Heaven And Earth Will Not Pass Away Until… (Matthew 5:17-18) - Part 4

Jesus stated that the Law and the Prophets and heaven and earth would remain until he fulfilled the law and accomplished all things, meaning that after he fulfilled the law and accomplished all things, the law and the prophets would disappear and the heaven and earth would pass away.

The phrase all things refers to all that was written about Jesus in the Law and the Prophets (the Jewish Scriptures, meaning Genesis - Malachi).

It is clear from Jesus’ words to the two men on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) and his words to the disciples (Luke 24:36-53) that he had fulfilled what was written about him in the Scriptures.

This leaves us asking two questions:

Question #1: What did Jesus mean by the disappearance of the law and the prophets?

Question #1: What did Jesus mean by heaven and earth would pass away?

Because Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets through his life, death, and resurrection, they could now disappear, meaning, the Law with its judgments and the Prophets with their warnings would disappear - meaning, the law would no longer be in effect and practiced and the words of the prophets would no longer be in effect and heeded.

The words disappear and pass away indicate a transition over a period of time away from the Law and the Prophets and the old heaven and earth.

Remember, God stated he would create a new heaven and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17-25) that is based upon the new testament of grace that he would make (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

The new heaven and the new earth and the new testament would not be like the former heaven and earth and the former testament of law.

When Jesus was with his disciples in the upper room, just hours before his arrest and soon crucifixion, he stated that he would establish the new testament in his blood, resulting in the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28; Luke 22:20).

This is the fulfillment of Jeremiah 31:31-34 where God would establish the new testament of grace.

With the establishment of the new testament of grace, the testament of law ended, thus becoming the old testament.

According to the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 8:13, the old testament of law was obsolete, outdated, and would soon disappear.

By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete;
and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

It became outdated and obsolete when Jesus shed his blood on the cross, thus establishing the new testament of grace.

It would soon disappear (Hebrews was written around 65 AD) when God totally destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD - which is what Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24-25; Luke 21; and Mark 13, as well as in Revelation.

Even though the death of Jesus made the law obsolete and outdated, the Jewish unbelievers continued to practice the law, until it was destroyed in 70 AD

They also persecuted their fellow Jews who accepted Jesus as the Christ and who refused to practice the law, because they related to God through the new testament of grace.

Not only had the new testament come to the believers in Jesus in the first-century, but the new heaven and the earth had come to them as well, meaning, they were no longer under the judgments of the law but were under the joy of grace.

This is exactly what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5:17-18 when he said the testament of law (the Law and the Prophets) would not disappear and the heaven and earth would not pass away UNTIL he fulfilled and accomplished all that was written about him in the Law and the Prophets.

With the death of Jesus, the law was abolished (Ephesians 2:14-15).

Once Jesus fulfilled and accomplished all things, including the establishment of the new testament of grace, the law became outdated and obsolete, and the prophets were no longer needed.

This is why the writer of Hebrews told his Jewish audience the following:

In the past [the Jewish Scriptures that contained the Law and Prophets that foretold of the coming Christ/Messiah and the new testament of grace and new heaven and new earth] God spoke to our [Jewish people] ancestors through the prophets [Isaiah - Malachi] at many times and in various ways, but in these last days [the days when the old law era was disappearing and the old heaven and earth era was passing away] he has spoken to us [the Jewish people] by his Son…

The writer was telling the Jewish people in AD 65 that the Law and Prophets pointed to Jesus and the establishment of the new testament of grace.

In 70 AD, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the old testament era of law totally disappeared and the old heaven and earth era fully passed away.

The people in AD 65 were living in the last days of the old testament era of law and the old heaven and earth before they were totally removed in 70 AD, resulting in the full arrival of the new testament of grace and the new heaven and earth.

With the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, the words of Jesus were fulfilled - the Law and the Prophets fully disappeared and the heaven and earth fully passed away.

Paul referred to this in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when he wrote, “The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!”

The old is the old testament of law and the new is the new testament of grace.

Jesus also declared the ending of the old testament of law and the old heaven and earth in Revelation 21:1-5.

In these same verses, he stated the new heaven and earth had come.

If you would like to read more about the new heaven and earth in Revelation 21-22, CLICK HERE.