Shepherding the Nations

Jesus is the promised King from the Line of David who guides the Nations of the Earth to the Holy City, New Jerusalem – Revelation 12:5.

The “Son” pictured in the twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation is the Messianic figure of the Second Psalm who is destined to “Shepherd the Nations.” Following his Enthronement, Heaven declared, “Now is come the Kingdom of God and the authority of His Messiah.” His reign commenced following his “Faithful Testimony” given in his Death, and his victory through his Resurrection. He is also, therefore, the “Firstborn of the Dead.”

[Shepherd Photo by Patrick Schneider on Unsplash]

Unlike the political powers of this age, Jesus rules the Earth by “shepherding the nations” rather than tyrannizing or exterminating them. He leads peoples and nations to life in “New Jerusalem” in fulfillment of the promises Yahweh made to Abraham – “In you will all the tribes of the Earth be blessed” – (Genesis 12:3):

• “The scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Nations from faith, preached the Gospel beforehand unto Abraham, saying, In you will all the nations be blessed. So then they that are from faith are blessed with faithful Abraham” - (Galatians 3:8-9).

Jesus of Nazareth is the “Slain Lamb” and the Shepherd King of the Book of Revelation, and the “Good Shepherd who surrenders his life for the sheep” described in the Gospel of John - (Genesis 12:3, 18:18, John 10:11).

The Book of Revelation describes the Messiah as “a son, a male” - (eteken huion arsen). The Greek clause echoes the prophecy of Isaiah using the Greek Septuagint version in which “Zion” becomes a female figure who “brought forth a male” - (eteken arsen - Isaiah 66:5-8).

John in Revelation adds the term “Son” to the clause, leaving no doubt about his identity. Christ is the “Son” who was “caught up to the Throne of God, the Anointed One destined to “Shepherd all the Nations with a scepter of iron,” an allusion to the Second Psalm- (Revelation 12:5):

• (Psalm 2:6-9) - “Yet I have installed my king on Zion my holy mountain. Let me tell of a decree; Yahweh said to me, You are My son; I, today, have begotten you. Ask of me and let me give nations as your inheritance and possession of the ends of the earth. You will shepherd them with a sceptre of iron, as a potter’s vessel you will dash them in pieces.”

The Book of Revelation continues to follow the Greek text of the Septuagint in which the Hebrew verb for “break” or “crush” is replaced by the Greek verb for “shepherd.” His mission is “to shepherd” the nations, not to grind them into dust. Judgment and destruction may come for some, but not before he completes his task of populating the city of “New Jerusalem” with an “innumerable multitude” of redeemed men and women from every nation - (Revelation 7:9-17, 21:24-26, 22:1-3).

• “After these things I saw, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the Throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands” - (Revelation 7:9).

The Second Psalm is employed also at the start of Revelation where Jesus is identified as the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.” Because of his Death and Resurrection, he reigns supreme over nations and kings - (Revelation 1:5, 5:6-14).

• “The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Yahweh and against his Christ…I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me: You are my son; This day have I begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance, And the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.” - (Psalm 2:2-8).

THE LAMB REIGNS

When did his Enthronement occur? Following his arrival at the Throne in Chapter 12, Satan was expelled from Heaven and a voice declared, “Now is come <…> the authority of His Christ!” The term “now” is emphatic in the Greek clause and pinpoints the moment when his reign began – His Resurrection and Exaltation to the Throne of God.

The same event is portrayed in Chapter 5 when the “Slain Lamb” approaches the Throne, and all creation declares him “worthy” of “all power” since by his sacrificial death he has redeemed men from every tribe, nation, people, and linguistic group - (Revelation 5:7-12, 12:5-11).

His Enthronement took place following his Death and Resurrection. As stated in the opening salutation of the Book, he is the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth,” a declaration made in the present tense.

This is Good News for humanity and since he uses his royal authority to “Shepherd the Nations” to the Holy City, “New Jerusalem.”

• “The city does not need the sun or the moon, that they should shine therein; for the glory of God illuminated it, and the lamp thereof was the Lamb. And the nations will walk through her light, and the Kings of the Earth will bring their glory into it” – (Revelation 21:23-24).

The marginalized “Seven Churches of Asia” described in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation represent the early phase of this operation. With the Messianic Shepherd reigning on the Throne and guiding the nations, the trickle of converts to the new faith would turn into a flood. The “City of New Jerusalem” will be populated, and its vast dimensions will be filled! – (Revelation 21:15-17).

At the end of Revelation, the vast “innumerable multitude” of men from every nation, including the “Kings of the Earth,” is found standing and worshipping before the “Lamb” and the Throne in the “City of New Jerusalem” where the leaves of the Tree of Life are “for the healing of the nations” - (Revelation 22:2).

Jesus, the “slain Lamb” and the “Ruler of the Kings of the Earth” will accomplish all this by “shepherding the nations,” not by hammering them mercilessly into the ground with his great “iron scepter.” He is a Shepherd King who gathers and redeems his people from the “Nations of the Earth.”

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SEE ALSO:

• Redeeming the Nations - (The kings and nations of the Earth are found in New Jerusalem because of the Lamb’s redemptive work)

• Salvation for the Nations - (The Good News announced by Jesus of Nazareth offers salvation and true life to men and women of every nation and nationality)

• Shepherding Kings and Nations - (The Nations and the Kings of the Earth are found in the City of New Jerusalem because of the redeeming work of the Lamb)

• The Royal Shepherd - (The Lamb’s reign commenced with his Death and Resurrection. Since then, he has been shepherding the nations to the Holy City, New Jerusalem)