THE VERSES ARE SCRIPTURE — THE ARROWS ARE INTERPRETATION
PART 6 — MESSIAH IS THE “END” OF THE TORAH — WHAT DOES TELOS MEAN?
Greg Witter | Ephraim’s Cry
Hebraic Mindset Study Series
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Romans 10:4, the Goal of Torah, Messiah, and the Difference Between Reaching the Intended Goal and Abolishing Yahuah’s Righteous Instruction
Another theological arrow repeatedly appears in arguments concerning Torah:
MESSIAH → “END” OF TORAH → TORAH TERMINATED
The verse used is Romans 10:4:
«“For Messiah is the end of the Torah unto righteousness to everyone who believes.”»
The verse is Scripture.
But what does “end” mean?
Does Sha’ul (Paul) mean Messiah terminated Torah?
Does he mean Messiah abolished Yahuah’s righteous instruction?
Does he mean Torah ceased to have any authority when Messiah came?
Or does the Greek word translated “end” carry the idea of goal, purpose, outcome, culmination, or intended destination?
Once again:
THE VERSES ARE SCRIPTURE.
THE ARROWS ARE INTERPRETATION.
And the arrow must be proven.
ONE ENGLISH WORD CANNOT SETTLE THE QUESTION
The Greek word translated “end” in Romans 10:4 is:
τέλος — telos
The word can refer to an end, goal, outcome, result, culmination, completion, or intended purpose depending upon context.
That matters.
If an English reader sees:
“Messiah is the end of the law”
and automatically inserts:
“Messiah terminated Torah,”
the interpretation has already happened.
The English word end has been assigned one particular meaning before the context has even been examined.
That is precisely what this series has been warning against.
A translation choice does not eliminate the responsibility to test the interpretation.
SHA’UL USES TELOS ELSEWHERE
We do not have to guess whether telos can mean something other than termination.
Sha’ul uses the word elsewhere.
Romans 6:22 says:
«“But now, having been set free from sin, and having become servants of Elohim, you have your fruit resulting in set-apartness, and the end everlasting life.”»
The telos is everlasting life.
Does that mean everlasting life is terminated?
Obviously not.
The word describes the outcome or result toward which the process leads.
1 Timothy 1:5 likewise says:
«“Now the goal of the command is love from a clean heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere belief.”»
Again, telos identifies the goal or intended outcome.
The command does not terminate love.
It aims toward love.
Therefore, the word telos itself cannot prove:
TERMINATION.
Context must determine the meaning.
READ ROMANS 10:4 INSIDE ROMANS
This is where the abolition interpretation immediately encounters a major problem.
The same Sha’ul who wrote Romans 10:4 already wrote Romans 3:31:
«“Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.”»
That statement is explicit.
Does faith nullify Torah?
Sha’ul answers:
LET IT NOT BE.
Therefore, when we reach Romans 10:4 seven chapters later, we cannot simply make Sha’ul teach:
“Messiah nullified Torah.”
He has already denied that conclusion.
If our interpretation of Romans 10:4 contradicts Romans 3:31, the problem is not Romans.
CHECK THE ARROW.
ROMANS 7 MUST ALSO REMAIN ON THE TABLE
Romans 7:12 says:
«“So that the Torah truly is set-apart, and the command set-apart, and righteous, and good.”»
Verse 14 says:
«“For we know that the Torah is spiritual…”»
Verse 22 says:
«“For I delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man.”»
Again, this is the same letter.
The same author.
The same argument.
Sha’ul calls Torah:
SET-APART.
RIGHTEOUS.
GOOD.
SPIRITUAL.
And he says he delights in it.
Then three chapters later we are told he supposedly announces:
“Messiah terminated that holy, righteous, good, spiritual Torah.”
That conclusion requires proof.
The English word end cannot carry that entire theological burden by itself.
WHAT IS ROMANS 9–11 ACTUALLY DISCUSSING?
Romans 10 belongs inside a larger argument.
Sha’ul is discussing Yisra’el.
Righteousness.
Faith.
Unbelief.
Zeal.
Messiah.
The promises.
The nations.
And Yahuah’s continuing covenant purpose.
Romans 10:1 begins:
«“Brothers, truly my heart’s desire and prayer to Elohim for Yisra’el is for deliverance.”»
Then verse 2 says:
«“For I bear them witness that they have an ardour for Elohim, but not according to knowledge.”»
Then comes the critical verse 3:
«“For not knowing the righteousness of Elohim, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of Elohim.”»
That is the immediate problem.
The problem is not:
“They obeyed Yahuah too much.”
The problem is that they sought to establish their own righteousness rather than submitting to Yahuah’s righteousness.
Then verse 4 follows:
«“For Messiah is the telos of the Torah unto righteousness to everyone who believes.”»
Context matters.
