THE
THIRD VEIL --- LIFE
JOH 14:6 Jesus *said to him, "I am the way, and the truth,
and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. We could say that there are
three steps in our approach unto God, the Father. Each one is speaking of Jesus and each
one is Jesus. God has provided no way to the Father except through Jesus. In the
Tabernacle of Moses there are three separate veils or barriers between those who live in
the tents, various tribes, and The Presence at the Ark of the Covenant. The first veil or
"gate" represents Jesus the Way. There is only one entrance and that one is
Jesus. No one can begin their approach to God, the Father except through Jesus, the Way.
This is well preached. The next barrier is the second veil or the "doorway" to
the tent of meeting. We have glanced at that veil in another study. This entrance is
through Jesus, the Truth. The Word of God is Truth and Jesus is the Word of God. His name
is The Word of God. REV 19:13 And {He is} clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and His
name is called The Word of God. See study on "THE PROBLEMS OF THE SECOND VEIL"
Jesus Christ is also THE LIFE. 1JO 5:12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not
have the Son of God does not have the life. JOH 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the
light of men. JOH 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he
who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, JOH 6:35 Jesus said to them, "I am the
bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never
thirst. 1JO 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with
our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life-- 1JO 1:2 and
The Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you The Eternal
Life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- The last barrier or veil
between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place is Jesus The Life. Under the Old Covenant
there was no access through this veil. HEB 9:6 Now when these things have been thus
prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle, performing the divine
worship, HEB 9:7 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. HEB 9:8 The Holy Spirit {is} signifying this, that the way into
the holy place ( The Most Holy Place) has not yet been disclosed, while the outer
tabernacle is still standing,--. Since only the High Priest could enter, and that only
once a year, and not without taking blood for his own sins, this indicates that there was
really "no entrance" under the First Covenant. When Jesus was crucified this
veil was torn from top to bottom. Top to bottom suggests that it was torn by God and not
an accident. This confirms that it was God's will for His priests to have access into the
Holiest but the Perfect Sacrifice must first be offered. MAT 27:50 And Jesus cried out
again with a loud voice, and yielded up {His} spirit. MAT 27:51 And behold, the veil of
the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were
split, It was precisely when Jesus gave up His Life on the cross that the veil was torn.
HEB 10:19 Since therefore, brethren, we have "confidence" * to enter the holy
place by the blood of Jesus, HEB 10:20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us
through the veil, that is, His flesh, HEB 10:21 and since {we have} a great priest over
the house of God, HEB 10:22 let us draw near 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. *The word translated "confidence" is "parresia" and
means freedom of speech or a boldness to speak. It doesn't imply that we can just wander
from the Altar to the Ark of the Covenant anytime we please but we do have access to speak
to the Father by the blood of Jesus. Those who "overcome" actually have access
into the eternal realms of God's presence. There are two words in the original Greek that
are translated as "life" in English. The common word is psuche and refers to
human life. This is translated many times as "soul". The other word that is
translated as "life" is zoe. While this word is where we get the word zoo, the
Bible uses it to speak of the highest life. Zoe is translated as eternal life and the life
of God. In order to contrast the difference, we can see the two words in the same verse.
JOH 12:25 "He who loves his life (psuche) loses it; and he who hates his life
(psuche) in this world shall keep it to life (zoe) eternal. He who loves his natural life
(the soul life) shall lose it. He who lays the natural down will find eternal life (zoe).
Zoe is used 120 times in the New Testament to speak of the higher life. Psuche is the word
we get psychology from. Psychology is the study of the soul. It deals with those things
that we lay down in order to gain life eternal. The Tree of Life, the Crown of Life, the
book of Life, the Spirit of Life, the water of Life, and the Word of Life all use the word
"ZOE". JOH 10:11 "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His
life (psuche) for the sheep. JOH 10:15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father;
and I lay down My life (psuche) for the sheep. It was Jesus' soul life that He laid down
and not spiritual Life. Once we receive eternal life, we do not give that up because it is
the Life of God. We may lay down our human, natural life in order to find ( the reality
of) eternal Life. This eternal Life (zoe) is in His Son, Jesus Christ. 1JO 5:12 He who has
the Son has the life(zoe); he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life
(zoe). COL 3:3 For you have died and your life (zoe) is hidden with Christ in God. COL 3:4
When Christ, who is our life (zoe), is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him
in glory. The third veil is the veil of ZOE (Life). When Jesus laid down His psuche the
veil was torn from top to bottom. This shows the action was from God's initiative. God
tore the veil and opened it up that the man Christ Jesus had free access to the throne of
God. The incredible fact is that the veil is now open for us also. HEB 6:19 This hope we
have as an anchor of the soul, a {hope} both sure and steadfast and one which enters
within the veil, HEB 6:20 where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a
high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. A "forerunner"
suggests that there are other runners in the same race with the same goal. The
consecration offering is our commitment to a life (psuche) laid down to do the whole will
of God. Our plans and ambitions are put on the altar in order to do the will of God. The
consecration has both a commitment and a fulfillment. We commit and God requires the
experience of a life laid down for the fulfillment. Not only was Jesus' flesh torn at the
third veil but our flesh must be experientially torn also. Flesh and the (psuche) soul
life are intricately linked together. If you save your flesh life (psuche) you lose the
spiritual Life (zoe). Even though we may feel that our "life" (zoe) may not be
sufficient or our "life" (psuche) may be in full control, we still have a hope
that enters within the veil where Jesus has already entered. Jesus is the "way".
We still have the freedom of speech and the boldness to ask God to work His perfect work
in us. Jesus is the path, the road, the means of access to the Father. He is the truth
which is "the reality". Jesus is the experiential truth and not just a doctrinal
truth. He is WAY and the TRUTH of God, manifested in reality. Jesus is also the
"Life". He imparts His LIFE and requires that we lay down our life so that His
"LIFE" is manifested in reality. It is in His "LIFE" that we have
access to the presence of God and not in our psuche life. If the scriptures didn't focus
upon the fact that this 3rd veil was torn when Jesus died on Calvary we would have very
little information concerning this veil. The Old Testament is not much help in
interpreting this curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. EXO 26:31
"And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet {material} and fine twisted
linen; it shall be made with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. EXO 26:32 |