The debate over whether Christians—or specifically Messianic believers—are “under the Law” often hinges on one of Jesus’ most quoted yet frequently misunderstood statements:

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 tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
(Matthew 5:17–18)

The key to this passage lies in the meaning of two central phrases: “until everything is accomplished” and “until heaven and earth disappear.”

What Does “Until Everything is Accomplished” Mean?

In verse 18, Jesus declares that not even the smallest letter (yod) or stroke (kotz) of the Law will pass away “until everything is accomplished.” But what exactly is the deadline?

The answer lies in the purpose of His coming, stated clearly in verse 17: “I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them.”
The word fulfill (plēroō in Greek) does not mean merely observe—that was already happening. It means to complete, bring to fullness, finish, or carry out something that has been awaiting completion.

What were the Torah and the Prophets anticipating?
Their ultimate fulfillment was the arrival of the Messiah. As Paul writes, “For Christ is the end [Greek: telos, meaning goal or fulfillment] of the Law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4). The promises and longings of the Law and Prophets culminate in Him.

“Heaven and Earth” as the Temple

When Jesus says, “until heaven and earth disappear,” some may assume He is speaking of the physical cosmos. But in Jewish thought—particularly in Second Temple and rabbinic traditions—“heaven and earth” was often a symbolic reference to the Temple, the meeting place of heaven and earth.

Ancient Jewish and Christian sources frequently viewed the Jerusalem Temple as the meeting place of “heaven and earth,” describing it as a microcosm of the cosmos. For example, the Book of Jubilees refers to Zion as “the navel of the earth,” emphasizing the Temple’s cosmic centrality, while 1 Enoch pictures a “blessed place” at the middle of the earth, understood as Zion, “where heaven and earth meet.”¹ The Psalmist explicitly draws this connection: “He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth which He has founded forever.” (Psalm 78:69)

Jewish writers such as Philo and Josephus explain the Temple’s design as reflecting the structure of the universe, with the sanctuary representing heaven and the courts symbolizing the earth and sea. Josephus calls the Temple’s veil “a kind of image of the universe,” with its colors and embroidered constellations reinforcing the idea that the Temple was a miniature cosmos.² Rabbinic tradition echoes this, describing the Foundation Stone at the Holy of Holies as “the stone out of which the world was founded.”⁴

In rabbinic texts like Sifre Devarim 306 and Genesis Rabbah 10:1, the Temple is described as the axis where heaven and earth connect. Scholars argue that Second Temple Jews often viewed the Temple as a microcosm of creation itself—a symbolic heaven and earth.³ When Jesus speaks of “until heaven and earth passing away,” He may well be referring not to the end of the universe (besides, where does the Bible ever speak of the end of the universe?), but to the coming end of the Temple system and the covenant it represented.

This symbolic language continued into early Christian thought. Church Fathers and New Testament scholars alike recognize that references to “heaven and earth” could serve as idioms for the Temple and its covenantal order.

Crispin Fletcher-Louis explains that “heaven and earth” meant that the Jerusalem Temple and the Torah-constitution at its center. And that “heaven and earth shall pass away” refers to the imminent end of Israel’s covenantal world with the attendant destruction of the Temple.⁴

G. K. Beale adds that Israel’s temple was a miniature version of “heaven and earth,” pointing to the ultimate hope of a new creation.⁵

Thus, a broad consensus among ancient sources and modern scholars is that “heaven and earth” was often more than just a reference to the cosmos: it functioned as a metaphor for the Jerusalem Temple, the sacred space where God’s presence bridged heaven and earth.

Until Christ came—and as long as the Temple stood—the Torah and its commandments remained binding under the Old Covenant. But the arrival of the Messiah signaled the dawning of a new covenant, no longer rooted in the physical rituals and boundary-markers of Israel (such as kosher laws, meant to segregate Israel from the Gentiles), but centered in Christ Himself and in His new commandments (e.g., the Sermon on the Mount).

The Law wasn’t bad. It was good. But it served its purpose. Paul captures this beautifully:

“Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.”
(Galatians 3:23–25)

Wait, so we are no longer supposed to “honor our father and mother” (Exodus 20:12)?

On the contrary, the New Covenant represents a radical elevation of ethical living—a moral standard far higher than before: It’s no longer merely about respecting those you love; it calls you to lay down your life for them. The Law taught justice and honor; the New Covenant demands self-giving love. As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).

Conclusion

Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17–18 are not about the collapse of the physical universe, but about the collapse of an era—the ending of the Temple-centered age and the arrival of the messianic era/kingdom.

This is why, in His final moments on the cross, Jesus proclaimed “It is finished” (June 19:30)—signaling the completion of His mission and the fulfillment of the covenant.

Seen this way, “until everything is accomplished” and “until heaven and earth pass away” can be understood as referring to the end of the Temple system and the fulfillment of everything in Christ. The Messiah didn’t come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it—bringing its long-awaited promises to completion and opening the way to a new covenant. This new covenant is not based on separation, but on reconciliation; not confined to one nation, but extended to all. It is not another law about “not murdering,” “not stealing,” or “not cheating on your taxes,” but a better one—a covenant with better ethics that teaches us to “forgive your enemy” and “be generous to the outcast.”

And no, this doesn’t mean that God replaced Israel with the Church—that’s an entirely different story, which you can explore more in my short, upcoming book, “The Elephant in the Middle East: The Hidden Theological Context of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.“

1. Book of Jubilees 8:19; 1 Enoch 26:1. ↩︎
2. Josephus, Antiquities 3.6.4; Wars 5.5.4; Philo, Vita Mos. 2.88-142 ↩︎
3. For instance, see N.T. Wright, Jesus and the Victory of God. ↩︎
4. Crispin H. T. Fletcher-Louis, “Heaven and Earth: Temple and Cosmos in the New Testament,” Eschatology in Bible & Theology, pp. 278–279 ↩︎
5. G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, p. 66 ↩︎