SHEPHERDING THE NATIONS “And she brought forth a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron” (Rev. 12:5). In a mystery novel the author leaves clues for the careful observer. These clues allow a pattern to emerge, and the reader begins to catch on to the meaning of what has happened in the story and often can predict the outcome. In a somewhat similar way, God announced certain clues which were to be indicators of the arrival of Jesus, the Promised One. Some indicated the place where these events would occur, others the kinds of persons to be involved, and still other clues told of persons who must appear prior to the coming of the promised Messiah. The Gospels reveal how all these clues identified Jesus as that One who was to come! In like manner the Lord has given us clues as to the identity of the manchild! Not least among these clues is the fact that this manchild ascends up to sit upon the throne of the Lord. Now we know that Jesus Christ sits upon the throne. Yet — Jesus is the Head of the body of Christ, of which we are members in particular. Would you not agree that where the Head is, there the body must be also? Is not this exactly the first clue given us in the Revelation concerning the identity of the manchild? “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in His throne” (Rev. 3:21). Of whom does the Lord Jesus speak when He says, “He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron” (Rev. 2:26-27). Ah, the overcomer out of the church realm “rules all nations with a rod of iron,” and so does the manchild! The overcomer sits with Christ upon His throne, and so does the manchild! These “clues” provide the evidence that those out of the church age who are called “overcomers” are indeed the manchild! The prophet Daniel has provided us with another clue concerning the identity of this manchild who is caught up to the throne of God. “And I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. And I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE (OUT OF) THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Hitherto is the end of the matter…” (Dan. 7:13-14, 21-22, 27-28). Pay close attention to the wording of the latter part of the above passage and you will see that it is a people out of a people that is given the kingdom and the dominion. It is not given to all saints, but to “the people of the saints,” that is, a company out of the saints of the most High. TRULY THIS IS THE MANCHILD BIRTHED OUT OF THE WOMAN! The clues are there if you can read them! The entire scene of the book of Revelation through chapter twelve concerns the work of God wthin His elect. It is all an internal work designed ultimately to consummate with the birth of the manchild. This manchild is caught up unto God, and to His throne, and rules all nations with a rod of iron! Every word of God is freighted with significance. I would draw your attention to the term “all nations.” From this point forward the work of God is no longer restricted to His internal deliverance and transformation of His elect, but now the earth and the nations without begin to be dealt with by the sons. God first reigns in us that He may in turn reign through us! Many brethren try to make every scripture in the Bible apply only to God’s internal work within us. That is a grievous error! The ministry of the sons of God is to subdue and restore all things and deliver the whole of creation from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God! These “nations” are not limited to the nations of unregenerate people represented at the United Nation Organization in New York City, for the book of Revelation is a spiritual book of symbols, employing code-words which signify spiritual and symbolical entities. These also include “nations” of bodies of religiosity, vast systems and organizations of millions of souls ruled over by the religious mind-set of the great red dragon. John is beholding a great spiritual event unfold before him. These “nations” are also within each of us! Whatever power religious or worldly ideas, concepts, doctrines, or traditions still hold in our lives is the individualization of the nations of religiosity and worldliness! Long millenniums ago the anointed Psalmist penned these prophetic words: “Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion…ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt BREAK them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Ps. 2:6-9). This particular verse is quoted three times in the New Testament, and all three are in the book of Revelation! Of the overcomer it says, “And he shall RULE them (the nations) with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father” (Rev. 2:27). And of the manchild it is written, “And she brought forth a man child, who was to RULE all nations with a rod of iron”(Rev. 12:5). Then, finally, “And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations; and he shall rule them with a rod of iron” (Rev. 19:15). Dispensational premillennialists understand this to mean that in the future world power kingdom of Jewish supremacy after the “second coming” of Jesus, He, (that is, Jesus) will personally and