Good evening, and welcome to EBible Fellowship’s Bible study in the book of Revelation.  Tonight is study #36 of Revelation 2, and we are currently reading Revelation 2:27:

And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

In our last study, we saw how the Greek word translated as “rule” in this verse is found 11 times in the New Testament.  Four times it is translated as “rule,” and seven times as “feed,” or “feeding.”   We read every verse, and we saw this word is often used in association with “feeding sheep,” as it said in 1Peter 5:2:

Feed the flock of God which is among you…

Even more significantly, we saw it said in John 21:16:

He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

It is the identical Greek word that was translated as “rule,” but here as “feed.”

We have already learned (and we have discussed it many times) that Jesus rules with a rod of iron in the Day of Judgment.  He has been victorious.  He has ascended to the throne as KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.  But the word “rule” also leads us to the idea of feeding sheep.  That is very curious because for some time we have understood that it is God’s plan for this period of time for us to spiritually feed, or nourish, His sheep, the elect, in the Day of Judgment.  And this word translated as “rule” ties these two things together: 1) feeding sheep, and 2) Judgment Day.

This is especially true when we consider Christ ruling with a rod of iron.  We have not looked at the word “rod,” and this Greek word translated as “rod” is also translated as “staff,” and you are probably not surprised at that.  For instance, it says in Mark 6:8:

And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:

This is our word translated as “rod.”  It is also translated as “staff” in Hebrews 11:21:

By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.

What was the occupation of the brethren of Joseph?  Let me read that so I say it accurately.  It says in Genesis 47:1-3:

Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have, are come out of the land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took some of his brethren, even five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and also our fathers.

That was Jacob’s occupation.  He was a shepherd, and he had a staff, and it says in Hebrews 11 that when he was dying, he leaned upon the top of his staff, and that word “staff” is translated as “rod.”  That goes along with the earlier word we looked at, which is “rule,” as Christ rules with a rod of iron.  So we could justify reading this as, “and he shall feed them with a staff of iron.”  The word “feed” and the word “staff” go together very well, and it points us in the direction of God’s plan for the Day of Judgment, and the fact that He is the Shepherd, and He will feed His people.

This was the commandment given to Peter after the great catch of fish was brought in, and the net did not break, which points to the great multitude saved from every nation and tongue on the face of this earth as they were brought into the kingdom of God.  God saved this great multitude during the “little season” of the Great Tribulation.  Following this, they came out of “great tribulation,” and then the Lord tells us in Revelation 7 that they are serving Him day and night in His temple, as it says in verse 15.  They will neither hunger or thirst, and that points to the fact that they are no longer thirsting after righteousness because they have already received the righteousness of Christ.  Then it says in Revelation 7:17:

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

It was the plan of God to feed the sheep after the great multitude had come out of Great Tribulation.  We see this here, and we see it in a figure in John 21, as the great catch of fish typified the great multitude.  Then the first topic of conversation the Lord brought up to Peter (a representative of the believers) after he had been busy with the task of “fishing,” or gathering the great multitude, was the subject of feeding His sheep.  That was the Lord’s focus, and that is what He would have us concentrate upon, so it is no surprise that as we read the verse that says, “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron,” it leads us to the Day of Judgment.  There is no question about that because Psalm 2 and Revelation 19:15 lead us right to the Day of Judgment.  They are very similar verses to this, and it also directs us to God’s program of feeding sheep. 

Yet we are still a little unsure of what God is saying here because it said, “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron,” or, “feed them with a staff of iron.”  That is unusual.  What does it mean that He will feed them with a staff of iron, and as a vessel of a potter shall they be broken to shivers?  It does not sound good – it sounds very negative.  So we have to ask the question, “Who is in view with the use of this word “them” or “they?”  That word is also found in Revelation 19:15:

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: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.

There is no question that the word “them” is referring to the nations.  They are smitten with the sharp sword that comes out of His mouth, the Word of God.  They are the ones to be “ruled” with a rod of iron, or to be fed with a staff of iron. 

And that helps us because it is not the true believers that are ruled with a rod of iron, but it is the nations of the world that Christ is ruling over.  He has been exalted and lifted up by God to take His rightful place as LORD and KING, the great Sovereign, the only Potentate, the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS.  He has put down all rule and authority, and He must reign until the last enemy is defeated, which is death.  So the Lord will reign over the earth during Judgment Day, a time identified with “death.”  And He will reign on earth until the last day, and then “death and hell” will be cast into the lake of fire, and God will have finished His judgment against the fallen creation and fallen, rebellious mankind that had dared to rise up against Him.

Yet the Lord is a good King, and He is a benevolent King who is kind, gracious, and loving.  All the wonderful things we read of God in the Bible are still true of Him, and if Jesus has conquered Satan and put him down from ruling in the congregations and in the world as the beast, then we would expect the rule of Christ to be very gracious, kind and good to all, and that He would have the very best in mind for their welfare.  But in using this language of ruling with a rod of iron, the Lord is reminding us that He is ruling as a conquering king over the nations of rebels, those of mankind who have broken His Law, transgressed His covenant, and shaken their fists at God.  And now the Law is demanding justice and satisfaction in the Day of Judgment.

