Heaven and Earth, and the Law of God
There are at least two reasons why Yeshua (Jesus) said that “not one jot or tittle of the Law of God” can change “till Heaven and Earth passes away.”
Have you ever considered this matter?
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:17-19
Consider the following:
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach...For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws...I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
Deut. 30:11,16,19,
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more... And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done!
Rev. 21:1, 5
Yeshua did not come to abolish the Law and Prophets, but to fulfill all of the Law and Prophets.
Not one jot or tittle (any part of the law) will pass away until two criteria are met:
1) Heaven and Earth pass away (NOT DONE YET)
2) All of the Law and Prophets are fulfilled (NOT DONE YET)
Some will say, Yeshua clearly said on the cross "It is finished," thus, now jots and tittles can be removed from God's law.
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30
What was finished?
Was all of the Law and Prophets finished?
Has heaven and Earth passed away?
Or, was it simply the plan of salvation (the cross) was finished?
Is the plan of salvation (the cross) concluding all of the Law and Prophets?
Did the cross cause Heaven and Earth pass away?
Even though the above should be rather easy to answer, we will pull in scripture just to prove that Heaven and Earth has not passed away.
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
2 Peter 3:13
Even if Heaven and Earth passing away was only figurative (likely a literal event), Peter still states that Heaven and Earth have not yet passed away.
We are still looking forward to that prophetic event.
As it turns out, Heaven and Earth passing away, and all of the Law and Prophets being fulfilled, happens to be the exact same thing.
It should be no surprise why Yeshua mentioned such criteria in the same sentence as it relates to the law. Heaven and Earth passing away equals all of the Law and Prophets being fulfilled.
It is as simple as that.
Those that know their Bible also know full well that the last prophecy mentioned is Heaven and Earth passing away and being made new.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more... And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done!
Rev. 21:1, 5
It is then that Yeshua states "It is done!" exactly like Yeshua in Matthew 5:17-19 declared the Law and Prophets would be at this last event. All of the Law and Prophets are now done at this point.
Also note that in Revelation 21 (and Isaiah 65:17) that it is the first Heaven and first Earth that passes away. Regardless of whether this is a literal or figurative event (likely literal), this is the event Yeshua clearly references in Matthew 5, and it has not yet happened yet. This is the only Heaven and Earth passing away event Yeshua can be referencing, because the first Heaven and Earth only passes away once. The first Heaven and first Earth are still here, until they pass away according to Revelation 21, and the former things are no longer remembered.
It is quite apparent that removing jots and tittles from the law before this event would not only be premature, but be against God's plan.
"But Jesus Did All of the Law for Me"
Yet still, in a last ditch effort to hold on to a slipping law abolishing doctrine, some will say "but Jesus did all of the law so obviously I do not have to."
In reality, this is a true statement. But at this point, we are clearly talking about two different things.
To illustrate this, all we have to do is allow them to finish their sentence.
"but Jesus did all of the law so I don't have to..." ...for what?
They would have to respond like this.
We don't have to keep the law of God, for salvation.
Yeshua observed all of the law perfectly, so that we do not have to observe God's law, for salvation. No one has ever been able to keep God's law for salvation. All believers since Adam and Eve were saved by grace through faith. This is the only way. Those before the cross looked forward to the means to salvation (grace via the cross) and those after the cross look back. There is no salvation process difference.
So then, it is true, we do not have to keep God's law, but only in the context of salvation.
But in Matthew 5:17-19 our Lord is teaching obedience that is to result because of our salvation.
We know this because Yeshua begins discussing rewards for believers based on whether they removed jots and tittles from the Law of God in their teachings.
Thus, there are consequences to removing jots and tittles from the Law of God.
If a believer teaches less commandments, they are to be least in the Kingdom.
If a believer teaches all commandments, they are to be great in the Kingdom.
These are not salvational concequences, these are rewards (or lack thereof) for those who are already in the plan of salvation based on our level of practicing and teaching obedience.
This should be simple to understand. We all understand that breaking God's law is sin. Believers who sin more (break God's law and teach others to do the same) will be least in the Kingdom as part of their eternal rewards. Those who sin less (and teach others obedience to the Law of God) will be great in the Kingdom.
These are rewards based on our observance of fulfilling the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20). We are to make disciples and teach them to obey everything that Yeshua taught. We know without a doubt, that Yeshua taught the Law of God as written by Moses, otherwise He would have been a false prophet (Deut. 13). Thus, there is only one logical conclusion, just as Matthew 5:17-19 agrees, we are to teach all nations (Gentiles) to obey everything out of the Law of God as written by Moses.
To say that we do not have to keep God's law just because "Jesus kept it for us," simply makes no sense.
Yeshua was baptized as well. Should we say that we should not be baptized because Yeshua was baptized for us?
Yeshua did not commit adultery. Should we say that we can commit adultery because Yeshua refrained from adultery for me?
Absolutely not. We are covered by grace for such things, which is in the context of our salvation, but that does not mean we should start ignoring commandments because of our grace.
What faith in the Word would we really have if we do not even contain a real desire to live the same Word that we profess to believe in?
Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means!
