How Heaven and Earth
Passed Away!
By Don K. Preston
Question: Has heaven and earth passed away?
Ridiculous you say? Let us ask another question: Do
you believe the Old Covenant has been done away? I
dare say you will say it has. Few believers in Jesus would deny he has
established his New Covenant. IF YOU BELIEVE THE OLD COVENANT HAS PASSED AWAY
THEN YOU MUST BELIEVE "HEAVEN AND EARTH" HAVE PASSED AWAY! Please
read the words of Jesus:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the Law and the Prophets; I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Verily I say unto you, until heaven and
earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall pass from
the law until all be fulfilled". [Matthew 5:17-18]
This little tract will attempt to answer a few questions about these
verses. First, what did Jesus say had to happen before the law could pass away?
Second, does the Bible tell us when these requirements would
be met? Let us answer the first question.
Until Heaven and
Did you notice that Jesus said heaven and earth had to pass away before
the law could pass?!? Yes, he really did say it;
please, get your Bible right now and read it for yourself! It has been my
experience that a LOT OF PEOPLE have never seen those
words before! A relative of mine read the verse five times before admitting it
actually says this!
Has the heaven and earth passed away? Well, obviously, physical heaven
and earth haven't been destroyed. But
read the text again will you? Jesus DID say until heaven and earth pass away
the Old Law could not pass. Our choices here are limited.
If
we understand the "heaven and earth" as literal, physical heaven and
earth then this means the Old Law is still in effect. Simply put the argument
would go like this: If heaven and earth had to pass before the Old Law could
pass; and if heaven and earth refers to literal, physical heaven and earth,
then, since literal, physical heaven and earth still exist, [have not passed],
it must be true that the Old Law has not passed.
A
person could say the Law here is the Law of Jesus; but this will not work
because Jesus had not yet died to confirm his New Covenant. He was living under
the Old Law at the time also. The Jews standing there were not concerned with
the passing of Jesus' law. They did not believe he even had one! They were
concerned with the Old Law! Finally, if this is speaking about the passing of
Christ's law it contradicts the verses in the New Testament that teach Jesus'
word will never pass away, Matthew 24:35.
On
the other hand, if we understand the "heaven and earth" as figurative
language referring not to physical creation, but to something else, it is
possible that this "heaven and earth" could pass away, allowing for
the passing of the Law. Let us explore the definition of the heaven and earth momentarily.
Defining Heaven and Earth
Sadly many Bible students are unfamiliar with the
apocalyptic, and figurative language of the Bible. So many people like to say "The Bible says what it means and means what it
says". They seem to be saying there is no such thing as figurative or
spiritual language. This is sad because a
Remember, Jesus was a Jew. As such he was raised
hearing the Old Testament prophets taught in the synagogues. These prophets
utilized spiritual language. As the prophet of and to
The prophet Isaiah predicted the passing of heaven and earth in chapter
24. He said the earth would be utterly broken down, clean dissolved, and
completely removed, vs. 19. Now this sounds like the destruction of material
creation but closer examination reveals it to be speaking
of the destruction of
A
dilemma is created for the literal interpretation of
the text when we come to verse 22. In these verses God
is depicted as dwelling gloriously in
Another example of "heaven and earth" being referent to the
Covenant World of Israel and not literal creation is Isaiah 51:16.
"I have put my word in your mouth and have covered
you with the shadow of my hand, to establish the heavens, to
found the earth, and to say to
[Unfortunately, the New International Version incorrectly translates this
verse. Check several translations.]
What is the point? Notice that God is speaking to
The meaning of the verse is that Jehovah gave his covenant with
God created
Old
In
Isaiah 51:5-6 God predicted the "heaven and
earth" would vanish. This is the same "heaven and earth" he had
established at Sinai. This is not a prediction of the passing of literal heaven
and earth--it is a prediction of the passing of the Old World of Israel so that
the New Covenant World of Messiah would be established.
We believe this heaven and earth that Isaiah said would
perish is the same heaven and earth Jesus said must pass before the Old
Law would pass.
Isaiah 65-66 also predicted the passing of "heaven and earth"
but as with the other prophecies noted above it does not refer to the passing
of physical creation. In chapter 65 God predicted that
Now Isaiah 65 said the new creation would come when
In
Matthew 23:31-39 Jesus said
1.] Isaiah said
2.] The new heaven and earth would not come until
3.] Jesus said
4.] Therefore
In
Matthew 24 Jesus predicted the destruction of the
In
graphic detail Jesus chronicled the events to occur
before that disaster and the signs indicating its imminence, vss. 14-15. In highly apocalyptic, [symbolic] language he described the fall itself:
"The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its
light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heaven shall
be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then
all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man
coming in the clouds of the sky with power and great glory".