But since the people of God are still on the earth to accomplish other purposes of God in trying and testing His elect at the same time He is judging and punishing the unsaved, this allows Him to “feed” them, the wicked, with the Word of God.  So as He rules, He feeds His sheep, but the same truths of the Bible that are comforting, encouraging, and nourishing to God’s elect, is the same food that serves as a rod of iron, and it is feeding the unsaved, but it is not nourishing to the unsaved inhabitants of the earth as they hear it is Judgment Day.  They hear that God has shut the door, and the light of the Gospel has been put out.

But for the true believer who has already experienced grace and mercy from the Lord in salvation, we “feed” upon the truth of the Word.  No matter how difficult the truth may be, we love the truth.  It supports, comforts, and helps us as we learn the truth, and this is “food” for the children of God.  At the same time, it is a “rod of iron” to all those that are not saved.  They are not satisfied by it.  They are not comforted.  They are not strengthened.  It is grievous to them.  It is ugly information to them, and it is something that is destroying them, and they take no comfort at all.  There is no “good” from these things they are hearing from Christ who is “feeding” them with the staff. 

Let us just look at a few places where the word “iron” is used in the Old Testament, and we will get an idea of what it means to be fed with a rod of iron.  It says in Leviticus 26:17-20:

And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you. And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.

Here, God is speaking of the people that rebel against Him, and He is stating what He will do in response to their unfaithfulness.  He will make their heaven as “iron.”   What if heaven were iron?  Can you imagine if you were offering up your prayers to God, beseeching Him for help and mercy, but it would not get through if the heaven were iron?  It said, “…for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits,” and in the spiritual realm that would mean there is no salvation.  That is what a heaven of iron indicates.

In Deuteronomy 4 we read a statement that is made a few times in the Bible.  It says in Deuteronomy 4:20:

But JEHOVAH hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

God likens Egypt, a picture of Satan’s kingdom of this world, to an “iron furnace,” or a house of bondage.  In the world men are enslaved to sin and Satan in spiritual captivity, and that is why Egypt is called an “iron furnace.”  A furnace is where there is fire, and the iron contains the fire so it does not spread, but anything put in that iron furnace would be burned up.  And that is exactly how it is spiritually with the unsaved people of the world as they live their lives in this world under the wrath of God.  They are in an iron furnace, spiritually, and they will be burned out of existence unless God delivers them, as it says, “But JEHOVAH hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.”  God takes His people out of the fire.  He removes them out of the world spiritually as He delivers them from bondage and from His wrath, so that the fire that was kindled in His anger is no longer against them, and they are delivered.

And notice that Egypt is likened to “iron,” or that which holds the unsaved within, and that would indicate nothing good as we see this word “iron.”  It is that which keeps the unsaved in their unsaved state.  It keeps them in their spiritual condition of being under the fiery wrath of God.

Let us look at one more place.  It says in Ezekiel 4:1-3:

Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: And lay siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount against it; set the camp also against it, and set battering rams against it round about. Moreover take thou unto thee an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.

This is an interesting picture that God causes Ezekiel to portray.  This is a type and figure of the Gospel.  Historically, the tile is picturing Jerusalem, or Israel, and God is laying siege to it just as He did to the nation of Israel through the Assyrians, and to the nation of Judah through the Babylonians.  Due to their constant rebellion against God, God finally delivered them into the hands of their enemies.

We are looking at the word “iron” here, and this is a very common thing that we see in the Old Testament as God would judge His unfaithful people.  Spiritually, it is pointing to the judgment on the churches at the end of the church age when the Lord came to visit.  They had not repented, so judgment began at the house of God.

So God is giving us details here where He told Ezekiel, “…take thee a tile, and lay it before thee, and pourtray upon it the city, even Jerusalem.”  The tile is a picture of the city, and Ezekiel represents God Himself, and Ezekiel took the iron pan and set it between himself and that tile.  Then he set his face against it, and it was besieged.  It was a sign to the house of Israel, and it is as if God is saying, “I will make your heaven iron when you are besieged and judgment comes upon you, and my wrath is poured out upon you for your wicked deeds.  You will pray and seek me out, and my face will be the face of an iron pan.  You will not be able to penetrate it.  It will shut out your prayer, and you will not be delivered.  You have been given up, and you will be judged.  Your punishment is just, and it will be completed.”

So we can see how “iron” is used by God to represent the strength of His judgment against the nations as He says in Revelation 2:27: “And he shall rule them with a rod of iron …”  He will rule the nations with a  staff of iron.  The “iron” takes on special significance when we read the next part of the verse, in Revelation 2:27:

as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

If you have a “staff of iron” in your hand, it is a strong weapon with which to break the vessels of pottery that are dishonorable vessels of no good.  The Potter is not pleased with them.  He has taken some, the elect, and remade them into vessels unto honor, but there are a great many vessels that need to be destroyed, and the iron staff is a very excellent weapon with which to destroy the worthless pottery.