'The veil in the Temple was torn'

Q. In Mt 27.51 it says "the veil in the Temple was torn", what does that mean?
A. At the hagim, or festivals, the veil at the front of the Temple building, at the porch, was opened according to Josehus and other historians. Many have the impression that the veil into the Holy of Holies was torn, and that simply is not true. There were two veils seperating the Holy PLace from the Holy of Holies, with an opening at the south end and the north end, with a corridor between them to allow the High Priest to enter there on Yom Kippur. The veil, singular, torn in Mt 27 was the outer veil to the Sanctuary. The veil was called "the Heavens" because it had the Milky Way and stars of the universe on it. It did not have the signs of the Zodiac on it. Now, why would the Temple have this in it? There is a forbidden "astrology" and an astrology that was allowed. Forbidden astrology had to do with horoscopes and fortune-telling by the stars and related practices.

But, there is an allowed" astrology" that is talked about in the Torah. Gen 1.14 says that there would be lights in the heavens for signs and seasons. The signs of the Zodiac, well known Temple times, revealed the redemptive plan of G-d through the Messiah. Joel talks about the sun and the moon as signs of judgement. Yeshua's birth was accompanied by signs in the heavens. Joseph had dreams concerning the sun ,moon, and stars. To pull this veil back at the festivals is called "opening the heavens" or "rending the heavens" and it means "G-d is going to show something deeper, a vision of G-d". It lso means that "harmony is being brought to the heavenly realm." In Ezek 1.1, it says that "the heavens were opened" and he was given a vision of G-d, something deeper.

When Stephen was stoned, the "heavens were opened" and he was given a glimpse into the throne of G-d like Ezekiel. In our passage in Mat 27.51, it may have literally happened, but this is a very mystical expression and it means much more than what is usually taught. In the case of Yeshua, harmony was being brought to the heavenly realm and there is a deeper meaning to what was going on. Just like at the festivals, we can get a glimpse into the deeper things of G-d when the "heavens are opened". Jewish history records there was another time when this veil was torn and that was in the time of Uzziah. This verse in Mt 27.51 carries far more meaning than one would expect when the Temple practice of "opening the heavens", or the outer veil of the Sanctuary is revealed and understood.