“Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51)

The curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from sinners was sixty feet tall, thirty feet wide and four inches thick. It had multiple layers, making it almost impossible to accidentally see behind the veil. There’s a Jewish tradition that the once-a-year visit by the High Priest on Yom Kippur could end in God killing the priest. The priest prepared for this possibility by wearing bells and a rope. If the tinkling of the bells ceased, they used the rope to drag out the body. This tradition illustrates the dread of breaking any of God’s laws, and the fatal consequence of taking God for granted. If the High Priest omitted any of the cleansing ceremonies before going behind the veil, God would kill him. But Christ made it possible for any saint to enter the Holy of Holies anytime he desires (Hebrews 6:19-20).

Here’s when everything changed: “Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit ... the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:50-51). When Jesus died, the sacrifices were made obsolete, because the types of Christ were replaced with Christ Himself. Christ IS the mercy-seat, and you ARE the temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19).Christis a clear revelation of God, unlike "Moses, who put a veil over his face” (2 Corinthians 3:13). And now, “things kept secret from the foundation of the world” are available to every saint who “seeks first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 13:35, 6:33).

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens … we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).