The veils separating the Heichal (Holy Place) from the Kodesh Ha Kodeshim (Holy of Holies) had “Chai’yot” (living creatures) on them, the “Cherubim” with four faces we read about in Ezekiel and Revelation. The outer veil to the Sanctuary had a representation of the “Heavens” on it. We have two descriptions of it, one in Josephus and the other in the “Letter of Aristeas.”
In Josephus, Wars, Book 5, Chapter 5.4 (Whiston Edition) it says, “But then this house, as it was divided into two parts, the inner part was lower than the appearance of the outer, and had golden doors of fifty-five cubits altitude, and sixteen in breadth; but before these doors there was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with blue, and fine linen, and scarlet, and purple, and a contexture that was truly wonderful. Nor was this mixture of colors without its mystical interpretation, but was a kind of image of the universe; for by the scarlet there seemed to be enigmatically signified fire, by the fine flax the earth, by the blue the air, and by the purple the sea; two of them having their colors the foundation of this resemblance; but the fine flax and the purple have their own origin for that foundation, the earth producing the one, and the sea the other. This curtain had also embroidered upon it all that was mystical in the heavens, excepting that of the twelve signs representing the living creatures.” But, Mark’s “Heaven” which was torn in 1.10 does not originate in Isaiah 64.1, so where did it come from?
In Ezekiel 1.1 it says that the “heavens were opened” and he saw what is called the “Ma’aseh Merkavah” which means the “work of the Chariot (of God).” The Merkavah is a supernatural concept described in human terms and cannot be understood literally, nor in our spiritual “poverty.” We are not equipped to even glimpse at their inner meaning, so we need to be careful when interpreting these things. Ezekiel is beside the river Kevar when the heavens are opened and he see’s visions of God. This is just like in Mark 1.10, with Yeshua by a river. Doors or gateways provide access to heaven, and the verb most always means “open.” Here is what was going on when Ezekiel saw this vision.
In the Artscroll commentary on Ezekiel, p 69-71, it says, “Some five years after the arrival in Babylon of the first wave of exiles who had been led into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar’s hordes, Yechezkel Ben Buzi (Ezekiel), the priest, was granted a prophecy. As he stood on the banks of the river Kevar ‘the heavens were opened’ and he was shown ‘the visions of God.’ However, the Merkavah visions are so basic to the prophecies of Yechezkel that certain introductory remarks are in order. Implicit in the term Merkavah, chariot, is the idea of movement (Kuzari 4.3). Yechezkel saw the heavenly throne, so to speak, in motion as its holiness left the Ark and its environs. His vision brought home to the exiles the full impact of the impending catastrophe in Jerusalem (Radak).”
“The leimotiv of Yechezkel’s prophecy is his apprehension of Israel as the bearers of the Divine Glory. God’s name is sanctified or desecrated by the ebb and flow of their fortunes (see Pref. remarks to Ch. 20 and comm. to v. 9 ibib.). The Sages (Bereishit Rabbah 82.7) express this thought with the phrase the forefathers themselves are the Merkavah. In the gamut of Israel’s experiences, exile is the Chilul Hashem, “Desecration of the Name”, par excellence: ‘And when they came to the nations to which they came, they desecrated my holy Name, in that (men) said of them: “These are the people of Hashem, and they are gone out from their land’ (36.20).”
So, the bottom line of the phrase the “heavens were opened” and the vision of God in Ezekiel is explained as the commentary continues, “Thus the Merkavah vision taught that, during Israel’s exile, God’s glory was confined to the heavens. His earthly ‘chariot’, Knesset Israel, had failed him. Instead of being the ‘witnesses’ to God’s presence on earth (Isa 44.8) they had become a play thing for Nebuchadnezzar through whom he could boast of his own invincibility (Isa 14.13-14. For an elaboration of this theme, see comm. to 10.1).
