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"For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of
the true" (Heb. 9: 24). The Tabernacle was a type or figure of realities in the heavens
(Heb. 8: 5).
These words establish beyond doubt the typical character of much of the Old
Testament, and the whole of the epistle to the Hebrews revolves around these types and
adumbrations, without which it could not be understood. There is no doubt therefore that
the doctrine of the types is Scriptural and important to the student of the Scriptures and
the seeker after truth. The fact that typical teaching has been abused does not invalidate
its truth. The early church fathers doubtless erred in this respect, as have many Roman
Catholic theologians, realizing that such teaching could strengthen Romish doctrines.
But the Protestant has not been guiltless either, for some, in order to support devotional
ideas, have pressed typological teaching beyond its proper limits.
So we ask ourselves, have we any Biblical guiding principle to lift us above mere
human opinion and the doctrines of men? The answer is, yes, and it is this: a character
or event in the Old Testament is a type, if the New Testament specifically designates it to
be such. This may be too narrow for some interpreters, but at least we are on sure ground
when we put it into practice. It may be true that there are inferred types, but we need to
be careful here and make certain that the immediate or the remote context justifies them.
That Adam was in some respects a type of Christ Rom. 5: 14 makes clear:
"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 (type) of Him that was to
come."
Melchizedek, who appears suddenly in the narrative of Gen. 14: and disappears
mysteriously, is typical of the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus. This is expressly stated in
Heb. 7: 3, 15-17. Moses the Prophet, the mouthpiece of God, is a picture of the greatest
of all prophets, Christ Himself (Deut. 18: 15-19; Acts 3: 22-23). The sacrificial
lambs of the Old Testament were all foreshadowing the Saviour (John 1: 29; I Cor. 5: 7).
The manna in the wilderness finds its fulfillment in Christ (John 6: 30-35). The brazen
serpent of the Old Testament was likewise a type of Christ, (John 3: 14, 15). The veil of
the Tabernacle was a picture of the Lord's humanity (Heb. 10: 20). The smitten rock (see
Exod. 17: 6; Numb. 20: 11) typified the Lord Jesus Christ as I Cor. 10: 4 asserts, ". . . . .
for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ".
Joshua, the captain of Israel and leader into the promised land, prefigured Christ, and we
should remember that Jesus is the Greek equivalent for Joshua (Heb. 2: 10; 4: 8, and
note the margin).
And so we might go on. A rich field for study is opened here, and when we have the
controlling guide of the New Testament we are delivered from interpretive schools, and
many fanciful ideas and the opinions of men. Some students of Scripture identify
typology with allegory, but this is a mistake, for, as we have seen, allegory is a figure of
speech, a continued metaphor, whereby one story or aspect of truth is given in terms of
another, not necessarily that of the New Testament, whereas true typology is based on the
unity of Old Testament and New whereby something in the Old foreshadows something