Who Are the Prophetic Forerunners of the Man-Child/144,000 of the Book of Revelation? Part 3

Joseph

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 whom Adonai will use to crush the devil’s head at the end of this age. 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:

1. The man-child is born from a woman in great travail (Revelation 12:1-5 and Genesis 3:16).

2. 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).

3. 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).

4. Adonai will supernaturally preserve the life of the man-child, protecting him from the wiles and destructive schemes of the serpent (Revelation 12:5, Genesis 3:15, Psalm 2, Psalm 8, and Psalm 91).

5. 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).

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Joseph

A man-child is someone born from a woman in great travail

When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren (Genesis 29:31).

According to Revelation 12:1-2, the man-child will be born from a woman in great travail:

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars. ² Then being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

We’ve also noted how seamlessly Revelation 12 thematically connects to Genesis 3:16:

 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
in pain you shall bring forth children; your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”

In past articles we learned that this suffering is much more than the actual physical pain of childbirth. This prophecy is also stating there will be much sorrow that will accompany the bringing forth of the seed of the woman, even the very conception of a child will be fraught with agony and suffering. This sorrow in conception can be seen in the matriarchs who suffered many things just to conceive a child, let alone bring the child forth to birth! Joseph’s mother Rachel suffered extreme barrenness as did Sarah, her ancestress. In fact, it almost seems as if the more important a child of Israel is, the more his mother will suffer! Sarah suffered immeasurably before bringing forth Isaac, and Rachel suffered much to bring forth Joseph, who is one of the more outstanding prophetic examples of Yeshua. But for now, we are looking at Joseph simply as a forerunner, or prophetic picture of the man-child of Revelation 12. The suffering of Rachel is the first circumstance that marks Joseph’s destiny as a man-child.

At this point I want to be very clear. We've already seen that some passages in the Tanakh (Old Testament) have more than one prophetic fulfillment! For example, Genesis 3:15-16 and Psalm 2:9 apply to Messiah Yeshua and the man-child of Revelation 12! Therefore, as we continue this study, it’s important that we try to divide and conquer and make distinctions between messianic foreshadowings and foreshadowings of the man-child of Revelation 12. Therefore, you need to know that some people in the Tanakh are simultaneously prophetic figures pointing to Messiah Yeshua and forerunners of the man-child of Revelation.

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A man-child is someone of very low status who will be exalted to a position of authority, power, dominion and rulership

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:39-41).

Although you are probably familiar with Joseph’s ascendance to power, his ascent cannot be fully appreciated until we first realize the full extent of his descent! Joesph’s story begins in Genesis 37 where the Bible teaches us that he was Jacob’s favored son. Jacob had made a very special colored garment for Joseph:

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors (Genesis 37:3).

We read of a similar garment that was given to one of David’s daughters in 2 Samuel 13:18:

Now she had on a robe of many colors, for the king’s virgin daughters wore such apparel. And his servant put her out and bolted the door behind her.

Notice how this was a coat given to the king’s virgin daughters. The thematic picture being painted here is that it is as if Jacob is a king and Joseph is the son of his right hand, the heir /prince of his kingdom. In Genesis 37:12-18, notice how Joseph had “special access” to Jacob, instead of working alongside his brothers. Therefore, when Joseph is thrown into the pit, thematically it is to be seen as a step downward in royal status. He has been demoted from the colored robe-wearing prince of the king to a mere piece of property subject to the whims and fancies of his owners. This is his first descent.

Secondly, upon arrival in Egypt, Joseph was sold into servitude under Potiphar. This was his second descent. At long last, Joseph’s stature suffered another fall when he was sold into slavery where the king’s prisoners were kept. As you can see, Joseph suffered three descents in total, being humbled from the status of “prince” to that of a pitiful slave.

Through a miraculous turn of events involving Joseph’s successful interpretation of Pharaoh’s troublesome dreams, Joseph was exalted from an utter state of humiliation to second-in-command to Pharaoh, king of Egypt!

Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:42-45).

As you can see, Joseph’s descents into humiliation were turned around into a glorious exaltation.

In case you think I’m reading into the text by stating that the coat of many colors is meant for us to consider Joseph as a prince, the son of a king, let me ask you a few questions.

