authority even over the beasts of the field. And, once again, you see how important it is to understand the Torah and the Tanakh (Old Testament) when it comes to interpreting the book of Revelation. As I’ve said before, the Torah and the rest of the Tanakh are the foundations upon which the book of Revelation is built. That’s why it’s so important to rid ourselves of the thinking that goes like this, “Well, the law and the Old Testament are done away with, because it was for the Jews way back then.” To that I say, “hogwash!” It’s for you now if you want to understand what’s coming on the horizon. Hopefully, you are being challenged to examine the things I’m writing. Not in a negative way, but in a way that encourages you to get into your Torah and Tanakh as well as the Apostolic writings (New Testament).
The ultimate restoration of man’s complete authority over the earth and the animals will be the millennial kingdom, when once again we will dwell in harmony with the animals, exercising complete dominion over them.
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:6-9).
The point I’m making here is that the man-child of Revelation 12 will not have to wait till the millennium to walk in that authority, they will walk in it during the tribulation period, and they will do so to fulfill Adonai’s purposes. We will get a better idea of these purposes as we discover more prophetic pictures of the man-child and thematically investigate their lives as foreshadows of the man-child of Revelation 12.
Noah
Our next man-child forerunner is Noah, another person given authority to exercise dominion on Adonai’s behalf, our third foundation theme associated with the Revelation 12 man-child - The man-child is given authority to exercise dominion on Adonai’s behalf (Revelation 12:5, Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 2, Psalm 8, and Psalm 91).
So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. 2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on all that move on the earth, and on all the fish of the sea. They are given into your hand (Genesis 9:1-2).
Notice that similar to Adam’s authority, Noah’s authority to rule was again extended over the earth, meaning the animate and inanimate portions of creation. In past articles on the pattern of judgments, we’ve seen that Noah is to be viewed as a new Adam exercising authority over the newly-recreated earth.
Quite obviously, every forerunner of the man-child will be one exalted from a lowly position to one of authority because of the prophecy of Psalm 8. The fact that Adonai would share rulership over His creation with mankind is a wonder! However, later we will be introduced to forerunners whose lives specifically and intentionally bear the theme of one exalted from a lowly status. I’ll remember to point that out.
Noah also bears the theme of one whose life is supernaturally spared. Heretofore, I have only concentrated on those whose lives were spared within the context of the deadly conflict between the man-child and the serpent. However, there are other types of sparing of life that the man-child will experience besides those affiliated with threats from the serpent. The life of Adonai’s man-child will also be spared from Adonai’s judgments upon the earth. Noah is the first man-child representative to teach us this fact. You will remember that when Adonai pronounced judgment upon the entire human race, He chose Noah as an object of His grace and spared his life. This then becomes a marker for the true man-child, the 144,000 of the book of Revelation. They will escape the judgment of Adonai during the apocalypse.
Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth (Revelation 3:10).
Thus, the 144,000 will not only be spared from the wrath of the serpent (Revelation 12:5), they will also be spared from the judgments of Adonai upon this wicked earth. Noah’s story provides the prophetic evidence for this fact. Psalm 91 also speaks of the preservation of the man-child from all manner of evils because of the gracious favors of Adonai. The Scripture is quite clear in stating that Noah’s life was spared from the flood which swept away the remainder of humanity.
For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly (2 Peter 2:4-5).
If we look again at Ezekiel 14 we will notice three things about the three men who are set forth as examples. First, Noah, Daniel and Job were all intercessors! In all of their stories we should note that they interceded on behalf of others who were destined to die. Noah’s family and the animals were saved because of Noah’s righteousness.
This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God (Genesis 6:9).
Daniel successfully interceded on behalf of his three Hebrew friends, as well as the satraps of Babylon.
Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation” (Daniel 2:24).
Job also successfully interceded for his three “friends.”
Now therefore, take for yourselves seven bulls and seven rams, go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you. For I will accept him, lest I deal with you according to your folly; because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has” (Job 42:8).
Secondly, they were able to save their friends from three different types of judgments. Noah was able to save eight people and each species of animal on the earth from the judgment of God. Job was also able to save his three friends from Adonai’s judgment. Daniel, on the other hand, was able to save his friends from the judgment of a king.
