#15 The Last Barrier Has Been Removed
Tabernacle in the Wilderness Series
By Pastor Jim May
The Veil before the Holy of Holies
(SHOW PICTURE OF VEIL)
Exodus 26:31-33, "And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made: And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver. And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy."
The last barrier between God and man, in the Tabernacle in the Wilderness was a very large, very thick veil, or curtain. It was there to protect the people from entering into the presence of God unworthily, not to protect God from the people. Entering into the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat and the Shekinah Glory of God without fulfilling every law and ceremonial cleansing meant instant death. It was a glorious sight to behold, but only for those who had made themselves ready.
Can you remember what it will be like when Jesus comes again in all of His glory? We, the Church, the Bride of Christ, will welcome His appearing. It will be glorious for us on that day when we look upon His face as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But it won’t be that way for the multitudes that have rejected Him. They will not want to see His face. They will cry out for the mountains and rocks to cover them. They will be forced to stand and behold His face, as their Righteous Judge, and every one of them, who refused to bow their knee before Him in life, will be forced to bow before Him in the judgment – and then they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the second death. There, in that horrible pit, they will burn forever, ever suffering and nearing death but never reaching death and finding relief from their pain.
In the Tabernacle, the Veil, with blue, scarlet, purple and white coloring, and embroidered with images of cherubim, hanging there and gazing on every move that the priests made, kept him aware of the holiness of the work that was set before him.
Every priest who entered there was reminded of the judgment that fell upon Nadab and Abihu when they were disobedient in their ministry. Leviticus 10:1-4 tells their story. "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp." How would you have wanted to be the ones to have to go in and get them out, knowing that God had already burned them for entering in unworthily?
Entering beyond the veil was only done with reverence, obedience and fear on behalf of the priests, for they knew that God is an “Awesome, Powerful, Holy God”. If they missed anything in their preparation, and took one step inside that Holy of Holies, it could be their last on this earth.
The veil hung from gold hooks supported by four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold anchored into four sockets of silver and it was as "skillfully woven" as man could make it. No doubt, the workers were given divine wisdom in the making of this beautiful veil, and according to all I have researched, it has never been duplicated.
The figures of the cherubim woven into the veil were images of angelic beings of the highest order. Their character, beauty, and power surpass human description. It was as if God had placed a continuous guard before the entrance saying, "This far, but no further!" The same creatures were placed at the entrance of the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were driven out to protect the tree of life.
Before this veil was ripped from top to bottom at the death of Jesus on the Cross, mankind had no direct access to God’s presence. In His death, Jesus brought forth resurrection of those who had died in faith, believing in Him as the Son of God, come to take away the sin of the world. He also created an “Open Door” into the very presence of God, so that we could go to Him at will, and not have to depend upon some human priest to go in for us. Now we all have direct access to the Throne of Grace when we are in need.
Matthew 27:50-53, "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."
Jesus’ death, and the tearing of the veil, took place at the 9th hour, or about 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon, at the time of the evening sacrifice. Hundreds of people were in the Temple area, and every eye witnessed this miraculous event.
I wonder what the priests, serving in the temple at that time must have thought as they watched an unseen hand, rip that mighty veil like it was a sheet of paper. The Holy of Holies was suddenly wide open and not one of them was struck dead.
When Jesus died on the cross, the veil in the Temple was 60 feet high and 30 feet wide. It was said to have been 4 inches thick. It was so heavy that the Jewish historian Josephus claimed that 300 priests were required to move it. He also says that 2 teams of oxen would not have been able to tear the veil. What man could never do, God did by His power!
In tearing that veil and removing it as a barrier into His presence, God proclaimed to the Jewish people and the world that the ministry of the Jewish priesthood had ended. No longer was a high priest needed to atone for sin. Jesus, the TRUE HIGH PRIEST, had opened the way for mankind to come into the presence of God through His atoning blood. The torn veil is symbolic of the torn body of Christ, who made it possible for us to worship at the very Throne of God!
Through His death, Jesus opened a way for man to have direct access to God. Although His sacrifice for our sins was once and for all performed almost 2,000 years ago, it never grows old but always seems fresh and recent for all who accept it. His shed blood provides continual cleansing to all who will trust in His blood to wash away their sin.
