“And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of
the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:37,38).
“From Top to Bottom”
One
of
the
more
impressive
evidences
of
the
Bible’s
divine
inspiration
is
the
symmetry
which
exists
between
its
Old
and
New
Testaments,
though
they
are
separated
from
one
another
by
hundreds
of
years.
Particularly
remarkable
is
the
analogous
relationship
between
the
Old
Testament
tabernacle,
or
temple,
and
New
Testament
phenomena.
Indeed,
it
was
important
that
Moses
construct
the
tabernacle
strictly
according
to
the
pattern
given
to
him
by
God
on
Mount
Sinai
(Ex.
25:40),
since
the
correspondence
between
it
and
heavenly
realities
meant
that
it
was
to
serve
as
an
instructional device (Heb. 8:5).
More
than
any
other
writer,
the
author
of
the
New
Testament
book
of
Hebrews
draws
out
in
detail
this
analogy
between
the
Old
Testament
tabernacle
and
the
New
Testament
realities
it
symbolized.
The
tabernacle
was
a
tent
which
was
divided
into
two
compartments
by
a
veil
which
was
suspended
between
them
(Ex.
26:33).
The
author
of
Hebrews
makes
it
clear
that
the
inner
compartment,
called
the
Holy
of
Holies,
represents
heaven, which Christ entered to offer His own shed blood for sin (Heb. 6:19,20; 9:1-12).
One
senses
that
there
is
something
symbolically
significant
about
this
incident,
first
by
virtue
of
it
happening
at
all
and
then
by
Matthew
(27:50,51),
Mark
(15:37,38),
and
Luke
(23:44-46)
all
mentioning
it.
That
there
is
a
connection
between
it
and
the
death
of
Christ
is
suggested
by
the
fact
that
they
occur
at
the
same
time.
However
it
remains
for
the
author
of
Hebrews
to
reveal
the
fuller
meaning
of
the
spontaneous
rending
of
the
temple
veil
at
the
time
of
Christ’s
death
when
he
specifically
identifies
the
veil
as
Christ’s
flesh
(Heb.
10:20).
Thus,
it
was
not
until
Christ’s
fleshly
body
had
been
torn
in
His
death
upon
the
cross
that
“the
veil”
separating
sinners
from
heaven
was
opened
and
provision
was
made
for
them
to
enter
the
holy
place,
or
Holy
of
Holies,
where
God
dwells,
first
through their prayers, and ultimately, directly and personally (Heb. 10:21-24).
One
other
subtle
detail
which
is
worthy
of
note
about
this
incident
at
the
time
of
Christ’s
death
is
the
fact
that
both
Matthew
and
Mark
observe
that
the
ripping
of
the
temple
veil
occurs
“from
top
to
bottom.”
This
is
to
say
that
the
tearing
does
not
begin
in
the
fabric
of
the
curtain
at
the
bottom
and
go
to
the
top,
nor
begin
at
top
and
bottom
and
meet
in
the
middle,
nor
does
it
begin
at
any
other
point
in
between
top
and
bottom
and
spread
in
both
directions.
Rather,
the
rending
begins
at
the
top
of
the
veil
and
continues down to its bottom.
Since
it
should
not
be
thought
that
God
adds
details
to
His
word
needlessly,
then
the
very
fact
of
its
mention
is
suggestive
of
its
significance,
which
can
hardly
be
anything
other
than
the
fact
that
salvation,
which
is
purchased
by
the
blood
of
Christ
(Acts
20:28),
is
a
top-down
matter.
Salvation
is
heaven-sent,
not
human-made.
It
is
from
God
(Phil.
1:28).
It
begins
with
Him,
in
His
love
and
mercy,
condescending
to
send
His
Son
to
earth
in
a
fleshly,
human
body
to
suffer
and
die
therein
to
secure
thereby
salvation
for
helpless,
undeserving
humans.
It
was
while
the
ungodly
were
helpless
that
Christ
died
for
them
(Rom.
5:6).
Sinners
do
not,
and
cannot,
work
their
way
up
to
God
for
their
salvation.
No;
salvation
is
not
for
sinners
who
are
capable
of
“pulling
themselves
up
by
their
own
bootstraps.”
Those
who
are
at
the
bottom
cannot,
by
their
own
efforts,
manage
to
work
their
way
to
the
top.
Instead,
it
was
for
God
to
reach
down
from
heaven
to
them.
All
that
sinners
can
deserve
by
their
own
efforts
is
their
damnation.
As
the
builders
of
the
tower
of
Babel
discovered
(Gen.
11:1-8),
any
effort
on
the
part
of
sinners
to
build
their
way
from
the
bottom
up
to
God
is
doomed
to
failure.
Salvation
is
top-
down!
Copyright © 2017 - current year, Gary P. and Leslie G. Eubanks. All Rights Reserved.
