Who Are the Prophetic Forerunners of the Man-Child/144,000 of the Book of Revelation? Part 2
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Introduction
In previous articles 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. Furthermore, I’ve identified five themes based on events in Revelation 12 that will characterize the 144,000. Those five foundational themes are shown below. The objective of the next few articles is to identify prophetic forerunners of the Revelation 12 man-child, those from the Tanakh and Apostolic writings that have already walked in the power and authority of the man-child of Revelation 12. We can identify these prophetic figures the same way we identified the 144,000 in Revelation 12, by noting the foundational themes listed below in their lives.
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).
Abraham
A man-child is given authority to exercise dominion on Adonai’s behalf
Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3).Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:15-18).
Abraham is the next person to be given authority and dominion to exercise in Adonai’s name. The two portions of Scriptures above reflect Abraham’s commissioning. Notice, however, how Abraham’s authority will extend not just over the animals, but also over people. As you can see, this is a significance change in the original sphere of dominion given to Adam! Adam was told to rule over the creation—the physical inanimate world and the animals. However, Abraham’s authority has been extended to include authority to rule over people. I personally do not think this means that Abraham was some sort of king. What it means is that Adonai placed the authority to rule over other peoples in Abraham through the Abrahamic covenant. This authority to rule over other people (as stated explicitly in Genesis 22:17) will find its eventual fulfillment through the nation of Israel, and its ultimate fulfillment through Messiah Yeshua. Notice how Adonai told Abraham that kings would come from his loins.
I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you (Genesis 17:6).
This authority of Abraham over people will eventually be extended to authority over nations through his descendants! So, as you can see, Adonai promised Abraham that his influence would be vast, powerful, and long-lasting, culminating in blessings that will eventually extend to the entire human race.
The promise of Abraham’s authority and preeminence was passed along to Isaac, Jacob and the twelve tribes as they inherited the original promise of Genesis 12:1-3 given to Abraham by Adonai. In other words, the Abrahamic covenant is the covenant that will extend and bestow the original authority given to Abraham by Adonai (Genesis 12:1-3) to his descendants, and it is his descendants who will eventually rule and reign over other people. Furthermore, we cannot forget about the promise Adonai gave Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15—that the seed of the woman would one day also have dominion over the serpent. Thus, it will be through Abraham’s descendants that man’s authority will reach its apex, where his descendants will rule and reign over the creation, animals, people and the serpent. The ultimate recipient of all of this authority will be the greatest descendant of Abraham, the seed of the woman—Messiah Yeshua!
The man-child is someone of very lowly status who will be exalted to a position of authority, power, dominion and rulership
The calling of Abraham is an amazing story of Adonai’s grace. Abraham, like all other human beings that have ever lived, was a sinner, and yet Adonai chose him and exalted him to be one of the greatest persons that has ever lived on earth. The covenants of promise belong to Abraham and his descendants. The promise of a messianic savior was given to Abraham. He is the father of the nation of Israel. The covenant of Genesis 12:1-3 catapulted Abraham from obscurity to be one of the most important and influential persons in all of history. And why did Adonai choose Abraham? That is not very clear! Abram burst onto the scene of human history seemingly just because Adonai chose to bless him and exalt him. His is truly a rags to riches story simply because of Adonai’s favor and mercy.
What does Abraham’s life teach us about the Revelation 12 man-child?
As you can see, Abraham’s role as a man-child primarily pertains to the authority and dominion given to him by Adonai. As we examine his life, we can see that there are similarities between his role as a man-child and Noah’s. Like Noah, Abraham was able to save others from one of Adonai’s final judgments! Of all the judgments mentioned in the Tanakh, it is Noah’s flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah that are put forward as prophetic pictures of the final judgments in the book of Revelation. Yeshua mentioned both of these judgments as examples of the judgment at the end of this present evil age.
And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed (Luke 17:26-30).
Similarly, Peter mentions both of these judgments as prophetic shadows of the Day of the Lord.
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; 6 and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; 7 and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment (2 Peter 2:4-9).
Just as the man-child Noah functioned by saving seven other people from the deluge, so likewise, Abraham functioned as a deliverer, delivering Lot and his daughters from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is made clear when we are informed that Adonai remembered Abraham, and this remembrance of Abraham was the reason why Lot and his family were spared.
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 19:29).
In fact, are we not to understand that Lot was delivered specifically because of Abraham’s intercession?
Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.” 33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place (Genesis 18:32-33).
