Exodus 26:31 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

And thou shalt make a vail— A vail made of the same stuff and workmanship with the inmost covering of the tabernacle, hung upon four pillars of shittim-wood, overlaid with gold, &c. (see note following) was to divide the sacred dwelling into two parts, the inmost called the most holy, and the outer called the holy place. Into the most holy the ark, &c. was put; where none but the high-priest was permitted to enter; and that only once a year. Thus it is often, in the New Testament, considered as a figure of heaven, into which Christ our High-Priest entered once for all with his own blood. See Hebrews 6:19-20; Hebrews 9:11-12; Hebrews 9:24; Hebrews 9:28. The vail itself, says Ainsworth, signified the flesh of Christ, under which the Godhead was veiled, and through which, by suffering death, he himself entered, and made way also for us to enter into heaven. To confirm this, at the death of Christ the vail of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; Matthew 27:51. But, upon all these topics, St. Paul's epistle to the Hebrews will prove the best comment. Let it only be briefly observed, that if the holy of holies, with the ark, &c. figured out the true heavens; it seems most reasonable to believe, that the cherubims signified the angelic orders, those attendants upon the presence of God; or, otherwise, there would be wanting in this typical representation something to correspond to so important a reality in the true heavens. Again, in another sense, the holy of holies may represent the high privileges of the Christian dispensation, and the high state of holiness, into which the faithful believer may enter even here below. In this sense, no vail of separation keeps us from it: the vail was rent when the Saviour suffered; and since the great High Priest is entered into the heavens, every believer is consecrated a priest, and may with boldness approach the mercy-seat through the blood of Jesus. Blessed be God for his unspeakable gift!