24 January 2009

The Antitype of the Entire OT

In biblical theology a "type" is a person, event, or institution that corresponds to a similar person, etc later in biblical history, its "antitype" (Jonah's three days in the whale is a type, Christ's "three days" between the cross and the empty tomb are it antitype; animal sacrifice and Christ's sacrifice; Passover, Lord's Supper etc).

But I'm learning these days that every type, ultimately, finds its climax and deepest meaning in Christ himself. Leonard Goppelt puts it this way:

In his own person Christ takes the place of temple and sacrifice and every other OT means of salvation. He is not simply the mediator of God's New Covenant; he is the incarnation of it. His place in typology becomes clear only when we realize there is no typology that by-passes Christ; he is the antitype of the entire OT.

--Typos: The Typological Interpretation of the Old Testament in the New, 116

No comments: