Typology

[arapahoepark]

Hey I was wondering can someone explain typology to me?
Like also from incarnation and inspiration that pete enns advocates it (Which I am over now, i know he's wrong in his book and my faith has increased from God) since he doesn't take the bible literally so he compromises with evolution. Anyway, but,I was reading Jeremiah in my Quest study Bible yesterday and came to Jeremiah 31:15, and it had a question and answer thing saying isn't this verse taken out of context in Matthew 2:18?
It pretty much said no, not exactly, it was more of an emotional parallel, and I am like ok....? So how exactly did that work when they were writing the New Testament? I also heard like all things things in Psalms are also fulfilled yet they were just poetry by David and various authors, so how did they use that typology and why?
Is systematic expository preaching still ok? Should typology still be used, or was the NT times the only time for it?
Thanks!

[king'sbloomingrose]

I'm not exactly sure to what you're referring here...the dictionary defines typology as - "in Christian theology, the interpretation of some characters and stories in the Old Testament as allegories foreshadowing the New Testament." I've never heard that word used before. Is that what you meant?

[arapahoepark]

I'm not exactly sure to what you're referring here...the dictionary defines typology as - "in Christian theology, the interpretation of some characters and stories in the Old Testament as allegories foreshadowing the New Testament." I've never heard that word used before. Is that what you meant?

Yes! It was kinda explained to me basically that way....but I still don't really understand it, or maybe mostly why and how I guess.

[king'sbloomingrose]

I just looked up the two Bible verses, and I don't see any indication that Matthew 2:18 was taken out of context. The verses just before it says,

16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

18In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

There's nothing there in the wording of the verses that sounds like an emotional parallel to me. The Bible says that that prophesy was fulfilled then... let me see if I can explain what I mean.

Christ had to fulfill all the Scriptures that the Old Testament fortold about Him. That was how the Jewish people would know who the Messiah was. God predicted who the Messiah would be, what tribe He would be in, where He would be born, what He was going to do - "to save His people from their sins." He did all this so that when the Messiah really did come and was born, the Jewish people should've known who He was.

You mentioned the Psalms. I'd just like to use Psalm 22 for an example for just a second.

First of all, Jesus quoted Psalm 22:1 which begins with, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?". Jesus quoted this Psalm in order to draw attention to it and the fact that He was fulfilling it there on the cross. Consider verses 11-18 in Psalm 22:

Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.12 Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. 13 They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion. 14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And Thou dost lay me in the dust of death. 16 For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; 18 They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots.

The term 'dogs' was used by the Jews to refer to Gentiles (cf. Matt. 15:21-28). His heart has melted within Him (v. 14). During the crucifixion process, the blood loss causes the heart to beat harder and harder and become extremely fatigued. Dehydration occurs (v. 15). Verses 16b-18 speak of piercing His hands and feet and dividing his clothing by casting lots. This is exactly what happen as described in Matt. 27:35.

Psalm 22 was written about 600 years before Christ was born. At that time, crucifixion had not yet been invented. Actually, the Phoenicians developed it and Rome borrowed the agonizing means of execution from them. So, when Rome ruled over Israel, it became the Roman means of capital punishment imposed upon the Jews whose biblical means of execution was stoning. Nevertheless, Jesus is pointing to the scriptures to substantiate His messianic mission.

Another interesting point to note is in verses 4-8 of Psalm 22.

4Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

5They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

7All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

8He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

Then we see the fulfillment of these verses in Matthew 27:39-43.

39And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,

40And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

41Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,

42He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.

43He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.

Here we see yet another example of how much was foretold in the Bible about future events, specifically as they relate to Jesus.

You see, someone couldn't just show up on the scene and say "I'm the Messiah." They'd be stoned to death, for that was blasphemy of God's name. God had to prepare the way for the Messiah to come, so that when He did come, He could be recognized.

My view on this subject is that God inspired these human men like David to write down His words, things that He wanted written down. So they're not man's words, but God's words. It's like when I write you a letter with a pen. Is the words I write down the pen's own words, or are they my word's that I've written with the pen? Then since they were God's words then He saw to it that they were fulfilled. This is very interesting for me to study. Hope that helps!

[arapahoepark]

You see, someone couldn't just show up on the scene and say "I'm the Messiah." They'd be stoned to death, for that was blasphemy of God's name. God had to prepare the way for the Messiah to come, so that when He did come, He could be recognized.

