Biblical Typology, Part 2

In review: Biblical typology is the study of biblical types. Biblical types are events, persons, or things in history that carry with them a prophetic power; they not only have significance for their own time but obviously, blatantly point to a future "fulfillment" just as a verbal, oracular prophecy would.

Studying types, we see that they, in full, contain some of the following elements. These are not neatly summed up in any one text but are the culmination of studying ALL of the obvious biblical types and seeing how they are used, esp. by the New Testament (NT) writers. The major texts include Romans 5; 1 Corinthians 10; 1 Peters 3; Hebrews 8 & 9 because they contain either the word "tupos" or a form of it and are used clearly in an interpretive way.

ELEMENTS OF BIBLICAL TYPOLOGY:

(1) CORRESPONDENCE IN HISTORY:

This element is crucial because critics of typology have regarded it as no different than a "spiritualizing" or "allegorizing" of the biblical text (something that should be avoided). Some even lump allegorization and typology together as two very similar fruits from the same spiritualizing tree.

But the major difference between allegorization and typology is this: correspondence in history.

An "allegory" is genre, a way of writing something where the persons and things involved are meant to symbolize or represent something else. These meanings are intentional, set down by the author's purpose.

"Allegorization" is a hermeneutical method of taking a(ny) text and reading symbolic meaning into it. For example, rather than taking the Parable of the Good Samaritan at face value, each element takes on a hidden, special, or symbolic meaning: The Samaritan is Jesus, the man on the road is the non-believer, the inn is the church, the two coins are the two sacraments, "I will return" is the second coming, etc. The actual story itself is ignored in favor of attempting to link representative meanings to each element rather than what the story itself says at face value.

This is NOT what biblical typology does. Typology takes a historical event/ person at face value. It interprets that in its context as a historical event/ person with its imbedded, context-specific meaning and application that follows all of the grammatico-historical rules of literal interpretation. "Historical correspondence" assumes God is the author of history and intends paralells and patterns in it to let us know that He is the one at work. Historical correspondence compares later events to prior ones to see if God has intended a parallel, since He has done so very often in the past (e.g., paralleling Creation & the Flood).

So for example in the typology of Adam & Christ in Romans 5, there is no spiritualizing or allegorizing happening with Paul. Paul sees Adam as a historical person who did certain things all under the sovereignty of God. In this case, it was representing humanity. Jesus then comes along and, under same sovereignty, intentionally parallels Adam and He too represents humanity, but this time in contrast to Adam's sin, Jesus propitiates the sin. This is historical correspondence: a parallel between the lives of Adam & Christ, both historical persons treated as historical persons and finding sovereignly intended commonalities between the two. Paul apparently did.

Now our biblical examples do no require that ALL elements of comparison must line up exactly. This never happens. There are certain elements that are parallel, and others that are not. In fact, points of contrast can be just as significant as points of agreement (e.g., Christ as the conqueror of sin vs. Adam as the originator of sin).


(2) ESCHATOLOGICAL/ TELEOLOGICAL/ PROPHETIC ELEMENT:

What justifies seeing significance beyond or in addition to the significance of the event/ person to that time? Some scholars argue that since God is the author all Scripture is "eschatological" to some degree. Now while there is merit to this, we have to be careful not to allow this to justify eschatologicalizing every text which may descend us into a form of spiritualization that is unhealthy. We need a textual standard or safeguard. What is it?

There needs to be an eschatological element in the text or event that somehow hints or points to a future fulfillment. For example, seeing Adam as a "type" requiring a future fulfillment is seen in the "prophecies" made in Eden in Genesis 3, esp. regarding the One who will crush the serpent's head. If the person or event in question is couched in a context saturated with prophecies or eschatological elements or if even there are narrative elements that naturally lead one to anticipate a coming fulfillment (just as a good crime novel will create an anticipation of a fulfillment (catching the villain, rescuing the woman) without ever having to state it as such), then we may be more justified in seeing an eschatological element, hence, a "type" in it.


