Psalm 2:8-9 (The foundational prophecy of the Messiah’s rule, quoted multiple times in the N.T. for the Millennial Kingdom):

“Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

This describes the Messiah (Jesus) inheriting and strictly ruling the nations with unyielding authority (“rod of iron”) during His earthly reign.

Zechariah 14:16-19 (Directly matches your example of enforced worship in the Millennial Kingdom, with drought/plagues as punishment for non-compliance): “And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. If the family of Egypt will not come up and enter in, they shall have no rain; they shall receive the plague with which the Lord strikes the nations who do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This shall be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”

This is a classic Millennial prophecy: Jesus (the King, Lord of hosts) rules from Jerusalem. Surviving nations must annually worship Him there, or face divine judgment (no rain/drought, plagues). It illustrates the “rod of iron” enforcement—strict, immediate consequences for rebellion or refusal to submit.

New Testament (N.T.) Scriptures

These apply Psalm 2’s “rod of iron” directly to Jesus and extend it to the glorified saints (overcomers/resurrected believers) who co-rule with Him in the 1,000-year (Millennial) Kingdom.

Revelation 2:26-27 (Jesus promises glorified saints/overcomers authority to rule nations exactly as He does):

“And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—‘He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father.”

This explicitly grants the saints (glorified believers) the same iron-rod rule over nations in the Millennium. It is the clearest N.T. link showing both Jesus and the saints ruling this way.

Revelation 12:5 (Describes Jesus Himself as the one destined to rule with a rod of iron):

“She bore a male Child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her Child was caught up to God and His throne.”

Revelation 19:15 (Jesus at His Second Coming, immediately before establishing the Millennial Kingdom):

“Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.”

Revelation 20:4-6 (The saints reigning with Christ for 1,000 years in the Millennial Kingdom; the “rod of iron” manner of rule is defined in the verses above):

“And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. … they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

Summary and Context These verses together paint the picture you asked for:

Jesus rules the nations from Jerusalem with absolute, unbreakable authority (“rod of iron” = shepherding/breaking rebellion like pottery; no tolerance for sin or refusal to submit).

Glorified saints (overcomers from the first resurrection) share that exact rule as kings and priests.

The Zechariah 14 example shows one practical outworking of this iron-rod governance: mandatory annual worship in Jerusalem or immediate national judgment (drought, plagues). This is not optional grace-period tolerance but enforced righteousness throughout the Millennium.

Supporting context (not using the exact “rod of iron” phrase but describing the same Millennial rule by Jesus + saints) includes Daniel 7:27:

“And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.”

 The kingdom shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High and various Isaiah prophecies (e.g., Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:1-10), but the verses above are the direct matches for “ruling with a rod of iron”. All point to the literal 1,000-year earthly kingdom after Christ’s return (Revelation 19–20).

NOTEt: Grok 4 AI was used to gather all of the O.T. prophets (major and minor) and the N.T scriptures for this post.