The most fascinating aspect of Abraham’s haggling with Adonai is that Adonai said he would not destroy the city if there could be found at least ten righteous people within it. In Part 1 of this series we noted how Daniel, Noah, and Job were able to intercede on behalf of others and deliver them from various types of judgments. Now we can add Abraham to this list! What’s more important though is that by thematically examining the lives of these forerunners of the man-child of Revelation 12, we have discovered one of the major roles the man-child will play during the apocalypse. The man-child will be able to intercede on behalf of others and deliver them from various judgments, whether that be the judgment of a king (as in Daniel’s case), the judgment of the serpent (as in Job’s predicament), or the judgment of Adonai (as in Noah’s situation). The man-child will be able to deliver people from death, and that will be one of their primary roles during the period of the tribulation. As we continue this study we will see many more examples of this type of authority and power to save.
It turns out however, that Adonai used Abraham more than once to deliver someone from death!
And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim 9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar—four kings against five. 10 Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled; some fell there, and the remainder fled to the mountains. 11 Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way. 12 They also took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner; and they were allies with Abram. 14 Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. 15 He divided his forces against them by night, and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus. 16 So he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people (Genesis 14:8-16).
This is a truly amazing story. Notice that Abraham and his 318 trained servants were able to defeat the armies of four kingdoms! Have you ever thought of that? How do a little over 300 men fight against the armies of four kingdoms and prevail? I’ll tell you how they prevailed. It was because Adonai fought Abraham’s battles just as He did for Israel against her enemies. And why did Adonai fight Abraham’s battle? Because Abraham was a man-child, someone imbued with power and authority to rule and reign by Adonai. Abraham’s victory over the four kings is simply a fulfillment of the promise of Genesis 12:1-3, where those who oppose Abraham will be cursed and doomed to failure. At this point, I would also like to posit that Abraham’s rescue of Lot against seemingly overwhelming odds has now established the foundational paradigm for the miraculous deliverances of those who will walk in the authority and power of a man-child. They will not need large armies, nor will they need horses and chariots, because they will be supernaturally empowered to achieve their divine objectives.
And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again (Hebrews 11:32-35).
Therefore, through Abraham’s life we can see another function of the man-child of Revelation 12. Not only will they will be able intercede on behalf of others, Adonai will supernaturally empower them so that they can put the armies of their enemies to flight. This is what we learn from the man-child Abraham. The promise that Abraham would possess the gate of his enemies is a promise that every man-child walks in. They are anointed to fight Adonai’s battles and will be victorious whenever they wage warfare. Think of the promise of Genesis 22:17 mentioned earlier in this article—your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. On the one hand, we know this is simply a figure of speech, meaning that Abraham’s descendants will conquer and rule over their enemies. Often in Scripture we are confronted with a passage where we must determine if we are to interpret it literally or not. One thing we don’t want to do is to take a passage literally when it’s only meant to be interpreted figuratively (or vice versa)! Obviously, Genesis 22:17 is a figure of speech. It is, isn’t it? But let’s play a little game here. Let’s consider that it may be literal! If so, we will be delighted to find out that this passage was fulfilled literally! By whom, you may ask? By Samson!
Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. 2 When the Gazites were told, “Samson has come here!” they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. They were quiet all night, saying, “In the morning, when it is daylight, we will kill him.” 3 And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron (Judges 16:1-3).
A figure of speech? But, look, it’s literal also! Samson literally possessed the gate of his enemies! Later, we’ll learn how Samson was a man-child. As a matter of fact, Genesis 22:17 is a prophecy of Judges 16:1-3. Samson, like Abraham, is a man-child with the power and authority to defeat his enemies and rescue others. This is one of the primary roles the man-child of Revelation 12 will fulfill.
Isaac
The man-child is born from a woman in great travail
As mentioned before, the travail of the woman (Genesis 3:16) includes more than just physical pain in childbirth. So, as we look for forerunners of the man-child, we need to be open to women who suffered greatly from the stigma of barrenness, i.e., those who suffered in conception as the prophecy states in Genesis 3:16. Sarah suffered more than any other matriarch, for her barrenness was of the longest duration. So long was her barrenness that eventually she even scoffed at the idea of having a child!
And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) 11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. 12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” 13 And the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” (Genesis 18:10-14).
Thus, we see that Isaac was a child born to a mother who endured great travail in conception, longing to bear and give birth to a son.
