The Death of Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman gave up a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals in order to serve in the Army. News of his death arrived in the United States about April 23, 2004. We were stunned because someone who could rightfully wear the title 'American Hero' was dead. This did not attract attention as a major end-times prophetic event until a month later when news leaked out that Tillman was killed by friendly fire.

Important Note

I've held this article for several days and edited out certain material so the following only makes a shallow point that Pat's death fulfills Abel's prophetic story. If you have special, personal, interest in Pat Tillman's death, please, carefully reread the Genesis account of Abel's death. If, for no other reason, than as a memorial to Pat.

Background

Though it is always interesting to see Bible Prophecy fulfill in headline news, sometimes the prophetic stories fulfill through sad headline events. This is one such time when the glee of a properly understood prophecy is overshadowed by someone's death. I send my condolences to Tillman's family.

April 20, 2004

The prophetic story for April 20, 2004 was the story of Adam's first 30 years and the time of a prophetic replay of the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. It is not completely clear what the core "Adam's Fall" prophetic headline may be, but Tillman's death two days later follows the prophetic story of Cain and the death of Abel.

Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve's first two sons. The account of their birth and their relation to the Lord begins in Genesis chapter 4. The following is the original account:

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1וְהָ֣אָדָ֔ם יָדַ֖ע אֶת־ חַוָּ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֑וֹ וַתַּ֙הַר֙ וַתֵּ֣לֶד אֶת־ קַ֔יִן וַתֹּ֕אמֶר קָנִ֥יתִי אִ֖ישׁ אֶת־ יְהוָֽה׃ 2וַתֹּ֣סֶף לָלֶ֔דֶת אֶת־ אָחִ֖יו אֶת־ הָ֑בֶל וַֽיְהִי־ הֶ֙בֶל֙ רֹ֣עֵה צֹ֔אן וְקַ֕יִן הָיָ֖ה עֹבֵ֥ד אֲדָמָֽה׃ 3וַֽיְהִ֖י מִקֵּ֣ץ יָמִ֑ים וַיָּבֵ֨א קַ֜יִן מִפְּרִ֧י הָֽאֲדָמָ֛ה מִנְחָ֖ה לַֽיהוָֽה׃ 4וְהֶ֨בֶל הֵבִ֥יא גַם־ ה֛וּא מִבְּכֹר֥וֹת צֹאנ֖וֹ וּמֵֽחֶלְבֵהֶ֑ן וַיִּ֣שַׁע יְהוָ֔ה אֶל־ הֶ֖בֶל וְאֶל־ מִנְחָתֽוֹ׃ 5וְאֶל־ קַ֥יִן וְאֶל־ מִנְחָת֖וֹ לֹ֣א שָׁעָ֑ה וַיִּ֤חַר לְקַ֙יִן֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ פָּנָֽיו׃ 6וַיֹּ֥אמֶר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־ קָ֑יִן לָ֚מָּה חָ֣רָה לָ֔ךְ וְלָ֖מָּה נָפְל֥וּ פָנֶֽיךָ׃ 7הֲל֤וֹא אִם־ תֵּיטִיב֙ שְׂאֵ֔ת וְאִם֙ לֹ֣א תֵיטִ֔יב לַפֶּ֖תַח חַטָּ֣את רֹבֵ֑ץ וְאֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָת֔וֹ וְאַתָּ֖ה תִּמְשָׁל־ בּֽוֹ׃ (WLC)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (KJV)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. 2And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. (KJV/NC)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with the help of Jehovah. 2And again she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Jehovah. 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6And Jehovah said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it. (ASV)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1AND Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man for the LORD. 2And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3¶ And in the course of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to the LORD. 4And Abel also brought of the first-born of his flock and of the fatlings thereof. And the LORD was pleased with Abel and with his offering; 5But with Cain and with his offering he was not pleased. So Cain was exceedingly displeased, and his countenance was sad.