MESSIAH IS THE GOAL — NOT THE DESTROYER
Torah points toward Messiah.
The promise points toward Messiah.
The sacrificial system points toward Messiah.
The priesthood points toward Messiah.
The appointed times point toward Messiah.
The Prophets point toward Messiah.
The covenantal storyline moves toward Messiah.
Yahusha does not arrive as a stranger who destroys everything that came before Him.
He is the promised Seed.
The Prophet like Moshe.
The suffering Servant.
The King.
The High Priest.
The Lamb.
The Redeemer.
The Torah and the Prophets bear witness to Him.
Therefore, understanding telos as goal, culmination, or intended outcome fits the covenantal storyline naturally.
Messiah is where Torah has been pointing.
That does not make Torah the enemy of Messiah.
It makes Torah a witness to Messiah.
YAHUSHA SAID TORAH TESTIFIES ABOUT HIM
John 5:46 records Yahusha saying:
«“For if you believed Moshe, you would have believed Me, since he wrote about Me.”»
That is remarkable.
Moshe points toward Yahusha.
Torah bears witness to Messiah.
Therefore, Messiah being the goal toward which Torah points is completely consistent with Yahusha’s own testimony.
He does not say:
“Moshe was the failed system I came to destroy.”
He says:
“MOSHE WROTE ABOUT ME.”
The arrow points toward Messiah because Scripture itself points toward Messiah.
YAHUSHA DID NOT COME TO DESTROY TORAH
Matthew 5:17 must remain on the table:
«“Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”»
Again:
DO NOT THINK.
If Romans 10:4 is interpreted to mean:
“Messiah is the termination of Torah,”
while Yahusha explicitly says:
“Do not think that I came to destroy Torah,”
we have created a contradiction.
There is no need for it.
Messiah can be the fulfillment, culmination, goal, and intended destination of Torah without becoming its destroyer.
FULFILLMENT IS NOT ABOLITION
This distinction has appeared throughout the series.
Something can reach fulfillment without becoming false.
A prophecy fulfilled does not become a lie.
A promise fulfilled does not become meaningless.
A shadow reaching its substance does not mean the shadow was evil.
A road reaching its destination does not mean the road never existed.
A guardian reaching its intended purpose does not make righteousness obsolete.
And Torah reaching its Messianic goal does not require Yahuah’s righteous instruction to become unrighteous.
FULFILLMENT ≠ ABOLITION.
GOAL ≠ DESTRUCTION.
TELOS ≠ AUTOMATIC TERMINATION.
TORAH AND THE PROPHETS WITNESS TO RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH
Romans itself makes this explicit.
Romans 3:21–22 says:
«“But now, apart from Torah, a righteousness of Elohim has been revealed, being witnessed by the Torah and the Prophets, and the righteousness of Elohim is through belief in Yahusha Messiah to all and on all who believe.”»
Notice carefully.
The righteousness revealed through faith is:
WITNESSED BY THE TORAH AND THE PROPHETS.
Torah is not fighting the Gospel.
Torah is witnessing to it.
The Prophets are not fighting Messiah.
They are witnessing to Him.
That is covenant continuity.
AVRAHAM ALREADY DEMONSTRATED THIS
Romans 4 immediately turns to Avraham.
Why?
Because justification by faith is not a new invention that appeared after Torah supposedly failed.
Avraham believed Yahuah.
It was counted to him for righteousness.
Part 2 already established this.
And Genesis 26:5 tells us the same Avraham obeyed Yahuah’s voice, commandments, statutes, and Torah.
Again:
Faith.
Then faithfulness.
Not faith against obedience.
Not Torah against promise.
Not Messiah against righteousness.
The artificial opposition comes from the arrows.
WHAT DOES TORAH ACCOMPLISH?
Torah identifies sin.
Romans 3:20 says:
«“For by Torah is the knowledge of sin.”»
That does not mean Torah causes sin.
It exposes sin.
A mirror reveals dirt on the face.
The mirror did not create the dirt.
Likewise, Torah reveals transgression.
It identifies Yahuah’s righteous standard.
It exposes humanity’s failure.
It witnesses to the need for redemption.
And it points toward Messiah.
The sinner cannot use Torah obedience to erase previous guilt.
That requires redemption.
But redemption does not destroy the standard that revealed the guilt.
THE PROBLEM IS SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS
Romans 10:3 identifies the problem:
“seeking to establish their own righteousness.”
This distinction is essential.
Sha’ul is not condemning Yahuah’s righteousness.
He is condemning human attempts to establish righteousness apart from proper submission to Elohim.
Messiah is the culmination of Torah’s testimony concerning righteousness received through faith.
He is not permission to invent a new definition of righteousness.
MOSHE HIMSELF TAUGHT HEART OBEDIENCE
The idea that Torah represents nothing but external legalism is foreign to Torah itself.
