Note 5 at Lu 23:45: The veil spoken of here reached from the ceiling to the floor and from wall to wall and was the veil that separated the holy of holies from the holy place in the temple.

Solomon's temple was thirty cubits high (1Ki 6:2), but Herod had increased the height to forty cubits according to the writings of Josephus, a first-century historian. Therefore, depending on what standard is used to convert cubits to feet (there is uncertainty as to exactly what a cubit equals in our feet and inches), this veil was somewhere between sixty and ninety feet high.

The fact that this veil was rent from top to bottom (Mt 27:51 and Mr 15:38) is significant. No person could have torn the veil in this fashion. It was definitely God who rent the veil. The timing of this veil being rent corresponded exactly with the moment that Jesus died.

Heb 9:1-9 tells us that the veil separated the holy of holies where God dwelt from the rest of the temple where people dwelt. This signified that man was separated from God by sin (Isa 59:1-2). Only the high priest was permitted to pass beyond this veil once each year (Ex 30:10 and Heb 9:7) symbolizing the Christ who would enter into God's presence for us and make atonement.

The moment that Christ died, this veil was torn in two, revealing that the sacrifice had been made and that there was no longer any separation between God and man. Jesus tore the veil, that is to say His flesh (Heb 10:20), in two and opened up a new way unto God through Himself.