Romans 6:1-2
Obedience is not to maintain our salvation, but simply be the evidence of our salvation. It is an expression of what we believe inwardly, which is the Word of God.
So, we might not have to keep God's law for salvation, but He asks us to keep God's law because we should not want to sin, and we should want love Him back and love others.
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments
1 John 5:2-3
That should sound rather acceptable right? If we really believe in His grace for us, which is really His love for us, then how could we not want to love Him back in the keeping of His commandments? From the beginning, observing the Law of God was always equated to loving God. For example:
"You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always."
Deut. 11:1
We are to understand that we are to love God as He defines He wants to be loved. It is not up to us to define how to love Him. This would be true with any successful marriage today. We do not tell our spouse how we decided we were going to love them, they tell us how they want to be loved.
So we have established that not one jot or tittle of the law can be removed until all of the Law and Prophets are fulfilled. We understand when it is all fulfilled when Yeshua says it is, when He says "It is done!" It is then when Heaven and Earth pass, and clearly no more prophecy remains to be fulfilled.
But why? Is there a reason that God has to wait till Heaven and Earth passes away before it is even remotely possible for a jot or tittle of the law to be removed?
It turns out that there is a reason, a very good one.
What is the relationship between Heaven and Earth and the Law of God?
Heaven and Earth are the witnesses of the Law of God being set before us.
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach...For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws...I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,
Deut. 30:11,16,19,
Why does that matter?
It matters because two to three witnesses establishes a matter.
“Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
Deuteronomy 19:15, Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1
This can only mean one thing, which is another reason why Yeshua taught it the way He did. Not only is Heaven and Earth passing away the last event before all of the Law and Prophets are fulfilled, but Heaven and Earth are the witnesses to the establishing of the law.
The Law of God is established until Heaven and Earth passes away, just like Yeshua says in Matthew 5:17-19.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you,until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
Matthew 5:17-19
Isn't this amazing? Simply looking up (Heaven) or looking down (Earth) is all the proof you need that the Law of God has not changed in the least.
Anyone believer teaching anything contrary to this, will be least in the Kingdom at best.
Yeshua continues:
Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
Remember what Paul said about "establishing the law?"
Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we "establish" the Law.
Romans 3:31
Did you used to think Paul taught against the Law of God? Many have, even in the first century. Remember how many times Paul was accused of teaching against the Law of God?
How did Paul directly respond to these accusations?
But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets,
Acts 24:14
The irony is that we are still accusing Paul of teaching against the Law of God as written by Moses. Paul might be the most misunderstood individual in all of history.
It is because of this unfortunate pattern with Paul and his writings, that Peter felt compelled to issue us a warning about Paul and his teaching on the Law of God.
Just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.
2 Peter 3:15-17
Understand this, lawlessness is simply sin, which is the breaking of God's law.
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
1 John 3:4
So it appears we have a choice. We can use Paul for, or against the law.
But according to Peter, there is only one correct way to read Paul's difficult letters, and it is certainly not how most of us have been taught.
What this means, if Peter is right, is that we should not take Paul's difficult words as a tool to teach against the Law of God, all while ignoring Paul's positive statements regarding the Law of God. This, of course, would make Paul out to be an unstable schizophrenic. Peter even warned us against such unstable teaching in his warning about Paul.
We need to reconcile Paul's more challenging words despite of our previous, or even current, doctrinal bias that wants to removed jot and tittles from the law. It is possible, and when one is not ignorant about the front of the Bible, Paul actually is much easier to understand.
This might sound like a harsh statement, but Bible colleges today spend much less time in the Old Testament (which was the Scriptures in the first century) and much more time in the New Testament. As with any book, this is simply not best practice. Like the Bereans, we are to test all doctrine to the Word of God. In the first century, the Bereans only had the Old Testament.
So, if you want to be true Berean (Acts 17:11), then employ the same process that they did. Test every word of Paul to the Law and Prophets. There already exists much study to assist in understanding the difficult words of Paul. Paul can be reconciled with the whole Word of God.
But in any attempt to dismiss Matthew 5:17-19, one will find only contradiction. Some are at peace with this. Most are not. Determine for yourself, because in the end, yourself is all you will have at the judgment seat that determines our rewards in eternal life.
So, as you walk the Earth, and see the stars in the Heavens, let that remind you that the same Law of God that the Bible declares to be the Way, Truth, Life, Light, Perfect, and Freedom still exists and is for us today. In fact, Christ, as the Word of God in the flesh, was called these things for a reason.
Notice that the Law of God that Yeshua walked was the whole Word of God, and remember, He is our example. In our reading of Acts, we also realize that all of the Apostles, including Paul, walked the same Law of God that Yeshua did, even after the cross. This should not surprise us at all, for the New Covenant was to write the Law of God on our heart, giving us the desire to do it, not the desire to abolish it.
So, with the words Yeshua said, Peter's warning about Paul, the scriptural way to test doctrine, and the whole point of the New Covenant, what are we still doing mitigating our means to love God. Let's love Him back the way He intended. As it turns out, obedience, and loving God, is a blessing, just like He said.
We hope that this study has blessed you, and remember, continue to test everything.