He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it. – 2 Chronicles 3:14

Today's Scripture Reading (October 20, 2022): 2 Chronicles 3

As a science fiction lover, one of the places on this planet that holds an endless fascination for me, and many others like me, is Area 51. If you don't know what Area 51 is, it is the colloquial title given to a government base located in southern Nevada. Area 51 is an unofficial name for the military facility, whose official name is Homey Airport or Groom Lake, the latter of which is named for a salt flat next to the facility. Area 51 is a training base, and it has served as an experimental testing base for the Lockheed U-2 aircraft in the 1950s and likely numerous other experimental planes and probably weapon delivery systems since then. As for the Lockheed U-2 aircraft, it is an intelligence-gathering plane that can fly at high altitudes and stay in the air for long periods. And the craft was first tested at Groom Lake.

But, for science fiction fans, other rumors occupy our imaginations. For those who believe in aliens and UFOs visiting us from other planets, Area 51 is the facility where all the bodies are buried, and all the evidence of extraterrestrial visits is stored. The truth is that imagination is usually much more fun than the truth.

Of course, we will never know. Area 51 is strictly off-limits to most of us ordinary people. And those who have entered the Groom Lake facility aren't talking. I suspect that not knowing is probably a good thing. Reality would probably be a big disappointment.

The author of Chronicles describes the curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The cherubim worked into the new Temple curtain reflected similar cherubim which had been worked into the original curtain of the Tabernacle. But the reality was that this was as close as most in Israel would get to that curtain. Much like Area 51, the problem is that ordinary people would never get close to the Holy Place. Only the Levites and priests working in the Temple would be able to go into that Holy Place. And behind the curtain lay the Most Holy Place, and there only the High Priest could go, and he could only go there once a year, on the Day of Atonement.

But most people would never see the Holy Place, the Most Holy Place, or the curtain that separated the two places. All they would ever have are the description of these places and the curtain that separated them printed in books like Chronicles, and maybe imagine what such a place might have looked like if we had been allowed inside.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 4