Biblical Types and Shadows

[westtexas]

I see in alot of these threads where y'all continually talk about "types and shadows". Can somebody give me a definition of the 2, and the difference between the 2, and maybe some examples and references? Please keep it simple, I'm pretty slow on the uptake sometimes.
Thanks for your time, Westtexas

 

[glorydaz]

I see in alot of these threads where y'all continually talk about "types and shadows". Can somebody give me a definition of the 2, and the difference between the 2, and maybe some examples and references? Please keep it simple, I'm pretty slow on the uptake sometimes.
Thanks for your time, Westtexas

It isn't that easy to explain, but I'll get the ball rolling.

Types and shadows are divinely purposed illustrations of some truth.
For instance...Adam as the first man is used as a type of Christ as the second man.
By one man's disobedience, sin came into the world, and by another's obedience sin was taken away.

The ritual ceremonies of the OT were shadows of the greater sacrifices made at Calvary.
For instance...the Passover Lamb was a type of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

There were many things in the OT that were shadows...not revealed until the light of the NT made them clear.

 

[Physicist]

Cart before horse?

I see in alot of these threads where y'all continually talk about "types and shadows". Can somebody give me a definition of the 2, and the difference between the 2, and maybe some examples and references? Please keep it simple, I'm pretty slow on the uptake sometimes.
Thanks for your time, Westtexas

It isn't that easy to explain, but I'll get the ball rolling.

Types and shadows are divinely purposed illustrations of some truth.
For instance...Adam as the first man is used as a type of Christ as the second man.
By one man's disobedience, sin came into the world, and by another's obedience sin was taken away.

The ritual ceremonies of the OT were shadows of the greater sacrifices made at Calvary.
For instance...the Passover Lamb was a type of the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

There were many things in the OT that were shadows...not revealed until the light of the NT made them clear.

With regard to what you call 'shadows', how do you know it was not simply midrash? As the Dead Sea Scrolls illustrate, first century Hebrews would sometimes take basic OT text and load it with new meaning for their current times. Why cannot we assume that the NT authors did not do the same? In this way of thinking, they labeled Jesus as the Passover lamb because they knew about the corresponding OT tradition.

 

[toddm]

The idea behind types and foreshadows in the OT is that everything points toward Jesus & the cross. The OT is God revealing Himself and His promise to redeem His elect. The NT is the carrying out of that promise. This is how most prophecies were fulfilled. Prophecies weren't so much of "he will do this" and then he does, but was more referencing a certain place, event, person, or saying. I like to think of it this way. Take Moses for example (tons of types in Moses and his actions), what he did w/ establishing the Law, leading people out of bondage in Egypt, etc were all "snapshot" illustrations of what the Christ would do. Moses filled a "cup" half full w/ his work, but when Jesus comes he fully fills (fulfill) the cup to the point of overflowing. So, Moses leads the people out of physical slavery; Jesus takes it to a whole new level and leads people out of spiritual slavery. Moses led people to a physical promised land/inheritance; Jesus leads people to a spiritual/eternal inheritance.

The OT sacrificial system was another type. The blood of goats & bulls could never atone for the sins of mankind (Hebrews 9-10), so Jesus makes a better sacrifice. You see everything that happened in the OT, Jesus came along and blew it out of the ballpark, thus confirming that he was the Christ.

 

[GodspromisesRyes]

Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.

Hbr 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Hbr 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.

Types are referred to as " figures" in the bible the greek word for " figures" is typos

Rom 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.

1Cr 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and [to] Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think [of men] above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

Hbr 9:8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
Hbr 9:9 Which [was] a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;


Hbr 11:19 Accounting that God [was] able to raise [him] up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

1Pe 3:21 The like figure whereunto [even] baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

The word " typos" in greek is ALSO used as ensamples in our bibles.

1Cr 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.

- There are MANY of these in the word of God, not all are openly revealed.

 

[cyberjosh]

Well we can start with a Biblical example, which Paul uses as a type. Perhaps later I can get into a Greek word study about types and shadows if you are interested.