Deuteronomy 6:5 says:
«“And you shall love Yahuah your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your being, and with all your might.”»
That is Torah.
Love.
Heart.
Devotion.
Faithfulness.
Deuteronomy 10:16 commands circumcision of the heart.
Deuteronomy 30:6 promises Yahuah will circumcise the heart.
Torah itself points toward internal covenant faithfulness.
The New Covenant develops that same trajectory.
THE NEW COVENANT DOES NOT TERMINATE TORAH
Jeremiah 31:33 says:
«“I shall put My Torah in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts.”»
Hebrews repeats it.
That means an interpretation of Romans 10:4 saying:
“Messiah terminated Torah”
must explain why the New Covenant explicitly writes Torah upon the heart.
Again, the witnesses do not support abolition.
Messiah brings Torah toward its intended covenantal goal:
A redeemed people.
Transformed hearts.
Faith.
Obedience.
Covenant faithfulness.
THE RUACH BRINGS THE SAME RESULT
Ezekiel 36:26–27 says:
«“And I shall give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you… and put My Spirit within you. And I shall cause you to walk in My laws and guard My right-rulings and do them.”»
The Ruach HaKodesh does not lead people away from Yahuah’s righteousness.
He empowers them to walk in it.
That is precisely what we should expect if Messiah is the goal of Torah rather than its destroyer.
TORAH GOES FORTH IN THE KINGDOM
Isaiah 2:3 says:
«“For out of Tsiyon comes forth the Torah, and the Word of Yahuah from Yerushalayim.”»
Micah 4 gives the same witness.
These are prophetic Kingdom passages.
If Romans 10:4 means Torah was terminated when Messiah came, why do the Prophets picture Torah going forth in the Kingdom?
The abolition arrow cannot survive the prophetic witness.
THE WRITINGS CALL TORAH TRUTH
Psalm 119:142 says:
«“Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and Your Torah is truth.”»
Psalm 119:160 says:
«“The sum of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous right-rulings are forever.”»
Psalm 19 calls Torah perfect.
Therefore, when Messiah is called the telos of Torah, we should not interpret that to mean:
“Messiah terminated truth.”
That would be absurd.
Messiah embodies and fulfills Yahuah’s truth.
THE APOSTOLIC WITNESS CONTINUES TO CALL FOR OBEDIENCE
1 John 2:3 says:
«“And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands.”»
Revelation 14:12 says:
«“Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones, here are those guarding the commands of Elohim and the belief of Yahusha.”»
Notice again:
COMMANDMENTS OF ELOHIM.
FAITH OF YAHUSHA.
Together.
The end of Scripture does not present faith and obedience as enemies.
Neither should we.
THE FOUR WITNESSES AGREE
Put the whole counsel of Elohim on the table.
TORAH
Torah reveals righteousness, identifies sin, calls for love of Yahuah, anticipates heart transformation, and points toward Messiah.
PROPHETS
The Prophets announce Messiah, promise restored hearts, promise Torah written within, and picture Torah going forth from Tsiyon.
WRITINGS
The Writings call Torah perfect, truth, righteous, and enduring.
APOSTOLIC WITNESS
Yahusha says He did not come to destroy Torah.
Sha’ul says faith establishes Torah.
Sha’ul calls Torah holy, righteous, good, and spiritual.
The New Covenant writes Torah upon the heart.
Revelation identifies the faithful as keeping Elohim’s commandments and the faith of Yahusha.
The Four Witnesses do not produce:
MESSIAH → TELOS → TORAH TERMINATED.
That arrow has to be imported.
THIS IS THE ARROW TEST
Here is the verse:
«“Messiah is the telos of the Torah unto righteousness to everyone who believes.”»
True.
Then comes the arrow:
TELOS means termination.
Prove it.
Sha’ul himself uses telos to describe goal and outcome.
Then:
Messiah came → Torah ended.
Prove it.
Romans 3:31 says faith establishes Torah.
Romans 7 calls Torah holy, righteous, good, and spiritual.
Then:
Messiah fulfills Torah → Torah abolished.
Prove it.
Yahusha says He did not come to destroy Torah.
Jeremiah says Torah is written upon the heart.
Isaiah says Torah goes forth from Tsiyon.
Revelation still identifies the faithful with Elohim’s commandments.
The arrow does not survive the witnesses.
THE WATCHMAN WARNING
Do not allow one English word—end—to overthrow the whole counsel of Elohim.
Do not assume a translation has already settled the interpretation.
Do not isolate Romans 10:4 from Romans 3.
Do not isolate it from Romans 7.
Do not isolate Sha’ul from Yahusha.
Do not isolate Romans from Jeremiah.
Do not isolate Messiah from Torah and the Prophets that testify about Him.
And do not make the promised Seed into the destroyer of the Father’s righteousness.
The issue is not whether Messiah is the telos of Torah.
