THEY ARE 'CLEANSED, WHITENED, AND REFINED'

As noted earlier, Daniel wrote these things down but could not understand them.  Still, he must have wondered if the holy ones would actually be finished off at the hands of their persecutors, for he asked, "What will be the final part of these things?"  The angel answered:  "Go, Daniel, because the words are made secret and sealed up until the time of the end.  Many will cleanse themselves and whiten themselves and will be refined.  And the wicked ones will certainly act wickedly, and no wicked ones at all will understand; but the ones have insight will understand." (Daniel 12:8-10)   There was a sure hope for the holy ones! Rather than being destroyed, they would be whitened, blessed with a clean standing before Jehovah God.  (Malachi 3:1-3) Their insight into spiritual matters would enable them to keep clean in God's eyes.  In contrast, the wicked would refuse to understand spiritual things. But when would all of this occur?

Daniel was told: "From the time that the constant feature has been removed and there has been a placing of the disgusting thing that is causing desolation, there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days."  So this  time period would begin when certain conditions had been brought about.  "The constant feature"-or "the continual sacrifice"-had to be removed.  (Daniel  12:11)  What sacrifice  did the angel mean? Not the animal sacrifices offered at any earthly temple.  Why, even  the temple that once stood in Jerusalem was a mere "copy of the reality"-Jehovah's great spiritual temple, which went into operation when Christ became its High Priest in 29 C.E.!  In this spiritual temple, representing God's arrangement for pure worship, there is no need of continual sin offerings, for "Christ was offered once and for all time to beat the sins of many."  (Hebrews 9:24-28) Yet, all true Christians do offered  sacrifices at this temple.  The apostle Paul wrote:  "Through [Christ] let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which make public declaration to his name." (Hebrews 13:15) So this first condition of the prophecy-the removing of "the constant feature"-was brought about in mid-1918 when the preaching work  was virtually suspended.  

What, though, about the second condition-the "placing," or installation, of "the disgusting thing that is causing desolation"?  This disgusting thing was first the League of Nations and reemerged later as the United Nations.  Both are disgusting in that they have been heralded as the only hope for peace on earth.  Thus, in the hearts of many, these institutions actually take the place of God's Kingdom!  (and that is so wrong; and is a slur against Jehovah) The League was officially proposed in January 1919.  At that time, then both conditions of Daniel 12:11 were met.  so the 1,260 days began in early of 1919 and ran until the autumn (Northern Hemisphere) of 1922. 

During that time, did the holy ones make progress toward becoming whitened and cleansed in God's eyes?  They certainly did!  In March 1919 the president of the Watchtower Society and his close associates were released from prison. They were later exonerated of the false charges against them. Aware that their preaching work was far from over, they got busy immediately, organizing a convention for September 1919.  In the same year, a companion magazine to the Watchtower was first published.  Originally called the Golden Age (now AWAKE!), it  has always supported the Watchtower in fearlessly exposing the corruption of this world and in helping God's people to remain clean.  By the end of the foretold 1, 260 days, the holy ones were well on their way to a cleansed and restored standing.  In September 1922, right about the time when this period ended, they held a landmark convention at Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A. It gave tremendous  impetus to the preaching work.  However, there was still a need for making more progress.   That remained for the next marked period. 

Next time: HAPPINESS FOR THE HOLY ONES

From the book:  PAY ATTENTION TO DANIEL'S PROPHECY! 1999