The sinfulness of God’s people had meant that the Lord God had to remain hidden from his people lest they perish (Exodus 33:20). So when the Lord came to his people to lead them out of Egypt, he was hidden in the cloud (Exodus 13:21; Exodus 19:18; Exodus 40:34). The veil in the tabernacle served to hide God from human eyes, lest people perish. But on the day when Jesus died on Calvary’s cross, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51), for Christ through his sacrifice had reconciled sinners with God. As the seventh angel blew his trumpet this atoning work of the Saviour was remembered in heaven and the temple’s deepest gospel exposed; God and man can live together in peace!
19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.