“And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His
last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from
top to bottom” (Mark 15:37,38).
“From Top to Bottom”
One
of
the
more
impressive
evidences
of
the
Bible’s
divine
inspiration
is
the
symmetry
which
exists
between
its
Old
and
New
Testaments,
though
they
are
separated
from
one
another
by
hundreds
of
years.
Particularly
remarkable
is
the
analogous
relationship
between
the
Old
Testament
tabernacle,
or
temple,
and
New
Testament
phenomena.
Indeed,
it
was
important
that
Moses
construct
the
tabernacle
strictly
according
to
the
pattern
given
to
him
by
God
on
Mount
Sinai
(Ex.
25:40),
since
the
correspondence
between
it
and
heavenly
realities
meant
that
it
was
to
serve
as
an
instructional
device
(Heb. 8:5).
More
than
any
other
writer,
the
author
of
the
New
Testament
book
of
Hebrews
draws
out
in
detail
this
analogy
between
the
Old
Testament
tabernacle
and
the
New
Testament
realities
it
symbolized.
The
tabernacle
was
a
tent
which
was
divided
into
two
compartments
by
a
veil
which
was
suspended
between
them
(Ex.
26:33).
The
author
of
Hebrews
makes
it
clear
that
the
inner
compartment,
called
the
Holy
of
Holies,
represents
heaven,
which
Christ
entered
to
offer
His
own
shed
blood for sin (Heb. 6:19,20; 9:1-12).
One
senses
that
there
is
something
symbolically
significant
about
this
incident,
first
by
virtue
of
it
happening
at
all
and
then
by
Matthew
(27:50,51),
Mark
(15:37,38),
and
Luke
(23:44-46)
all
mentioning
it.
That
there
is
a
connection
between
it
and
the
death
of
Christ
is
suggested
by
the
fact
that
they
occur
at
the
same
time.
However
it
remains
for
the
author
of
Hebrews
to
reveal
the
fuller
meaning
of
the
spontaneous
rending
of
the
temple
veil
at
the
time
of
Christ’s
death
when
he
specifically
identifies
the
veil
as
Christ’s
flesh
(Heb.
10:20).
Thus,
it
was
not
until
Christ’s
fleshly
body
had
been
torn
in
His
death
upon
the
cross
that
“the
veil”
separating
sinners
from
heaven
was
opened
and
provision
was
made
for
them
to
enter
the
holy
place,
or
Holy
of
Holies,
where
God
dwells,
first
through
their
prayers,
and
ultimately,
directly
and
personally
(Heb. 10:21-24).
One
other
subtle
detail
which
is
worthy
of
note
about
this
incident
at
the
time
of
Christ’s
death
is
the
fact
that
both
Matthew
and
Mark
observe
that
the
ripping
of
the
temple
veil
occurs
“from
top
to
bottom.”
This
is
to
say
that
the
tearing
does
not
begin
in
the
fabric
of
the
curtain
at
the
bottom
and
go
to
the
top,
nor
begin
at
top
and
bottom
and
meet
in
the
middle,
nor
does
it
begin
at
any
other
point
in
between
top
and
bottom
and
spread
in
both
directions.
Rather,
the
rending
begins at the top of the veil and continues down to its bottom.
Since
it
should
not
be
thought
that
God
adds
details
to
His
word
needlessly,
then
the
very
fact
of
its
mention
is
suggestive
of
its
significance,
which
can
hardly
be
anything
other
than
the
fact
that
salvation,
which
is
purchased
by
the
blood
of
Christ
(Acts
20:28),
is
a
top-down
matter.
Salvation
is
heaven-sent,
not
human-made.
It
is
from
God
(Phil.
1:28).
It
begins
with
Him,
in
His
love
and
mercy,
condescending
to
send
His
Son
to
earth
in
a
fleshly,
human
body
to
suffer
and
die
therein
to
secure
thereby
salvation
for
helpless,
undeserving
humans.
It
was
while
the
ungodly
were
helpless
that
Christ
died
for
them
(Rom.
5:6).
Sinners
do
not,
and
cannot,
work
their
way
up
to
God
for
their
salvation.
No;
salvation
is
not
for
sinners
who
are
capable
of
“pulling
themselves
up
by
their
own
bootstraps.”
Those
who
are
at
the
bottom
cannot,
by
their
own
efforts,
manage
to
work
their
way
to
the
top.
Instead,
it
was
for
God
to
reach
down
from
heaven
to
them.
All
that
sinners
can
deserve
by
their
own
efforts
is
their
damnation.
As
the
builders
of
the
tower
of
Babel
discovered
(Gen.
11:1-8),
any
effort
on
the
part
of
sinners
to
build
their
way
from
the
bottom
up
to
God
is
doomed to failure. Salvation is top-down!
