desk, and be at one and the same time Editor, Husband, Principal and Citizen,

without inconvenience or involving an impossibility.

The marriage of the Lamb is given a full exposition in chapter 21, for

John but introduces the new heaven and the new earth, to leave it

immediately, and to step back into the period that precedes that great event.

In the same way Isaiah 65:17 takes the reader up to the new heavens and new

earth, but then steps back and gives all his attention to the creation of the

city of Jerusalem with its attendant blessings.  If any one is unconvinced

that the new creation is not the subject of chapter 21, a reading of verse 27

will surely suffice.

Following the announcement of the marriage of the Lamb comes The

Here in Revelation 19 we have The Apocalypse, the Second Coming of the

Lord.  He comes according to this record, not to a world at peace, and not

after a kingdom of heaven has been functioning for years and waiting for Him,

He comes in righteousness to `make war'.  He is followed by the armies of

heaven, and is seen `clothed with a vesture dipped in blood'.  The word

translated `vesture' is the same in the LXX as that translated `apparel' in

Isaiah 63:1, and is closely associated with that prophecy.  At His coming,

the Lord is to `rule the nations with a rod of iron' -- not merely with a

rod, but with a rod of iron.

`The Syrian Shepherd has two implements of his calling, neither is

wanting when he is on full duty ... Hung to his belt ... is a

formidable weapon of defence, a stout bludgeon.  The guardian of the

flock who carries a long shepherd's staff ... its use answers to that

of our shepherd's crook, namely to guide the sheep, to rescue them from

danger, to rule the stragglers into order, and at times to chastise the

wilful ... This conveys the full meaning of the royal Psalmist, the one

valiant shepherd -boy, when he writes under inspiration:

"Thy club and Thy staff they comfort me"`.

(Palestine Explored, by Rev. James Neil, M.A.).

When the Scriptures speak of a `rod of iron' there is little of the

`gentle shepherd' either in the term itself or in the context where it is

found, and any explanation that focuses attention on the `rod' but omits all

reference to the peculiar feature `of iron' cannot but be held suspect.  Let

us note the terms which accompany and qualify this use of the rod of iron,

both in Revelation 19 and elsewhere.  `Make war'; `a vesture dipped in

blood'; `armies'; `sharp sword'; `smite the nations'; `tread the winepress of

the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God'; `eat the flesh of kings'.  If this

rod is a symbol of blessing, surely it must be what is called an intruder

here!  The fact that the `rod' is sometimes associated with the Shepherd and

his sheep, taken by itself, cannot set aside the twofold fact that here we

have war and wrath, and that the rod is not merely a rod, but a `rod of

This `rod of iron' appears in the first place in Psalm 2.  This Psalm

speaks of Christ as the Anointed, but this has been denied, one of the

`proofs' being that as it speaks of `the Lord' as well as `His anointed', and

as `The Lord' of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New,