In
verses 32-33 Jesus said that by heeding the signs they
could know his coming was at hand. In verse 34 he assured them that generation
would not pass away before all those things happened. In verse 35 Jesus reassured them that what he had said was true. He said "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word
shall never pass away".
This verse is Jesus' way of contrasting the Old World of Israel that was
to perish, and his
In
verse 36 Jesus gave a final warning about knowing the
time of those events. Although he informed them how to know when the event was
imminent and reassured them that it would definitely happen in that generation,
he tells them they cannot know the precise day and hour. They must therefore be
watchful, verse 42ff.
Can you see the relationship of Jesus' prediction of the passing of the
"heaven and earth" in Matthew 24 with his statement in chapter
Hebrews 12:25-28 is another text that speaks of the passing of the Old
Covenant World under the imagery of the passing of heaven and earth.
The writer alludes to the giving of the Law at Sinai, [remember Isaiah
51], as the shaking of earth. He says God promised to shake not only earth, but
heaven also. This shaking signified removing them; therefore
God was promising to remove heaven and earth. Why? So that something that could not be removed would remain.
Now notice: in verse 28 he says they were at that time receiving, [they had not
already completely received it], a kingdom "that cannot be shaken". Reader, if they were receiving an unshakable kingdom
this of necessity means the "heaven and earth" was being removed! [Remember
Jesus' words in Matthew 24:35 about the "heaven and earth" passing
but his word not passing? Jesus' world then is unshakable. Hebrews is
discussing the shaking of one world and receiving of another unshakable
kingdom. See the comparison?]
Patently,
physical heaven and earth was not being removed; but
Hebrews was written just a few years before the fall of
Space
forbids full discussion of II Peter 3 and Revelation as further examples of
scriptures speaking of the passing of heaven and earth when the meaning was the
passing of the Old World of Israel. Suffice it to say both Peter and John say
the heaven and earth that was to perish was the same heaven and earth the Old
Covenant had predicted to perish. See II Peter 3:1-2 and Revelation 22:6. The
significance of this fact will become apparent below.
What have we seen then? We have seen that both the Old and New Covenant
predicted the passing of "heaven and earth" when physical heaven and
earth was not the subject. The World of Israel was the subject. We believe this
is precisely what Jesus had in mind in Matthew 5:17-18 when he said "until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the law". He was saying that
until
Until All Is Fulfilled
Not only did Jesus say the Law would not pass until heaven and earth
passed, he said the Law could not pass until it was all
fulfilled.
It
has been the unfortunate practice of many to essentially
ignore the first "until" in Matthew 5:17-18. The Sabbatarians are most observant of the first one, insisting
that since [physical] heaven and earth still stand the Law still stands. This
would be fine except there are two "untils"
in these verses and they are of equal force. Jesus said when all the Law was
fulfilled the Law would pass--and the Bible is very emphatic in telling us when
all the Law would be fulfilled.
In
Daniel 9:24-27 Daniel was told that 70 weeks had been
determined on his people and city, i.e.
Daniel's prophecy then tells of the time when all prophecy would be fulfilled. When would this be? The end of Daniel's
vision was the destruction of
The last book in the Bible confirms that all prophecy was to be fulfilled at the fall of
Reader,
Jesus was not crucified in
Our point is this, John predicted the fall of
Finally, we have Jesus' own words as to when all prophecy was to be fulfilled. In Luke
Luke 21 thus contains the identical elements of Matthew 5:17-18; the
passing of heaven and earth, and the fulfillment of all prophecy emphatically
placed within the context of the destruction of
Note the perfect correlation of Daniel 9, Matthew 24, Revelation
and Luke 21. They all tell of the time when all prophecy would
be fulfilled; they all identify that time as the destruction of
In
Matthew 5:17-18 Jesus said the Old Law would not pass away until all of it was
fulfilled; Jesus said all that was written would be fulfilled when Jerusalem
fell in his generation; therefore the Law did not pass until Jerusalem fell in
Jesus' generation!
