Revelation 19:15; A Sword and a Rod

Revelation 19:15 (KJV)  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 

The weaponry of the warrior-Messiah consists of a sword and a rod – And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. The imagery of these words alludes to the description of the shoot from the stem of Jesse in Isaiah 11:4. The first impression from these words is that the warfare this warrior comes to wage entails certainly characterises the only other use of the verb “smite” in Revelation 11:6.

Isaiah 11:4 (KJV)  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. 

Christ conquers by the power of His word, but this does not exclude actual shedding of the blood of His enemies at His second coming. Messiah’s words have death-dealing power against His foes (Beckwith, Mounce).

The intensive pronoun “Himself” in the original highlights Christ’s personal, single-handed role in the destruction of His enemies (Charles, Moffatt). The wording “shall rule them with a rod of iron” is identical with that in Revelation 2:27.

Revelation 2:27 (KJV)  And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

Ruling with a rod of iron is to destroy, not just to govern in a stern fashion (Charles, Smith, Ford, Mounce).

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 388-389]

The destiny of the male child is to rule all nations with an iron scepter (Revelation 12:5). Now that time has come when the messianic prophecy of Psalm 2:9 is fulfilled.

Psalm 2:9 (KJV)  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. 

Not only will Jesus rule the nations, but the victors will rule with him, as the Thyatirans were promised (Revelation 2:26–27).

Revelation 2:26-27 (KJV)  And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

The winepress imagery depicting the harvest of wrath for the earth is first introduced in 14:17–20.

Revelation 14:17-20 (KJV)  And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. 

There the vintner is unnamed; here Jesus Himself is identified as the one who treads the winepress.

 Arnold, C. E. (2002). Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Hebrews to Revelation. (Vol. 4, pp. 356–357). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.