"until heaven and earth pass away"

[Slayer]

Matthew 5:17-18

“Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.”

How does one explain “till heaven and earth pass”? The Old Law has been fulfilled, but heaven and earth has not passed?

 

[Robbinson]

Matthew 5:17-18

“Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.”

How does one explain “till heaven and earth pass”? The Old Law has been fulfilled, but heaven and earth has not passed?

Its not till heaven and earth pass AND till all be fulfilled - but rather, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one title shall not pass of the law “till all be fulfilled”. It is the "till all be fulfilled that determines the timing.

For example, if I said for all time, until all if fulfilled, the law wont change - its not for all time, but until all is fulfilled.

Christ did not nullify the law, but he fulfilled it (all but the moral law/10 commandments) which continues.

Blessings,

Brian

 

[Slayer]

Thanks!

And how did Jesus’ fulfillment do away with the penalties of sin like being killed for homosexuality or killing witches?

And where does it say that the Old Covenant was a preparation for the messiah?

 

[Robbinson]

Thanks!

And how did Jesus’ fulfillment do away with the penalties of sin like being killed for homosexuality or killing witches?

And where does it say that the Old Covenant was a preparation for the messiah?

Hi Slayer:

As to your second question - one verse is Jer 31:31 - it talks of a “new covenant” that would expressly be different than the Mosaic covenant. This is the spiritual moral law written in our hearts - the principles of the beattitudes which expand upon the meaning of the 10 commandments (as distinghished from the 613 commandments of the Hebrew scriptures).

As to penalties for sin by stoning and death - i don’t from what perspective you are asking the question. If you are Christian, I would point to Jesus’ interaction with the adulterous woman - the penalty for her sin was stoning - but he urged her, instead, to repent and sin no more.

Good questions.

Blessings,

Brian