To fully understand this question, we need to ask ourselves: Does Torah save us from eternal damnation? The answer is a resounding NO! We are saved only through the blood of Messiah Yeshua. However, since Yeshua said He came not to abolish but to fulfill/establish/confirm the law, it is a clear message that Torah wasn't abolished; our SIN was! Let's begin our study by considering two scriptural concepts. They are known as a "Shadow" and a "Type". There is a major difference between a shadow and a type and we will discuss each one of these in turn:

Type

The sacrificial laws are types. Once Yeshua became the (sacrifice) law - there was no longer a need for the type. However we now keep the Passover with new emblems or as Yeshua so rightly put it in Mark 14:24: And He said to them, "This is My blood of the renewed covenant, which is shed for many."

Yeshua has fulfilled the Sacrificial Law and introduced a new way of keeping Elohim's Feasts, for example Passover. There is no longer a requirement to sacrifice animals, but we keep the Passover with unleavened bread, representing Yeshua's body - bruised for our iniquities; and the wine representing Yeshua's blood, which was shed for the forgiveness of the sins of the world - including ours.

Shadow

A shadow points to the reality, but never does away with it. The set-apart days (YHWH - or "Yahweh" feasts) are shadows of things to come (see Colossians 2:17). Those feasts are introduced by YHWH in Leviticus 23 are a shadow of things to come. It relates to us, YHWH's plan of salvation for all humankind. We keep those feast days yearly to rehearse YHWH's plan, so that we as "first fruits" will be able to teach YHWH's plan of salvation and other teachings to our siblings during the millennium rule of the Messiah from Jerusalem.

Yeshua did not come to abolish the law and said so in Matt 5:17: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. 18 For truly, I say to you, till heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one title shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done."

Yeshua is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, according to Heb.13:8. He did not change His mind after His impalement. He laid down his life for His people and became a sacrifice for our past lawlessness. That was the only part of the law that He effectively fulfilled, doing away with the requirement to sacrifice the blood of animals every time we transgress the law. The law of clean and unclean food given in Leviticus 11 is still in effect. The law prohibiting incest is still intact. The law of not eating fat or blood is still applicable. All the sexual laws are still in force....

Yeshua is the embodiment of the law; He is the word of Elohim. So why would He want to "do away" with Himself? Why will the one who gave us the law for our own good, want to destroy it? He created the law of gravity and that is still in force (see Hebrews 1:3). Paul said that the commandments are just, good and perfect. In his writings we see that the law is Spiritual and can therefore not be destroyed.

According to the scriptures discussed below Yeshua came to establish a new priesthood.

In Hebrew 8:3 we see: For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. In Hebrews 9:22-28 we read: And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Messiah did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of Elohim for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with the blood not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Messiah also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for the salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

In Hebrews 10:4-7 we read (a direct quote from Psalm 40:6-8): 'For is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when He comes into the world He says, "SACRIFICE AND OFFERINGS THOU HAST NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY THOU HAST PREPARED FOR ME; IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND SACRIFICES FOR SIN THOU HAST TAKEN NO PLESSURE. Then I said, 'Behold I have come to do Thy will o Elohim.'" Dropping down to verse 9 we read: Then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Thy will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second. This is talking about the priesthood. Yeshua has done away with the Levitical Priesthood with its requirement to shed the blood of animals for the forgiveness of sin, to establish the Melchizedek Priesthood.

In Hebrews 7:11-18 we read: "Now if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood, what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Machizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change of law also. For the one concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no one has officiate at the altar. For it is evident that our Master Yeshua was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clear still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Mechizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirements of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of Him, 'THOU ART A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MECHIZEDEK'."

When YHWH gave the Law to our forefathers through Moses, all He wanted from them was obedience. This we read In Jeremiah 7:22 as follows: "For I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this is what I commanded them saying 'Obey My voice and I will be your Elohim, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.'" A second witness to this in Hosea 6:6 reads as follows: "For I delight in kindness and not in slaughtering, and in the knowledge of Elohim more than burnt offerings."

YHWH wants us to know and obey Him rather than bring Him Sacrifices and burnt offerings. In Galatians 3:19 we read: "Why then the Law? (This is talking about the Sacrificial Law). It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed should come to whom the promise had been made." We know that this seed is Yeshua. When Yeshua became the sacrifice, He introduced the new Priesthood, effectively doing away with the sacrificial requirements of the Law in respect to sin.

However, from Scriptures it is also clear that even though YHWH does not require sin offerings any longer, righteous sacrifices will again be offered in the future, during the millennium and possibly on into eternity. In Psalm 51:16-19 we read: "For You do not desire slaughtering, or I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The slaughterings of Elohim are a broken spirit, A Heart broken and crushed, O Elohim, These You do not despise. Do good in Your good pleasure to Tsiyon; Build the walls of Yerusalayim. Then You would delight in slaughterings of righteousness, In burnt offering and complete burnt offering; Then young bulls would be offered on Your altar." So we are only really talking here about the sacrificial system, as it applied to sin. Righteous sacrifices will still have its place in the world tomorrow.

