Martin Prins

“I-I-I don’t know,” I answered, “Nobody knows.”

“I do,” she said confidently. "Sixteen years ago, I came to know the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior and I received eternal life.” She then got out her Dutch Bible. Together we read...

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Jesus Tomb

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Sunday School Teachers Newsletter

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Sarah Stickfort

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Larry Perkins

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 Dennis Stickfort

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Why was the veil of the temple torn in the middle when Jesus died?

The tearing, or rending, of the temple veil when Jesus died on the cross was a strong symbolic act of God.  The rent veil shows physically that a believer's access to God is open through the value of the work of Christ.

Matthew 27:50-51" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 27:50-51 is the Bible reference that tells about the veil of the temple being torn:

(50)  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
(51)  And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

What was the Temple and its significance?

For centuries the temple was the central point of Old Testament Jewish worship. Many chapters from the books of Exodus and Leviticus give great detail as to how sacrifices were to be conducted, how the priests were to act and dress and what days were to be celebrated.  All of this ceremony centered first on Moses' Tabernacle that was carried through the wilderness journeys and then was reconstructed on even a grander scale in the building of Solomon's Temple.  The central point of the Temple was the innermost room, called the Holiest of Holies, which was hidden by the heavy Veil of the Temple.  Here the Ark of the Covenant was housed.  Only once a year a single priest was permitted to enter to atone for the sins of the people.  The Shekinah Glory of the presence of God filled the room with unapproachable light.

Hebrews 9:1-9" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 9:1-9 gives the New Testament commentary on the innermost sanctuary…

Hebrews 9:1-9" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 9:1-9

(1)  Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.
(2)  For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.
(3)  Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place,
(4)  having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
(5)  Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
(6)  These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,
(7)  but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.
(8)  By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing
(9)  (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,

Leviticus 16:11-19" TARGET="_blank">Leviticus 16:11-19 tells of the annual ceremony that was conducted inside the veil.

(11)  "Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself.
(12)  And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil
(13)  and put the incense on the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die.
(14)  And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.
(15)  "Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.
(16)  Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.
(17)  No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel.
(18)  Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around.
(19)  And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel.

How big was the veil?

The veil was an immense piece of heavy cloth.  Accoring to 1 Kings 6:2" TARGET="_blank">1 Kings 6:2  "The house that King Solomon built for the LORD was sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high."  Thirty cubits high would make the veil about 45 feet tall. 

The Jewish historian Josephus claimed that the temple height was raised to 40 cubits (60 feet) tall.  Alfred Edersheim, in his book, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah tells about its thickness.   "The Veils before the Most Holy Place were 40 cubits (60 feet) long, and 20 (30 feet) wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand, and wrought in 72 squares, which were joined together; and these Veils were so heavy, that, in the exaggerated language of the time, it needed 300 priests to manipulate each."

There is also an apparently false reference in the Ryrie Study Bible in Exodus 26:31-35" TARGET="_blank">Exodus 26:31-35 about what Josephus claimed about the veil.  “Josephus reported that the veil was 4 inches thick, was renewed every year, and that horses tied to each side could not pull it apart." But no such reference can be found in Josephus' writings (see Josephus Wars 5.5.4 for Josephus' original description of the veil).

What is the symbolism of the torn veil?

When the veil was torn open, at least three teachings of Christ became evidently clear. 

First, the atonement ceremony that the priest had to perform once a year was shown to be obsolete.  The sacrifice and shed blood of Christ provided a new way into the holiest of all. 

Hebrews 10:19-22" TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 10:19-22

(19)  Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus,
(20)  by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
(21)  and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
(22)  let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

The famous quote from Jesus in John 14" TARGET="_blank">John 14 is a reference to our ability to speak directly to our heavenly Father. John 14:6" TARGET="_blank">John 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Second, the pathway into the very presence of God is opened once and for all for both Jews and Gentiles. The Temple was strictly off limits to any Gentile worshipers ever since its grand opening.  But the death of Christ created a new unity between the two groups as stated here in Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:11-22" TARGET="_blank">Ephesians 2:11-22

(11)  Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands--
(12)  remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
(13)  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
(14)  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
(15)  by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
(16)  and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
(17)  And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
(18)  For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
(19)  So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
(20)  built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
(21)  in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
(22)  In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Third, the opening of the Holiest of All revealed to the priests and to the whole world that the Shekinah glory had left the Temple.  Jesus spoke on several occasions about the abandonment of the Temple by God.

Luke 13:35" TARGET="_blank">Luke 13:35  Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

Luke 13" TARGET="_blank">Luke 13 refers to a coming time of judgment against Israel in which the city, the temple and the land would be plundered and abandoned during a period of exile.  It can be assumed that the priests repaired the torn veil and continued their empty rituals, but the torn veil showed the world that God had already abandoned the place.

Conclusion

 Sin has always been an obstacle for man to approach God since Adam was exiled from the Garden of Eden.  God chose to dwell among his people in the Holiest of Holies from the time of Moses to Christ but with severe restrictions.  One priest, once a year, could come to the Holiest of All with the blood of an animal to cover his sins and the sins of the people.  But when Jesus died, he completed the requirements of the sacrifices once and for all.  The rending of the temple veil was physical evidence that the way was opened forever and for all people.  We now approach God with the boldness of one who carries the value of the blood of Christ.

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THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS

When does the restoration of all things by Elias take place?