“Rosh Ha Shannah 31a depicts in heart-rending fashion how the Divine Presence withdrew gradually in ten stages from its place on the Ark in the Holy of Holies. God’s intention had been that he might ‘dwell among them’ (Exo 25.8) by permitting his Shekinah to rest in the Temple. But, with the passage of the centuries, Israel lost its perception of the Temple as the source of holiness within the nation. They came to look upon the Temple service as a means of appeasing God’s anger at the theft, murder, and adultery which they practiced in their daily lives (Jeremiah 7.9-11), rather than as a means to elevate themselves. The fatal attraction of the cult of idolatry had penetrated deep within the very Temple confines, where men and women groveled before graven images (Ch. 8). The Divine Presence could no longer find a place among so degraded a people.”
“And so, slowly and gradually, from the Ark to the floor; from the floor to the courtyard; from the courtyard to the wall, the Shekinah receded from its earthly habitation, casting, as it were, a last longing glance from the Mount of Olives before its final ascent to heaven by way of the wilderness. Behind it, to await the flames of Babylon, there remained only an empty shell, a House of Holiness, already gutted in all but its external features (Shir Ha Shirim Rabbah 3.3).”
“But the recession of the Shekinah did not end God’s relationship to his beloved people. Poignantly human hands reach out from beneath the Merkavah (1.8, 8.3) beckoning the penitent (Pesachim 119a), hinting at God’s ‘longing’ for a return. And at the very moment of departure, a stormy wind came from the north (1.4) to subjugate the world before Nebuchadnezzar, so that it might not be said that Israel fell before a lowly nation (Chagigah 13b); even in their moment of utter disgrace, God safeguarded their honor.”
“The Merkavah vision can be seen from another perspective. The Zohar (Exo 2a) reads the entire vision as having the purpose of teaching the exiles that their ties to God had not been sundered: ‘At that moment God called to his heavenly hosts and said to them: ‘What are you doing here? When my beloved children are in the Babylonian exile should you be here? Arise all of you and go down to Babylon and I shall come with you…'”
Thus the tone is set for all the subsequent prophecies and exhortations of Yechezkel which have the purpose of assuring Israel of the continuation of their Divine destiny through the years of the exile.”
To get into this deeper would be a whole other subject, but, the reasons for the withdrawal of the Shekinah in Ezekiel’s time would be the same reason for the Shekinah/Yeshua withdrawal in the first century. This brought exile and the destruction of the Temple, the city and the land. Yeshua departed the same way and at the same place the Shekinah in Ezekiel did. So, there is a link between the ‘heaven being torn’ and the ‘veil being torn’, and there is a link between the withdrawal of the Shekinah and the withdrawal of Yeshua. Both will depart from the Mount of Olives, both leaving the Temple and the city to their fate. Both were empty shells, already “gutted” regardless of what external buildings remained.
The same message will run true in both instances. Israel was not abandoned or “cast away” because these things happened. Just like Ezekiel did, the Talmidim and Shaliachim of Yeshua will reassure Israel and the Jewish people of their divine destiny through the years of exile, until the Messianic Redemption comes. At every “mile-marker” in the redemption provided by Yeshua we see the “heavens opened.” We see it at the immersion of Yeshua (Mark 1.10), at his death (Mark 15.38), at the death of Stephen (Acts 7.54-56), with Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10.11) and at the Natzal (Rev 4.1) and at the Second Coming (Rev 19.11). These are not coincidences, but stop signs where we are to stop and take notice. It is a look into the “Ma’aseh Merkavah” and the throne room of the Lord. A deeper revelation is coming when that term is used. It is possible that when the Messiah returns, the veil of the Temple will be torn again.
In Part 42, we will begin by discussing that possiblity by looking into what happened during the days of Uzziah when he offered incense and there was a great earthquake, mentioned several times in the Scriptures. Josephus says that the “Temple was rent” so we are going to look into what happened, and how does that fit into the redemption.
Leave a Reply