(3) PROTOTYPE-TYPE-ANTITYPE SCHEME

A true biblical type seems to follow a linear pattern of prototype-type-antitype.

"Prototype" refers to the chronologically "first" event that sets the pattern for all of the rest to follow. For example, if the overall typological pattern is "God's presence among humanity", the first incarnation of that is the Garden of Eden. This is the "prototype", the first form of where God's presence for humanity resides. This builds an expectation that, as humanity is expelled from Eden, there will be other domains or vessels of God's presence. These subsequent ones--in order to be truly "types"--will be worded and shaped in ways that make obvious reference back to the original, the prototype.

"Types" then are subsequent forms of the original prototype. In the case of "God's presence among humanity" we see this most obviously next in the Tabernacle and then the Temple. Both are physically designed with elements that intentionally parallel the Garden of Eden, its arboreal decorations being the most prominent. So the Tabernacle is a "type" of Eden, a "type" of God's presence among humanity. The temple is also a type, a type of Tabernacle, a type of Eden, a type of God's presence among humanity. God has set up a pattern and it continues on in the history of God's people. There are linkages to the past (to the original and prior types) and anticipations of the future (an ULTIMATE center of God's presence).

"Antitypes" are the final, ultimate fulfillments of the prior types and prototypes. Christians know this to be all centered in Jesus and the New Covenant. Ephesians 1's statement of "the summing up of all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on the earth" points to this idea that Jesus is the fulfillment of all things, not just oracular prophecies but all that NEED fulfillment including types. Complicating matters is that Jesus advent was split into two comings with a whole stretch of church-history in between. Not all of the prophetic elements were fulfilled in the first coming, though many were. Many continue fulfillment in the history of the church, and the final Eschaton will bring final closure to these prophetic elements including types.

So in regard to "God's presence", the final fulfillment is in Jesus himself. Jesus is the very person of God and walked among humanity in a way that was reminiscent of Eden when God "walked" with Adam. And Jesus then lives in our hearts after the Ascension and through the life of the Church. Herein lies the first advent element of typological fulfillment of God's presence: in Jesus, in our hearts, in the church. This continues on throughout the history of the church from Acts 2, today, and until the Eschaton. But ultimately, in the Revelation judgment, Jesus will create the New Heavens and New Earth, the New Jerusalem, which is the ultimate fulfillment and experience of God's presence among humanity. Revelation 21 deliberately links its descriptions of the New Jerusalem with elements of Eden and the Temple and Christ. This is the "antitype", the ultimate fulfillment of the prototype (Eden) and subsequent types (Tabernacle, Temple) and the historically prior antitype (Christians, church).

Coincidence? Reading too much into things? Hardly. This is the result of knowing the sophisticated God of the Bible, the Divine Author who weaves these complexities for us to see and understand.

Let's quicky see another example: Messiah typology.

The prototype savior is Noah, the first savior of humanity whose actions literally saved or preserved the human race. Noah's seed carries on this hope which culminates next in Abraham, to whom the promise of an earth-wide salvation is given. Through Abraham "all the nations of the world will be blessed." Isaac carries this promise to Jacob who becomes Israel. Israel is the nation of promise, the beacon to bring salvation to the world. Moses emerges the main savior for Israel, not only leading them from captivity but bringing the Law to them. The judges fail to lead the people as does the first king, Saul. David emerges as the nation's savior, the rigtheous king through whom the Davidic promise of Messiah comes. The subsequent kings fail leading to the dissolution of the northern kingdom and the captivity of the southern, Judah. (It is likely that while in Captivity, Daniel was instrumental in the release of Israel, thus saving them). After the Exile, Ezra and Nehemiah work together to restore Jerusalem, with anticipations of a coming ultimate Messiah brewing. Finally, Jesus arrives, the antitype, the ultimate Savior of saviors. His coming is in two parts: the first saves us from our sin's power by forgiving it, the second will save us from sin's presence by destroying it. In 1 Peter 3, Jesus work is compared with the Noahic flood. Full circle. The final Savior is compared with the proto-savior sweeping in all of the "types" of saviors in between.