Matthew 5:17-19, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done. Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.”
The Scriptures 2009
Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete*1. For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.”
Restored Name King James Version
Matthew 5:17-18, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill*1. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
*1 is word #G4137 πληρόω pleroo (plee-ro'-ō) v., 1. to fully, completely fill., 2. (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow)., 3. (figuratively) to fully supply, satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.
[from G4134], KJV: accomplish, X after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply, Root(s): G4134
Many teachers take “I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill” and say He fulfilled the Law (and the prophets) or He fulfilled it at the cross, and use some of Paul’s writings to “prove” their claim. However when I read Scripture for myself I realized this is not so, and that this passage is the exact proof that the Law had not been done away.
First I want to touch on Paul and his writings briefly, later we will go over some of his teachings.
2 Peter/Kepha 3:15-17, "and reckon the patience of our Master as deliverance, as also our beloved brother Paul/Sha’ul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these matters, in which some are hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the other Scriptures. You, then, beloved ones, being forewarned, watch, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the delusion of the lawless, but grow in the favor and knowledge of our Master and Savior יהושע Messiah. To Him be the esteem both now and to a day that abides. Awmĕin.”
Paul is the only writer that is singled out as being “hard to understand” and we are warned that we should not get carried away “with the delusion of the Lawless” as a result of misunderstanding his writings. More on this later. Now back to the “fulfilled” passage;
Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.”
“I did not come to destroy but to complete” (the Law and the Prophets)
“till the heaven and the earth pass away”
“till all be done/perfected”
These three must be before the Law can be done away/destroyed/abolished/etc.
“I did not come to destroy but to complete” (the Law and the OT Prophets would have to be fully completed)
“till the heaven and the earth pass away” (heaven and Earth would have to pass away)
“till all be done/perfected” (all prophecy would be done/perfected)
Have all these already happened?
Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete/fulfill….”
"but to complete/fulfill"
So I'm told yes He completed everything in the Law and the prophets, thus the Law (Instructions) of Yah is abolished/destroyed/done away.
So the first thing I find odd is the fact that He said 2 times, He DID NOT come to destroy the Law/prophets.… But lets look at "but to complete/fulfill" Has He completed everything written in the Law and the prophets that is for Him to compete? There is a prophecy that says Yahshua (Jesus) will return, He has not YET fulfilled/completed this;
Daniyl 7:13-14, “I was looking in the night visions and saw One like the Son of Enosh, coming with the clouds of the heavens! And He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. And to Him was given rulership and preciousness and a reign, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His rule is an everlasting rule which shall not pass away, and His reign that which shall not be destroyed.”
Revelation 19:13-15:, "And He was wrapped in a tallit dipped in blood, and the Name of Him is called: Yahshua; The Salvation of YHWH. And the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him upon white horses, And out of His mouth goes a sharp, two-edged sword, that with it He should strike the nations; and He will rule over them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty YHWH.”
Ps 2:9; Isa 63:3; Rev 2:16; Rev 2:27; Rev 14:19-20; Rev 19:21
Daniel 7:14, “And to Him was given rulership and preciousness and a reign, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His rule is an everlasting rule which shall not pass away, and His reign that which shall not be destroyed."
Daniel 2:44, “And in the days of these sovereigns the Might of the heavens shall set up a reign which shall never be destroyed, nor the reign pass on to other people – it crushes and puts to an end all these reigns, and it shall stand forever.”
Zep 3:8, “Therefore wait for Me,” declares יהוה, “until the day I rise up for plunder. For My judgment is to gather nations, to assemble reigns, to pour out on them My rage, all My burning wrath. For by the fire of My jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.”
Rev 11:15, "And the seventh messenger sounded, and there came to be loud voices in the heaven, saying, “The reign of this world has become the reign of our Master, and of His Messiah, and He shall reign forever and ever!”
So we can CLEARLY see He has not yet fulfilled ALL the Law and prophets, and you know what part of the Law He has not yet fulfilled? His return and Judgment. He came as a Lamb, returns as a Lion. There are 7 “Feast” days of YHWH in Scripture. These 7 days are prophetic shadow pictures of the 1[SUP]st[/SUP] and 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] coming of Messiah Yahshua, the first 3 are about His 1[SUP]st[/SUP] coming as the suffering Lamb. The final 4 are about His 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] coming, when He returns as a conquering Lion.
Now back to the “fulfilled” passage;
Matthew 5:17-18, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.”
“till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah”
Has heaven and earth passed away? Take a minute to look out your window to make sure....… No it has not? Heaven and Earth is still there? If it is still there, according to the Messiah, not me, according to Him, nothing has or will pass from the Law until this happens. Does Scripture speak of a time when this will happen or is it a figure of speech?
Revelation 21:1-2, “And I saw a renewed heaven and a renewed earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. And I, Yoḥanan, saw the set-apart city, renewed Yerushalayim, coming down out of the heaven from Yah, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
Zephaniah 1:14-18, “Near is the great day of יהוה, near and hurrying greatly, the noise of the day of יהוה. Let the mighty man then bitterly cry out! That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and trouble, a day of waste and ruin, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of a shophar and sounding – against the walled cities and against the corner towers. And I shall bring distress on men, and they shall walk like blind men – because they have sinned against יהוה, and their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of יהוה. And by the fire of His jealousy all the earth shall be consumed, for He makes a sudden end of all those who dwell in the earth.”
Isaiah 66:22, “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make stand before Me,” declares יהוה, “so your seed and your name shall stand. And it shall be that from New moon to New moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,” declares יהוה.”
Isaiah 65:17, “For look, I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered, nor come to heart.”