Here's what RJ had to say about Christ parallels and Rand:

"Ishamael: How much of Jesus Christ is there in Rand? We have the wounded palms, side wound, crown of swords...How representational of Jesus is Rand?
RJ: Rand has some elements of Jesus Christ, yes. But he is intended more to be a general "Messiah figure." An archetype such as Arthur, rather than a manifestation of Jesus Christ in any way."

Making Rand die to save mankind then resurrect kind of doesn't sit so well with RJ's affirmation that Rand is not meant to be a manifestation of JC in any way. It's more than a little parallel here, it's the core element of Christianity.

It doesn't mean Rand won't resurrect (though IMO, he probably won't - part of Rand's trial as a hero is to accept death as an unavoidable part of the cycle of birth/rebirth, for himself and for others, and it's one of his greatest victories that at the end of TGS he finally did), but it means if he does, RJ was really full of it when he said he didn't intend Rand to be a manifestation of JC in any way.

What makes me doubt most that Rand will come back to life if he dies (other than briefly through the call of the Horn, possibly), is the fact RJ made a huge deal of the fact one of the reasons the Forsaken are evil, and serve evil, is their greed to live forever. Not accepting death and rebirth is depicted as evil in WOT.

I think what the Finns meant is that to be reborn one day, Rand has to accept to die to defeat Shai'tan, otherwise Shai'tan will win and no one will ever be reborn.

RJ has a perfect device with the "Heroes in TAR" to kill off his main hero without making it too sad. He can kill off Rand while no making him disappear from the epilogue, or from his lovers' lives forever. So, I think he intended to kill Rand physically, but also to transform him into the Dragon soul, with all his memories.