Lastly, let’s take note of what these three were delivered from. Noah was spared from God’s judgment. Daniel was spared from the judgment of a king, and Job was spared from the judgments of the serpent himself. I believe these represent three different scenarios that will exist in the end-times. The lives of these men are prophetic shadows of the mission, work, and exploits of the 144,000.
Like Noah, the 144,000 will be used by Adonai to save people from Adonai’s judgments upon unbelieving humanity. Notice what Ezekiel 14, which is a prophecy of the four seal judgments of the apocalypse, teaches us.
For thus says the Lord GOD: “How much more it shall be when I send My four severe judgments on Jerusalem—the sword and famine and wild beasts and pestilence—to cut off man and beast from it? 22 Yet behold, there shall be left in it a remnant who will be brought out, both sons and daughters; surely they will come out to you, and you will see their ways and their doings. Then you will be comforted concerning the disaster that I have brought upon Jerusalem, all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they will comfort you, when you see their ways and their doings; and you shall know that I have done nothing without cause that I have done in it,” says the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 14:21-23).
The entire point of the prophecy from Ezekiel 14:1-20 is that even Noah, Daniel and Job would not be able to intercede and deliver the souls of any others, not even their own sons or daughters, were Adonai to bring upon Jerusalem any one of the plagues mentioned. Yet, despite Adonai’s declarations in the first twenty verses of this chapter, and despite the fact that He is going to bring all four of His judgments upon Jerusalem, all at one time, Adonai stated that there will be a remnant who will be delivered! Wow! And I believe it will be the 144,000 who will accomplish this great deliverance. They will do just as Noah their prophetic forerunner did, they will deliver people from Adonai’s judgments, as many as Adonai allows.
The fact that Adonai would use people to intercede on behalf of others, such that they could deliver others’ souls from one of His judgments, is also taught in the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. In my series of articles entitled the Pattern of Judgments, I discussed how Noah’s flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are the two main stories set forth as examples of the final judgment at the end of this epoch of human history. In the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family were delivered from the upheaval of these two sinful cities. Lot and his family were not delivered from Adonai’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because of Lot’s righteousness! The Scriptures tell us exactly why Lot and his family were delivered.
And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace. 29 And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt (Genesis 19:27-29).
Notice how Genesis 19:29 states that God remembered Abraham and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow! Why doesn’t it rather say, “And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Lot, and sent him out of the midst of the overthrow”? Because Lot’s life and the lives of his daughters were spared because of Abraham’s intercession in Genesis 18! So likewise, the 144,000 will spare the lives of many as they faithfully fulfill their end-time missions.
The man-child/144,000 will also walk in the steps of Daniel whose intercession was able to save the three Hebrew lads, as well as many of the satraps of Babylon. Daniel and his friends were incarcerated in Babylon, yet Adonai spared them from death, primarily because of Daniel’s righteousness. These types of deliverances will occur during the end-times just as sure as it happened for Daniel and his three friends. Yes, there will be a time of martyrdom such as we’ve never seen before, but it will also be a time of miraculous deliverances from death. In case you think this is too fantastic, simply look to the book of Acts! The book of Acts is just a foretaste of the mighty acts Adonai will do in the end-times in order to magnify His name, gain the glory He deserves and to save many people from hellfire. Notice what happened when Peter was incarcerated.
Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 6 And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 7 Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 8 Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 9 So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. 11 And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people” (Acts 12:5-11).
As you can see, none of this is fanciful at all! Adonai did these types of things in the Tanakh. He also did them in the time period of the early assemblies, which are noted for us in the book of Acts. And . . . He will do them again during the time of the apocalypse. Adonai will use the man-child to accomplish many of these exploits and will save not only His people, but others also. Paul was a man-child, walking in the authority of the man-child of Revelation 12. That is why the viper which attached itself to him was not able to overpower and kill him.
Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta. 2 And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.” 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god (Acts 28:1-6).
