Written by Deanna Brooks, volunteer with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Arkansas 
When we read through Scriptures, we see God has pursued a relationship with man from the beginning. He walked with Adam and Eve; He called Abraham to follow Him; Moses was chosen by God to lead the Hebrews from Egypt and become His people in the Land of Promise.
The Old Covenant was given through Moses; the New Covenant came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17).
Under the Old Covenant they had:
- A set of laws written in stone where God outlines acceptable behavior and sinful behavior.
- An earthly high priest through the line of Aaron, who had to offer a sacrifice for his own sin first (Heb. 5:1-4) … and these sacrifices were repeated over and over with communication through priests and prophets.
- Rituals of purity and cleansing; sacrifices were offered for illness, childbirth, and sin. There were times of required fasting. The Sabbath was to be holy and a day of rest. Men went to Jerusalem three times a year.
- ONLY the High Priest was allowed in the Most Holy Place where the Ark of the Covenant was and where God came down to receive the sacrifice.
For centuries a curtain hid the area where the high priest entered once a year to make sacrifices for sin (Lev. 16), where God came down and hovered above the mercy seat to receive the sacrifice. The people never entered into this holy area.
But one Passover when the priests were offering the sacrifice of the lambs for the sins of the people, the thick, heavy curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom. It was torn in two because another lamb was being sacrificed not too far away on the hill of Mount Calvary, and that lamb was Jesus—the perfect lamb—the perfect sacrifice which was being offered for all men for all time. Because of this sacrifice, Jehovah God proclaimed Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (Matt. 27:51 ESV)
This 30-foot-tall curtain was ripped from top to bottom, as though the hands of God reached down and tore it open, inviting you and me to have direct access to Him. Because the curtain was torn, we have direct access to the Throne of Heaven!
Because of that perfect sacrifice, our purification is through the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses us as we are baptized into Him. Jesus' sacrifice was one time for all men. Our baptism is a one-time event that washes us clean. Our life of faithfulness and confession keeps us clean.
Under the New Covenant we have:
- Laws written on the heart (Heb. 10:16).
- A sinless Heavenly Priest (Heb. 9:24, 28, 10:12) who offered one sacrifice.
- The opportunity to meet with other disciples on the first day of the week to share the Lord’s Supper and worship our Heavenly Father.
- Adoption by God (Gal. 4:5). When we become followers of Jesus, the Hebrew writer says, “For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Heb. 2:11).
- Jesus Christ, our Messiah as our sacrifice … not a bull or goat, as we read in Hebrews 10:10-12.
…we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
In verses 19-23, Hebrews 10 goes on to say that because Jesus is our sacrifice, one sacrifice for all of us, we have access to our Heavenly Father through Him.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
In 1742, Charles Wesley wrote a hymn that contains these words: “With confidence I now draw nigh and ‘Father, Abba Father’ cry!” Those who lived before us under the Old Covenant could not have sung those words.
So, the important question for us is: Do we take advantage of our access to the Throne of Heaven as children and heirs of the Heavenly King?