Have you ever wanted to go into an area where you were denied access? I have, and I remember trying to think of every angle possible to secure an opportunity to enter, but nothing I could produce was the proper qualifications. The vast majority of people are fooled into thinking they have direct access to God, but their ideas on their qualifications are wrong. They are looking at the wrong people, documents, or ideas about eternal life. They treat God as if he is like us and He is not. He’s not some big guy in the sky, the man upstairs, or a genie that is waiting to fulfill our every wish and dream. He is God, and He is in control. While scripture does speak of Him giving us the desires of our heart, it is talking about the person whose desires line up with God’s. We experience this when our heart is set on Him. When we pray, we pray to Him, but our access must come through Jesus.
Ephesians 2:18 “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
Before Jesus came to earth to sacrifice His life for our sins, Jews or those who converted to Judaism were looking forward to a Messiah that was to come. They would go to the temple year after year and present their sacrifices to the priest who would take them and present them to God. Though they were saved by faith it was a faith in what was to come. The priest would enter into the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. He would wash, wear special clothing, and bring incense that he was burning to let the smoke cover his eyes, so he would not have a direct view of God. He would also bring the blood from the sacrifices made as an atonement for their sins. The Holy of Holies was where God would meet only with the High Priest once a year. It was separated from the rest of the temple by a veil. The veil was a huge drape that was made of fine linen with blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and embroidered with gold cherubim. It represented a separation between God and man, between God and sin. In Habakkuk 1:13, we see the reason for the veil, the smoke, and only the priest in the Holy of Holies. God’s eyes were too pure to look upon evil. Because of our sin, we are separated from God, and this is the reason for the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins.
Habakkuk 1:13 “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:”
For us, on this side of the cross, we can see the significance of the Holy of Holies. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins the veil in the temple ripped from top to bottom. This veil was torn by God himself to show us that the death of Jesus opened up our access to Him. We were no longer separated by a veil; we no longer need a priest to carry our petitions of repentance. We, through Jesus, now have access to God.
Matthew 27:50-51 “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;”
Only because the perfect one was sacrificed can we be forgiven. Jesus and Jesus alone was qualified to pay the price for our sins. My Jesus is the one who made it possible for me to have direct access to God the Father. I am so thankful for God’s love for me that sent His Son to die for my sins so I could have access to Him. I am so thankful that Jesus His Son that He was willing to sacrifice His life for mine.
