“Seeing Beyond the Veil” in the context of God’s Word is very important for us to understand. Once the veil is removed, our mind, our vision, and our heart will be free to know, see, and understand the blessed truths of our Lord and Savior.
According to the Old Covenant of God, certain unblemished animals were presented to the Jewish Levite priests to be sacrificed as the atonement for the sins of the believers. These were annual sacrifices performed beyond the veil (or as it is sometimes referenced, curtain) in the Jewish Temple.
According to the New Covenant of God, Jesus Christ offered Himself as the final sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. Through an agonizing death, Jesus Christ, the unblemished Lamb of God, took on all the sins of every one of us so that we could be given the opportunity to be forgiven of our sins.
Now to receive God’s forgiveness, we must receive Jesus Christ into our hearts and minds to accept what He has freely sacrificed and done for us. Jesus Christ willingly took our sins upon Himself. When we receive God’s forgiveness, our sin is not only forgiven, but it is also forgotten. How amazing and wonderful is this?
Do you know what else this means for us? It’s an assurance of freedom. It’s freedom from guilt. It’s freedom from the effects of sin. It’s freedom from eternal death. It’s freedom to enter into the blessed eternal life after death from this life. We can have all of this by surrendering ourselves to God and believing in Jesus Christ. This freedom also allows us to see and understand the truth so that we may live a Christ-like life.
We must speak the truth with words from our mouth, but we must also believe them in our heart. We must truly believe and trust that God is real. We must believe that we can see beyond the veil by what Jesus Christ did for us. Our words regarding God cannot simply be spoken from our lips; the words must come from our heart, too. I realized that I used to speak empty words clearly explained in the following scripture:
“And so the Lord says, ‘These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.’ ” (Isaiah 29:13)
However, we can be made new by being cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ that He shed for us on the cross. The following scriptures awakened me to the truth when God removed the veil from my eyes and my heart due to my willingness to believe, accept, and speak the truth:
“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
I got saved from understanding these two scriptures. You can, too!
“This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” (Hebrews 10:16)
“And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.” (Hebrews 10:18)
However, this does not give us the freedom to purposely sin! We must do our best (with God’s help) not to sin anymore. Please be sure to learn and understand the difference! It starts with being able to see beyond the veil.
When man sought the forgiveness of God in the days of the Old, the Jewish (Levitical) priests were the only ones allowed to perform the sacrifices in the Temple each year for the sacrificial ceremony to cleanse the people of their sins. This sacrifice would be made on the altar where the veil separated the Holy of Holies within the Temple.
“Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.” (Hebrews 9:13-14)
“In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)
“If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God! In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:9-16)
Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, the ultimate and final sacrifice necessary for us to be found right with God by accepting what He did for us through our belief in Him. We should be celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. “He is [has] risen!” (Mark 28:6, Mark 16:6, Luke 24:6, Matthew 28:7)
Jesus Christ, Himself, is the Word (that is, the Living Word of God, the Bible). He has revealed Himself in these words through the Bible, so that we may see beyond the veil.
The most wonderful gift we could ever receive in our entire life is the free gift that God offers through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who became that ultimate sacrifice, as the Lamb of God who shed His blood for us to receive eternal life!
“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” (1 Peter 1:18-19)
According to Hebrews 10:12, “… Our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” Jesus Christ is the High Priest!
As Jesus Christ breathed His last breath of human life as He hung on the cross: “Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.” (Luke 23:45)
“If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.” (2 Corinthians 4:3)
“… Whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:16)
I am so very grateful that God removed the veil from my eyes. I pray that God will remove the veil from your eyes, too. I pray that you will turn to the Lord today!
Until we virtually meet again, may God call you to Himself.
God’s Word for Today: “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into his glorious image.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
Copyright © 2016 by Patricia Shehan