Now, Jesus said "until heaven and earth
pass" the law would not pass. He also said
"until all be fulfilled" the law would not pass. We have seen that
the passing of the Old World of Israel in the destruction of her city and
temple in 70 AD is spoken of as the passing of heaven
and earth. We have also seen that Jesus said that was when all things that were written would be fulfilled. Since
Yes, But...Objections Considered
There are basically four objections to what we
have just studied. First, it is objected that the end
of the world did not happen and Jesus did not come in the fall of
Did Christ Come In 70 AD?
To
some this may seem a ridiculous question--to serious Bible students this is not
a debatable point. The Bible is quite emphatic that Jesus was to return in that
first century generation before all of his disciples died. Jesus so stated in
Matthew 16:27-28. In chapter 24:29-34 it speaks of him
coming in power, with angels and great glory to gather the saints. In verse 34 he said "Verily I say to you, this generation will
not pass, until all these things be fulfilled".
Please note Jesus said "Verily I say to
you", Matthew
James said "The coming of the Lord is at
hand" and "the judge stands right at the door," James 5:7-9. He
told his readers to be patient "until the coming of the Lord". Peter said "the end of all things is at
hand," and asserted Christ was "ready to judge the living and the
dead," when he wrote, I Peter 4:5,7. The Hebrew
writer said "In a very little while, he that will
come will come and will not tarry,"
Some one will object that Jesus did not come back because time continues.
This objection overlooks the very thing we have sought to establish earlier--the
prophets did not predict the end of time, they predicted the passing of the
"heaven and earth" of Old Testament
Reader, Jesus said he was coming back in the generation that was living
when he spoke. Are you willing to accept the word of the Lord of heaven or your
own preconceived ideas about the end of the world? Just what does the authority
of the Scriptures mean to you? What does INSPIRATION mean?
The "Already-But Not Yet" of the
Passing of the Law
The second objection cited above says the Law could not have passed at
the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD because Paul says the Law was nailed to
the cross of Jesus when he was crucified, Colossians 2:14f. Please read that
text; sounds impressive does it not? But there is more
to the picture than most want to admit!
There is in scripture something the scholars call the "already but
not yet". Simply put, the writers of the Bible
often spoke of certain things as PRESENT REALITIES in certain texts while in
other passages they spoke of the same things as COMING IN THE NEAR FUTURE! In
other words, they said they had them [the blessings], but they did NOT [fully]
have them yet! This is true of the passing of the Old Law!
In Ephesians 2 Paul taught
about the passing of the Law and that the cross was
the power of that passing. It is equally clear from Paul's other writings that
he believed the full passing of the Law was future to him!
In
II Corinthians 3 the apostle discusses the passing of
the Law written and engraven in stones, the Old
Covenant. In verse 11 he says "If what is passing
away [that is the Old Law, DKP] was glorious, what remains is much more
glorious". [NKJV] The reader will please notice the PRESENT TENSE of the
verse! Reader, this passage was written over 20 years after the Cross, yet Paul said the Old Law was passing, not had
passed, away!
To
drive this home even more see the next verse--but before that see Romans
8:24-"hope that is seen is no hope". Something realized is no longer
anticipated-no longer the object of hope! Remember this as we go back to II
Corinthians 3.
In
verse 12 Paul says "Seeing then that we have such
hope". What hope was that? Please go there right now and see for yourself
that it was the passing away of the Old Law! Paul, TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE DEATH
OF JESUS ON THE CROSS, called the passing of the Old Law a HOPE!
The passing of the Law was for Paul "already but not yet"!
Without controversy the Cross was the power of the
passing. Some have called it the beginning of the end.
But as we have seen, ALL the Law had to be fulfilled
before the Law could pass, and ALL of the Old Law was not fulfilled at the
Cross.
All Fulfilled At the Cross?
The third objection says in effect that on the Cross Jesus fulfilled ALL
THAT WAS NECESSARY FOR THE PASSING OF THE OLD LAW, i.
e. his sacrifice, and therefore the Law could pass when his passion was
completed. The verse offered as proof for this
position is Luke 24:44- "These are the words I spoke to you while I was
yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law
of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me".
These words are construed by those who insist the Law fully passed at the
Cross to mean that Jesus was saying his death was the
fulfillment of all things necessary for the passing of the Law!
One thing that should immediately strike the reader is the fact that
Jesus is not even speaking of the passing of the law and the prerequisites for
that. He IS speaking of the necessity of the fulfillment of the law to be
sure--but in contrast to those who appeal to this text he is not saying "now here is all that is necessary for the Old
Covenant to pass away; I must suffer". In Matthew 5
Jesus IS speaking of the prerequisites for the passing of the Law, and he says
it must ALL be fulfilled. In Luke 24 Jesus was saying that his passion was one
of the constituent elements of the Law that had to be
fulfilled NOT THE ONLY THING IN THE LAW THAT HAD TO BE FULFILLED!