As Believer’s in Jesus Christ, we have a truly high and Wonderful Privilege that only Christians can enjoy. But before we can use that privilege of entering into God’s presence, we are to show our true commitment to the Lord by obedience to His Word.
First, we are to be cleansed for worship. Hebrews 10:20-22 says, "By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."
We are not to stand back, but we are to get closer to God. The Jews had to stand away from the Tabernacle, allowing priests to go into the presence of God, but now we can draw nearer to God and get as close as we want to. In fact, the closer we get to God, the more of His love, grace and beauty we will know. Four conditions must be met to draw near to God.
1) A True Heart - we are to come in purity of motives - not seeking His hand of provision, but HIS HEART of Love
2) With Full Assurance - we are to come with anticipation of appropriating all that God has promised to those who come before Him in right relationship.
3) Having our Hearts Sprinkled Clean From An Evil Conscience - we must be washed in the BLOOD.
4) Bodies Washed In pure water - we must be washed daily in the Word of God.
How can we enter the holy of holies with a pure conscience before God? We must experience the cleansing of Jesus through His blood, His Spirit and His word.
The second thing we must do to make use of our privileges in Jesus is that we are to give our confession before the world, telling everyone about Jesus. We are not to waver in our faith under persecution.
The third thing we must do is to teach and encourage others to a life of commitment to Christ as well. We are to continuously care for the spiritual welfare of fellow Christians, to help them to live lives of love and good works in their walk before the world and fellow believers. In love we are to stir up one another to exercise the spiritual gifts that have been given to us by the Holy Spirit.
Fourthly, in order to make full use of our privileges as Christians, we are exhorted not to forsake worshipping together with one another. We are not to abandon local church fellowships. Believers have the glorious privilege of approaching God directly. But many in the church have erected the veil of a cold commitment, faulty faith, lost love, slackness of service in God’s kingdom, or have forsaken fellowship with the family of God much of the time.
In 1896, Mr. Judson Van DeVenter, had erected a veil in his own life. He was cold in his spirit. But while singing in the choir during a revival in Sharon, Pennsylvania, he finally heard God calling Him back and responded. At an old fashioned altar, he committed his life anew to the Lord’s service. He forsook all and became an evangelist, ministering in America, England, and Scotland. Later on he wrote about his commitment, putting his confession into the lyrics of a song that says:
All to Jesus I surrender,
All To Him I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live
All To Jesus I surrender
Lord, I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Thy love and power
Let Thy blessing fall on me
That’s the kind of commitment that each of us must make before we can truly enter into the Throne Room of God boldly.
When the high priest of Israel entered behind the veil, he came into the very presence of God Himself. He looked in awe at the light of God’s glory. He trembled in fear and reverence at God’s awesome power and holiness. He quickly sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice and then had to quickly turn and leave. He was not allowed to go back in until the next year. He was allowed very little time, probably only about 3 to 5 minutes at most, in the Holy of Holies to do his duty. And I believe that the High Priest was quick to get out as soon as his duties were fulfilled. I doubt that any would linger in the presence of God’s power for long.
After all of the ceremony, all the sacrificing, the blood, the cleansing and preparation, the work in the Holy of Holies was over in a moment’s time. Then they had to wait for another year to pass before anyone could go in again. And even then the priest could never come before God without blood. No high priest could go into God’s presence when or how he wanted to, but only when and how God allowed him.
But when Jesus came in the flesh and gave His life for you and I, He forever tore down that veil of separation. He broke down all the barriers that stood between mankind and free access to the Father in Heaven.
Now, through the blood of Jesus, our Great High Priest, who has finished his work, one and for all, and has sat down at the Father’s right hand, we can come before God anytime!
Hebrews 4:14-16, "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
What a glorious privilege we have!
No longer is there a veil blocking our entrance into the presence of God. The way is made, the door is open, and we are encouraged, even commanded to march right into the presence of Almighty God and make our petitions known unto Him.
And, all of this is possible for us because Jesus made a way at Calvary so that we might get to God! We are made righteous and holy by Jesus’ blood. He is our advocate and our Savior. He is mighty God, and a risen Lord and He has made a way for me. AMEN
