It is tempting to say, 'If you don't move away from the door, other people can't get in!'
But, the cross is not the door; Jesus is the door. John 10:7, “Then Jesus again said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you that I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and plunderers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in, and will go out, and will find pasture.”
The key here is that Jesus was not the door before He rose from the dead.
Matthew 27:51-53, “And, behold! The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were sheared, and the tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep arose, and coming out of the tomb after His resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Romans 4:25, “God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.”
The point is that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice, and the only blood sacrifice that would satisfy the Law. When God raised Jesus from the dead that is when we moved from the Law (which had no strength to change a person’s character or heart) to Grace (which is a higher standard of living). Jesus became the Door into the Father's presence when He rose from the dead. When Jesus died on the cross, the first part of God's plan was fulfilled. Payment. When Jesus rose from the dead, the second part of God's plan was fulfilled. The sting of sin AND death were plucked and were no longer a threat to the believers in Jesus and what He did. 1 Corinthians 15
Through Jesus, the Old Testament saints were escorted into heaven.
Do not confuse entrance into God's physical presence with relationship. They were not free to go into God's presence the second Jesus died on the cross. However, we know from biblical testimony that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David and all the prophets had a relationship with God. The Father did not invite them to come into heaven before Jesus got there, though. Jesus brought them into the Father's presence. No one could go into the Father’s presence until they had been changed as Jesus was changed into His glorified body. He was the first fruits of the resurrection.
Oh, not what the glorified body can do. We'll eat and drink and think and be there. No “Beam me up, Scotty”, but we'll be instantly transported. And we won't look the same as we do here. No one recognized Jesus until He spoke or told them who He was. It is an exciting thing to look forward to, eh? Paul goes on to say in 1 Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, then will take place the Word that has been written, “Death was swallowed up in victory.”
That is the second part of the whole plan. Jesus had to be raised. The same power that raised Jesus, saved us from God's wrath. If Jesus had never been raised from the dead, our sins would have been paid for, but we would still be constricted and restricted by the Law. The power of the law is weak and it doesn't change hearts as Jesus does. Only Jesus' resurrection brought victory over sin and death.
The ripping of the veil is not the invitation from God into Heaven. The ripping of the veil is physical. It was a Spiritual symbol in a physical manifestation, a physical sign to humans that we have direct access to God.
Be First to Comment