".....if we turn to Lev.16:15 - "And he shall make an atonement for the holy place because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins." etc.; see also 29-34 verses, particularly the 30th verse.
Then the true meaning of the cleansing of the sanctuary is, Christ our high priest in the sanctuary which the Lord pitched and not man; Heb.13:2, that is, the new Jerusalem in the heavens, making atonement, or blotting out the sins of His true waiting people; and while He is doing this, they are in their trial.
"Here is the patience of the Saints," as it was in the type referred to, with this difference - their day and trial and atonement was "from even to even," just twenty-four hours, whereas ours is to be until God roars out of Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem, then Jerusalem will be holy, the atonement will be finished. - Joel 3:16,17 - God's people be cleansed, sealed, and the captivity of Zion turned. His will be the shaking of the Heavens and the earth, the sea and all nations." Joseph Bates