Once again, as we read this story, we should immediately think of Psalm 91, because this story is a fulfillment of Psalm 91. It is also a story of how Paul was able to save the lives of the men on the ship in Acts 27. Note how an angel appeared to him and promised him that not one life would be killed. Do you think Adonai spared the lives of all the heathen on that ship because of their righteousness? Of course not, He spared them because His man-child Paul was there, and because of Paul, deliverance and salvation from death was brought to many others.
But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss. 22 And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. 26 However, we must run aground on a certain island” (Acts 27:21-25).
Again, Psalm 91 promises angelic oversight to the man-child, and Paul was truly a man-child, a forerunner of the 144,000. Adonai has given us all of these wonderful examples so that we can be encouraged and know that He is the same God yesterday, today and forever!
As stated earlier, Noah is a prophetic picture of the 144,000. Noah was used by Adonai to save people and animals. He did this by building a boat of salvation such that when the flood waters came, the animals and those who Adonai appointed to salvation were able to seek refuge in Adonai’s man-child, Noah. Earlier I talked about the ability to rule and reign over animals. We see this with Noah, too, when Adonai caused all the animals to come to him for salvation. What a beautiful picture of animals being subject to a man. They came from all over seeking refuge from a man so they would be spared Adonai’s judgment upon the rest of the world! Just like Noah who built a boat for the salvation of seven other souls and all the animals, so likewise, Adonai will commission the 144,000 to do many things to preserve the lives of people during the tribulation.
Revelation 12 makes it clear that the woman Israel will flee into the wilderness. She will need to flee into the wilderness because of the devil’s wrath when he is not able to get his hands on the man-child, who, as I’ve written before, will be the firstfruits of the resurrection and caught up to the throne of God (Revelation 12:5). Scripture informs us that the woman will go into the wilderness were she has a place prepared for her.
Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent (Revelation 12:13-14).
Noticed how it states that she has a place prepared for her in the wilderness and that she is nourished for a time, times and a half time. We have learned in previous articles that the woman is Israel and that a remnant from Israel will literally go into the wilderness to be protected and provided for, just as Adonai did at Israel’s first exodus under the leadership of Moses. Note that she was nourished. Prophetically, Noah did the same thing for the seven souls and the animals. The boat was the place prepared for them. Furthermore, Noah had stored food to provide nourishment for them. In other words, Adonai’s man-child was providing for those Adonai had commissioned Noah to save during His judgment. This will be the same during the tribulation. The woman Israel will be preserved in the wilderness with the help of the 144,000 who will lead her just as Moses led Israel through the wilderness during the Exodus, and just as Noah did during the flood. Revelation 12 hints to us in a very subtle manner that it will be the 144,000 who will “feed” and “nourish” the woman in the desert.
She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne. 6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days (Revelation 12:5-6).
Let’s key in on the phrase, that they should feed her there. Curiously enough, throughout Revelation 12:1-6 there is no they at all! The story has been about three singular entities: the woman, the dragon and the man-child! So who is they? They is the man-child because the man-child is not a singular person. The man-child is composed of the 144,000, and they are the ones who will feed the woman. Revelation 12 is written as a chiasm, and I have reproduced a part of the structure below. We will be comparing element C in the first half with element C’ in the second half.
Notice that there are four thematic connections between element C in the first half and element C’ in the second half. The four connections are color coded so you can quickly see how the themes in element C are connected to the themes in C’. Notice how “that they should feed her there” is unambiguously connected to “where she is nourished” in element C’! In other words, the they of Revelation 12:6 are the ones nourishing the woman in Revelation 12:14! And, as stated above, the they is the man-child, the 144,000.
Thus, Adam and Noah were the first two prophetic forerunners of the 144,000. If we are the generation that will see the return of the Lord, then their examples were written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world have come. The only thing we need to do is recognize the prophetic nature of the stories of the Tanakh and follow the thematic connections.
Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Corinthians 10:6-11).
The themes associated with the man-child of Revelation 12:5 are clearly written. Our job is to diligently connect the themes line upon line, precept upon precept.
“Whom will he teach knowledge? And whom will he make to understand the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just drawn from the breasts? 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” (Isaiah 28:9-10).