“In the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets” (Rev. 10:7).
The cleansing of the sanctuary and the finishing of the mystery of God are identical as to time. In the “figure of the true” in the sanctuary, the round of service was completed annually, and the cleansing of the sanctuary was the finishing of that figurative service.
The finishing of this earthly work of the sanctuary was also the finishing of the work for the people. For in that day which was the Day of Atonement (see Lev. 16:29-33), whosoever of the people did not by searching of heart, confession, and putting away of sin take part in the service of the cleansing of the sanctuary was cut off forever (Lev. 23:27-29).
And this was all “a figure for the time then present” (Heb.9:9, KJV). The earthly sanctuary and its sacrifice, priesthood and ministry were a figure of the true, which is the sanctuary and ministry of Christ. The cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was a figure of the true, which is the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary from all the sins of the believers in Jesus. And the time of this cleansing of the true is declared by the Wonderful Numberer to be “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed” (Dan. 8:14).
Indeed, the sanctuary of which Christ is the High Priest is the only one that could be cleansed in 1844, because it is the only one that there is. “He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; and he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still” (Rev: 22: 11).
“[Christ] has appeared once and for all at the climax of history to abolish sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is the lot of men to die once, and after death comes judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the burden of men’s sins, and will appear a second time, sin done away with, to bring salvation to those who are watching for Him” (Heb. 9: 26-28, NEB).
Jones, The Consecrated Way to Christian Perfection, pp. 81,82
