Biblical
Typology
What
Is Biblical Typology?
Typology is just a fancy
way of saying symbols, foreshadowing, or you guessed it, types of an object
that represents something else. In the Jewish sacrificial system, they
sacrificed a lamb at Passover. This was a type - in the New Testament, Jesus
becomes the ultimate Passover lamb sacrifice
Hope Bolinger
Contributing Writer
You may
have heard of Christ described
as the second or last Adam (1
Corinthians 15:45) or the Holy Spirit
indwelling in our hearts as a kind of Tabernacle (Hebrews
9:8-9).
In other
words, any time you’ve run into symbols twice in the Bible, you may
have encountered something known as typology.
Typology
is just a fancy way of saying symbols, foreshadowing, or you guessed it, types
of an object that represents something else.
We often
talk about how the Bible is one overarching narrative, and like excellent
literature, it foreshadows things to come, via types.
Often,
we’ll see a vaguer picture in the Old Testament and its fulfillment in the New
Testament.
For
instance, in the Jewish sacrificial system, they sacrificed a lamb at Passover.
This was a type.
In the
New Testament, Jesus becomes the ultimate Passover lamb sacrifice.
What is
the history of biblical typology?
What are
some more examples of biblical typology?
What are
the dangers of getting too invested in typology? And why should this matter to
us?
We’ll
dive into these questions and more.
What Is the History of Biblical Typology?
Of
course, symbols have always existed in the Bible since the Old Testament, but
what we’re asking is when did the perspectives
regarding typology and its influence on the Bible come to be?
It
appears, as linked in the article above, that these viewpoints and the study of
typology emerged sometimes in the 17th century.
We do
have to keep in mind there are a number of schools of typology that formed in
the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries,
respectively.
Nevertheless,
we do have to keep in mind that although the study of typology may not have
emerged in the academic sense, that those, especially in the New Testament, in
Judeo culture would’ve placed a heavy emphasis on symbols (see the book of
Hebrews for numerous examples).
Symbols
and types would’ve been well-known by Jews during the time of Jesus and beyond.
What Are Some Examples of Biblical Types?
Apart
from the examples listed above, we can find some types in the Old Testament
that represented something fulfilled in the New
Testament.
As
mentioned in the article above, a type must be explicitly mentioned in the New
Testament.
It’s
slightly different from an illustration.
We may be
able to draw parallels between the lives of Jesus and the lives of Old
Testament heroes such as Joseph or Daniel, but the New Testament never directly
links the two.
It should
come as no surprise that most of the “types” we find are related to Jesus.
For a
listing of types (and something known as an antitype) check out this
resource here.
What Are the Dangers of Typology?
As is the
case with most schools of Christian thought or study, believers can fall into
dangerous extremes. Typology is no different.
One such
danger includes getting obsessed with types and believing that everything in
the New Testament is some sort of type for
something vaguely mentioned in the Old Testament.
We run
the risk of interpreting Scriptures the wrong way or uncovering something that isn’t
there in the first place and missing the point
of the passage.
Nevertheless,
used wisely and with discernment, like any other methodology of Christian study
and academia, typology can help us to see the bigger picture of the biblical
narrative via the linking of the Old and New Testament via types.
Why Does This Matter?
Why
should we care about typology?
First,
this issue matters, because we need to understand that extremes do exist in any
form of Christian study.
We need
to be wary of eisegesis (reading our own biases into the text or wanting the
text to say something that it doesn’t).
Second,
we can see God’s plan unfold through symbols. He doesn’t let anything go to
waste.
What may
have seemed like an odd sacrificial system gets fulfilled in the New Testament
through Jesus Christ.
Even
figures like Melchizedek and Adam have lives that are mirrored (or
anti-mirrored) through Jesus.
Finally,
this shows that God is in control.
If he
fulfills his plan through even the smallest of details and has his fingerprints
over the symbols throughout the Bible, we know that he will do what he says he
will do and that he will take care of us.
Hope Bolinger is a
literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a graduate of Taylor University's professional
writing program. More than 600 of her works have been featured in various
publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for
various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and
has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock
Adams. Her column "Hope's Hacks," tips and tricks to avoid writer's
block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young's
blog. Her modern-day Daniel, Blaze,
(Illuminate YA) Den (releasing July 2020), Dear Hero (releasing September
2020), and Dear Henchman (releasing 2021) Find out more about her at her website.
https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian-terms/what-is-biblical-typology.html?utm_source=Jeeng
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