In Christian theology, "types" are symbolic representations or foreshadowings found in the Old Testament that prefigure and illuminate the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Saviour. These types serve as divine illustrations, revealing God's redemptive plan through historical events, people, and institutions. The study of these types enriches the understanding of the continuity and fulfillment of Scripture in the New Testament.

Adam
Adam is considered a type of Christ in that he is the "first man" through whom sin entered the world, while Christ is the "last Adam" who brings redemption. Romans 5:14 states, "Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who did not sin in the way that Adam transgressed. He is a pattern of the One to come." Adam's disobedience contrasts with Christ's obedience, highlighting the reversal of the curse through Jesus.

Melchizedek
Melchizedek, the king of Salem and priest of God Most High, is a type of Christ in his dual role as king and priest. Hebrews 7:3 describes him as "without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest forever." This typology emphasizes Christ's eternal priesthood and His role as the ultimate mediator between God and humanity.

Isaac
Isaac, the son of Abraham, is a type of Christ in his near-sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Genesis 22:2 recounts God's command to Abraham: "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will show you." Isaac's willingness to be sacrificed prefigures Christ's willing sacrifice on the cross, and his deliverance symbolizes the resurrection.

Joseph
Joseph, the son of Jacob, serves as a type of Christ through his suffering, exaltation, and role as a savior to his people. Betrayed by his brothers, Joseph rises to power in Egypt and provides for his family during famine. Genesis 50:20 reflects this redemptive purpose: "As for you, what you intended against me for evil, God intended for good, in order to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." Joseph's life mirrors Christ's betrayal, suffering, and ultimate victory.

Moses
Moses is a type of Christ as a deliverer and lawgiver. He leads the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage, prefiguring Christ's deliverance of humanity from sin. Deuteronomy 18:15 prophesies, "The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him." Moses' role as mediator of the Old Covenant foreshadows Christ's mediation of the New Covenant.

The Passover Lamb
The Passover lamb is a significant type of Christ, symbolizing His sacrificial death. Exodus 12:5-7 describes the requirements for the lamb: "Your lamb must be an unblemished male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or the goats. You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight." The blood of the lamb, which spared the Israelites from judgment, prefigures the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

The Bronze Serpent
In Numbers 21:8-9, God instructs Moses to make a bronze serpent and set it on a pole so that anyone bitten by a snake could look at it and live. This event is a type of Christ's crucifixion, as Jesus Himself explains in John 3:14-15: "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life."

Jonah
Jonah's three days in the belly of the great fish is a type of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus refers to this typology in Matthew 12:40: "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Jonah's eventual deliverance and mission to Nineveh prefigure Christ's resurrection and the proclamation of the Gospel to all nations.

These types, among others, serve as profound illustrations of the Saviour's mission and the unfolding of God's redemptive plan throughout Scripture. They provide a deeper understanding of the unity and purpose of the biblical narrative, pointing to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of God's promises.Colossians 2:17
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
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Hebrews 9:7-15,18-28
But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
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Hebrews 10:1-10
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.
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The Name Jesus and Also the Name Christ were Known from the ...
... Wherefore after his order, but not after the order of the others, who received symbols
and types, was our Saviour proclaimed, with an appeal to an oath, Christ ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter iii the name jesus and.htm

The Shepherd of Our Souls.
... But there are three favoured servants of God in particular, special types of the
Saviour to come, men raised from low estate to great honour, in whom it was ...
/.../newman/parochial and plain sermons vol viii/sermon xvi the shepherd of.htm

Scriptural Types.
... When the Saviour opens his lips the whole world of nature stands ready to furnish
him with ... Analogies like these, however, do not properly constitute types. ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxxvii scriptural types.htm

Different Types of Apostolic Teaching.
... manner we may distinguish a fourfold "Apostle," [751] or four corresponding types
of apostolic ... a common root in the full life of Christ, the Saviour of both ...
/.../history of the christian church volume i/section 68 different types of.htm

Types of the Death of Christ Isaac; Joseph; Jacob against Simeon ...
... it was proper that this mystery should be prophetically set forth by types, and
indeed ... to some as severe as a Judge, to others gentle as a Saviour, whose horns ...
/.../tertullian/the five books against marcion/chapter xviii name of the.htm

Of Our Saviour it is Said
... Of our Saviour it is said, Sacrifice and offering Thou wouldst not, but a body hast
Thou prepared me, all Sacrifices being but types and figures of Himself ...
/.../traherne/centuries of meditations/83 of our saviour it.htm

Objection that Some were Baptized unto Moses and Believed in Him ...
... shadow and the types, endeavour to bring contempt and ridicule on the "rejoicing"
of our "hope," [998] and the rich gift of our God and Saviour, who through ...
/.../basil/basil letters and select works/chapter xiv objection that some.htm

Faustus Denies that the Prophets Predicted Christ. Augustin Proves ...
... his side while he slept, the Church becomes the property of her dying Saviour, by
the ... the sun, as also a lion, a lamb, and a stone, are used as types of Christ ...
/.../faustus denies that the prophets.htm

The Weeping Saviour.
... name. Saviour, who can love like Thee, Gracious One of Bethany! ... around.
These obdurate Jews were types of the world's impenitency. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/macduff/memories of bethany/xii the weeping saviour.htm

Christ the Deliverer.
... The Saviour charged this want of understanding upon His disciples, and told them
that if ... In regard to types, which is a feature of prophetic teaching, and a ...
/.../vii christ the deliverer.htm

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