The Beginning

of

The End of All Things

Part 20

Publication #199.07

He Shall Rule Them With A Rod Of Iron

“¹And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered....⁵And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” Revelation 12:1-5.

There are entities and events that take place in the world which are openly seen by everyone, and there are those that take place in heaven that are unseen. Some of those that are seen emanate from the Harlot, the great whore who sits upon the back of the beast and is the mother of harlots. This woman, and her daughters, represent the entire religious systems of the world. She has committed fornication with all the kings of the earth and innumerable religions have been born — one woman, many fathers, and many daughters who are all half-sisters. This religious woman is earthy, carnal minded, natural, and she and her works are easily seen by everyone.

There is an unseen woman that is not of the earth. She is heavenly in origin. She is Jerusalem from above, which is the mother of us all, and she is unknown and unseen to everyone except by those born from above and whose habitation is heaven. This woman does not sit upon the back of a beastly system of carnality, but is seated in heaven! Unlike the other, this woman brings forth children from above, from a place that the carnal eye cannot perceive. Perhaps we can now see why we are so invisible and unknown to the world. That which transpires in the heavens is beyond the scope the world’s perception. But praise God, this woman, this new Jerusalem, this holy city will not remain invisible forever; for she will come down from God out of heaven and be seen by every eye. “⁴And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. ⁵And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” Revelation 21:4-5.

The book of Revelation mentions another woman, Jezebel, (Revelation 2:20). She is the controlling, manipulating spirit of religion who seduces the servants of Christ in the same manner the mother of harlots seduces the kings of the earth. These two women are, no doubt, the same woman, it’s just that different terms are used to convey a message. Nevertheless, she is very active and has many children. Her works are seen everywhere in the churches.

A counterpart to this infamous woman is the woman of Revelation 12:1. She represents the pure church that is clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and many of her works have also been seen; but her works are from above rather than from beneath. Some of those activities, however, are not visible to those in the world; for let us note that a great wonder appeared in heaven, not on the earth, but in heaven, and earthly men are blind to that which pertains to the heavens. All they see are natural rain clouds and distant stars and galaxies. Although there have been many manifestations of this woman’s great attributes, such as the fruit and gifts of the Spirit, some things are reserved for those who sit with Christ Jesus in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:6) and are not known by the world. For instance, He spoke of this: “¹¹He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” Matthew 13:11. That which appears in heaven is for those of the heavens and not for those who are earthbound.

Again, “¹And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: ²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered....⁵And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” Revelation 12:1-5.

That which John saw concerning this pristine woman was surely the early church; for there is no argument that she was clothed by the sun, that is, the Son of God. He was her covering. She also had the moon under her feet. Some have said that the moon is a type of the law, saying, by the Spirit of life the woman fulfilled the law, and it, therefore, became a foundation under her feet. It was not a taskmaster over her head, but was something she stood on and manifested to the world. The law was not the glory of the sun, the Son of God, but it did reflect His glory. I can certainly see this as being one aspect of the moon, whether it should be applied to this verse or not, I cannot say. Notwithstanding, according to Genesis 37, I believe we can see that in this reference, the moon more accurately represents a woman, as one woman clothed with the sun putting under foot the other woman.

“⁹And he (Joseph) dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me. ¹⁰And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?” Genesis 37:9-10.

The woman in reference to spiritual matters most often signifies a religious order known as the church, whether it is the one of the heavens or the one of the earth. In this instance the woman who is the true church is seen to have subdued and put under foot the moon, that is, the church system. This body of believers revolves around the earth and is bound to its gravitational pull. Although appearing to have the light of God, it has no light of its own whatsoever. The moon, the religious systems of the world, reflects the rays of the Son of God. The light of Jesus shines brightly upon the religious moon only to be reflected away. Not one ray penetrates even a millimeter beneath its lifeless surface. And the woman of Revelation 12, being clothed by Jesus Christ who is the light of the world, radiates by nature His glory, and she has put that lifeless religious system of the moon under her feet. In almost every instance where the term, under the feet, is used, it is in reference to subduing and bringing something under the control of a higher power. Thus, the religious system is subdued and brought under the control of the woman who does not reflect, or reject, the Son, but is clothed upon by Him, and she brings forth a manchild who is to rule all nations with the rod of iron.

