Revelation 2:27 - Exposition

The verse is not a parenthesis. He shall rule them . Here; Revelation 12:5 ; and in Revelation 19:15 , the LXX . rendering of Psalms 2:9 is adopted; ποιμανεῖς αὐτούς , "Thou shalt rule them," or more literally, "shalt shepherd them," instead of "shalt break them," which almost certainly is the meaning of the Hebrew. The Hebrew original, trhm without vowel points, may represent either tirhem or terohem; but the latter is required by what follows; "shalt dash them in pieces." Nevertheless, the gentler rendering better suits the requirements of these passages in the Apocalypse. The rule over the nations is to be strong, but it is to be loving also. To those who obey it, it will be a shepherding; only those who resist it will be dashed in pieces. Precisely the same expression is used in Revelation 7:17 of the Lamb shepherding his saints, and in John 21:16 in the charge to St. Peter to shepherd Christ's sheep. It is not easy to determine whether the "rod" ( ῥἀβδος ) is a king's sceptre, as in Hebrews 1:8 , or a shepherd's staff, as m 1 Samuel 17:43 ; Micah 7:14 ; and Zechariah 11:7 . As the vessels of pottery are broken to shivers . The future tense is a false reading; the insertion of "they"—"shall they be broken"—is a false rendering. συντρίβειν , "to shatter," occurs in a literal sense in Mark 5:4 and John 19:36 ; and in a figurative sense in Luke 9:39 and Romans 16:20 . As I also have received from my Father . The Greek is ὡς κἀγὼ εἴληφα , not καθὼς ἐγὼ ἔλαβον . He shall receive authority from me, as I also have received from my Father (comp. John 17:18 ; John 20:21 ; Luke 22:29 ; Acts 2:33 ).