• Is Yeshua the son of Adonai?

• Did Yeshua willingly step down from the eternal power and glory that He had with Adonai from eternity to become a lowly human?

• Should we not see that Yeshua, like Joseph, experienced a humiliating descent from the status of the son of a king to a lowly servant?

• After Yeshua’s humiliation and descent to the earth to be found as a lowly human being, was He not subsequently exalted to the right hand of the Father and given a kingdom, power and authority to rule and reign? In other words, wasn’t He exalted back to the position of glory and honor He had before His humiliation?

• After Joseph’s humiliation and descent to be found as a lowly slave, was he not subsequently exalted to the right hand of Pharaoh and given the kingdom of Egypt where he was commissioned by Pharaoh to rule with power and authority?

Need I ask any more questions? I’m sure you see the picture being painted here. Joseph, who is certainly a man-child anointed with power and authority to rule, is giving us a picture of Yeshua’s self-kenosis experience where He emptied Himself of all divine prerogative, allowing Himself to be found as a man.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷ but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:5-11).

It should be plain to see that Joseph’s suffering, humiliation and exaltation is meant to teach us about the suffering, humiliation and exaltation of Yeshua. After all, did not Yeshua emphatically state that the Torah was about Him?

• You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me (John 5:39).

• For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me (John 5:46).

• Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” ²⁷ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:25-27).

• Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” ⁴⁵ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures (Luke 24:44-45).

So, yes, the relationship between Joseph and Jacob, which was accentuated by the coat of many colors, is supposed to be a hint to us of the relationship between a king and His prince. For their story is the story of Adonai and Yeshua! And yes, Joseph’s life is truly a prophecy of Yeshua’s.

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A man-child is someone given authority to exercise dominion on Adonai’s behalf

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.” ⁴¹ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt” (Genesis 41:39-41).

The earmark of any man-child will be the authority given to him to rule. This characteristic is without fail a prime attribute of those Adonai would call to be a man-child. This theme is extremely powerful in Joseph’s life! It was seen prophetically when he was a child through the dreams of leadership he had.

Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. ⁶ So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷ There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” ⁸ And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. ⁹ Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” ¹⁰ So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” ¹¹ And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind (Genesis 37:5-11).

In fact, Joseph seems to be especially singled out as a prophetic forerunner of the man-child of Revelation 12, because it was his dream in Genesis 37:9 that is used to conclusively show that the woman of Revelation 12:1 is, in fact, the nation of Israel.

Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a garland of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1).

Once sold into servitude under Potiphar, the spirit of leadership and authority was manifested again in Joseph when he was quickly promoted as head overseer in Potiphar’s house.

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. ² The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ³ And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. ⁴ So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. ⁵ So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate (Genesis 39:1-6).

Lastly, we should be able to perceive Joseph’s prophetic destiny as a ruler through his stay in Pharaoh’s prison, where once again, he was given authority:

Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. ²¹ But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. ²³ The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper (Genesis 39:20-23).

As you can see, as we begin to ponder the themes that dominate the narrative concerning Joseph’s life, the theme of rulership/authority is very prominent and lays the foundation for the final crowning moment when Joseph was made viceroy over Egypt, second only to Pharaoh.

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A man child will be in a deadly conflict with the serpent and the seed of the serpent

As we continue to search for forerunners of the man-child, we must constantly remember the main themes presented in Revelation 12:1-5 that mark the man-child.  Furthermore, it is imperative that we do so in light of Genesis 3:15-16, the key passage thematically connected to Revelation 12:1-5.  Therefore, we need to pay particular attention to this theme pertaining to the enmity of the seed. In Revelation 12:1-5, the serpent himself tries to kill the man-child immediately upon birth. This also was exactly the case with Moses, for as soon as he was born he was supposed to have been killed:

So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive” (Exodus 1:22).

The enemy tried to have Yeshua killed a few months after his birth:

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men (Matthew 2:16).

