"She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to His throne,"
(Revelation 12:5)
The theme of Christ’s rule is threaded throughout the book of Revelation, leaving no doubt the identity of the Child. We must see the woman as the church that bore the Son; and in time, we must see the Son redeeming the church, which then becomes his bride. The language comes straight out of Psalm 2 concerning the Lord’s Anointed: “Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, you shall shatter them like earthenware.” Another reading for “break” is “rule,” which the Septuagint translators picked up on and John uses here.
John capsules Christ’s birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, exaltation, and coronation in one verse! Here he incorporates the life, death, and resurrection by using ascension and coronation language. So, as John explains how the Christian deals with Satan’s opposition and attacks, he does so by focusing on the triumph of Jesus Christ. We find the centrality of the gospel, not hocus pocus or clever formulas or twelve steps, in resisting the adversary’s assaults.
(Phil A. Newton)
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