say, as Mark does, that the curtain was torn in two has a twofold meaning. On the one hand, it is a judgment upon the temple and the temple authorities, the local authorities who colluded with imperial Rome to condemn Jesus to death. On the other hand, it is an affirmation. To say that the curtain, the veil, has been torn is to affirm that the execution of Jesus means that access to the presence of God is now open.