Adonai will supernaturally preserve the life of the man-child, protecting him from the wiles and destructive scheme of the serpent
This theme is based on Revelation 12:4 where it states that the serpent is laying in wait before the woman to devour her child as soon as it is born. In other words, the devil wants to kill the man-child as soon as it is born. We saw this prophetically acted out when Moses was born and Pharaoh had commanded that all male babies be thrown into the river at their birth. Interestingly enough, the devil’s plan for Sarah was even more efficient. His plan was actually to either prevent her from becoming pregnant, or to have her defiled so she could not be the one to mother the nation of Israel. This is why on two separate occasions, two different kings abducted her from Abraham.
So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15 The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house (Genesis 12:14-15).
And Abraham journeyed from there to the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. 2 Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah (Genesis 20:1-2).
Although their plan was simply to add another woman to their harem, it was the serpent’s shrewd scheme to ensure she was sexually defiled and therefore disqualified from being the mother of the fledgling nation of promise.
However, hasatan had actually been at work long before Abram and Sarai arrived. Hopefully you remember how Adonai told Abram his descendants would be enslaved for a four hundred-year period before they would be delivered and taken to the Promised Land. As I mentioned before, the devil knew this plan also. So he got to work centuries earlier, devising a plot to thwart the coming forth of the seed of the woman through Sarai. His plan was a redo of his earlier attempt to corrupt the seed of mankind. You will remember how the sons of God had sexual relations with the daughters of men in Genesis 6. This forbidden mixture of angels and humans produced the nephilim (Hebrew), translated as giants in Genesis 6:4.
Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose. 3 And the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4 There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown (Genesis 6:1-4).
This was hasatan’s original grand plan to thwart Adonai’s plan to save mankind! If he could corrupt the seed of mankind so that the chosen lineage of the seed of the woman (Shem’s descendants) were actually these hybrid human/angels, then the plan of salvation would be off because it was necessary for Yeshua to identify with us in all aspects of our humanity. This would have been impossible had the human DNA been corrupted. It is very possible that this was a primary purpose of the flood, to destroy these larger than life beings. Notice how it states in Genesis 6:4 that there was a second outbreak of the sons of God going into the daughters of men. It is stated that this second outbreak occurred afterward, meaning after the flood. In other words, it’s obvious that after the flood hasatan used his angels to impregnate women a second time, after Adonai had destroyed the earth once. And guess where this outbreak of giants occurred? In the land of Canaan, the land Adonai promised to Abram at the covenant between the pieces in Genesis 15! Notice the curious and almost awkward statement mentioned twice within the narrative of Abram’s travels throughout the land of Canaan about the Canaanites being in the land! These two statements seem to come from left field as they apparently have nothing to do with the immediate context of the story.
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land (Genesis 12:6).
And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land (Genesis 13:7).
It was within the nations of the Canaanites that the second outbreak of giants occurred! Thus, once the devil found out that Abram’s descendants would inherit the land of Canaan in four hundred years, he set about setting up a situation where giants, children of the forbidden union between angels and men, would already be there. One of the devil’s most potent weapons in defeating Adonai’s plans to bring forth the messianic seed has always been sexual sins, in one form or another. The point of the entire discussion here is that we can see Adonai protecting Abram and Sarai throughout their travels in the Middle East, despite Abram’s idea to have Sarai tell kings that she is his sister! This lie pretty much invited Pharaoh and Abimelech to snatch Sarai into their harems.
There is a deadly conflict between the man-child and the serpent
Genesis 3:15 promises that there will be a deadly conflict between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman. Literally, this conflict is between the serpent (which is a beast) and a man. You will recall from my series on the Pattern of Judgments that the seed of the woman is defined in Revelation 12:17 as those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Yeshua. Therefore, the seed of the serpent are those who do not keep Adonai’s commandments and do not have the testimony of Yeshua. This conflict manifested itself in the birth of Isaac through the enmity of Ishmael. Many times in Scripture we will see the prophetic outworking of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 through the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, where the seed of the serpent is a human who is cast in the form of a beast. Of Ishmael, the seed of the serpent, it was noted by the angel of the Lord that he would be a wild ass of a man, thus casting him as a beast.
He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against every man and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen (Genesis 16:12, RSV).
Ishmael’s enmity against Isaac is recorded in Genesis 21:9-11, and the manifestation of this enmity required that he be cast out from Abraham’s family.
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. 10 Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” 11 And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son (Genesis 21:9-11).
Although this conflict was not initially a conflict to the death (seeing that Ishmael was so young), it may have eventually developed into a deadly struggle, just as Esau’s evil heart eventually sought to kill his brother Jacob.