Until this manifestation in heaven, and not yet in the natural world, the single kingdom of the world as ruled by man has been in the transition of becoming the kingdom of the Lord and His anointed. After the testimony of the two witnesses of Revelation 11 is finished, they are called up higher, even to the place where there is a great earthquake, and a tenth of the holy city “falls,” and then, “¹⁵...the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The ¹kingdoms of this world ²are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 11:15.

They were in the process of ruling; but until now the fact had not come to pass. Until the bringing forth of the manchild, that is, the manifestation of the sons of God, the kingdoms of the world were given to the saints of the most high; but the process of bringing it into open manifestation was another matter.

As the two witnesses ascend into heaven, the corporate kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of the Lord and His anointed. It was becoming, is becoming, and will continue to come until the birthing, the inauguration, the declaration, and manifestation in the heavens of that manchild, the sons of God. And then, all hell breaks out in heaven, and it is from there that I can hear our Father saying concerning the corporate expression of Himself, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him.” It is then that the powers of that heaven are threatened and shaken to their very core and foundation of lies.

When the two witnesses are caught up to heaven, the nations are angered; but when they as the manchild are caught up to the throne of God, war in heaven ensues between the devil and his angels and Michael and His angels (the corporate body of the sons of God). And lest we forget, that heaven wherein war is waged is first within the heart-center of each of us before it is ever seen otherwise.

From that greater realm, the ascended witnesses declare with great voices the conquering of the age-old kingdom of man. Prior to being caught up, they troubled man’s hierarchy; but now they are conquering it, they are continuing to conquer it, and they will ultimately conquer it along with the devilish power by which it is undergirded. The sons of God will reign in that kingdom until every enemy is put under foot. And the tool by which they are given the power to rule over the nations of the world is a rod of iron.

Let us pause and notice the word, rule. It should help to form a more accurate picture of how it is surprisingly used when ruling the nations:

Rule: Grk. Poimaino; From G4166 (a shepherd); to tend as a shepherd (or figuratively supervisor). Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.

Thayer’s Definition:

1) to feed, to tend a flock, keep sheep

1a) to rule, govern
1a1) of rulers
1a2) to furnish pasture for food
1a3) to nourish
1a4) to cherish one’s body, to serve the body
1a5) to supply the requisites for the soul’s need

In times past we all may have viewed those who rule with a rod of iron as being harsh, unforgiving, unbending, dreadful authoritarians and totally void of love for the lost, or at best, being an obedient servant with a very hard and thankless job to do. The rod-wielding rulers were seen by some as having abandoned mercy altogether. Sympathy was no part of their being. They ruled by rote, by the letter of the law, and with the same grim “justice” being met out upon every hapless soul, regardless of their ignorance of the truth, their shortcomings, or the degree of sins.

Oh, my! What a dreadful interpretation we once had, or at least I had for a short time in my beginning days of my initial salvation. But isn’t it wonderful to know that to rule with a rod of iron simply means that due to the wrath of God, the intense passion of His incomprehensible love for His creation, He will supply the requisites for every soul’s need, whether it is hellfire or heaven’s rain. The shepherding iron rod in the hands of the sons of God will furnish each person with either fire, hail, rain, or green pastures whereby to be nourished. The iron rule will relentlessly tend to its subjects with unwavering, unbending tenacity. It will rule unto death, unto life, unto destruction, unto health, unto salvation, unto complete deliverance, and finally ultimate reconciliation that leads to the ultimate life of the ages which is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ. And this Christ is a solitary ruler. There are no others; but He does not rule single- handedly. Although it is by a supreme ruler, He is not alone. Jesus points this out in John 17:

“²⁰Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; ²¹That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. ²²And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: ²³I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me. ²⁴Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. John 17:20 -24.

And Paul said this:

"And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." Romans 8:17.

This is not a hard thing to grasp. We are joint heirs with Him, joint possessors of heaven and earth, joint rulers with Him, and this heir-ship, this sonship is all of one unyielding iron rod — One spirit, One mind, and One body.

This iron-ruling, many membered, manifested Manchild, Male Son, Son of God destroys once and for all every kingdom established by man whether political, social, secular, or religious. It is beyond reigning as with the two ascended witnesses who anger the nations. This body of sons rule and break to pieces the very structure and inspiration of those kingdoms. We see this in Daniel with the stone cut out of the mountain smiting the feet of the image that represents all the world kingdoms as a whole, and in Revelation it is the sons of God breaking to shivers all the vessels of the world.

