The man-child will be raptured to God and to His throne. Their rapture differs from that of the majority of the believers in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The rapture of the majority of the believers will be to the air, whereas the rapture of the man-child will be to the throne of God in the heavens.
The man-child will be raptured before the last three and a half years, twelve hundred sixty days, which is the period of the great tribulation (Rev. 12:5-6, 14).
Revelation 14:1 says, “I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having His name and the name of His Father written on their foreheads.” Verse 4 says, “These were purchased from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.” Among God’s people, a group of early overcomers will be reaped before the harvest as firstfruits, like the firstfruits in the good land, and brought into the temple of God to be offered to God and to the Lamb. This means that the living overcomers, who have been purchased from among men and who followed the Lamb absolutely, will be raptured to God’s temple in the heavens before the rapture of the majority of the believers. One hundred and forty-four thousand in verse 1 is an actual number but with a symbolic meaning: it has a spiritual significance. One hundred and forty-four thousand is one thousand multiplied by twelve times twelve. Twelve is the number of completion in God’s eternal administration. One hundred and forty-four (21:17) is twelve times twelve, which signifies the completion of completions, the ultimate completion in the fullest way. The one hundred and forty-four thousand firstfruits signify the believers who accomplish God’s eternal purpose. Among the believers living on earth at the time of the Lord’s coming back, some will have ripened early, and, being the first to mature, they will become the firstfruits in God’s field.
The one hundred and forty-four thousand firstfruits will stand with the Lamb, Christ, on Mount Zion. Zion in Revelation 14:1 is the Zion in the heavens (Heb. 12:22), where God and His throne are and where Christ is.
The one hundred and forty-four thousand living overcomers will be raptured for the fresh enjoyment of God and Christ. This shows the difference between the man-child in Revelation 12 and the firstfruits in chapter 14. The man-child is for fighting and for defeating Satan. Hence, the man-child deals with the enemy. The firstfruits are not for fighting but for the satisfaction of God and the Lamb. The enemy, the devil, must be cast down from heaven by the man-child, who will execute God’s judgment over the enemy. But there is another need in the heavens—God and Christ must have the firstfruits in order to obtain fresh enjoyment and satisfaction. God and Christ desire to taste some firstfruits for Their satisfaction. If we realize this, we will desire to ripen earlier for the satisfaction of God and Christ. This is the attitude of the living overcomers, the earliest ones of God’s crop to mature, those who satisfy the hunger and thirst of God the Father and of the Lamb, the Redeemer.
The one hundred and forty-four thousand living overcomers will be raptured to Mount Zion in the heavens before the great tribulation (14:1-13). They are the living overcomers, the firstfruits. The majority of the believers, signified by the harvest (vv. 14-16), will be raptured toward the end of the great tribulation.
The rapture of the overcomers will also include the rest of the overcoming believers who will be living at the Lord’s coming back. They are signified by one of the two men working in the field and one of the two women grinding at the mill in the day and also by one of the two on one bed (Matt. 24:40-41; Luke 17:34). The Lord Jesus said, “At that time two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left” (Matt. 24:40-41). The reason one is taken and one is left is that there is a difference between them in the matter of life. The growth in life unto maturity makes the difference. Those who are mature will be taken, raptured, before the great tribulation. Those who are immature will be left to pass through the great tribulation, which will be a severe trial upon the whole inhabited earth (Rev. 3:10) and a snare that comes suddenly upon all those dwelling on the face of the earth (Luke 21:34-35). The rapture of the overcoming believers will occur secretly, even unexpectedly, and it will be in different places and at different times. Therefore, we need to be watchful and take heed of our growth in life because we do not know on what day our Lord comes.