Thus, hasatan tried to kill the man-child of Revelation 12:1-5, and Yeshua and Moses early in their lives, near or upon their birth. But this is not always the case. Sometimes, the serpent or his seed will attempt to destroy the man-child (seed of the woman) later in life. Cain, who 1 John 3:12 identifies as “of the wicked one,” killed Abel well beyond his infancy. The devil tried to kill the man-child David by using Goliath when David was a youth (as well as Saul when David was in his service). So we should understand that the attempt by hasatan to destroy Adonai’s man-child is not limited to the time frame of his birth. Furthermore, it is typically the serpent, or the seed of the serpent (those who do not obey Adonai’s commandments or have the testimony of Yeshua), who actually try to destroy the man-child. As pointed out in a previous article, the seed of the serpent is often cast in the physical likeness of their father, the devil—as a beast. The serpent himself is a beast. Esau, the seed of the serpent who tried but failed to kill Jacob, came out hairy like a beast (Genesis 25:25). Ishmael, the seed of the serpent who opposed Isaac, was said to be a wild ass of a man (Genesis 16:12—RSV). Goliath presented himself with a coat of mail, which was more like the scaly skin of a serpent (1 Samuel 17:5). The Pharisees and Sadducees were referred to by John the Baptist as a brood of vipers (Matthew 3:7). Those who put Messiah Yeshua to death are prophetically likened unto bulls of Bashan, lions and dogs in Psalm 22!

As we review Joseph’s story, it may seem like the circumstances surrounding his life do not meet the criteria above, for we do not read of the serpent, or the seed of the serpent attempting to kill him. I know his brothers were tempted to kill him, but they are not the seed of the serpent even though they were behaving treacherously towards him. However, if we put on our thematic thinking caps, we can see that in actuality, Joseph’s life does fulfill the criteria above. Genesis 37 records how the brothers initially thought of killing Joseph, but later decided instead to sell him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. First, they threw him into a pit. Thematically, this hints of death, because a pit often represents death, since corpses are placed in tombs, which, like pits, are holes in the earth. The Scripture further adds that there was no water in the pit. Again, this detail heightens the specter of death for Joseph. I’m suggesting that Joseph’s placement in the pit is a veiled picture of his death. It’s as if the Torah is painting a picture of his death, not a real death, but picture of death. Thus, when Joseph is placed in the pit it is as if he died and was placed in a tomb. This interpretation is confirmed when we simply notice what happened after his placement in the pit:

Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. ²⁵ And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt (Genesis 37:24-25).

Immediately after Joseph was thrown into the pit, we read that Ishmaelite traders passed by bearing goods for trading in Egypt. And what did they bring? Myrrh, a burial spice! In a surprise move, we see that Adonai has confirmed our thoughts about this story being a thematic picture of Joseph’s death. It’s as if they were bringing the burial spice for Joseph’s death and burial in the pit. A further confirmation that we should see Joseph as if he has just died, regards the brothers’ ploy to deceive their father concerning Joseph’s whereabouts.

Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. ³⁰ And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?” ³¹ So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. ³² Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” ³³ And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces” (Genesis 37:29-33).

Once Jacob saw Joseph’s blood-stained tunic he was convinced that Joseph was dead—exactly the point I’ve been making. So complete was Joseph’s thematic death that later on in the saga of the covenant family’s plight, even the brothers think Joseph is DEAD!

But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave” (Genesis 42:38).

And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him’ (Genesis 44:20).

Joseph was not literally dead, but, as you can see, the Scriptures have been written in such a manner that we are to see Joseph as one who has died. And how did he “die”? At the hands of a “wild beast”! Therefore, as you can see, thematically, Joseph fulfills the criterion of a man-child suffering the enmity of a beast, the seed of the serpent.

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Joseph, a quintessential messianic figure, but is he also a forerunner of the man-child of Revelation 12?

We have now established Joseph as a man-child by connecting him to four of the five themes that mark a man-child. Remember, our goal is to determine the mission of the Revelation 12 man-child in end-time events. On the surface, this task is not difficult at all. We learned about the distinguishing characteristics of the man-child in Revelation 12:1-5, and therefore, we simply need to find those people in the Tanakh who also exhibit the same characteristics. Our journey thus far has taught us that Revelation 12:1-5 pertains to a particular man-child, the 144,000 overcomers. However, we know that Yeshua is a man-child also, although He’s not the man-child of Revelation 12. In other words, the Scriptures seem to be focusing our attention on two major entities that embody the calling of a man-child—Yeshua and the 144,000. We also understand the prophetic nature of Bible, so we should expect there to be prophetic forerunners of the man-child Yeshua as well as prophetic forerunners of the man-child of Revelation 12.

