John Calvin Commentary Exodus 26:31

"And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubim the work of the skilful workman shall it be made." — Exodus 26:31 (ASV)

And you shall make a veil. The inner shrine or recess was covered by one veil; the sanctuary was divided from the court by another. By both, the people were admonished how reverently God’s majesty must be regarded, and with what seriousness holy things are to be engaged in, so that they might not approach God’s presence without fear, nor boldly intrude upon the sacred mysteries.

But the veil primarily signified the obscurity of the Law’s shadows, so that the Israelites would know that the time of full revelation had not yet come, and that the spiritual worship of God was still shrouded in a veil. Thus, they might extend their faith to their promised Messiah, at whose coming the truth would be revealed and laid bare.

Therefore, when Christ rose again from the dead, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom (Matthew 27:51), and an end was put to the ceremonies of the Law. This was because God then presented Himself in His living and express image, and the perfect reality of all the ceremonies was manifested.

Now, therefore, in the light of the gospel, we behold face to face what was then shown from afar to the ancient people under coverings (2 Corinthians 3:14).

Yet, although there is now no veil to prevent us from openly and familiarly looking upon Christ, let us learn from this figure that the manifestation of God in the flesh is a hidden and incomprehensible mystery (1 Timothy 3:16).

It is not without reason that Christ Himself compares His body to the temple, because the fullness of the Godhead dwells in it (John 2:19).

Let us then know assuredly that the Father is in the Son, and the Son in the Father (John 17:21), but if it is asked how, this is ineffable, except that the eternal Son of God (who before the creation of the world possessed the same glory with the Father, John 17:5) is Himself now man, so that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).