The Veil Is Destroyed

December 02, 2020

From today’s reading…

On this mountain, he has destroyed the veil which used to veil all peoples, the pall enveloping all nations; he has destroyed death for ever. Lord Yahweh has wiped away the tears from every cheek; he has taken his people’s shame away everywhere on earth, for Yahweh has spoken.” Isaiah 25:7-8

What’s up with veils and unveiling we read about throughout the Bible? As usual, things get lost in translation, and over time words can change meaning.

Back when the New Testament was being written, Jews celebrated weddings for an entire week, culminating in the “apocalypsis,” the unveiling of the bride, which was immediately followed by the consummation of the union. (AMEN! BRING ON THE UNVEILING! ALLELUIA! Oops. Sorry about that. Now where was I?)

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about this ancient, misunderstood word:

Apocalypse (ἀποκάλυψις, apokálypsis) is a Greek word meaning “revelation”, “an unveiling or unfolding of things not previously known and which could not be known apart from the unveiling”.

While we now equate apocalypse with end times and dragons and demons and battles, it was really meant to describe good times. Great times. Intimate times. A time of ecstasy. A time of closeness, love, completeness, and unity.

Jesus gives of Himself completely and without reservation, just like the bridegroom gives himself to his bride on their wedding night, right after the apokalypsis, when she makes herself available to him in her white gown and her purity.

Although not part of today’s reading, we see something similar in Matthew 27 as the veil of the temple was torn in two when Jesus died on the cross, thereby revealing the sanctuary of God to everyone, not just the high priest.

So we are no longer hidden from our Lord. We are no longer separated from Him.

He has called us into a mystical embrace that goes far beyond the intimate embrace of man and woman, but it is similar in that it is given freely and completely, which is how everlasting life is passed on.

But we must be purified to partake in the embrace, which is why we must…

Stay the course.Keep the faith.Endure.

Now go sell something.