Before Yeshua all men were shut up under sin - being indebted to the law. But now that Yeshua came, the promise by faith in Him is given to those who believe in Him. He has become the Sacrifice required by the law to pay for our indebtedness for breaking the law. In Collossians 2:14 we read (paraphrased): "having nailed the indebtedness of the law to the cross." This does not say Yeshua nailed the law to the cross, but he nailed our certificate of debt for breaking the Law to the cross. Meaning He has redeemed us from having to die the second death for our own sins.

The New Covenant is therefore indeed better than the Old Covenant, with its sacrificial system. The New Covenant contains all the original laws, except for the fact that Yeshua's blood was sacrificed once for all, and there is no more need to sacrifice the blood of animals every time we sin. In Revelation we see that if we want to be part of the ones that will rule with Yeshua during His millennial rule and on into eternity, we are still required to keep the commandments and to believe in the Testimony of Yeshua. This tells me that if we want to be part of YHWH's people, we better keep the commandments. They are not suggestions, so that we may only use them as guidelines. If we want to be in the Kingdom of Elohim, we better enjoy keeping the commandments, for it isn't burdensome.

The Torah is our manual - It tells us how to live in relationship to YHWH, to ourselves and toward one another. It is similar with any new appliance or motor vehicle we buy. It comes with an operating manual. If you want to ensure that the vehicle or appliance last as long as possible and that, if it breaks the manufacturer will honor the guarantee, it pays you to read the Manufacturer's manual and to use the appliance or vehicle, accordingly. If the Manufacturer instructs that you to use only unleaded fuel in the vehicle, I am positive that you will not put Diesel in the fuel tank. In Leviticus 11 our Maker/Manufacturer YHWH our Elohim tells us what fuel to put in our stomachs. It is for us to decide if we want to believe our Maker. If we do not believe Him, why call ourselves after HIS Name.

If we are followers of Messiah Yeshua, then we will believe in Him and believe in what He taught. Yeshua has never taught or abolished any laws, except for fulfilling the requirements of the sacrificial laws. Even in the very last book of Revelation (22):13 and 14, Yeshua said: "I am the Alpha (Aleph) and the Omega (Tav), the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. Blessed are those doing HIS commands so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates of the City" - the new Jerusalem. (Verse 14 of Revelation 22 was quoted, as it was given by Tertulian [CE 208] and by Cyprian [CE 251], two well-known Ante Nicene Fathers). Whoever eats of the tree of life will have everlasting life. To be able to partake of the tree of life, we will have to wear clean garments, by keeping the Commandments of YHWH and believe in the Testimony of Yeshua. The choice is ours.

How do we show YHWH our Elohim that we love Him? How do children show their parents that they love them? By obeying their parents' teachings. The problem with Christianity is that they see Torah as strict laws that apply to Jews only. Torah should simply be seen as the teachings of YHWH our Elohim.

In 1 John 5:3 we read: "For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not burdensome." So we see that we show YHWH we love Him by doing what pleases Him: His teaching - His Torah. Yes, Israel is YHWH's chosen people, but in Isaiah 56:6-7 we see "Also the sons of the foreigner who joins themselves to YHWH, to serve HIM, and to love the Name of YHWH, to be His servants, all who guard the Sabbath and not profane it, and hold fast to My covenant - them I shall bring to My set-apart mountain, and let them rejoice in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings are accepted on My altar, for My house is called a house of prayer for all the peoples."

So, it is clear that the Torah is not for Jewish people only. The "set-apart (feast) days" are not Jewish Holy Days - they are the set-apart days of YHWH and not meant only for Jews. Read Leviticus 23 for yourself and you will find YHWH said that the Sabbath and the FEAST days are HIS. They, like all the other laws, are not suggestions, they are commanded assemblies! We are required to keep them.

Similarly, concerning the law of clean food in Leviticus 11, it is written: "Be Holy for I am Holy" - it is a COMMAND! If you want to be Holy as YHWH is Holy, then you will avoid unclean foods. This verse is written in the book of Peter and this is a direct quote from Leviticus 11, where the clean and unclean meats are discussed. However, again, the choice is completely ours. Do you want to please YHWH or not?

YHWH says (and I paraphrase): "Keep my commandments and live". The commandments are for our own good. In the book of James (Ya'aqob) we read that we show our faith by our DEEDS. A second witness to this is found in Romans 2:13: "for not the hearers of the Law are just before Elohim, but the DOERS of the Law will be justified."

The teachings of YHWH are as applicable today as they were yesterday and will be forever. These same laws will be applicable during the millennial Kingdom and on into eternity. Yeshua tried to abolish the RABBINICAL teachings of the day; not God's original teaching and instruction (Torah). If we love God we also love His Commandments and will do whatever is necessary to please Him.

God never said to stop celebrating His feasts, or keeping His seventh-day Sabbath, so why does the church insist on ignoring this fact? Why do you?