John L. Moesche says:

I have read ‘The 144,000 & The Multitude,’ and have found it to be invaluable to my understanding of the metaphoric language. In my studies I have believed that there is one area that needs a fine tuning. I think that while Sue Patterson’s book indicates that the he goats are the Multitude, I reckon them to be the 144,000. This is my only disagreement with the fine work. This has not been a knee jerk reaction, but, has been in the back burner, until now with the passage of time. I see that this identity still is as I figured it, and I rewrote this section as follows, and you can compare it with the original text:

The He Goats

In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. [5] They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. [6] My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place. [7] All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers. [8] Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks. — Jeremiah 50:4-8

The children of Israel and the children of Judah (signifying the entirety of Israel, specifically the ones which flee Babylon, (the apostate church) are those who shall go and seek the LORD their God in Zion, saying “Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.” The Multitude will go to Zion seeking the LORD, seeking to join themselves in a perpetual covenant with the LORD. They go weeping and crying, obviously realizing that they have not been walking in His Truth for all this time. Jeremiah 50:6 states that they have been lost, as their shepherds (pastors) have caused them to go astray. They have turned them away on the mountains (where they originally were in the Truth when they first believed) and taken them down to hills.

This is a spiritual signature of a degrading state. The mountain, being high, represents the understanding of truth; going down to hills, which are lower than mountains, represents leaving the Truth and going down away from the Truth. The verse in Thessalonians 2:3 comes to mind; the falling away; apostasy. Jeremiah 50:8 gives us an additional connection to the previous verses.

The 144,000 are told to leave (orderly) out of Babylon, and to “be as the he goats before the flocks.” The Multitude joins them when they take eyesalve and see. What could this be speaking about? Perhaps, when the Multitude leaves (flees) from Babylon, and go with their faces thitherward toward Zion, they are seeking the Lord. It states in these verses that they have been lost sheep, and have forgotten their resting place. What does this mean? First, we need to identify who the flocks would be. The Multitude flees from Babylon and goes to Zion; where the 144,000 are. I believe that we can conclude that the flocks are the Multitude.

This scripture is telling the 144,000 to be as the he goats before the flocks, (verse just as Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb were the he goats before the Children of Israel. It is not saying that they are goats, for we also know about the separation of the sheep and the goats (the goats do not inherit the kingdom of God). This verse is telling the 144,000 to be as the he goats. Let’s look at some definitions and see if we can ascertain what this verse is referring to.

Goats means; prepared, i.e. full grown; spoken only (in plural) of he goats or (figuratively) leaders of the people:-chief one, (he) goat, ram.- Strong’s #6260 The root word definition means; prepare – make fit, be ready to become.- Strong’s #6257

These are interesting definitions. If we look at the first definition we find the word prepared, or full grown. When we add the underlying definition; again it says prepare, it also says “to make fit, be ready to become.” Doesn’t that sound exactly like what the 144,000 does with the Multitude? The 144,000 will prepare the Multitude by teaching them the truth of God. The 144,000 will feed them, make them fit, and to “be ready to become” something. What are the 144,000 preparing the Multitude to become? They will prepare them to become martyrs, slain for the Word of God and the testimony which they hold. The Multitude flees out of Judaea (also known as Judah, Jerusalem, Zion, Israel, and Jacob) which is the apostate church (also known as Mystery Babylon). They flee to the mountains (Zion) where they are fed by the 144,000. Finally realizing they were in apostasy, they seek the Lord God. They weep and cry for their apostasy and become converts of righteousness. They become as the flocks (preparing, making themselves fit, and are becoming ready to be martyrs) before the he goats (the 144,000, and as we shall shortly see, also the tower of the flocks).

This is where they will be fed and nourished on the Word of the Lord and His ways, as they prepare themselves for their ultimate sacrifice. We can now proceed to the next section that will tie everything together. We are now going to take a look at chapter 5 of Ezekiel. This passage in Ezekiel is positively loaded with the concepts that we have been looking at. It has within it the 144,000, the apostate church, and the Multitude. We will also see the 2/3 that are to be cut off and die, and the 1/3 that are brought through the fire and refined. There are also verses that tie in the Song of Moses and these will lead us into other passages that will give us a better overall understanding of this whole concept.