Read Hebrews 9:6-10:25
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of
Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain (veil, NAS,KJV) that is ,
his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God
with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us
from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water (Heb.10:19-22).
Only once per year was someone permitted to enter the
Most Holy Place--the place wherein they would come into the very presence of God. And the
only person permitted to enter was the high priest, and only after he had undergone the
proper cleansing ceremonies. No other person was permitted to enter behind the veil. To do
so would have been to write their own death sentence. They instead could go no further
than the Holy place. It was in that place that many ceremonial functions were carried out.
It was in that place that they could come and worship God, doing so from behind a curtain,
continually separated from His presence. Even as they entered their place of worship they
remained at a distance.
We perhaps take for granted the ease of our access to the very presence of God in Spirit.
Christ entered though the curtains that stand to separate us from the living God. Having
being clean already, yet taking upon Himself the sins of the world He incurred God's wrath
and suffered death for us all. And being given access to the very presence of God, we who
are no longer separated from God by veils or curtains, can boldly and confidently approach
Him with assurance that though we come into the presence of pure Holiness, we will not die
but live, and that only because Christ died in our place.
But now let us consider how we who are given such access to the Most Holy Place remain
content to dwell in the Holy Place behind the veil. But the veil is not one established
because of our sin--that veil was removed through the work of Christ. Instead it is a veil
that we raise up of our own free will. We have access to God, but this is not something we
consider to be grasped and therefore we cling instead to the religious activities behind
the veil. Rather than enter into the presence of God, we remain at a safe and secure
distance. We grow content to do church and even perhaps read the Bible on a daily basis.
Yet the thought of entering into the transforming presence of the living God frightens us.
And so we hold to ritual and device to demonstrate to God our love for Him, and perhaps
even to demonstrate to ourselves our love for Him. And all of this being done from a
distance.
We are a people hidden behind veils. We hide ourselves behind veils that protect us from
becoming vulnerable in relationships. We hide behind veils that provide to us security
from the world, our friends, our family and our church. Many of us may refer to these
veils as masks. They keep us from being seen for who we are, and enable us to look upon
others through self edifying glasses.
Our veils have become our security blankets. God had established the first veil to keep us
safe from His wrath. He then made a way to completely remove the veil so that we could
approach Him in His Holiness. But even as we are afraid to be truly known by others, we
are also afraid of being fully known by God. We are afraid that He will look at our inward
selves and see the perverted and wicked thoughts within, and that when He sees what is
there, that He will turn away and have nothing else to do with us. But as Christ removed
the veil, God looked upon us all with Love. Not as one who looks through a veil, but as
one who looks through truth.
A bride lifts her veil to signify the entrance into a union with her husband. Christ has
removed the veil that stood between our God and us . We no longer have to fear God's
wrath. We no longer have to be afraid of God fully knowing who we are. We no longer have
to be a people who dwell behind the veil. | 
Behind the Veil