Introduction

† Most Christians have been taught that the torn veil simply means we now have access to God. While that is certainly true, the Scriptures reveal something much greater. The veil represented the entire Old Covenant system that separated God's people from His immediate presence. When God tore the veil from top to bottom, He publicly declared that the Old Covenant order had reached its appointed end. Yet the temple continued standing until AD 70, revealing a covenant transition that the book of Hebrews carefully explains.

Exodus 26:31-33

You shall also make a veil of violet, purple, and scarlet material, and fine twisted linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skilled embroiderer. Then you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks also of gold, on four bases of silver. You shall hang up the veil under the clasps, and bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the veil shall serve as a partition for you between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.

† The veil was God's appointed barrier separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. (Exodus 26:33)

† Under the Old Covenant, access into God's immediate presence was restricted to the high priest, and only once each year. (Leviticus 16:2, 29-34)

† The veil continually reminded Israel that the way into God's presence had not yet been fully revealed. (Hebrews 9:6-8)

This shows exactly why the veil existed.
Leviticus 16:2

The Lord said to Moses:

Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the atoning cover which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the atoning cover.

† God warned that no one could freely pass beyond the veil because His holy presence dwelt above the mercy seat. (Leviticus 16:2; Exodus 26:33)

† The veil reminded Israel that sin still separated mankind from God's immediate presence under the Old Covenant. (Hebrews 9:7-8)

Matthew 27:50-51

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.

† God tore the veil from top to bottom, showing that this was His work, not man's. (Matthew 27:51)

† The tearing of the veil declared that Christ's sacrifice had accomplished what the animal sacrifices never could. (Hebrews 10:11-14)

† The veil's destruction announced that the Old Covenant priestly system had reached its fulfillment in Christ. (Hebrews 9:11-12)

Jesus had already pronounced judgment on the temple
Matthew 23:38

Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

† Before the veil was torn, Jesus had already declared that the temple was no longer God's house but "your house." (Matthew 23:38)

† The torn veil visibly confirmed what Jesus had already announced concerning the temple's coming desolation. (Matthew 23:38; Matthew 27:51)

Hebrews 9:6-10

Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food, drink, and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.

† Hebrews explains the meaning of the veil better than any other passage in Scripture. (Hebrews 9:8)

† As long as the first tabernacle remained standing, it testified that the Old Covenant order was still present. (Hebrews 9:8-10)

† The torn veil announced the arrival of the promised reformation through Christ, even while the physical temple still stood during the transition period. (Hebrews 8:13; Hebrews 9:10)

† Notice that the Holy Spirit said the way into the Holy Place had not yet been made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. This explains why Hebrews could be written after the cross while the temple was still functioning. The torn veil announced the end, while AD 70 completed the transition. (Hebrews 9:8; Hebrews 8:13; Luke 21:20-22)

Hebrews 8:13

When He said, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear.

† Hebrews was written while the temple still stood, showing that the Old Covenant was becoming obsolete but had not yet completely vanished. (Hebrews 8:13)

† This explains why the veil could be torn while the temple itself remained standing for a short time longer. (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 8:13)

† The complete removal of the Old Covenant system came with the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in AD 70, exactly as Jesus foretold. (Matthew 24:1-2; Luke 21:20-22)

† The torn veil wasn't the final act. Jesus also foretold that not one stone of the temple would remain upon another. (Matthew 24:1-2)

† AD 70 completed what the torn veil had already declared. (Luke 21:20-22)

Hebrews 10:19-22

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let's approach God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

† Christ Himself became the new and living way into God's presence. (Hebrews 10:19-20)

† The writer identifies the true veil with Christ's flesh, showing that everything the temple foreshadowed found its fulfillment in Him. (John 2:19-21; Hebrews 10:20)

† Believers no longer approach God through an earthly priesthood or temple but through the finished work of Christ. (Ephesians 2:18; 1 Timothy 2:5)

John 2:19-21

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and yet You will raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking about the temple of His body.

