Sharper Iron — Come Lord Jesus! The Two Witnesses

Rev. Jacob Dandy, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and School in Terra Bella, CA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Revelation 11:1-14.

John is given a rod to measure the temple and those who worship there, while the court outside the temple is given to nations to trample for a time. This pictures the Lord’s promise to sustain His Church even as the world persecutes her. The work of the Church is pictured through the work of the two witnesses. The activity of these two witnesses is reminiscent of the work of faithful Elijah and Moses. Though the world hated and attacked them, the power of the Word of God remained. The world rejoiced to kill the Church, but any victory of the world is short-lived. The risen Lord raises His Church and protects her for all eternal danger.

“Come Lord Jesus!” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the Revelation given to St. John. Although some look at Revelation with fear, it is a book of supreme hope in our crucified, risen, and ascended Lord. The book of Revelation gives a heavenly perspective on our earthly circumstances so that the Church in every generation is challenged, comforted, and assured of final victory through Jesus Christ.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen.

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund, where your investments help support the work of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Visit lcef.org.

Revelation 11:1-14

The Two Witnesses

11 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, ²but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. ³And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. ⁶They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. ⁷And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit^[a] will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, ⁸and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically^[b] is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. ⁹For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, ¹⁰and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. ¹¹But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. ¹²Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Revelation 11:7 Or the abyss
Revelation 11:8 Greek spiritually

Rev. Timothy Appel

Although a mathematics degree may not be incredibly helpful to (proudly born-and-raised Texan) Rev. Timothy Appel while hosting Sharper Iron, his love of CFW Walther and the season of Easter will come in handy. His Call is shepherding the flock at Faith Lutheran Church in Godfrey, Illinois, and he’s also husband to wife Kristin and dad to their growing basketball team of children. When he’s not carrying out pastoral duties, you may find him reading “The Lord of the Rings,” snacking on Reese’s peanut butter cups, playing dominoes with his boys, or studying up on Texas history (including Sam Houston, of course).