The Tearing of the Veil

I learned something new over the last week. One goal that I have for this year is to read the entire Bible this year. So far, I am right on track....I am not expecting it to be easy, since this is something that I have tried several times in the past, but I am determined.

Something that I never knew before, I discovered last week. Did you know that at the time of Jesus' death, the veil of the Temple in Jerusalem was torn? When you go back through the Old Testament, God himself told Moses how to build His Tabernacle. These instructions included a veil between the Holy and The Holy of Holies (the place where God actually resided). No one was to pass through this veil except for the priest of Israel only once a year. Following Israel's wanderings in the desert and claiming of the Promised Land, Solomon built His Temple just as the Tabernacle with the veil about 60 feet high.

It is documented that at the moment of Jesus' death, this veil (this seeming indestructible material) was torn from top to bottom. Josephus tells us that the veil was four inches thick and that horses tied to each side could not pull the veil apart. And yet, at the moment of Jesus' death, it tore.

The veil symbolized our separation from God. Because of our sin nature, we were not permitted into God's holy presence. The tearing of the curtain symbolized the reconciliation between God and man accomplished through Jesus’ death on the cross. Now, because of Jesus, His sacrifice, and His judgment, we can enter the presence of God. We can not have a personal relationship with God without the need of a human mediator. Jesus is forever that mediator. He is the reason that we are forgiven, that we will go to heaven.

It's nice to learn something new...