 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 "And
you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia overlaid with gold, their hooks {also being
of} gold, on four sockets of silver. EXO 26:33 "And you shall hang up the veil under
the clasps, and shall bring in the ark of the testimony there within the veil; and the
veil shall serve for you as a partition between the holy place and the holy of holies. EXO
36:35 Moreover, he made the veil of blue and purple and scarlet {material,} and fine
twisted linen; he made it with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman. EXO 36:36 And he
made four pillars of acacia for it, and overlaid them with gold, with their hooks of gold;
and he cast four sockets of silver for them. EXO 35:12 the ark and its poles, the mercy
seat, and the curtain of the screen; EXO 39:34 and the covering of rams' skins dyed red,
and the covering of porpoise skins, and the screening veil; EXO 40:21 And he brought the
ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil for the screen, and screened off the ark of the
testimony, just as the \Lord\ had commanded Moses. NUM 4:5 "When the camp sets out,
Aaron and his sons shall go in and they shall take down the veil of the screen and cover
the ark of the testimony with it; NUM 4:6 and they shall lay a covering of porpoise skin
on it, and shall spread over {it} a cloth of pure blue, and shall insert its poles. 2CH
3:14 And he made the veil of violet, purple, crimson and fine linen, and he worked
cherubim on it. 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. HEB 9:3 And behind the second veil, there was a tabernacle which is called
the Holy of Holies, 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, MAR 15:37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and
breathed His last. MAR 15:38 And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to
bottom. LUK 23:44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole
land until the ninth hour, LUK 23:45 the sun being obscured; and the veil of the temple
was torn in two. LUK 23:46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father,
into Thy hands I commit My spirit." And having said this, He breathed His last. 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, MAT 27:52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of
the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; MAT 27:53 and coming out of the tombs after
His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. This is all the
scriptures that we have to interpret the 3rd veil, however, we can associate the death of
Christ with the torn veil. We can understand that there was no access into the Holiest
under the Old Covenant. From the little information that we have we know that now the New
Testament believer, who has overcome, has the hope of entering within the veil. We can
discern that the end of the race that is set before us is beyond the third veil. We also
can gather that the throne of God is beyond the veil and is the only seat in the
Tabernacle. All the Old Covenant priests had to stand but our High Priest has taken His
seat. This veil was used to cover the Ark when the Tabernacle was taken down for
traveling. The Ark was hidden under yet two other veils when taken out in the view of the
people. The Ark is a type of Jesus Christ. REV 11:18 "And the nations were enraged,
and Thy wrath came, and the time {came} for the dead to be judged, and {the time} to give
their reward to Thy bond-servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy
name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth." REV 11:19
And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared
in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an
earthquake and a great hailstorm. The Ark was covered with the 3rd veil, then with a skin
covering and then with a blue cloth. If we used Isaiah 53:2-3 to speak of this Ark, we
would see how the Ark (Christ) appeared to men. ISA 53:2 For He grew up before Him like a
tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no {stately} form or majesty
That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. ISA 53:3
He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; And like
one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. The Ark
appeared among His people under several veils that obscured His great Majesty. The Ark of
the Covenant was covered over by a life laid down and with some kind of common skin they
can't identify. The appearance didn't attract anyone to Him. No one could come unless the
Father drew them. Still He was the Word of God become flesh . The heavenly and eternal Son
of God. The blue or purple covering depicting a heavenly being. With this amount of
information we can determine the goal of the Christian Life. We can see how Christ ran His
race and we can determine how we must also run. He was the forerunner for us. He was the
first runner but many will run later. 1CO 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a
race all run, but {only} one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 1CO
9:25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They
then {do it} to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 1CO 9:26 Therefore I
run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 1CO
9:27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to
others, I myself should be disqualified. It is very naive to teach that since Jesus has
entered in beyond the veil, all we need to do is wander in and sit upon His throne, with
no preparation and no cost. It is certainly true that the 3rd veil is torn and open for us
but the 2nd veil is still intact. This veil speaks to us of the reality of experiential
truth.
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