The story of the two witnesses is the Heart of Revelation. When you understand this story, you already understand half of the book. So let's have a good look at it. Revelation 11:1 Then I was given a measuring rod, which was like a pole. And I was told, “Get up and measure God’s temple, the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But don’t measure the court outside the temple. Leave that out, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. Why does somebody have a measuring rod? Either to build something or to break something down, or both. The temple needs to be measured. This seems to indicate the physical temple has to be broken down and a new spiritual temple can be built, consisting of living stones that are the believers in Jesus Messiah. The court outside should not be measured, that is: not be broken down. This indicates that the 'age of the (non-Jewish) nations' has arrived. There was a break-up be...