Since BobRyan cannot seem to distinguish types in the Bible, I will once again post the essay on types. The travels of the children of Israel are a type. When they left Egypt, they were saved. By faith they went out. Then, they were baptized. Then, they wandered in the wilderness. Then, some of them (the children of the children of Israel and a couple of others) made it to the land flowing with milk and honey, which is a type of the Kingdom; the better part of their inheritance. They were already in the promised land, the instand the took their first step toward the land flowing with milk and honey.
THE STUDY OF TYPES
[1 Corinthians 10:11] The OT has been called, “The Neglected Continent of the Bible.” Many know the OT for just a few favorite chapters. Others think of it only as giving a few biographical sketches. But few realize that for every New Testament doctrine, there is a type in the Old Testament. Historical events took place as recorded in the OT in order to illustrate, typify, or symbolize NT truths.
The OT contains the object lesson, and the NT contains the explanation of that object lesson. Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.” The OT is God's picture book; His object lessons; His building blocks. In the NT these blocks are put together and they always spell out or point to some phase of the person or work of the Lord Jesus Christ and our relation to Him. The coats of skin with which God covered Adam and Eve; the sacrifices of Cain and Abel; the names of the Old Testament characters; Noah's Ark; Egypt; Pharaoh; the ten plagues; the Passover; the Red Sea; the wilderness; the manna; the Jordan River; the land of promise, etc. — All of these are types and are written for our admonition.
Our Lord reproved the disciples on the road to Emmaus as “fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken.” The prophets spoke in type, symbol, materials, colors, animals, buildings, persons, events, and in divers manners concerning Christ. Just think for one minute — everything in the Tabernacle: the shape, materials, colors — all that was in the Tabernacle portrays something about Christ and His ministry and work.
In the Book of [Hebrews 5:10, 11], the Spirit of the Lord rebukes Christians very sharply for their imperfect knowledge of Melchizedek as a type of Christ in His coming Kingdom, when He shall be the Prince of peace and King of kings; thus beyond any shadow of doubt, it is the duty and privilege of Christians, with the help of the Holy Spirit of God, to search into the types of the Scripture and come to a correct understanding of them. In fact, the types of Scripture — especially those relating to Christ's return, rule, judgment, kingdom, and the part Christians may have in this kingdom, and kindred subjects — are called by the Spirit of the Lord, the meat of the Word. Christians are urged to leave the milk of the Word, the elementary things pertaining to salvation, and to go on to maturity by feeding on the meat, that is, the types of the Word of Righteousness — the OT.
Though the word “type” does not occur in the KJV, it does occur in the Greek text. In 1 Corinthians 10:6-11, we have the word tupoi from the word tupos, from which comes our English word type. In Hebrews 9:24 and 1 Peter 3:21, we have the words antitupa and antitupon from which comes our word antitype. A type is a divine illustration of some truth or doctrine, which is foreshadowed. For instance, the Passover lamb and its characteristics (blood — shedding, application of the blood on the doorposts and lintel, which brought deliverance to the firstborn of Israel) all these are types of the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, Egypt is a type of the world from which we are delivered. The wilderness is a type of our pilgrimage from the time of salvation until we enter the Land Flowing With Milk and Honey. Canaan is a type of the Millennial land and the reign of Christ and His saints who qualify to reign with Him.
