Ripping the Veil in Two

It's been almost seventeen years since I stood at the back of the church sanctuary in my white satin gown and looked through the gauzy layers of my veil toward the front of the church where my soon-to-be husband stood waiting, looking just a bit nervous in his rented tux. 

The first notes of the Trumpet Voluntary began, and I stepped toward my chosen one, one hand tucked securely under my dad's elbow, the other gripping the waxy stem of my bouquet of flowers. Weirdly, I remember my dress was just a bit too long; I kept stepping on the hem of it as we progressed down the aisle, and I wished I had worn a slightly higher heel to help the situation, so I wouldn't trip and take my dad down with me.

Can't you just picture that. ;)

We reached the front, the music stilled, and our minister asked in a clear voice: "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

My dad announced: "Her mother and I do," and with that, he lifted my veil. He gave me a peck on the cheek and pivoted to join my mom on the front row as I turned to face the man I'd chosen to marry. No more gauzy whiteness; now I could see his face clearly. The veil was lifted.

Yesterday, in Exodus 25, we read all about some of the sacred elements that were to be made and placed in the Tabernacle; today in Exodus 26, we read about the construction of the Tabernacle itself, all its cubits and lengths, frames, bases, rings, curtains, and fittings. 

Last night, in our small group that met on Zoom, we were talking about Leviticus, Numbers, Job, a few of the Old Testament books that are just sometimes a real struggle to make it through. Normally, I'd place chapters like Exodus 25-26 in that category, but again today, the Lord showed me something new and exciting. I think it's really cool how He does that -- how He takes dusty, dry passages and breathes life into them, because, y'all, He's the Originator of life from dust! Prophesy to the bones! (an Ezekiel 37 reference.)

After a chapter of lengths and cubits and fittings, I reached Exodus 26:31-35: "Make a curtain of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen, with cherubim worked into it by a skilled craftsman. Hang it with gold hooks on four posts of acacia wood overlaid with gold and standing on four silver bases. Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the Ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Put the atonement cover on the Ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy Place. Place the table outside the curtain on the north side of the Tabernacle and put the lampstand opposite it on the south side."

Place the Ark of the Testimony behind the curtain. 

Note: God has just created His throne room. Flip back to Exodus 25, where the Lord gives Moses His instructions for crafting the Ark and its atonement cover. He says: "There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the Ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites" (Exodus 25:22).

So now this atonement cover, the mercy seat of God, is placed behind this curtain made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn -- which colors symbolize royalty. This is also awesome: Did you know that the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, means "Land of Purple," and that it is later called Phoenicia by the Greeks, which means the same thing? The Israelites are heading to the Land of Purple, to the Promised Land. There's so much wrapped up in that.

Cherubim are worked into the weaving of this curtain -- either embroidered or woven in -- and these cherubim are also a symbol of royalty. "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God..." (1 Peter 2:9) Chosen. Royal. Holy. Belonging. Mind blown.

In other words, this veil that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place is a curtain that carries a great deal of symbolism and is not your run-of-the mill bedsheet. The thread count of this curtain would be astronomical. It serves as a barrier, a keeper-outer of anything that is not fit to enter the very Presence of God Himself. 

One other thing I noted: in all the measurements and fittings, this throne room is a perfect cube: 10 cubits by 10 cubits by 10 cubits (15' x 15' x 15'). That's important, and I'll come back to it in a second.

Next, turn with me to Matthew 27:50-51: "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He gave up His Spirit. At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."

So this same curtain, this embroidered and woven curtain, this cherubim encrusted curtain, this blue, purple, and scarlet curtain, this curtain that symbolizes separation between the world and the very throne room of God... rips in two. It rips from the top to the bottom, from heaven to earth (not the other way around). It rips at the exact moment that the Son of God gave His ultimate sacrifice of death on the cross for us, in our place.

Can I get an Amen!

And maybe a Hallelujah!!

Whew!

Now Colossians 3:3-4 says: "For you died..." That is, your souls, y'all, they were dead. They were buried in sin. They were DOA (dead on arrival). But Christ. "For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Your life is His. He paid the highest price, He paid the ransom, caused by sin, to redeem us from that sin, and when He did, the veil separated, ripped. "When Christ, Who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

Without Him, we're nothing. Without Him, there is no life, no glory. With Him, we have eternal life.

I know I'm preaching to the choir, but y'all, this is amazing news. This is the the greatest story!

Now Revelation 21, and this is sooo cool! Just read it with me for a second: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. [No more separation, you guys!] He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." 

And then, in Revelation 21:15, "The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates, and its walls. The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia in length (1,400 miles), and as wide and high as it was long." 

In other words, the city of God, the new Jerusalem, the place of eternity where God will wipe every tear from the eyes of those who are redeemed through the sacrifice of the Lamb on the cross...

Is a perfect cube.

Where the Most Holy Place was 10 cubits square, the Holy City is 12,000 stadia square. 

Doesn't God always, always redeem the picture? He gives us what we have, and then He bookends it with perfection on the other side. 

The bride of Christ sees through the gauzy veil for a while until the end when we turn to meet our Bridegroom, and the veil is removed. 

The picture... is redeemed. The thing that separates us from Him -- imperfection -- is gone, and we see Him in His glory, clearly, at the end of time.

I think that's pretty awesome.