† Even before His crucifixion, Jesus declared that He Himself was the true temple. (John 2:19-21)

† The torn veil pointed away from the earthly sanctuary and toward Christ as the fulfillment of everything the temple represented. (Hebrews 10:20; John 2:21)

Ephesians 2:18-22

for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

† The true temple is no longer a building made with hands but God's people joined together in Christ. (Ephesians 2:21-22)

† The torn veil pointed beyond the earthly temple to the greater reality of God's New Covenant dwelling place. (Acts 7:48-50; Ephesians 2:21-22)

† What the veil once concealed is now fully revealed in Christ and His body. (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:19-22)

† Stephen declared that the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands. (Acts 7:48-50)

† His words confirmed that God's dwelling was never intended to remain confined to an earthly building. (Isaiah 66:1-2; Acts 7:48-50)

Historical References

† The Jewish historian Josephus records that the temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, bringing the Old Covenant temple system to its complete historical end.

† The writer of Hebrews described the first covenant as becoming obsolete while the temple was still standing, confirming a first-century transition from shadow to reality. (Hebrews 8:13; Hebrews 9:8-10)

How It Applies To Us Today

† We don't seek God through an earthly temple because Christ fulfilled everything the temple and its veil foreshadowed. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

† Our confidence rests entirely in Christ's finished work, not in earthly rituals, sacrifices, or priesthood. (Hebrews 9:11-12; Ephesians 2:18)

† The torn veil reminds us that God has fulfilled His promise to dwell with His people through Christ under the New Covenant. (Ephesians 2:21-22; Revelation 21:2-3)

† John's vision reaches the same conclusion as Hebrews. No temple remains because God and the Lamb are now the true temple of His people. (Revelation 21:22; Ephesians 2:21-22)

Q & A Appendix

Q: Why was the veil torn from top to bottom?

A: God tore the veil to declare that Christ had fulfilled the Old Covenant sacrificial system and opened the new and living way into His presence. (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19-20)

Q: If the veil was torn at the cross, why did the temple remain standing?

A: Hebrews explains that the Old Covenant was becoming obsolete and ready to vanish away, with its complete historical end occurring in the destruction of the temple in AD 70. (Hebrews 8:13; Luke 21:20-22)

Q: What is God's temple today?

A: God's people are His spiritual temple, built together in Christ as His dwelling place. (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5)

Q: Did God tear the veil or did man?

A: God tore the veil from top to bottom, showing that the Old Covenant system was brought to its fulfillment by His work through Christ, not by man's efforts. (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19-20)

Q: Why did God leave the temple standing after the veil was torn?

A: The torn veil announced the end of the Old Covenant, but Hebrews explains that the first covenant was becoming obsolete and ready to vanish away. The destruction of the temple in AD 70 completed that covenant transition. (Hebrews 8:13; Hebrews 9:8-10; Luke 21:20-22)

Q: Did the torn veil mean the temple no longer had God's approval?

A: Yes. Jesus had already declared, "Your house is left unto you desolate." The torn veil confirmed that the earthly temple had fulfilled its purpose in God's redemptive plan. (Matthew 23:38; Matthew 27:51)

Q: What did the veil separate?

A: The veil separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, allowing only the high priest to enter God's presence once each year. (Exodus 26:33; Leviticus 16:2; Hebrews 9:6-8)

Q: Why does Hebrews still speak of the tabernacle standing after Christ's death?

A: Hebrews was written while the temple was still standing, during the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The temple's destruction in AD 70 brought that transition to its historical completion. (Hebrews 8:13; Hebrews 9:8-10; Matthew 24:1-2)

Q: What is God's temple today?

A: God's people are His holy temple, built together in Christ as His dwelling place through the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5)

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †

© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index

† Exodus 26:31-33, Matthew 27:50-51, Hebrews 9:6-10, Hebrews 8:13, Hebrews 10:19-22, Ephesians 2:18-22

† Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book 6