The woman gave birth
to a son, who would rule all nations with an iron rod. The boy was snatched
away. He was taken to God and placed on his throne. (Revelation 12:5 CEV)
What does the “iron rod” mean? Where do “all the nations”
come in? Why was the boy snatched away? Where did he go?
In our previous post we came to the conclusion that “the
son” in this piece of text (pericope) is Jesus the Messiah. Now we continue with
the glimpse of history that the author is trying to portray in a mythological
way.
Jesus was set to rule the nations by God. But this was not
in a political way as the people of the time wanted. The people of the time of
Jesus wanted a ruler that would have freed them from the mighty Roman Empire. No,
Jesus was set to be a spiritual leader and the one to pay for sins so that all
of mankind could be free from sin and to fulfill the Biblical prophecy from the
Old Testament.
The “iron rod” was not an instrument to torment or hurt
anyone, most definitely not to force anyone into following Jesus. An “iron rod”
was an instrument that was used by shepherds to protect the flocks, usually of
sheep, against predators. An example of a predator would be a wolf.
“All the nations” refers to Jesus that came for the sins of
everyone and not only the Jews. Normal, non-Jewish people can also now be children
of the Lord.
The “snatched away”
and “placed on his throne” refers to
Jesus that was resurrected form death. In other words it is referring to Jesus
on the cross and how He was raised from death and went to heaven thereafter!
The verse thus tells the story of Jesus on Earth in a
mythological way!
Share your experiences of the symbols with us!
Till next time!
