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Revelation’s image of a child destined to rule with an iron rod is based on Psalm 2, where a royal figure receives authority to conquer the nations. In Psalm 2, the image portrays a king’s divine appointment and power over his enemies.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Psalms 2:9
Septuagint
7 declaring the ordinance of the Lord: the Lord said to me, You are my Son, today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will give you the pagan nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession. 9 You shall rule them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them in pieces as a potter's vessel. 10 Now therefore understand, you kings: be instructed, all you that judge the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice in him with trembling.
Date: 100–1 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Revelation 12:5
New Testament
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. 4 Now the dragon’s tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days. 7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
Date: 92–96 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The dragon is not passive. but he is patiently waiting for the arrival of the third major character (Revelation 12:4b). Verse 5 gives a brief statement about this person, he is 'a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron ...' This allusion to Psalm 2 makes the readers/hearers think of Messiah. This concept is expanded in Revelation 12:5b. where it is stated that the child 'was caught up to God and to his throne.' Here is the enthronement of God's promised Messiah. It apparently happens so fast that the dragon does not even have a chance to respond ..."
Leo R. Percer, “The War in Heaven: Michael and Messiah in Revelation 12” (PhD diss., Baylor University, 1999), 72.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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