Does Jesus limit "the fulfillment of all things" in Luke to his
passion? Hardly! Go back to verse 27. Jesus taught his
disciples: "And beginning at Moses and the prophets, he expounded to them
in all the scriptures the things concerning himself".
Notice the reference to all the scriptures.
Now read verse 26- "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these
things AND TO ENTER HIS GLORY?" [emphasis mine]
Reader, in expounding the scriptures and the need for him to fulfill all things
JESUS DID NOT STOP AT THE CROSS, HE SPOKE OF THE GLORY
TO FOLLOW THE CROSS!
Even those who believe the Law ended at
These thoughts are corroborated in Acts 3:18ff.
In verse 18 Peter says Jesus fulfilled all things
written concerning his suffering. But notice verses 21
and following.
Peter tells them Christ
would remain in heaven until all things foretold by the prophets i.e. the
restoration of all things, were fulfilled. Reader, the restoration of all
things is equivalent to the consummation of the glory of the Messiah. It means
the Messiah is fully established in his kingdom! Thus,
Peter, in speaking of the restoration of all things was speaking of the
fulfillment of the rest of the Old Covenant scriptures--and this fulfillment was directly related to the glory of Messiah! When we
examine Luke 24 and see that Jesus said it was necessary for him to suffer and
enter his glory we can see it involves more than just the cross, the ascension and Pentecost. It involves the full establishment
of the
In
addition, in Luke 24:44-47 Jesus said that not only must he suffer and enter
his glory, but that "remission and repentance of sins should be preached
in all nations beginning at
And consider: to say that all that was necessary to abrogate the Old Law
was the Passion is to directly reverse Jesus' words in Matthew 5:17-18! Jesus
said NONE of the law would pass until ALL WAS FULFILLED. But
the view that the Law passed at the Cross makes Jesus to say ALL the Law would
pass when SOME of it was fulfilled! Specifically, this objection has Jesus
saying that ALL THE LAW WOULD PASS WHEN ONE PREDICTION, THAT OF HIS PASSION, WAS FULFILLED! But Jesus said all
the Law and prophets had to be fulfilled; not just one specific prediction!
Reader, when an interpretation completely reverses Christ's words there is
something wrong! Jesus not only said he had to suffer, he said he had to enter
his glory; he said the gospel had to preached in all the
world. Fulfillment of all things positively entailed more than the cross, thus
the Law could not pass at the Cross since Jesus said
all of it had to be fulfilled before any of it could pass.
Finally, if you say the law passed at the cross then "heaven and
earth" passed at the cross! Yet Hebrews 12, which positively is speaking
about the passing of the Old Law under the imagery of the passing of heaven and
earth, was written after the Cross and that passing was still future! Further,
it does not explain how all of the law was not fulfilled at cross, in light of
Luke
LAW VERSUS PROPHETS?
Many try to negate the force of Matthew 5:17-18 by saying what Jesus really
meant was that he would fulfill all the legal and moral mandates of the Old Law
and the Old Law would then pass; but he did not really mean all PROPHECIES had
to be fulfilled. Thus, in this interpretation there is
a distinction between the Law and the Prophets.
This interpretation flatly contradicts Luke 24:44! In that text Jesus
said "all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses,
and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning me". Reader, you cannot delineate
between "the law" and the "prophets" in Matthew 5 and then
appeal to Luke 24 to prove Jesus fulfilled just "the law" in his
passion! Luke 24 speaks about the law, the prophets, and the Psalms and Jesus
said all things had to be fulfilled!
If
Jesus was saying he had to fulfill the things written
about his death, and if all he had to fulfill was "the Law" as
distinct from the prophets, then patently, THE LAW OF MOSES PREDICTED THAT
DEATH!
Reader, the Law had a predictive element to it; it was far more than
legal mandates and moral legislation. See Colossians 2:16f.
In
that passage Paul told the Colossians not to be judged
in regard to meat and drink, feast days, and Sabbaths. These were all part of
the legislation of the Old Law. But notice, in verse
17 Paul says they all foreshadowed Christ--they were "shadows of things to
come". [Please note those things were still viewed
as coming! They had not fully arrived yet!]