In Galatians 4:21-31 Paul uses the story about Abraham, Hagar, and Sarah in a symbolic or "typical" (as in "type") fashion:

21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise, 24 which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants: the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar— 25 for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— 26 but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written:


“ Rejoice, O barren,
You who do not bear!
Break forth and shout,
You who are not in labor!
For the desolate has many more children
Than she who has a husband.â€

28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? “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.

The idea of types is that the inspired material in the Old Testament sometimes serves an additional illustrative purpose to foreshadow what God was ultimately to reveal under the New Covenant in Christ. If this were not true then all such illustrations would be farcical, erroneous, and/or incidental. From reading the inspired stories in the OT additional foreshadowing elements may be discerned in the text which illustrate something to come of Christ or a reality of the New Covenant.

Where not given explicitly (such as here by Paul) we must of course tread cautiously in our interpretation of other passages as such, although it is not wholly improbable to correctly identify additional types not explicitly stated in the Bible. Andrew Jukes has written some good works on Types (Charles Spurgeon praised him on his book Law of the Offerings for identifying types of Christ's sacrifice and our sacrifice back to God (Romans 12:1) in the Levitical offerings of bulls, sheep, goats, doves, and grain - for example). There are many other additional things which have been identified as types (such as Christ as the Rock in the Wilderness; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:1-5). I could talk about this all day but I hope that this has been of some help in explaining types, and if I have more time later I will explore this further.

As recommended reading you might find some entries of use in Nave's Topical Bible of Scriptures which pertain to types.

God Bless,

~Josh

 

[cyberjosh]

GodspromisesRyes gave some very good Scriptural examples to start exploring as well.

 

[westtexas]

Thanks for the help everybody-GPR, I'm going to look into all the verses you quoted,thanks-Cybershark, if you would care to help get into a Greek word study that would be great, it might be beneficial to someone else also, surely I can't be the only dumb one around

Thanks to EVERYONE who took the time to answer, Westtexas

 

[glorydaz]

Thanks for the help everybody-GPR, I'm going to look into all the verses you quoted,thanks-Cybershark, if you would care to help get into a Greek word study that would be great, it might be beneficial to someone else also, surely I can't be the only dumb one around

Thanks to EVERYONE who took the time to answer, Westtexas

You may not be the only dumb one, but I'm bettin' you're the biggest. ;)

 

[glorydaz]

Thanks for the help everybody-GPR, I'm going to look into all the verses you quoted,thanks-Cybershark, if you would care to help get into a Greek word study that would be great, it might be beneficial to someone else also, surely I can't be the only dumb one around

Thanks to EVERYONE who took the time to answer, Westtexas

You may not be the only dumb one, but I'm bettin' you're the biggest. ;)

(Uh, I hope you know it's because I meant you being a Texan and all.)

 

[RND]

I see in alot of these threads where y'all continually talk about "types and shadows". Can somebody give me a definition of the 2, and the difference between the 2, and maybe some examples and references? Please keep it simple, I'm pretty slow on the uptake sometimes.
Thanks for your time, Westtexas

Essentially they are the same thing. A type or shadow points to something, in this case Jesus Christ.

 

[westtexas]

Thanks for the help everybody-GPR, I'm going to look into all the verses you quoted,thanks-Cybershark, if you would care to help get into a Greek word study that would be great, it might be beneficial to someone else also, surely I can't be the only dumb one around

Thanks to EVERYONE who took the time to answer, Westtexas

You may not be the only dumb one, but I'm bettin' you're the biggest. ;)

(Uh, I hope you know it's because I meant you being a Texan and all.)

I got'cha. Hope you know I was only havin fun in the "See Here" thread.
God bless you my friend, Westtexas

 

[westtexas]

I see in alot of these threads where y'all continually talk about "types and shadows". Can somebody give me a definition of the 2, and the difference between the 2, and maybe some examples and references? Please keep it simple, I'm pretty slow on the uptake sometimes.
Thanks for your time, Westtexas

Essentially they are the same thing. A type or shadow points to something, in this case Jesus Christ.

RND, I was typing at the same time and didn't see this post. Thank you for your help,
Westtexas

 

[glorydaz]

(Uh, I hope you know it's because I meant you being a Texan and all.)

I got'cha. Hope you know I was only havin fun in the "See Here" thread.
God bless you my friend, Westtexas

I sure did....I'm still laughing over that one.
God bless you, too, Tex.