The man-child is someone of very lowly status who will be exalted to a position of authority, power, dominion. and rulership
In the near future we will be introduced to forerunners of the man-child who will have a literal rags to riches experience, where they will be exalted from a lowly existence to the pinnacles of power and success. However, we must also keep our eyes open for a more subtle form of fulfillment of this theme. Another way this theme weaves its way through the lives of forerunners of the man-child is in the exaltation of a younger brother to the position of the firstborn family leader. I’m sure you’re quite aware of the prominence of the firstborn. It was the firstborn who was to be exalted to the leadership role of the family! The firstborn was also given a double portion of the inheritance because they were to be preeminent among the other siblings. This principle, where the power, authority and prestige of the firstborn is not bestowed upon the true firstborn but upon a younger brother, one who was lower in stature and not deserving of the firstborn status, has been at work ever since Adonai created mankind!
Angels were created before man and angels are a higher order of created beings than mankind. This is why the psalmist marveled that Adonai would put his entire creation in the hands of men instead of the more magnificently created angels!
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit[him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
and You have crowned him with glory and honor (Psalm 8:3-5).
Thus, Adonai “violates” the firstborn principle by bypassing angels and choosing lowly mankind to be joint heirs over the creation. This occurred over and over again within the Biblical narratives as Adonai continued to exalt a brother of lower stature over the true firstborn. Abel and then Seth were chosen over Cain. Jacob was chosen over Esau. Joseph was chosen over his eleven brothers. And in our present situation, Isaac was chosen over Ishmael, even though Ishmael was born before Isaac. Truly, the brother of lower stature, as far as birth order is concerned, was exalted to be above his sibling.
Concerning Isaac’s exaltation, it is Isaac, not Ishmael, who inherited the authority and mantle of leadership that was originally given to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. The authority to rule over creation and eventually over other people found its way from Abraham to Isaac through the Abrahamic covenant:
Then the LORD appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws” (Genesis 26:2-5).
What does Isaac’s life teach us about the Revelation 12 man-child?
Amazingly enough, Isaac’s prophetic life is not focused on the man-child of Revelation 12; rather, it is focused on the man-child Yeshua! We should expect this to be the case sometimes. We’ve learned that the promise of Genesis 3:15 is a dual prophecy. It is prophetic of how Yeshua as a man-child would one day crush hasatan’s head, and of how the man-child of Revelation 12 will one day crush the serpent’s head. Thus, at any one time, our prophetic forerunners’ lives could be prophetic pictures of either Yeshua, the man-child of Revelation 12, or both! The themes I see in Isaac’s life primarily point to Yeshua. For example, in Genesis 22 we read about the binding of Isaac. This story is a prophetic picture of Yeshua’s death, burial and resurrection in three days. The fact that this story is a prophetic story of resurrection is the point of the writer of Hebrews.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense (Hebrews 11:17-19).
Nonetheless, although I can’t see how Isaac’s life is prophetic of the Revelation 12 man-child, I do see how one aspect of his life is a prophecy of Moses’ life. Please note the following thematic connections between Isaac and Moses.
As you can see, the circumstances surrounding the securing of a bride for Isaac are thematically equivalent to how Moses met his bride! In other words, at this early stage in the development of the nation of Israel, we see a prophecy concerning Israel's future man-child deliverer, Moses!
So, from what I can see, the most important way Isaac identifies with the man-child of Revelation 12 is that Abraham passed on to him the Abrahamic promise of authority and dominion.
Jacob
Similar to Isaac, Jacob is a man-child mainly in that he inherited the promise of Genesis 12:1-3 given to his grandfather Abraham. From what I can see, he also is not so much a forerunner of the Revelation 12 man-child. Unlike Isaac’s life which mainly foreshadowed Yeshua, Jacob’s life primarily foreshadowed the nation of Israel. I will bring this last point out later. But for now, let’s see how Jacob fulfills the thematic pattern for a man-child.
The man-child is born from a woman in great travail
Jacob is also the seed of a woman who travailed to give birth, similar to Sarah, Rachel and other women who bore sons who were used mightily by Adonai. His mother Rebekah suffered through infertility just as her mother-in-law had.
This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the LORD (Genesis 25:19-22).
Rebekah suffered barrenness for the first twenty years of her marriage to Isaac. Then, when she finally did conceive, she had to endure a very difficult pregnancy. As you can see, the prophecy of Genesis 3:16 was operating in her life. This is one of the signs that her child is a man-child.