Jesus said "the law" was predictive in nature. In Matthew
In addition, in Hebrews
10:1-4 the writer says the Law was a shadow of good things to come, [once again those things were viewed as not yet fully come].
Our point is that one cannot delineate between the Law and the Prophets
for the Law itself was prophetic! Jesus had to fulfill all the prophetic
scriptures whether couched in types, symbols, visions, or oracles.
Further, THE PROPHETS ARE VERY CLEARLY CALLED
"THE LAW"! In I Corinthians 14:21-22 Paul quotes from Isaiah 28 and
specifically calls it "the law". A quick
check of Romans 3:10ff will reveal that Paul quotes from the Psalms, Jeremiah, Proverbs and Isaiah and calls all of them "the
Law", vs. 19. In addition, as noted above, THE LAW PROPHESIED, Matthew
11:13. Now since the prophets are called "the law",
and since "the law" PROPHESIED one cannot delineate between the law
and prophets in Matthew 5.
Our point is that the term "the Law" was the abbreviated way of
referring to the entire Old Covenant. When Jesus said
"one jot or one tittle will in no wise pass from
the Law until all be fulfilled" he was using the form of speech prevalent
in his time. He did not need to say "Law and Prophets" or "Law,
Prophets and Psalms" each and every time!
When Jesus said he did not "come to destroy the Law and the Prophets
but to fulfill" he was saying he came to fulfill
all the Law and prophets. He was using a form of ellipsis. When he said he did not come to destroy the Law and Prophets but to
fulfill he did not have to say "all the Law and Prophets" again; it
was understood that was what he meant. This being true it is patent that Jesus
did not say JUST THE LAW, TO THE EXCLUSION OF THE PROPHETS, HAD TO BE FULFILLED
BEFORE THE OLD SYSTEM COULD PASS. He in fact, did say ALL THE PROPHETS HAD TO
BE FULFILLED BEFORE THE OLD LAW COULD PASS!
What
we see then is that when one attempts to have Jesus say all he had to do was
fulfill the legal and moral mandates of the law before the Law could pass he
imposes a non-scriptural distinction upon the term "the Law". Second,
he ignores the elliptical language of Matthew
Fulfilling the Promises and Purpose
of the Law
I
would like to ask you a question: If a law or covenant has
been abrogated, are any of its penalties or promises applicable anymore?
Yes, or No? Will you please get a pencil and circle
the one you believe is correct?
Now common sense says that if a law is no longer in effect then its
penalties or promises are voided. Well, consider this
in light of Jesus' words in Matthew 5:17-18. If the Old Covenant was abrogated
at the Cross does this not mean that all Old Covenant
promises and penalties were either fulfilled or abrogated at that time? If not,
why not? Now lets see what this means.
Paul emphatically says his eschatology is taken
directly from the Old Covenant, Acts 24:14ff; Acts 26:21ff. Specifically, he
tells us that the promise of the resurrection was an Old Covenant promise made
by and to Moses and all the prophets. But Paul was
speaking about this promise SEVERAL YEARS AFTER THE CROSS WHERE, WE ARE TOLD,
THE OLD COVENANT WAS TAKEN AWAY. But if the Old Covenant was taken away at the
Cross how could Paul, years afterward, still be preaching Old Covenant promises?!? You see, if the law was nullified at the Cross, THEN ALL OF IT WAS NULLIFIED! Remember, Jesus said
NONE would pass until ALL was fulfilled. If ALL was not fulfilled then NONE of it passed! The Old
Covenant stands or falls as a WHOLE!
The Old Covenant had several constituent prophetic elements and it was
essential they all be fulfilled before the Old
Covenant could pass and the New Covenant World be fully established. The Old Covenant predicted the salvation of the remnant of Israel,
Isaiah 2-4; the gathering of the Gentiles, Isaiah 49:6ff; the giving of a New
Covenant, Jeremiah 31:29ff; the filling up of the measure of Israel's sin
leading to their destruction, Isaiah 65:7ff; the coming of the Lord in judgment
of the nations, Isaiah 66, Joel 3:1; Zechariah 14; the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit, Joel 2:28ff; the passing of the "heaven and earth" of Israel,
Isaiah 24, 65, 66; and much more. IF THE OLD COVENANT WAS ABROGATED AT
THE CROSS HOW COULD ANY OF THESE PROPHECIES BE VALID
AFTER THE CROSS? Quite simply, they could not; yet the New Testament writers
repeatedly refer to these prophecies AFTER PENTECOST and anticipate their
fulfillment! THIS UNEQUIVOCALLY PROVES THE OLD COVENANT WAS
NOT ABROGATED AT THE CROSS!