6¶ And the LORD said to Cain, Why are you displeased? and why is your countenance sad? 7Behold, if you do well, shall you not be accepted? and if you do not well, sin lies at the door. You should return to your brother, and he shall be subject to you. (LAM)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." 2And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a tiller of the ground. 3In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it."(RSV)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." 2Later she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."(NIV)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1The man knew Eve his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, 'I have gotten a man with Yahweh's help.' 2Again she gave birth, to Cain's brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3As time passed, it happened that Cain brought an offering to Yahweh from the fruit of the ground. 4Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat of it. Yahweh respected Abel and his offering, 5but he didn't respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. 6Yahweh said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? 7If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you don't do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.' (WEB)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1The man knew Havah his wife. She conceived, and gave birth to Cain, and said, 'I have gotten a man with the LORD's help.' 2Again she gave birth, to Cain's brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3As time passed, it happened that Cain brought an offering to the LORD from the fruit of the ground. 4Abel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of its fat. The LORD respected Abel and his offering, 5but he didn't respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell. 6The LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why has the expression of your face fallen? 7If you do well, will it not be lifted up? If you don't do well, sin crouches at the door. Its desire is for you, but you are to rule over it.' (WEB/HNV)

1 Genesis 4:1-7 1AND Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man for Yahvah. 2And again she bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3And in the course of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to Yahvah. 4And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and some of the fatlings. And Yahvah was pleased with Abel and with his offering; 5But with Cain and with his offering he was not pleased. So Cain was exceedingly displeased, and his countenance was sad.

6And Yahvah said to Cain, Why are you displeased? Why is your countenance sad? 7Look, if you do well, will you not be accepted? If you do not do well, sin lies at the door. You should return to your brother, and he will be subject to you. (BRB)

Detail: Tillman's Name

Abel was a man who found favor with the Lord because of his sacrifice. This theme shows up in other scripture references. Probably the best is out of Hebrews where Paul puts in his editorial on what happened in the garden:

54 Hebrews 11:4 4ܒܗܝܡܢܘܬܐ ܩܪܒ ܗܒܝܠ ܕܒܚܬܐ ܕܡܝܬܪܐ ܛܒ ܡܢ ܕܩܐܝܢ ܠܐܠܗܐ ܘܡܛܠܬܗ ܗܘܬ ܥܠܘܗܝ ܤܗܕܘܬܐ ܕܟܐܢܐ ܗܘ ܘܤܗܕ ܥܠ ܩܘܪܒܢܗ ܐܠܗܐ ܘܡܛܠܬܗ ܐܦ ܟܕ ܡܝܝܬ ܡܡܠܠ ܀ (SYP)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (KJV)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. (KJV/NC)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had witness borne to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness in respect of his gifts: and through it he being dead yet speaketh. (ASV)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4¶ It was by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice to God than Cain, and because of this, he received a testimony that he was righteous, and God testified to his offering; therefore, even though he is dead, he speaks. (LAM)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking. (RSV)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.(NIV)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God bearing witness with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks. (WEB)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he had testimony given to him that he was righteous, God testifying with respect to his gifts; and through it he, being dead, still speaks. (WEB/HNV)

54 Hebrews 11:4 4It was by faith Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice to God than Cain, and because of this, he received a testimony that he was righteous, and God testified to his offering; therefore, even though he is dead, he speaks. (BRB)

Many times along the prophetic day-for-a-year time line the names of the people involved match in various ways the modern names of the people involved in the prophetic replay of the Bible's story.

'Patrick' is a name with a Latin origin and it means 'noble man.' Patrick Tillman was the Noble Man, or Abel, from the story of the garden of Eden.

Pat was a genuine American hero, someone who gave up a promising career on the principle of defending his country. Because of that the media, and the United States Congress, has taken special interest in Pat. As Hebrews points out, Pat speaks, even though he is dead.

