The framework for this series was from an article that was posted by Yehuda Frank at https://allisrael.com/forgiveness-yom-kippur-and-the-messiah-s-atoning-sacrifice .
There are 4 proofs that support God rejecting Israel’s Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement sacrifice. Humanity’s sacrifice was rejected by God because the ultimate sacrifice had been made by Jesus Christ.
- The lot of the Lord was in the left hand.
- The crimson strap remained crimson.
- The western light was not lit.
- The doors of the Temple were open in the morning.
Today’s focus is the opened doors of the Temple.
Babylonian Talmud: “Our Rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple,…and the doors of the Hekal (Temple) would open by themselves.”
Jerusalem Talmud: “Forty years before the destruction of the Temple,… They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open.”
Specific sizes of the Temple gates are unknown. But we do have some scope and scale with the Temple veil as a guide.
Matthew 27:51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
Luke 23:45 The sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
The inner veil hung between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. The veil was hung on a crossbeam stone over 30 feet long and weighed more than 30 tons. Estimates have the veil weighing at least 18,000 pounds.
The Veils before the Most Holy Place were 40 cubits (60 feet) long, and 20 (30 feet) wide, of the thickness of the palm of the hand, and wrought in 72 squares, which were joined together. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alfred Edersheim
The Temple had…golden doors of fifty-five cubits (82.5 feet) altitude and sixteen (24 feet) in breadth; but before these doors there was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. -Josephus, 1st Century Jewish Historian
Keep in mind, Herod’s Temple had larger dimensions than Solomon’s. So the veil in Herod’s Temple was bigger.
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With the work of Christ on the cross, the cost of sin was paid. Because of His action, there is now access to God the Father. The barrier has been taken down and humanity who believes in Christ can be in the presence of God.
The door to the Temple is open. The veil has been torn down. Barriers to God have been removed in Jesus Christ. God has made way for sinful humanity.
Hebrews 10:19-22 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