This is also demonstrated in another way. In
Acts 13:40f Paul preached to the Jews at
National destruction for
violating the Covenant was part and parcel of the Law
delivered to
Note our argument:
Major Premise: No promise or penalty of a covenant is applicable if that
covenant has been abrogated.
Minor Premise: But Paul applied Old Covenant penalties to
Conclusion: Therefore the Old Covenant penalties
were still applicable.
Note another argument:
Major Premise: No promise or penalty of a Covenant is applicable if that
Covenant has been abrogated.
Minor Premise: The promises of the coming of the Lord, judgment of the
nations, and the resurrection are Old Covenant promises, Isa.
66; Dan. 12; Joel 3:1f, etc.
Minor Premise: The Old Covenant was abrogated at
the Cross- traditional view of the Old Covenant.
Conclusion: Therefore the promises of the coming
of the Lord, the judgment of the nations, and the resurrection, being Old
Covenant promises, were abrogated at the Cross!
IF
THERE IS A SINGLE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY THAT IS UNFULFILLED THEN THE OLD
COVENANT STILL STANDS; IF THE OLD TESTAMENT IS TRULY
ABROGATED THEN THE ESCHATOLOGICAL PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT MUST BE
FULFILLED OR NULLIFIED!
Reader, the view that the Old Law passed at the Cross strips the New Testament
scriptures of all eschatology and demands that every promise of "last
things" was fulfilled at the Cross and then God started over on Pentecost
with a totally new set of "last things"
promises! This is patently false; the New Testament writers constantly affirm
that they are simply reiterating the Old Covenant promises, II Peter 3:1, 13;
Revelation 10:6ff!
The truth is that the Old Covenant promises of the coming of the Lord,
judgment and resurrection had to be fulfilled before
the New Covenant World of Jesus could be perfected. Those promises of "the
end" as seen above, do not deal with the end of time but with the end of
the Old Covenant World of Israel and the full establishment of the New Covenant
World of Christ.
The Old Law could not pass until it had accomplished its purpose--this is established in Galatians 3:23-25. Paul here says those
under the law were "under guard", "kept
for the faith which would afterward be revealed". He says the Law was given to serve as a "tutor" [NKJV] to bring
them to Christ. He then concludes by saying
"after faith is come we are no longer under a tutor".
It
is clear that "the faith" Paul has in mind is not the subjective
faith of individuals but the objective system of faith we call the Gospel System.
The Law was to continue until "The Faith" came.
Reader, did "The Faith" come at the cross? Patently not;
although the cross is where the New Covenant of "The Faith" was confirmed by the death of Jesus the Testament maker,
Galatians 3:15.
The Old Covenant predicted the coming of a New Covenant, Jeremiah
31:29ff. Did the Old Covenant pass away before that predicted New Covenant was delivered? If so the Old Covenant passed away before it
had fulfilled its purpose in bringing
In
Hebrews 8:8-13 the writer recalls God's promise given in Jeremiah and then says
"In that he says 'a new covenant' he has made the first obsolete. Now what
is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away".
The Hebrew writer was living in the days in which the New Covenant was being delivered. As he writes
he recalls God's promise to give the New Covenant and says the Old was ready to
vanish away! Reader, the Old had not yet been fulfilled!
It had not yet fulfilled its function because the promised New Covenant was not yet fully delivered. But
the writer says the Old was "ready to vanish". "Ready to
vanish" does not mean it had already vanished!
It
is clear then that the Old Law was in a time of transition. The New Covenant had
to be fully given before the full purpose of the Old
was completed and Paul very clearly says the Law was to last until "The
Faith" was delivered. Would anyone assert the New Covenant was fully delivered at the cross? At
Pentecost? Surely not. Therefore
until the Law had fulfilled its purpose in bringing the Jews to the New
Covenant it did not pass away.
Summary and Conclusion
What have we seen in this little tract? We have seen that heaven and
earth had to pass away before the Old Law could pass away! We have defined
"heaven and earth" as the Old Covenant world of Old Israel. We have
seen that instead of predicting the destruction of physical heaven and earth
the Bible predicted the passing of Old Israel's world in order for God to
create the
The ideas presented in this tract are representative of what is called Covenant Eschatology. This is the view that God
has kept his promises in fulfilling all prophecy by the time of the passing of
Old Israel in 70 AD. The fall of