A man of clear vision and keen understanding, J. Preston Eby, brings this into focus for us:

“The same analogy of the stone cut out of the mountain is drawn in John's vision of a woman bringing forth a manchild in chapter twelve of the Revelation. The woman is the church. The manchild, born out of the woman, is that company of God's overcoming sons who are to ‘rule all nations with a rod of iron’ (Rev. 12:5). Thus, the woman of Revelation twelve, and the mountain from which the stone is cut, ARE ONE AND THE SAME — God's church! The manchild out of the woman and the stone out of the mountain refer to the same company that is also the 144,000 overcoming sons of God who come with the Lamb upon mount Zion to reign! Immediately following the marvelous description of the 144,000 sons of God in chapter fourteen of Revelation, John sees an angel flying through the mid-heaven crying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen!’ The remainder of the chapter symbolically portrays the process of the destruction of this Babylonish system by the stone which was cut out of the mountain without hands!

“Can we not see by this that symbolically the manchild out of the woman, the overcomers out of the seven churches, the 144,000 out of the tribes of Israel, and the stone cut out of the mountain all bespeak of the same company. Of the manchild it is written, ‘And she brought forth a manchild, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron’ (Rev. 12:5). Of the overcomers the record states, ‘And he that overcometh...to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers’ (Rev. 2:26-27). In Revelation, chapter 14, the 144,000 come up on mount Zion, the symbol of kingship and dominion, where typically king David ruled gloriously over the kingdom of Israel. Daniel says of the stone, ‘And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure’ (Dan. 2:44-45).

“So the stone rules and breaks in pieces all these kingdoms. The overcomers rule and break the nations into shivers. The 144,000 rule from the dominion of mount Zion. The manchild rules from the throne all nations with a rod of iron. And each of these ‘comes out’ of something else — out of a larger group of God's people! They all fulfill the same function — smashing the kingdoms of this world and bringing the Kingdom of God to pass over the nations of earth! This, precious friend of mine, is GOD'S GOVERNMENT. And this is the NEXT WORLD GOVERNMENT! After Rome, the NEXT WORLD EMPIRE IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD! Hallelujah!

“Is there not joy in your heart to think that the One who came, and had nothing but a borrowed cradle, a cross built for a criminal, and another man's tomb — I say, is there not joy unspeakable and full of glory in your heart today that God is going to establish His Kingdom over ALL? I freely confess it is a great joy to me, and I am blessed with the sacred knowledge that we are sharers of His glory, we are called to sit with Him on His throne and reign with Him in His Kingdom, and we are glad to the full because it is the Day of the exaltation of our Lord Jesus Christ as King over the nations and Lord over all. At the present moment, when I think of God's dealings with men, I learn this, that ‘grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life’ (Rom. 8:21) -- it is divine grace upon a righteous basis that saves men today. But in that glorious age now at hand ‘Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment’ (Isa. 32:1) --there righteousness reigns and there comes forth a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. Righteousness is perfectly at home there. It is the Day when righteousness reigns upon the earth through the transforming authority and rule of the sons of God. The unrighteousness of men, institutions, and nations shall be broken to shivers, ground to powder, and carried away like the chaff of the summer threshing-floor.

“Press on, saints of God, for we are on the winning side! We are on the way up, and the kingdoms of this world are on the way down! All of the distress and perplexity among the nations today does not indicate the imminent rise of a world dictatorship under Antichrist. Oh, no! Rather, it heralds the hour for the final collapse and destruction of this present evil system of things and the victory of God's glorious Kingdom. The kingdoms of puny, unregenerated men are growing old and wearing out like a garment. Democracy is not the greatest form of government ever devised, it is the weakest, the clay mingled with the iron. It is the rule of the people with unregenerated hearts and uncircumcised minds. Democracy cannot stand. Communism cannot stand. Dictatorships cannot stand. Kingdoms of men cannot stand. They are all time-worn and threadbare, faded and dilapidated — ready to be discarded like a worn-out garment and replaced by a new order.

