Type and Antitype in Scripture - foreshadowing the life of Christ and the plan of salvation..

Hi ATS,

This is a simple one which I think has been much ignored by many churches, which surely wasn't deliberate, but it opens up a greater depth of meaning for you when reading from the Old Testament, which many Christians struggle with, as it seems remote from the New Testament gospel message & the life of Jesus & the Apostles.

Understanding that the plan of salvation - through the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross - was foreshadowed in the lives of dozens of high profile Israelites & personages in the surrounding nations during Old Testament times is a key insight which enables us to witness the Providence of God, having perfect oversight of the eternal plan of salvation right from the beginning, reflected in so many of the famous Israelites, it's impossible not to see it when you've been shown that it exists!

Here's a link to a great explainer on the matter of 'Type/Antitype' characters reflecting the life of Christ (Type is the personage or concept foreshadowing, Antitype is the actual person or concept being foreshadowed, the greater meaning, as it were) ~

Symbols & Meanings throughout the Bible

Here's an excerpt to introduce the concept:

When one begins to understand the flood of light that can come from studying types and antitypes, the Old Testament can come to life with its deeper and richer meanings.

Adam – A 'Type'

Special attention is called to the fact that not every detail of a type has a corresponding antitype. For example, Adam is a type of Christ. The Apostle Paul wrote, "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses… who is the figure of him that was to come" (Romans 5:14). The word figure in this passage is the Greek "tupos." So, Adam was a type of Christ, [who is] the antitype.

Adam is the father of our race and mankind is his posterity. Likewise, Jesus is the new Adam, the new life-giver. The Apostle Paul terms him "the last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45). Mankind will have the opportunity for eternal life because of Jesus' sacrifice. He is therefore considered the second Father of our race (Isaiah 9:6). But we cannot take this symbolism too far because Adam was a sinner while Jesus was "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners" (Hebrews 7:26).

Christ's life is the key to God's Plan. The Scriptures tell us that he had two births and two lives. He was born of the flesh first and after his crucifixion, he was born as a spirit being. 1 Peter 3:18 tells us he was "put to death in the flesh and made alive (the second birth) by the spirit."

There's a lot of insight to be gained from reading about the characters of Isaac, Joseph, Moses & others from this perspective of seeing their lives as a foreshadowing of everything that would be embodied & accomplished by Christ when He came to the Earth much later than those original patriarchs. I highly encourage you to read the linked article, it will perhaps give you a newfound appreciation for the depth & purpose of symbolism in the Old Testament.

And that's all I wanted to share on this topic, as the article speaks far better than I can on the issue, I hope you find it helpful. I particularly found that it gave me greater understanding concerning the command to Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, a story which had never really made sense to me, aside from loose meaning associated with total obedient faith, etc. Now I see it as a very clear example of Type/Antitype, and it fits extremely well in the overarching narrative of Scripture. Once you see it, it's hard to see how you missed it before!

Cheers,


FITO.

Especially the Passover lamb. On Passover the firstborn lamb without blemish was sacrificed to protect the People of God from the angel of death. Exodus was a perfect foreshadowing of Christ

Enjoyed your post however these bible students will be scrutinized by scholars, not tht I am one....far from it howeverr one of the ten commandments has been falsely translated:

Thou shall not kill -------FALSE

The correct translation is "Thou shall not murder"

I found other issues.

To those who starve for Gods word concerning the OT, I recommend you read the Tanakh. The best translated bible directly from Hebrew to Englsih. I recommend ONLY from JPS. It is expensive and the book many scholars use.

P.S. Moses did not part the Red sea.....he parted the Reed sea.

God bless...



a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

a reply to: FlyInTheOintment

.. well - most churches dó understand the concept of 'foreshadowing' FIO
the problem is more that they don't understand what their faith is about

see - in all prophets God explains 'how Adam went Rogue' after the Fall ;
he did not 'die' as in the corrupt Genesis 5 :
he went to the North to make a pact with the evil realm [Is.14] ,
and , ever since , works against God -- and us .

... Adam helped them [-demons] so that we would come to this prison-planet
so that we'd never remember eden - in the other Reality ;
using us as blackmail against God

he goes by several epithets , like 'the king of Assyria' etc ,
who will eventually be judged and go to the Pit
at the moment Revelation starts [or better : the 6th seal]

to stay with your OP :
Christ came to this not-by-God-made-planet
as the greatest Rescue operation in infinite History ,
hencethe 'first Adam VS last Adam' comparison ...

cheers

Not totally sure about Adam but what you said about Christ stirred my spirit in a good way.

The greatest rescue in all history.... going to use that analogy. Hope you don't mind.....

Great verse!!


a reply to: lonerpt

Just now checked PMs and sent reply to your most recent one

Interesting OP - thanks for link to article!

What I take from this is, God is a writer and there are chiasmus cycles to his creation.

I wonder, does this mean that the antichrist is an antiantitype?

Is Noah a type, or an archetype?

I'll make the secret behind the Bible code as simple as I can

You are supposed to choose to die for another, rather than let another die for you

You are supposed to choose to die "to save Jesus Christ". Not let him die for you

Because that is what real love is. Putting someone else before yourself

If you choose your own salvation through Jesus Christ dying, you put yourself first, and you fail the test

You are supposed to endure your own pains and cross. Not ask someone to do it for you

It is a very simple test. Do you understand love?