God's Work with Planet Earth

This is an interesting concept because it represents the separation between God and humans, caused by sin. It’s another one of those physical symbols for a spiritual reality which keep showing up in the Bible.

• Why isn’t God more obvious?
• Why don’t we see angels?

The Bible talks about the veil in both physical and spiritual ways, and as a personal thing, but also as a national and global thing. Where to start? Let’s start with the Apostle Paul’s personal take.

A Veil over minds and hearts

“But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” 2 Corinthians 3:14-16

What does this tell us? Context: Verse 13 mentions Israelites in the desert before they got to the Promised Land. Verse 14 says their minds (in the time after Jesus came) were still blinded when they read scripture. Why? Because there were over 300 prophetic details about the Messiah in the Old Testament that Jesus fulfilled, and they missed all of them. Still blind “because the veil is taken away in Christ”, and they rejected Christ.

“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you…” Isaiah 59:2

A Veil in the Tabernacle/Temple

But when someone turns to Christ, “the veil is taken away”. He’s talking about spiritual understanding, but something fascinating and very physical happened when Jesus died on the cross.

“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; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,” Matthew 27:50-51

This veil in the temple was no flimsy curtain, like they use for privacy in medical facilities. It was at least 4 inches thick, and 60 feet tall! No human could rip or even cut that veil in the way described.

What was behind that veil? The presence of God. And what does it mean that the massive curtain was ripped open between the Holy and Most Holy places of the Temple? Jesus took a massive step in the reconciliation between God and humans. Because of this, we read:

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.” Hebrews 10:19-20, NLT

We should remember that the sanctuary God instructed Moses to build in the Sinai Desert represented the original sanctuary in Heaven, God’s throne room of the Universe.

Reconciliation

Moses asked God “Please show me Your glory”, and part of God’s response clues us in to something:

“But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” Exodus 33:20

Why could Moses not see God face to face? Here are some clues:

“For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29

“…God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” 2 Thessalonians 2:8

There’s something about the glory and holiness of the presence of God that either consumes sin, or refines a humble heart. Sin may have separated humans from God, but we have some very encouraging promises in the Bible that this will not always be the case.

“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 John 3:1

“no man shall see Me and live” versus “we shall see Him as He is”. Bible contradiction? No, the difference is timing. We don’t know what it means to be a glorified human, but we know that we’ll be able to stand in God’s presence. Why? Because we will “be like Him”. When? “when He is revealed”. This is talking about the second coming of Jesus.

The Veil on a Global Scale

With the concept of a separating veil in mind, I can’t even imagine what these next verses describe, but it will be mind blowing!

“And He will destroy on this mountain the surface of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations.” Isaiah 25:7

Jesus described His second coming like this:

“For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.” Matthew 24:27

Read these related passages with that context in mind:

“All the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled up like a scroll; All their host shall fall down…” Isaiah 34:4

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise…” 2 Peter 3:10

“Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up…” Revelation 6:14

All of this together tells us that the veil between us and God and angels will be ripped away when Jesus returns as the King of kings, whether people are ready or not. This is one reason God is waiting, to give as many people a chance to come to Him as possible, so they can be prepared spiritually for that day.

In the Meantime

What about now? God’s relationship with us is spiritual rather than face to face. So how can I communicate with my Creator? There is a method of two-way communication He has provided.

• We can hear from God any time we want by reading the Bible. He spent thousands of years inspiring, preserving, and distributing it so that we would have it available in these last days.
• We can talk to God directly in prayer at any moment.

If we can hear from God, to understand more of Him, and talk to Him, doesn’t that constitute two-way communication? It might seem simplistic, but in my experience it’s quite powerful and life changing!