physically rule over the Gentile nations for one thousand literal years from an earthly and international throne in His world capitol in Jerusalem, Israel. It is contended that at the end of the millennium these very nations, many of whom will have rendered but feigned obedience, will rise up under the inspired leadership of Satan in the greatest rebellion of all human history. The dispensationalist says, This rod of iron rule by Christ is necessary to prove that fallen man placed under the most favorable external circumstances is still a rebel at heart, and is so incorrigible that nothing but a rod of iron can keep him in line. Words are helpless, hopeless, and inadequate when we are drawn to explain the deep truths of God in the Spirit. What is this “breaking” of the nations by the “rod of iron rule” of the sons of God? The word “break” in Psalm 2:9 is translated by the word “rule.” Christ and the disciples used the Septuagint translation as their common text; hence, the word is translated “rule” in all three Revelation passages quoted above. This particular word in the Greek is found eleven times in the New Testament. Seven of the eleven times it is translated by the word “feed.” In Matthew 2:6 where the King James Bible uses the term “shall rule,” a number of modern translations render it, “…shall be SHEPHERD OF.” That leaves only the three “rod of iron” passages in the book of Revelation where this Greek word (poimaino)is translated “rule.” One would ask the question, Why not translate this Greek word “feed” in these three Revelation passages, since that is its meaning and it is so translated elsewhere in the New Testament? The answer is that it would not make sense to translate it “feed them with a rod of iron,” so the translators reached the conclusion that the word “rule” would serve the purpose. Thayer’s Lexicon gives the meaning of this particular Greek word “to feed, to tend a flock, to keep sheep.” W. E. Vine, a militant dispensationalist in his volume Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, gives the meaning of this word: “to act as a shepherd, tend flock.” Jamison, Fausset and Brown Commentary, a dispensationalist commentary, translates the three passages in the Revelation thus: “to rule as a shepherd” (Rev. 2:27); and in both Revelation 12:5 and 19:15, “tend as a Shepherd.” Hence, the true meaning of the word “break” in Psalm 2:9 in the light of the three New Testament passages is “TO ACT THE PART OF A SHEPHERD.” “He shall SHEPHERD the nations” — what a wonderful and sublime thought! The following words by brother Paul Mueller clearly express this same beautiful truth. “What does it mean to rule and reign with Christ? The Greek word poimaino is translated ‘rule’ in some New Testament passages, and means ‘to tend as a shepherd.’ This agrees with the prophecy of Isaiah, ‘See! The Lord is coming with might, His own arm having won Him the kingdom; See! His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He tends His flock, with His arm He gathers them; the lambs He carries in His bosom, and gently leads those who give suck’ (Isa. 40:10-11, Smith-Goodspeed). ‘Like a shepherd He tends His flock,’ this is the manner of the Lord’s dealings with mankind. He cares for each one, observing them and supplying their individual needs. He gathers them with His arm so that not one is lost (Mat. 18:12). Some He carries and still others He leads, but all will be gathered into His kingdom, for ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein’ (Ps. 24:1); and He is a faithful Shepherd! “What does it mean to rule and to reign in the kingdom? All who are called to this high calling will shepherd the people into the kingdom of God! Each one of them will be like a hiding-place from the wind, and a shelter from the storm. They will cover and protect their subjects, sheltering them until they are firmly rooted in the life of the kingdom. They are like streams of water in a dry place, and like the shade of a great rock in a wearisome land. Their new Life, which is the very Life of Christ, flows from them like streams of water in the desert. They are that mighty Rock which has smitten the image of the nations, causing them all to fall (Dan 2:34), but which now gives forth shelter and protection. They are entrusted with the ring of kingdom authority, the best robe of kingdom righteousness and life, and the royal scepter of the kingdom of God. Indeed, when one rules over men as a righteous one, when one rules in the fear of God, then it is as the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning cloudless and clear, after rain upon the tender grass” — end quote. This is the nature of the rule of the manchild, the manifest sons of God! No beating the people over the head with our rod of iron, no compulsion, no coercion, no threats, no intimidation, no bullying! Our rod of iron is a shepherd’s staff, but it is strong in the Lord and in the power of His might! It is the strength of divine love and divine purpose. What blessed hope for the nations!
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 00:19:42 +0000
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