The answer is given in Malachi 4:5" TARGET="_blank">Malachi 4:5: “Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” The Lord seems clearly to refer to this promise, see Matthew 17:11" TARGET="_blank">Matthew 17:11 “Elias truly shall first come and restore all things.” As to what this coming represents we must refer to other Scriptures. The first time historically that Elias is mentioned in the N.T. is in Luke 1" TARGET="_blank">Luke 1: , in the angel’s message to Zacharias that his promised son “shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, etc.” John’s mission was to resemble in spirit and power and result, the mission of Elias as described in Malachi 4:6." TARGET="_blank">Malachi 4:6. Now, we remember that when later the apostles James and John proposed to call down fire from heaven, even as Elias did, and consume the Samaritans, the Lord rebuked them on the ground that they knew not what spirit they were of. It was the spirit of Elias, which was perfectly right in his dispensation, but not that of the Son of man (see Luke 9. 54)." TARGET="_blank">Luke 9. 54).

Does not this supply one more Scriptural reason against the new theory that John, had he only been faithful, would have become one of the twelve apostles? Had he been so, there would have been two incompatible “spirits” in the twelve, one, that of Elias in the person of John the Baptist, and another foreign to it, the spirit of Christ. In Matthew 11:14," TARGET="_blank">Matthew 11:14, the Lord said, “If ye will receive it, this (i.e., John the Baptist) is Elias which was for to come.” The words, “if ye will receive it,” are important, as they also throw light on our Lord’s words in Matthew  17:12 “I say unto you that Elias is come already, and they knew him not.” This cannot, I submit, mean that John was a reincarnation of Elias. They are separate entities to-day. Elias will surely come again, but he will not be born, as John was, of a mother. He will come again as he went and probably as secretly, as far as the general world will be concerned.

John did up to a certain point fulfil the role of Elias. To use a modern phrase, he was his “double,” but none the less it remains true that “Elias will come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord,” and most evangelical interpreters of the Revelation are agreed that he will be one of the two witnesses of Rev. ii. Their ministry will last 1260 days or 3- years, that is, during the first half of Daniel’s last week of years, beginning with the Covenant between the Head of the Roman people and the Jews. The ministry of the two witnesses will be a ministry enforced by judgment and plague, and bearing down all opposition and. crushing their enemies by miraculous power. It will also be wonderful in its success. There will be a revival in Israel, such as has never yet been known, and a world-wide testimony through, I might suggest, the I,ooo equipped for this service by that Pentecost (see Joel 2" TARGET="_blank">Joel 2: ), of which that of Jerusalem was the foretaste, and vast numbers will be brought to repentance. It will only be when their ministry is finished that the “Beast,” then manifested as such, will slay them. This will inaugurate the day of Jacob’s trouble and the great tribulation, running concurrently, only to end in the appearing in power and great glory of the Son of man—”the great and terrible day of the Lord.”

W.H.

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Is it scriptural to call the whole assembly together to discuss business matters in the assembly?

I do not know of any Scripture which would favour such a custom, and judged merely by ordinary standards of common sense and business principles, I should think it very unlikely to result in good to the business or to the assembly as a whole. What profit could come from listening perhaps to differences among elder brethren?

An assembly of God is not a debating society nor yet a democracy, in which rule is from beneath, it is a theocracy in which rule is entrusted by the Holy Spirit to those whom He has fitted for the work. “Take heed. . . to all the flock (not your flock), over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers” (Acts 20:28)." TARGET="_blank">Acts 20:28).

“Remember them which have the rule over you” (the guides), “Obey them that have the rule” (Hebrews 13: 7, 17)." TARGET="_blank">Hebrews 13: 7, 17). “Know them which labour among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and esteem them very highly in love for their works’ sake” (1 Thessalonians 5: 12, 13)." TARGET="_blank">1 Thessalonians 5: 12, 13).

Acts 15" TARGET="_blank">Acts 15 seems to throw light on the matter before us. Paul, Barnabas and certain others had come to Jerusalem about a troublesome matter, and they were received of the church, clearly the whole assembly, not excepting the apostles and elders. It was a meeting to hear “all things that God had done with them,” but apparently at this general meeting certain Judaizing brethren, of the sect of the Pharisees, which believed, rose up and introduced the very matter that had troubled the saints at Antioch. It would clearly not have been for edification to discuss the differences before the church, so the next verse tells us that “the apostles and elders came together to consider of this matter” (v. 6). The results must have been communicated to the whole assembly (ver. 22), for otherwise they could not have had fellowship in sending Judas and Silas to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, with letters in their name. “The apostles and elders and the brethren send greeting to the brethren of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria.” These arrived in Antioch, and when they had gathered the multitude, that is, I take it, the whole company of believers, they delivered the epistle. We gather, therefore, that matters of business and discipline are not discussed before the whole church, but that the results should be communicated to them, when it is a matter which calls for general knowledge.

W.H.

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No.

Despite news stories about a Gospel Hall in Leslieville (Toronto, Canada) public preaching of the gospel is not a protest or an attack on any group or individual.

The message of sin and salvation, if understood correctly, is not about a call to bring our nation back to traditional values.  Instead, defining sin as God sees it should cause one to look for salvation in Christ Jesus.

For a fuller picture on the events behind the story see -  Viral Video in Leslieville Neighborhood Not What it Seems

For what is preached about homosexuality in the Gospel Hall, see the question What should a church teach about homosexuality?

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