Typology
Scripture is rich in symbolism and of value to study. Images of Jesus (called types) can be seen throughout the Old Testament as well as in direct predictions and promises. Typology is the study of those images.
It is important not to go overboard with typology. While the bible is rich in symbolism of Christ in types, it is easy to get carried away and read too much into what the bible says. Therefore it is wise to take this caution to heart:
1) Do not seek types everywhere
2) Never press the teaching of the type to such an extent as to change the historical character or event in the bible.
The historical events are real but show a prophetic image of the future.
Type is defined as an action or occurrence in which one event, person, or circumstance is intended to represent another, similar to it in some respects but of more importance and generally future. Scripture describes a type as “a shadow of good things to come.” Hebrews 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. Shadows are not exact resemblances, but only give a dark outline: yet with sufficient distinctness to convey some general idea of the body, especially when afterwards we have the body which to compare them. One distinction between a prophecy and a type is that a prophecy is a prediction by something said—a type usually by something done and presented to our sight. (This paragraph is condensed from All the Messianic Prophecies of the Bible by Herbert Lockyer )
Basically a type is a visual prophetic image, but not necessarily an exact image. The bible abounds with examples of this which will be explored in this study.
What differentiates a type from a symbol? In all scripture types there is future prophecy. A symbol may represent something past present or future. A type always looks to the future.
Types of types (That’s not confusing lol.)
There are several classifications of types:
1) Types from people
Example: Adam and Christ
2) Types from prescribed offices
3) Types from historic events
Example: Moses and the bronze serpent
4) Types from religious rituals
5) Types from Levitical offerings
6) Types from feasts and festivals
Now for some examples to chew on. This is by no means exhaustive list of types, merely a sample.
Types from People
Types from people are those whose lives or actions illustrate some truth or principle associated with Christ’s character and works. It can be a straightforward illustration or an opposing or contrasting prophetic illustration (called antitype).
Adam
Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Here Paul states that Adam is the figure (type) of Jesus.
Romans 5:17-19 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
1 Corinthians 15:21-22 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1 Corinthians 15:47-48 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
Sin came through Adam. Redemption from sin (life and forgiveness) came through Jesus. This is an antitype to Jesus.
One can find many types in Adam. For instance, Adam was the head of God’s original creation. Christ is the head of His new creation, the Church. Adam and Jesus also shared the title of the Son of God, although clearly not meant the same way.
Abel
Abel was the first one to die a violent death. Both Abel and Jesus were innocent and both were put to death. Hebrews 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
As an antitype, the blood of Abel cried out for vengeance. Genesis 4:10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. The blood of Jesus cries out for forgiveness and mercy. Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. And parting His clothing, they cast lots.
Abraham
One of my favorite types in the bible occurs with Abraham in Genesis 22.
Genesis 22:2 And He said, Take now your son, your only one, Isaac, whom you love. And go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to you.
Abraham is called to sacrifice his son. God’s Son was sacrificed for us.
Genesis 22:7-8 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. Genesis 22:13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.
Isaac is spared and a ram is sacrificed instead, yet Jesus the Lamb of God is indeed sacrificed to pay for our sins years later. Revelation 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
Isaac and Ishmael
The apostle Paul writes about the difference between the new and old covenants as depicted in the type seen in the 2 sons of Abraham.
Galatians 4: 22-31
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.
29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.
In these verses the apostle illustrates the difference between those who rest in Christ only and those who trust in the law, by a comparison taken from the story of Isaac and Ishmael. Paul contrasts Ishmael, born by a slave, and the Isaac, born by a free woman. The former was born after the flesh, and the other was by promise. Hagar and Sarah prefigure (are a type of) the Old and New Covenants, of Law and Grace, of slavery to sin and freedom through Christ.
Types from Historic Events
Many to choose from here. I will post on two that Jesus mentioned in the New Testament.
Pop quiz. Which two types did Jesus mention in the gospels?
(Gasp! She never said anything about quizzes!)
John 3:14-15 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
Numbers 21:8-9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
Quick background. The Israelites sinned in the wilderness so as punishment, God sent serpents to bite them. Many died. The people repented. Moses made a brass serpent and placed it on a pole, as God instructed, so that those who looked on it would live.
Sound familiar? Jesus is lifted up on the cross, so that those who look to Him (believe) are saved from death for their sins.
Matthew 12:39-40 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
For Jonah’s rebellion against following God’s command to preach to Nineveh , God punished him by having him spend 3 days and nights in the belly of a great fish (whale as the KJV says). Jesus bore our sins on the cross and spent 3 days and nights in the grave.
Types from Levitical Offerings
There are many examples of this throughout the Old Testament, however I will post on just one. The scapegoat.
How can Jesus bear our sins?
The twin goats, one of which is the scapegoat provides an answer through its type.
Leviticus 16:5-34
5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering.
6 And Aaron shall offer his bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself, and for his house.
7 And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
8 And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.
9 And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering.
10 But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
11 And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for himself, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself:
12 And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the vail:
13 And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
14 And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times.
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
16 And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
17 And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement for himself, and for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.
18 And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
19 And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.
20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat:
21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:
22 And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.
23 And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
24 And he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people, and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.
25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.
26 And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come into the camp.
27 And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung.
28 And he that burneth them shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp.
29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
32 And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments:
33 And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation.
34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
This is the atonement of sins of all the people, done once a year. Jesus bore the sins of the people and was sacrificed to pay for our sins. The real event of the twin goats and the sacrifice/ scapegoat illustrates prophetically the atonement by Jesus of our sins through His sacrifice.
Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. 1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Paul discusses this in Hebrews 10.
Hebrews 10:1-13
1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
This should be enough to get you started on noticing the types in the bible as you read it. It adds to the richness found in God’s word.