“The carnal-minded rulers of this world plan for a One World Government, a New World Order of their own making. But it matters not what the Fabian Socialists or any other group plans — don't you believe for one moment in any scheme that the carnal mind devises! Just because men plan doesn't mean they will succeed. Man that is born of woman is born in sin and shapen in iniquity and because men have sinful natures and dwell in a world where sin with all its sordid evil and wicked deceptions and vain illusions, they craftily devise many inventions, plans and plots, and the vast majority of Christians believe these things. Man boasts of what he is going to do and all the Christians say, ‘Amen!’ fully expecting it to come to pass. The confession of many of God's people corresponds with what the devil is promoting. Remember, beloved, millenniums ago men were promoting the same ideas. ‘And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth’ (Gen. 11:4). But GOD had other plans! ‘And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad...and they left off to build the city’ (Gen. 11:5-8).

“The effort to World Government today is just as contrary to the will and word of God as was Babel of old. And the whole world, including the people of God, must yet again, one more time, come face to face with the word of the Lord: ‘They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.’

“The present nations of the earth, and most of the Christians of the world today, will be surprised...shocked...when God steps in again and by His sovereign power derails the well-laid and proud and boastful schemes of the great men of the earth, bringing forth a company of unknown, unrecognized, and unheralded sons of God, the instrument in His hand to establish in the earth HIS OWN WORLD GOVERNMENT!

“God's word is always true, but it is our meddling with it that makes it awkward and difficult to explain. The simple truth is just this: ‘But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even forever and ever...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 of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and ALL DOMINIONS SHALL SERVE AND OBEY HIM’ (Dan. 7:18, 22, 27).

“These saints who take and possess the Kingdom, to whom is given judgment and dominion, are THE STONE OF CHRIST — THE COMING WORLD GOVERNMENT! You have God's word for it!” (The Kingdom Of God #52) — End quote.

Once the invisible war in heaven has been fought and won, the 144,000 with their Father’s name written in their foreheads — even as Aaron’s name was written in his rod — they will visibly subdue and rule with and as the iron of God’s rod. This body of sons shall be that rod in the conquering hand of their Lord: “¹⁵And 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.” Revelation 19:15.

By the rod of His hand will He rule, or shepherd the nations. With this rod will they be smitten, subdued, brought under foot and made to be the Kingdom of the Lord and His anointed ones of iron. It is hard to comprehend, and some may have disbelieved it could ever come to pass; but many also never believed that the Soviet Union could be dissolved with each satellite nation gaining its independence, yet in the latter part of 1989 the iron curtain and the Berlin wall came down. There was an invisible war taking place in the heavens with the sharp sword of our Lord’s mouth decreeing things that would become visible to the entire world. And they did! During that pre-dawn day of liberty, anointed men and women as the sword of His mouth were declaring to the powers in the heavens things that would end and things that would replace them. The sword in the Lord’s mouth and the rod of iron in His hand cut to pieces and shattered to shivers those powers. It was the beginning of the end of the dark powers of communism over each nation.

We know one of those brothers who was the sword and rod of the Lord that eventful day. In the latter part of 1989 he was caught up to the throne of God and spoke to the spiritual powers over each of the communist-block nations along the iron curtain (Poland, East Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, etc.). He first rebuked them and then commanded them to cease and desist. These commands were not in English, but in the tongue of each of those nations; and once the word of rebuke was delivered to the powers that were to end, he turned his attention to the spiritual powers that were replacing them, and gave to them their authority and power, along with instructions, from the throne of God. And it is interesting that not once did he say, "thus saith the Lord" or, "in the name of Jesus"; for, you see, he, along with the others who had been caught up together, was the word of God! And rods and Swords do not say, "thus saith Lord." Jesus never said, "thus saith God," "thus saith My Father," or " be healed in the name of Me." He simple spoke the words and they came to pass. And likewise with these caught up ones. They are the sons of God, they are the lords of the Lord, and, therefore, they have the same authority as their Lord. They have been made one with Him and their Father and are not speaking as messengers but as lords, and after giving the orders, those nations began to topple like dominoes. One after the other they fell exactly as they were commanded. This is what happens when the manchild is caught up unto God, and to his throne! Heads roll, kingdoms fall, and new ones rule! It is interesting to note that they were replaced, not by nations ruled by manifested sons of God, but by the powers we see today, and they were ordained and commissioned by the King of kings to rule the way they were instructed. However, dear manchild of God, when you are again caught up to Him and His throne, it may then well be the time and season for kings of the King to rule with a rod of iron, and as a rod of iron. Praise the most high God!

To be continued...

Elwin R. Roach