He is.
The issue is what that means.
The Scriptural witnesses point toward:
GOAL.
CULMINATION.
PURPOSE.
INTENDED OUTCOME.
Messiah is where the covenantal testimony has been pointing.
THE DECISIVE POINT
Is Messiah the telos of Torah?
YES.
Does telos automatically mean termination?
NO.
Can telos mean goal, result, purpose, culmination, or intended outcome?
YES.
Does Romans itself say faith nullifies Torah?
NO.
Sha’ul says the opposite:
“WE ESTABLISH THE TORAH.”
Does Yahusha say He came to destroy Torah?
NO.
Does the New Covenant remove Torah?
NO.
It writes Torah upon the heart.
Does Messiah fulfill Torah’s testimony concerning righteousness, promise, redemption, and the coming Seed?
YES.
That is the distinction.
Messiah is not the termination of Yahuah’s righteousness.
MESSIAH IS ITS COVENANTAL GOAL AND CULMINATION.
WHERE PART 6 LEAVES US
Part 1 established:
“ADDED” does not automatically mean “first came into existence.”
Part 2 established:
“430 YEARS LATER” does not automatically mean “nothing existed before.”
Part 3 established:
“BECAME A COVENANT SIGN” does not mean “was created at that moment.”
Part 4 established:
“UNTIL MESSIAH” does not automatically mean “abolished when Messiah came.”
Part 5 established:
“THE FIRST COVENANT BECAME OBSOLETE” does not automatically mean “TORAH BECAME OBSOLETE.”
Part 6 now establishes:
“MESSIAH IS THE TELOS OF TORAH” does not automatically mean “MESSIAH TERMINATED TORAH.”
Six teachings.
Six theological arrows.
Six times the same problem appears.
The verse says something true.
The arrow adds a conclusion.
The conclusion is then treated as though Scripture itself said it.
That is why the arrows must be tested.
COMING IN PART 7
THE VERSES MAY BE SCRIPTURE — THE ARROWS ARE INTERPRETATION
We have now tested six major theological arrows.
Each began with an actual passage of Scripture.
Each used real words from the text.
Each sounded convincing when presented in isolation.
And each required something more than the verse actually said in order to reach the theological conclusion being claimed.
Part 1 examined:
“ADDED” → THEREFORE TORAH DID NOT EXIST BEFORE SINAI.
The arrow failed.
Part 2 examined:
“430 YEARS LATER” → THEREFORE TORAH BEGAN 430 YEARS AFTER AVRAHAM.
The arrow failed.
Part 3 examined:
“SABBATH BECAME A COVENANT SIGN” → THEREFORE SABBATH WAS CREATED AT SINAI.
The arrow failed.
Part 4 examined:
“GUARDIAN UNTIL MESSIAH” → THEREFORE TORAH ENDED WHEN MESSIAH CAME.
The arrow failed.
Part 5 examined:
“THE FIRST COVENANT BECAME OBSOLETE” → THEREFORE TORAH BECAME OBSOLETE.
The arrow failed.
Part 6 examined:
“MESSIAH IS THE TELOS OF TORAH” → THEREFORE MESSIAH TERMINATED TORAH.
Again, the arrow failed.
The pattern should now be unmistakable.
A person can begin with a completely legitimate Bible verse and still arrive at a conclusion the verse itself never established.
That is why Part 7 brings the entire series together.
We are going to remove the arrows.
We are going to separate what Scripture explicitly says from what interpreters place between the verses.
We are going to distinguish:
VERSE FROM INTERPRETATION.
EVIDENCE FROM CONCLUSION.
TEXT FROM THEOLOGICAL ASSUMPTION.
WHAT YAHUAH SAID FROM WHAT SOMEONE SAYS YAHUAH MEANT.
And then we will put every major claim back before the Four Witnesses:
TORAH.
PROPHETS.
WRITINGS.
APOSTOLIC WITNESS.
Because the final question is not:
“How many Bible references are printed on the chart?”
The final question is:
DO THE VERSES ACTUALLY PROVE THE ARROWS DRAWN BETWEEN THEM?
That is where this series concludes.
PART 7 — THE VERSES MAY BE SCRIPTURE — THE ARROWS ARE INTERPRETATION
Testing the Connections, Testing the Conclusions, and Refusing to Give Human Interpretation the Authority of Scripture
A Bible reference proves the verse exists.
It does not automatically prove the theology built between the verses.
The verse carries Scriptural authority.
The arrow carries a burden of proof.
And no matter how familiar, ancient, popular, academic, denominational, or impressive the theological system may be:
THE ARROW MUST ANSWER TO THE VERSES.
That is where we go next.
TEST THE VERSES.
TEST THE CONTEXT.
TEST THE CONNECTIONS.
TEST THE CONCLUSIONS.
TEST THE ARROWS.
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