This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
They,
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.
Shall rule Them with Christ.
Premils make much of the phrases
“rule all nations with a rod of iron” and
“he shall rule them with a rod of iron” and build an elaborate paradigm on the wording. They interpret them to mean ‘a 1,000 years Messianic rule over the subjugated nations of the world from natural Jerusalem on a still sin-cursed earth’. A close look at the passages in view reveals that there is no such detail in the sacred text. Such a scheme is not mentioned anywhere in these verses. That alone is grounds to question it. They argue this as if the wicked somehow survive the coming of Christ. This is quite strange as the detailed account in Revelation 2, 12 and 19 actually suggest the opposite to what they infer. Rather than showing the wicked nations inheriting the new earth these reading in fact collectively show their complete destruction at Christ’s return.
The key word here, and often misunderstood, is the word “rule.” Premil imports a lot into this word in this passage, as if the text is describing the commencement of some golden-age-reign of Christ and the saints after the second coming – that will see them impose righteous rule upon numerous surviving nations that dodge the wrath of God at His return. However, this word
poimaino simply means
to shepherd, to supervise or govern. The same shepherd that tends to His sheep also protects the sheep and separates the sheep from the goats – as in the New Testament depictions.
You are missing the crucial point. The word
poimaino shows us that Christ is going to divide at the end between the sheep and the goats like a shepherd. You avoid the key destructive detail contained in the Greek and Hebrew words that show the destruction of the nations. For example: The original Greek in Revelation 19:15 states
“he should (
patasso ho ethnos kai autous poimaino autous)
smite the nations, and shepherd them with a rod of iron.”
You need to see what the word
poimaino means and how similar kindred words are interpreted elsewhere in Scripture. The word
poimaino in this reading which is rendered “rule” in the AV, carries the consistent meaning of
shepherd and shepherding in Scripture.
The picture here is of a Shepherd with a rod. However, this is NO ordinary Shepherd with no ordinary rod. The Shepherd here is Christ, and He is coming in His wrath at the end of this age to deal with the wicked thus the significance of the rod of iron. He is a jealous Shepherd who is finally coming to destroy those that have rejected Him. The shepherding is clearly associated with the FINAL separation.
There is no sense or mention of, or allowance for, survivors, as you imagine. All the wicked are destroyed. There is no one left to inherit this supposed future millennium full of sin and sinners, dying and crying, decay and disease.
The coming of Christ is
not to high-five sin and mollycoddle sinners. It is to judge sinners and banish sin from the earth forever. Premil ushers countless mortal rebels unto the new earth, but Scripture shows they are all totally destroyed. The new earth is incorrupt! Only the incorrupt can possess it. Your argument conflicts with clear and repeated Scripture.
Revelation 2:25-27 says,
“that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule (
poimaino)
them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be ‘broken to shivers’ (
suntribo):
even as I received of my Father.”
Why do you ignore the crucial words
suntribo (to break to shivers) in Revelation 2:25-27 and
patasso (to smite) in Revelation 19:15?
The same Shepherd who will comfort His sheep (the elect) will also destroy the goats (the wicked). This teaching is taken from Psalm 2:1-12. See what it is saying:
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.Thou shalt break (
ra` a`)
them with a rod of iron; ‘thou shalt dash them in pieces’ (
naphats)
like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.”
Why do you also ignore the Hebrew here? The Hebrew word ra` a` means
to spoil: literally,
by breaking to pieces; figuratively,
to make (or be) good for nothing. The Hebrew word
naphats here derives from a primitive root;
to dash to pieces, or scatter.
The picture here is of a Shepherd with a rod. However, this is NO ordinary Shepherd with NO ordinary rod. The Shepherd here is Christ, and He is coming in His wrath at the end of this age to deal with the wicked thus the significance of the rod of iron. He is a jealous Shepherd who is finally coming to destroy those that have rejected Him. The shepherding is clearly associated with the FINAL separation.
There is no sense or mention of, or allowance for, survivors, as you imagine. All the wicked are destroyed. There is no one left to inherit this supposed future millennium full of sin and sinners, dying and crying, decay and disease.
The Lord encounters only 2 types of people when He comes – saved or lost, sheep or goats. The sheep enter into their eternal inheritance; the goats receive their eternal punishment. Nothing could be simpler. You invent some 3rd group of humans that are too righteous to be destroyed at the second coming, yet too wicked to be rescued, yet Premil argue among themselves who they actually are. The reality is: they don't exist.
Nowhere in any of these passages is there any insinuation of a 1,000 years shepherding (or ruling) over the nations -as Premil alleges. What is more, Nowhere in Rev 20 is there any mention of (1) a rod of iron, (2) Christ on earth, (3) and therefore Christ ruling on earth with a rod of iron for 1,000 years. You will only find that in the Premil textbooks.
Yes, the same battle described at the end of Rev 20. These are parallel passages, they reveal recaps.