There is a deadly conflict between the man-child and the serpent
According to Genesis 3:15, there will be a deadly conflict between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The story of the enmity between Jacob and Esau is actually the story of the enmity of the two seeds, where Jacob represents the seed of the woman and Esau represents the seed of the serpent. Their enmity began in the womb and was the cause of Rebekah’s discomfort! From Genesis 3:15 we can surmise that even in the womb, it was as if Esau was trying to kill Jacob. Upon Esaus’ birth, he was described as being hairy all over. This is the beast-like or animal-like characteristic that characterizes the seed of the serpent. Please notice the following connection between the early and latter lives of these two brothers. Early on, they were battling each other in the womb. Then, later in life, Esau was intent on murdering Jacob and thus fulfilling his role as the seed of the serpent, walking in the footsteps of his murderous spiritual father, the devil.
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (John 8:44).
The man-child is someone of very lowly status who will be exalted to a position of authority, power, dominion and rulership
Jacob, like Isaac, was also exalted from the lower position to the highly-esteemed position of firstborn! Though Jacob was deceitful, nonetheless, he who was born second was exalted from his lower position to one of authority and power.
And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?” 38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above. 40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck” (Genesis 27:36-40).
The man-child is given authority to exercise dominion on Adonai’s behalf
Furthermore, Jacob received the blessing originally given to Abraham that legally should have gone to Esau as the actual firstborn. This is a blessing of authority, dominion and rulership.
Therefore may God give you of the dew of heaven, of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, and let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be those who bless you!” (Genesis 27:28-29).
Adonai will supernaturally preserve the life of the man-child, protecting him from the wiles and destructive scheme of the serpent
We’ve already discussed the conflict between Jacob and Esau and the fact that Esau wanted to kill him.
So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob” (Genesis 27:41).
But as is always the case, Adonai, in His sovereignty, spared Jacob’s life, ensuring that he would survive the evil intentions of the seed of the serpent. There is another way that Adonai saved Jacob from the schemes of the evil one. As I said earlier, Jacob is not so much a forerunner of the man-child as he is a forerunner of the actual nation of Israel! Please note the following thematic connections clearly demonstrating how the story of Jacob’s life provides a prophetic blueprint for the future of the nation of Israel. In this prophetic scenario, Laban is cast as the future Pharaoh. Thus, the story of Jacob’s stay at Laban’s is prophetically an enactment of 1) the sojourn of the children of Israel in Egyptian bondage, and 2) their eventual deliverance from this bondage.
In order to show these connections, I’m going to break up Jacob’s story into larger thematic units and relate these units prophetically to the nation of Israel. The left side of each panel below will present certain events in Jacob’s life, and the ride side will show how Israel’s circumstances were a direct fulfillment of Jacob’s prophetic life.
These amazing connections clearly prove that Jacob’s life was a prophetic blueprint for the lives of his future descendants! To understand the real significance of the events in Jacob’s life, we simply needed to make the connections above. Jacob’s life is the story of Israel’s exile to and redemption from Egypt and their eventual return to their promised land of inheritance, Canaan.
Like Isaac, Jacob is also a man-child, mainly due to his inheritance of the authority to rule through the passing down of the Abrahamic covenant to him. But Jacob’s life is prophetically pointing to the history of Israel rather than the man-child of Revelation.
In summary, we’ve learned the following:
Beginning with Abraham, the authority and rulership that was originally given to Adam now includes rulership over people, not just the animals and inanimate creation.
The Abrahamic covenant is the covenant that will extend and bestow the original authority given to him by Adonai (Genesis 12:1-3) to his descendants, and it is his descendants who will eventually rule and reign over other people.
Like Noah, Abraham was able to save others from one of Adonai’s final judgments! Of all the judgments mentioned in the Tanakh, it is Noah’s flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah that are put forward as prophetic pictures of the final judgments in the book of Revelation. Therefore, we know this will also be the mission of the 144,000, to help bring salvation to many others and thus spare them from the final judgments of the apocalypse.
Just as the man-child Noah functioned by saving seven other people from the deluge, so likewise, Abraham functioned as a deliverer, delivering Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Abraham’s life (he was responsible for Lot’s deliverance from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, a prophetic picture of the final judgments in the book of Revelation) teaches us that the man-child will be able to intercede on behalf of others and deliver them from various judgments, whether that be the judgment of a king (as in Daniel’s case), the judgment of the serpent (as in Job’s case) or the judgment of Adonai (as in Noah’s case). The man-child will be able to deliver people from death, and that will be one of their primary roles during the period of the tribulation.
Isaac is not so much a prophetic picture of the man-child as he is a prophetic shadow of the Messiah.
Jacob is not so much a prophetic shadow of the man-child as he is a prophetic picture of the nation of Israel being taken into and delivered from Egyptian bondage.