The Torn Veil

“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:”Exodus 26:31 · KJV

“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.”Exodus 26:32 · KJV

“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.”Exodus 26:33 · KJV

A thick woven veil of blue, purple, and scarlet hung between the holy place and the holy of holies, and only the high priest passed it, once a year, with blood. It kept men out of the presence of God.

When Jesus died, “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom” (Matt 27:51). From the top: the direction no man could reach, torn downward by a hand above. Hebrews names what the veil was: “a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Heb 10:20). The veil was His body, and it tore when His body did. The way into the presence of God was closed by a curtain and opened by a corpse, from the top down.