I am moving through the Old and New Testaments.  Toggling from one to the other, giving you verses that have been important to me.  Yesterday I gave you the verse that said, "...Shake the dust off your feet."  To me, it means that if someone doesn't accept what you share with them, that you shouldn't get discouraged, you should just keep on going on with whatever it is that you are doing in Gods service.  Using whatever your gift is to share Christ.  Go on to the next task.  Go on to the next person.

In Exodus God tells the people of Israel exactly how to build a sanctuary so that He could dwell with them.  (Ex 25: 8)  He describes an area called "The Holy of Holies."  We know that the Levitical tribe would cast lots once each year so that one of them could be chosen to enter this holy placed and make sacrifice for the people.  In verses 21-22, God says "…put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.  And there I will meet with you."  No one but the chosen 'High Priest' from the Levitical tribe could ever enter this place.  And only once a year.

I have read that they (the other priests) would tie a rope and a bell around the high priest so that if he touched the ark (which would condemn him to death) the bell would stop ringing  and they would know that he was dead and could pull him out.  (They were forbidden to enter the Holy of Holies.)

Then God gives detailed instructions concerning the curtains that would separate  this holy place from the rest of the sanctuary.  Ex. 26: 1-6  The curtains were huge.  Wide.  I read somewhere that they were two or three stories tall.  And they were very thick and heavy.

I gave you all that background so you would know why this next  verse is so very, very important.  Matthew 27: 50-51a,  "Jesus, when (as he was dying) he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom…"  God ripped it from  the top down.  Men would have ripped it from bottom to top--if it hadn't been too thick to rip.

 God was saying to us all, "No more sacrifices.  Jesus has paid it all.  You are all now welcome to come into me.  I will fellowship with you, and you with me.  You don't need a priest any more, Jesus is your high priest.  Come to me through him.  Welcome.  Come on in."