Revelation 2:26-27 “And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations-- (27) ‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels'-- as I also have received from My Father.”
We have already looked at the above quoted passage of scripture when we discussed how the saints will rule in the earth. Nevertheless in this section we want to expand on this passage to understand more clearly why the saints will be required to rule the nations with a rod of iron. Many assume that because the Lord Jesus will be reigning on the earth during the millennium that righteousness will prevail in the earth. That is a false assumption however, because righteousness will only dwell in the new earth that God the Father will create (2 Peter 3:13). The reason why righteousness will dwell in the new earth, is because that earth will be inhabited by the nations that are saved (Revelation 21:24). We can therefore understand why righteousness will be absent in the current earth during the Lord’s millennial reign, because during that time the earth will be inhabited by the nations that are unsaved. Some have mistakenly assumed that people will still be saved during the Lord’s millennial reign, but again that is a false assumption, because as we have already mentioned, the Day of Salvation will end when the rapture of the church takes place. And so we see that because the unsaved nations will be comprised of spiritually dead people, their natures will remain sinful. So what impact will the sinful natures of the unsaved nations have on the reign of the saints during the millennium? The simplest definition of sin is disobedience to the laws of God. Because the saints will enforce adherence to God’s laws, the unsaved nations will have a natural tendency to rebel against the governance of the saints, for scripture teaches us that a sinner’s natural mindset is against the laws of God (Romans 8:7). In other words the unsaved nations of the earth will not willingly bow their knees to the rule of the Lord Jesus and His church, because of which the rod of iron will have to be used to enforce adherence to God’s laws. And so we see that even though the unsaved nations of the earth will be governed in righteousness, their sinful natures will not change.
Zechariah 14:17-19 “And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. (18) If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. (19) This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”
We have seen in the previous passage that because of the sinful nature of the unsaved nations, the saints will use the rod of iron in their governance of them. The above quoted passage of scripture gives us some insight into one aspect of the Lord’s millennial reign. In this passage we see that it will be a requirement that all nations send a delegation of their leaders to Jerusalem every year to observe the Feast of Tabernacles. This passage goes on to say that if any nation chooses not to attend the feast in any given year, that they will be punished accordingly, i.e. that nation will experience drought in that year. And so, we can clearly see from this passage that because of their sinful natures, that on occasions some nations will choose to rebel against the Lord’s commandment to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. This passage also gives us some insight into the how the rod of iron will be used to punish those who rebel against the laws of God, i.e. in this case the punishment will be drought. Nevertheless the point remains clear; the people of the unbelieving nations will still commit sin during our Lord’s millennial reign, for even though the nations of the earth will be governed in righteousness, their sinful natures will not have changed because none of them will be born-again.
Isaiah 2:17-21 “The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day, (18) But the idols He shall utterly abolish. (19) They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. (20) In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, (21) To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily.”
The above quoted passage of scripture describes the unbelieving nations casting away their various idols into the caves of the earth when the Lord Jesus begins His millennial reign. The reason the unbelieving nations will do that is because this passage declares that the Lord will utterly abolish idol worship during His millennial reign. In other words any incidents of idol worship will be judged extremely harshly by the Lord’s saints. And so we see that even though the unbelieving nations will still have sinful natures, they will very quickly learn that any transgression of God’s laws e.g. idol worship, will not be tolerated in the Lord’s millennial kingdom. Another reason why idol worship will fall away so quickly is because all idol worship is driven by demonic influence, and as we have already seen, all demons will be removed from the earth during the millennium.
Isaiah 2:1-5 “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. (2) Now it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. (3) Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, and we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (4) He shall judge between the nations, and rebuke many people; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (5) O house of Jacob, come and let us walk In the light of the Lord.”
Our Lord’s reign on the earth will be met with a mixed reaction among the unbelieving nations. The above quoted passage of scripture reveals to us that many in the earth at that time will seek to know His ways and to walk in His paths. And so we see that that many will treat the city of Jerusalem as a place for religious pilgrimage. But I want you to notice that the scripture says that “many” shall go up to the mountain of the Lord, which means that although many will go up to hear the word of the Lord, not “all” will go up, for some will still be rebellious, which is why the Lord and His saints will govern the earth with a rod of iron. Nevertheless, there will be many unbelievers in the earth at that time that will endeavour to live according to the laws of God, not as a result of a heart that is changed however, but rather as a result of adopting the laws of the Lord as a religious practice. In that sense they will become like the Jews of today, who endeavour to observe the laws of God not as a result of being born-again, but rather as a result of works done in the flesh.
Ecclesiastes 8:11 “Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”
The above quoted passage of scripture explains why wickedness escalates in society, for it tells us that when people are not held to account for evil behaviour, their natural tendency is to become even more wicked over time. And so we see that the answer to curbing sinful practices is to hold people to account for wicked behaviour, and the sooner they are held to account the greater the deterrence will be. To that effect, no evil behaviour will be tolerated in the millennium, for the saints will strictly enforce all of God’s laws, including the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). Because of their access to supernatural powers (Hebrews 6:5), the saints will know the moment any of their constituents have transgressed God’s laws and their judgement will be swift. In other words no one will get away with anything, for all will be held to account. And so the unbelievers will very quickly learn to obey God’s laws, because any transgression will be swiftly punished. It is important to note that the saints, who rule over various towns, etc., will also have the Lord’s angels assisting them, thus making it impossible for any to resist the rod of iron used by the saints.
Michael E.B. Maher
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