Most of my teaching ministry has been devoted to finding and elucidating what I call messianic prophecy, those prophecies that foretell of the person and work of Messiah Yeshua. You saw an example of this earlier in this article when I showed you how Joseph’s humiliation and exaltation is actually a messianic prophecy of Yeshua’s humiliation and exaltation. Joseph is clearly a messianic figure. In fact, he is one of the two most prominent messianic figures in the Tanakh (the other being King David). Here is a small sampling of what we can learn about Yeshua from Joseph’s prophetic portrait, painted for us from Torah portions Vayeishev (Genesis 37-40) and Miqeitz (Genesis 41-44) alone!

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who would have a miraculous birth.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua as the second Adam through whom we would receive LIFE.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the Good Shepherd.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was hated by his brothers.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the Son of the King.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the only begotten Son of the Father, whom the Father loves with an infinite love.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One rejected by his brothers and hated without a cause.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was prophesied to be the future leader of His brothers.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was sent to check on the welfare of His brothers.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who sought after the Father's lost sheep.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was conspired against.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was handed over to Gentiles because his brothers didn't want to be the actual agents of his death.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was thrown into a pit/grave.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was not found in the pit/grave.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was stripped of His garments.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was sold for silver.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who has a garment dipped in blood.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was a descendant of Perez, the son of Judah through Tamar.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One was falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who, although divine, emptied Himself of all divine prerogative and humbled Himself to become a human servant.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who would use the emblems of bread and wine as symbols of his death.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was incarcerated along with two other prisoners.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who would grant eternal life to one of the prisoners executed with Him.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was handed over to the Gentiles to be executed.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who would be executed by being hanged on a tree.

• A prophecy of Messiah Yeshua, the One who was exalted to the right hand of the Father.

And trust me, this is the tip of the iceberg! If you are not familiar with the weekly Torah lessons from Restoration of Torah Ministries then please look into them¹. Every single week of the year the lessons show you how to see Yeshua in the Tanakh. However, there is one “problem” that could potentially get us on the wrong track. The problem is this. How do we know if a particular aspect of someone's prophetic life is teaching us about Yeshua or the man-child of Revelation 12? All forerunners of the man-child and all forerunners of Messiah Yeshua will bear the man-child traits of Revelation 12, especially the characteristic of one who has been given authority to rule and exercise dominion in Adonai's name! Joseph represents such a unique challenge. Why? Because so much of the Biblical narratives concerning Joseph is messianic! You saw the small sampling above. Joseph is the premiere, essentially quintessential messianic figure whose life teaches us about Yeshua’s. You see, I do not want to take events from Joseph’s life that are meant to teach us about Yeshua and ascribe them to the man-child of Revelation 12! Therefore, because Joseph’s life story is so heavily filled (literally bursting forth) with Messianic prophecy, I’m not going to use Him as a prophetic forerunner of the man-child of Revelation 12. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that Joseph, as a man-child, is a prophetic picture of the man-child Yeshua. But I’m not sure how much of his life is prophetic of the man-child of Revelation 12, and I certainly do not want to guess!

We have discovered a number of forerunners of the man-child of Revelation 12 thus far—Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and there are many, many more that we need to discover and discuss. By skipping Joseph, and reserving his life as a shadow of Yeshua’s (see footnote 1 where you can find this information weekly), we will not be losing any significant amount of prophecy concerning the man-child of Revelation 12. There’s plenty to glean from the lives of the many others who we will be able to positively identify as forerunners of the man-child of Revelation 12!

Shalom!

TnT Robinson

1. To start studying the weekly Torah lessons just go to the Restoration of Torah Website and choose The Weekly Torah Portion or the Three Year Torah Cycle for weekly lessons that will help you learn the techniques I use to understand Scripture, especially its prophetic and messianic aspects.