As the Day of the LORD (Yahweh, Jehovah) progresses we will see two things happening at once. One will be the fall of man’s kingdom, which is Mystery Babylon and the beast upon which she rides; the other will be the rising of the Kingdom of God. God’s overcomers shall be installed over various regions and cities of the world and will rule with a rod of iron. The rod of iron is God’s Law tempered with perfect justice and mercy, for in the overcomers God has written his Law. In them justice and mercy have kissed to enable the bringing forth of perfect order.
The Ark of the Covenant, built by Moses at the time of the Exodus, represents, or typifies, the overcomers, the manifested sons of God. These are those whom God calls elohim in the Old Testament. The Ark was built of quality hard wood and overlaid with pure gold. Wood represents man for men are as trees walking alludes the Scripture. Wood, like man, consists of the dust of the earth and only lives by sun (the Son) and water (the Word of Life). When God glorifies man he becomes as wood, the creation of God, clothed in righteous, that is, covered with gold. Within him dwells all the contents of the original Ark of Moses, the manna, the rod that budded, and the tablets of the testimony.
The manna represents the bread of life, Jesus Himself. Jesus is the Word become flesh. Overcomers, all of them, are men of flesh who consumed the bread of life during their earthly sojourn. They did not complain as did all Israel in the wilderness, saying, “We’re sick of this worthless bread.” No, they willingly consumed it, chose it, and made it their being. The bread became them. They, in turn, become the bread of life which Jesus, after the parable, will divide and feed the many thousands.
The rod that budded also represents the overcomers, mere men of flesh who, from the death of their carnal nature give birth to glorified life which bears fruits that remains. Please see the series called The Two Rods in the May 2010 archives of this site for more information on this.
The tablets of the testimony are the stone tablets upon which God wrote his Law, the Ten Commandments. The Law dwells in the midst of the Ark. This represents the fact that God writes his Law upon the hearts of his overcomers. The mercy seat sits upon the Ark and covers it. This represents the unification of mercy and justice, or law. Mercy and justice perfectly mix and blend within the sons of God. Thus they become qualified to rule with the rod of iron.
In Revelation 11:19 we see God’s temple in heaven opened. Within the temple we see the Ark. This shows the sons of God in God’s presence, now perfected and ready to do their work. And what is their work? To bring the wrath of God to the earth. The wrath of God, justice perfectly tempered with mercy. This is the rule of the Rod of Iron. And what is the goal of their rule? That others will learn to become as they are! That all the earth, as the waters cover the seas, will become sons of God, men created in the full image of God.
