In my earlier years of reading the Bible, I remember considering the detailed information contained in the text to be a mild point of frustration, it often slowed my pace in getting to what I thought was more important; while I still recognised that there must be value in it, I had no interest in studying to find it. I usually depended on the exegesis of others rather than using time to find it myself. I’ve found more recently that although there’s plenty to learn from others research through God granted understanding, the more I apply time to study, the more I learn and desire to study, because God grants appreciation and understanding, to all who come to Him seeking greater revelation of the treasures of His Word, in the easier found portions, and in the detail.

In a Bible study evening progressing through Luke, we’d all been given questions to study and answer for the next week, mine was “What did the curtain in the temple represent?“. After some study, I came to the conclusion that the curtain was representative of Christ. As with many matters of scripture, there are various perspectives to consider. The writer of the study asked the question based on Luke 23:45, with suggested reading from Genesis 3:23-24, and Exodus 26:30-34:

“The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.”

Luke 23:45 

23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life..

Genesis 3:23-24

30 And you shall raise up the tabernacle (Mishkan H4908: dwelling place) according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain. 31 “You shall make a veil woven of blue, purple, and scarlet thread, and fine twisted linen. It shall be woven with an artistic design of cherubim. 32 You shall hang it upon the four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold. Their hooks shall be gold, upon four sockets of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps. Then you shall bring the ark of the Testimony in there, behind the veil. The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy. 34 You shall put the mercy seat upon the ark of the Testimony in the Most Holy

Exodus 26:30-34

In Exodus 26, the Tabernacle veil, is described as being the same as the Temple veil of 2 Chronicles 3:

And he made the veil of blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen, and wove cherubim into it.

2 Chronicles 3:14

Distinction of the curtain from other similar objects.

The curtain/veil was made to specific instructions for materials and colours, but these instructions were also similar to those given for various tabernacle objects including:

I don’t think all the other similarly designed objects in the tabernacle and temple, are specifically representative of Christ, although they have aspects of their material and design which characteristically represent Christ.

I see two points being indicative of the veil being specifically representative of Christ.

  • Barrier:
    • The veil was a barrier to entering the Most Holy Place where God appeared in the cloud above the mercy seat: Exodus 26:33, “…The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.”
      Leviticus 16:2 “and the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die; for I will appear in the cloud above the mercy seat.”
    • Christ is the barrier between man and God, for anyone who is not chosen*: (*Matthew 22:14)
      1 Corinthians 1:23, “but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,      “
      Matthew 11:27: “…no one knows the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.“
  • Access:
    • The veil was the only physical access to God’s presence in the Most Holy Place:
      Access: Exodus 26:33, “…The veil shall be a divider for you between the holy place and the Most Holy.”
      God’s presence: 1 Chronicles 17:5 “ For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I led up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from dwelling to dwelling.“
    • Christ is the only Way, no one can go to The Father except through Him:
      John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”
    • Christians have confidence to approach God, by the blood of Jesus through the veil of His body:

Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

Hebrews 10:19-20

Considering some of the description:

  • Blue: Just as the clear sky above earth is blue from an earthly viewpoint, the colour blue is relative to expressing heavenly origin:
    • Exodus 24:10 “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.“,
    • and Ezekiel 10:1 “Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne.“.
    • The Morrish dictionary describes sapphire as being symbolic of heavenly glory, they are most often blue in colour.
  • Purple: Expressive of royalty, sovereignty.
    • Excerpt from the Morrish dictionary:
      A colour often mentioned with blue and scarlet in connection with the tabernacle. Ex. 25:4, etc. Among the spoils taken from the Midianites under Gideon was “purple raiment that was on the kings,” and it is used as a symbol of royalty. Judges 8:26. In derision the soldiers put a crown of thorns and a ‘purple’ robe on the Lord, as king of the Jews. Mark 15:17, 20; John 19:2, 5. The rich man in Luke 16:19 was clothed in purple; and papal Rome is seen as a woman clothed in purple and scarlet, royalty and splendour. Rev. 17:4; Rev. 18:12, 16.
  • Scarlet: The blood of Christ that redeems the children of God.
    • Romans 5:9 “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.“
    • Hebrews 9:12 “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.“
    • Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.“
    • Hebrews 13:12 “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.“
  • Fine twisted linen: Christ’s righteousness: the saints are clothed in His righteousness, not our own “righteousness” which are described in Isaiah 64:6, as “filthy rags“.
    • Revelation 19:8 “She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.” For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.”
    • 1 Corinthians 1:30 “It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.”
    • Isaiah 61:10 “I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.“
    • Philippians 1:11 ” being filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.“
  • Cherubim: The first mention of cherubim (kerub H3742), is in Genesis 3, as quoted earlier.
    • They were visible on the veil, to those who served in the Holy Place, as well as being represented within the The Most Holy Place. They’re employed as servants of God in delivering God’s government to mankind, such as in:
      • 2 Samuel 22:11: “He rode upon a cherub, and flew; And He was seen upon the wings of the wind.“
      • Psalm 18:10: “And He rode upon a cherub, and flew; He flew upon the wings of the wind.“
      • Ezekiel 1:11 “Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. 12 And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.“
      • Ezekiel 10:19 “And the cherubim lifted their wings and mounted up from the earth in my sight. When they went out, the wheels were beside them; and they stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.“
      • Ezekiel 11:22 “So the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was high above them.“
      • Genesis 3:24: “and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, ” Their responsibility was to keep man from taking the fruit of the tree of life, so that he wouldn’t live forever in his fallen state. v22 “…And now, lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever…” .
    • I expect their visible representation on the curtain provoked a reverent fear, in the knowledge of God’s power to dispense penalty, as well as them expressing His amazing love in keeping us from our own foolish ignorance, and the possibility of us suffering from the result of our lack of self discipline, as had already happened in the garden. How blessed we are that God hasn’t changed; His providence will complete the work which He’s begun in us. When we approach God in prayer, our words are subject to reverent fear of God, as well as our hope resting in the knowledge of His great love and power to help.
  • The Veil/Curtain:
    • Leading up to the time of the temple curtain being torn, the last words of Christ are recorded in the gospels as follows:
      • Matthew 27:50-51
        And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
        Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom;…
      • Mark 15:37-38
        And Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and breathed His last.
        Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
      • Luke 23:45-46
        The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.
      • John 19:30
        So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
      • It seems to me that the sequence of events was possibly as follows, but taking into account Lukes words in Luke 1:1-3, I can only say possibly:
        Christ received the sour wine, then said “It is finished!,” And bowing His head He said “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.”, Having said this, He breathed His last. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
    • There are many observations to the glory of God, that could be expressed by many, from reading these verses; Some that come to my mind, are the earlier words of Christ recorded in John 10:17-18 “My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” The process of killing by crucifixion, usually included breaking the legs with a club, so as to cause suffocation from inability to keep oneself propped up from the feet, which were supported by some means likely to be such as nails, rope or platform. But Christ gave Himself to be crucified at the time appointed by God, as described in John 7:6 “Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.“, and in John 19:10-11 “Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” 11 Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”.
      and He gave up His Spirit of His own decision, according to The Father’s will, not man’s.
    • The Words “It is finished” have depth of application that traverses time, eternally affecting reconciliation of man to God, for possibly hundreds of millions of people from Adam to the last Saint yet to be saved. Among other things, the tearing of the temple veil confirmed that the end of the first covenant was accomplished by God from heaven, not by man from earth. The old covenant was finished and we can now approach God directly, individually, through the new covenant in Christ’s blood instead of through an earthly priest using the blood of bulls and goats… We don’t rely on an earthly priest, but fully on Christ our priest, who intercedes on our behalf to The Father.
      • John 16:23 “In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. Truly, truly, I tell you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.” 
      • Hebrews 8:1 The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
      • Hebrews 9:11 “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation.“

May God grant us through Christ Jesus, to live in greater fulness of service to Himself.

APO28-July-2021