Detail: In The Field

Abel's death is given in detail in the Genesis account:

1 Genesis 4:8 8וַיֹּ֥אמֶר קַ֖יִן אֶל־ הֶ֣בֶל אָחִ֑יו וַֽיְהִי֙ בִּהְיוֹתָ֣ם בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה וַיָּ֥קָם קַ֛יִן אֶל־ הֶ֥בֶל אָחִ֖יו וַיַּהַרְגֵֽהוּ׃ (WLC)

1 Genesis 4:8 8And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.(KJV)

1 Genesis 4:8 8And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.(KJV/NC)

1 Genesis 4:8 8And Cain told Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.(ASV)

1 Genesis 4:8 8¶ And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go to the plain; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. (LAM)

1 Genesis 4:8 8Cain said to Abel his brother, "Let us go out to the field." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and killed him. (RSV)

1 Genesis 4:8 8Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.(NIV)

1 Genesis 4:8 8Cain said to Abel, his brother, 'Let's go into the field.' It happened, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.(WEB)

1 Genesis 4:8 8Cain said to Abel, his brother, 'Let's go into the field.' It happened when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and killed him.(WEB/HNV)

1 Genesis 4:8 8And Cain said to Abel his brother, Let us go to the plain; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. (BRB)

This verse describes exactly what happened to Tillman in Afghanistan. His unit was in the field, on patrol, when they came under ambush. It was in the firefight of the ambush that Tillman was killed. This pattern followed the Genesis account exactly.

More Detail: Killed by a Brother

American army units, especially special forces units, operate on the principle that the unit is a family, that the members of the unit are brothers.

The army reported about May 29, 2004, that Tillman had been killed by friendly fire. See the CNN account for details.

It was this detail, in fact, that caused me to look again at this headline as something more important than the simple death of a famous man. Tillman was killed by one of his Army brothers. This exactly matches the prophetic account from Genesis.

Missing Detail: Murder

None of the headline accounts are saying much about what happened in the field that evening in April. The shooting started and by the time it was over Tillman was dead.

The Genesis version adds this: Abel was killed by a man who pre-planned the killing before he ever made it into the field. His plan had been to use the privacy afforded by an empty wilderness as a place to kill his brother. The Genesis account also states the motive: jealousy for Abel's offering. What was Patrick Tillman's offering? He gave up a career as a millionaire star athlete in order to serve in the army. Could someone be jealous of this? Yes.

That Abel was murdered, shows up in yet another Bible verse. Jesus actually references an end-times generation that will receive vengeance for deliberately murdering Abel. The following is the account:

41 Matthew 23:35 35ܐܝܟܢܐ ܕܢܐܬܐ ܥܠܝܟܘܢ ܟܠܗ ܕܡܐ ܕܙܕܝܩܐ ܕܐܬܐܫܕ ܥܠ ܐܪܥܐ ܡܢ ܕܡܗ ܕܗܒܝܠ ܙܕܝܩܐ ܘܥܕܡܐ ܠܕܡܗ ܕܙܟܪܝܐ ܒܪ ܒܪܟܝܐ ܗܘ ܕܩܛܠܬܘܢ ܒܝܢܝ ܗܝܟܠܐ ܠܡܕܒܚܐ ܀ (SYP)

41 Matthew 23:35 35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. (KJV)

41 Matthew 23:35 35That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. (KJV/NC)

41 Matthew 23:35 35that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of Abel the righteous unto the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom ye slew between the sanctuary and the altar. (ASV)

41 Matthew 23:35 35So that all the blood of the righteous shed on the ground may come on you, from the blood of Abel the righteous down to the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom you killed between the temple and the altar. (LAM)

41 Matthew 23:35 35Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation.(RSV)

41 Matthew 23:35 35And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. (NIV)

41 Matthew 23:35 35that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, whom youP killed between the sanctuary and the altar. (WEB)

41 Matthew 23:35 35that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you killed between the sanctuary and the altar. (WEB/HNV)

41 Matthew 23:35 35So that all the blood of the righteous shed on the ground may come on you, from the blood of Abel the righteous down to the blood of Zachariah son of Barachiah, who you killed between the temple and the altar. (BRB)

Patrick's murder was either by someone in his unit, or by prophetic implication someone further up the chain of command. Cain led Abel out into the field and it was clearly someone up the chain of command that put Pat's unit in the field that night. By this interpretation the bottom line of Jesus' vengeance may one day rest in (or on) Washington DC.

Conclusions

A Nobel Man has died in Afghanistan at the hands of his brothers, brothers who were supposed to be his keepers. Jesus will avenge this death as part of the 7th woe, about 6 years from now. Until then we must continue to pray for the men at war in Afghanistan.