PRESENCE PRAYER THE VEIL
What is the veil?
The veil represents the mindset of separation from God in the soul.
Before Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent to disobey God they lived in the presence of God and were not conscious of any separation between themselves and God within their souls. But after they disobeyed God and listened to darkness, their souls were plunged into a mindset of separation from Him.
Their once innocent and blameless souls became self-serving and willful, hiding in the shadows of shame and guilt from God. Devising strategies to cover up and blame others for their disobedience. This became the separated soul life of humanity from that time on. The veil
The first time this veil is spoken of in the Bible is when Moses went into the presence of the Lord when he received the commandments on Mt Sinai. The Israelites were afraid to look at him or come near him because being in God’s presence caused his face to shine so brightly that he had to cover it with a veil.
Exodus 34:29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God. Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him…
The temple also had a veil of separation which separated people from Gods presence. No one was allowed to go through that temple veil, except for the high priest once a year on the day of atonement - they would actually sturck dead if they did. Atonement was celebrated last Sunday and today the Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated sukkot (John 7:37 living water)
Hebrews 9:7 into the second chamber (behind the veil) the high priest went alone once a year, with the blood of sacrifice, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet a reality while the first tabernacle was still standing…
11. But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Paul called the Old Covenant of the Ten Commandments given through Moses the “ministry of death, carved in letters on stone” and he contrasts this with the New Covenant given through Christ, where the Commandments are written in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. When Jesus died for us on the cross, he went through the veil of separation for all of humanity, making the way for us to pass through the veil also and to live a life with the mindset of non-separation between us and God.
Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
This was an incredible physical representation orchestrated by God to show us this Old Covenant was over. The veil was physically torn. The whole earth shook. Just imagine that.
Interestingly, that was the end of blood sacrifices for sin for Israel. The veil was torn e through his flesh and blood sacrifice on the cross for all of us, for eternity.
The Old Covenant’s glory was torn and replaced by a New Covenant- a glory that is eternal and internal—Christ in us, the hope of glory (Ephesians 3:4).
No one in the Old Covenant had an inner life of the Holy Spirit within them..
What is the Veil? The veil is the flesh. What is the flesh?
The flesh is our self-made soul where we build an inner self life that is a very poor reflection of how our original spirit self was uniquely created by God to be like him as his child. But the self of the flesh puts the false ‘shadow of us’ on display.
This ‘flesh’ becomes the veil of separation until we realise that we can have direct, unveiled face to face intimacy with God through the Spirit, transforming us from the inside out. He comes into our vulnerability and weakness and shines through with his strength.
The Bible says that Jesus came in the flesh (John 1:14) but he went through life with a totally innocent and blameless soul and with a totally unveiled face.
His soul was tempted in all points such as we are, but he did not sin (Hebrews 4:15 hamartia – miss the mark). Jesus did not have to create his own shadow me-self in his soul- which is the flesh. There was no veil of a mindset of separation from his Father. And when He died for us on the cross, Jesus went through the veil of separation for all of humanity, making the way for us to pass through the veil also and to live a life with the mindset of non-separation between us and God.
Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the veil, that is, through his flesh.
The Bible says the whole world is under darkness – under the influence of evil 1 John 5:19 describing a world separated from God with a veil over their face that turns them inward towards their soul self instead of towards the face of God. Just like adam and eve did We can get pulled by our soul’s problems to turn inwards into our shadow life or we can get drawn by the Holy Spirit to turn to the Lord, just as the sunlight draws a sunflower to turn to the sun so that it can grow and get life
Paul spoke about Israel in the Old Covenant compared to us in the New Covenant
But their minds were blinded. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains between them and God’s glorious presence, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory. (2Corinthians 3:18)
The turning can be gradual, like walking up a hill carrying the burdens of our soul till we get to the top and enter the presence of God, the tabernacle, the holy place where God is, the room spoken about in Matthew 6:6 when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
That turning is actually our repentance – turning from self to God. And when you walk up that hill Jesus is helping you carry the burdens, and while you are in the room Jesus helps you give the burdens to the Father. When you come back down the hill the Father rewards you openly – that is, he will supernaturally show you in some outward way that he has heard you and that he has brought things together for good in such a coincidental way that you know it could only have been God that has done it.
The Old Testament brought harsh judgement and condemnation. But it highlights that with Gods Glory behind a veil, they were always missing the mark by trying to put God on display in their own lives in their own strength rather than trusting Him and putting Him on display. That was to show us that we can't live without God With-in us. But even though we now live a life without the veil, we often act as if it is still there.
When people say repent from your sins, (repent meaning turning from and turning to) and sin meaning to miss the mark- all that is asking you to do is to turn from yourself towards God to help you with why you are missing the mark. That's all sin does, it stops you from living with Him and for Him. In the New Testament the Spirit brings life, forgiveness, mercy, transformation, and freedom (2 Cor. 3:6, 17).
In Presence prayer we come to know God for who he is and what he says and what he does. We know we are loved and mercifully accepted for who we are as our new ‘God with us’ self. Our hearts desire becomes to please him. The veil of separation has been torn down by Jesus. The Father and Jesus and Holy Spirit have come to make their home in us and we delight to do our housecleaning like never before – to sparkle. When people come to the house of our heart, they can feel welcomed and blessed as God can now be on display and not just us.
Paul unveils this wonderful mystery in Colossians.
Col. 1:26 This mystery was kept secret for ages and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people who desire to live with him and for him. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for all of humanity (Gentiles). And this is the mystery - Christ lives in you, giving you assurance of sharing his glory (His life on display though you).
Simply turning to God as Father Son and Holy Spirit in our minds and hearts as often as we can brings us closer to the reality of God’s life within us and makes way for his life to shine through us. We have this treasure in earthen vessels so let us treasure our treasure and the turning takes the veil of separation away and allows our own and other people’s lives to be enriched. The present moment is always the most significant time in history - living with God. Paul OSullivan – pauloss@me.com