My view on this subject is that God inspired these human men like David to write down His words, things that He wanted written down. So they're not man's words, but God's words. It's like when I write you a letter with a pen. Is the words I write down the pen's own words, or are they my word's that I've written with the pen? Then since they were God's words then He saw to it that they were fulfilled. This is very interesting for me to study. Hope that helps!

Oh I get now! That part^ really helped! Hahaha It was right in front of me :P

[mattfivefour]

It has been said "In the Old Testament the New Testament is concealed; in the New Testament the Old Testament is revealed." You see, everything that God planned ... that was revealed and fulfilled in the life, words and works of Jesus ... is there in the Old Testament. In shadows and types ... from people to events to every single little detail of the construction of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, various laws, and all of the aspects of the priesthood ... it is all there. As is the Church and our place and purpose as Christians. Expository preaching reveals that richness to us, edifying us, bringing us to an even greater understanding of the true awesomeness of our God and His unceasing love and provision for us.

To your specific example ... there is no misquoting of scripture. In Matthew 2:18, the Holy Spirit is revealing not just the physical suffering and captivity of Judah that we read of in Jeremiah 31:15 but, since there were no verse divisions when Jeremiah lived, Jews of that day would understand that they were being referred to the entire context of that Jeremiah passage (which is found in chapters 30 through 31) and which speaks of God's future deliverance of His people from captivity and the creation of a New Covenant in which His laws would be IN the hearts of men rather than on tablets of stone—in this reference In Matthew to the passage in Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit is using the grief of the mothers of the dead babies that Herod murdered to direct the people to the entire prophecy of Jeremiah in that particular passage and thus to reveal to the readers what this child, the Messiah, would do in His ministry.

I hope this helps.

(By the way, bro, David did NOT write "just poetry"! By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit moving upon him, he wrote the truths God wished revealed ... instruction for how man was to live then ... comfort in trial and tribulation ... hope for the future ... assurance of God's total power ... and the assurance of His faithfulness. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16— "ALL Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.")

[arapahoepark]

It has been said "In the Old Testament the New Testament is concealed; in the New Testament the Old Testament is revealed." You see, everything that God planned ... that was revealed and fulfilled in the life, words and works of Jesus ... is there in the Old Testament. In shadows and types ... from people to events to every single little detail of the construction of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, various laws, and all of the aspects of the priesthood ... it is all there. As is the Church and our place and purpose as Christians. Expository preaching reveals that richness to us, edifying us, bringing us to an even greater understanding of the true awesomeness of our God and His unceasing love and provision for us.

To your specific example ... there is no misquoting of scripture. In Matthew 2:18, the Holy Spirit is revealing not just the physical suffering and captivity of Judah that we read of in Jeremiah 31:15 but, since there were no verse divisions when Jeremiah lived, Jews of that day would understand that they were being referred to the entire context of that Jeremiah passage (which is found in chapters 30 through 31) and which speaks of God's future deliverance of His people from captivity and the creation of a New Covenant in which His laws would be IN the hearts of men rather than on tablets of stone—in this reference In Matthew to the passage in Jeremiah, the Holy Spirit is using the grief of the mothers of the dead babies that Herod murdered to direct the people to the entire prophecy of Jeremiah in that particular passage and thus to reveal to the readers what this child, the Messiah, would do in His ministry.

I hope this helps.

(By the way, bro, David did NOT write "just poetry"! By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit moving upon him, he wrote the truths God wished revealed ... instruction for how man was to live then ... comfort in trial and tribulation ... hope for the future ... assurance of God's total power ... and the assurance of His faithfulness. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16— "ALL Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.")

Thanks man! It certainly does!

[micah719]

Whenever you read the Bible, look for The Lord Jesus in the story. The whole Book is about Him.

For example, Sampson was a type of The Lord, something about him pointed to The Messiah:

birth, name and purpose predicted before his birth...obvious, no need to explain

great strength, but not from himself...the Holy Spirit, also being the only unfallen Man ever, His physical condition was also phenomenal, He was beaten severely by many men but never passed out where the strongest men I ever heard of would have died

slaughtered numerous enemy with the jaw of a donkey...The Lord's simple one and two sentence answers and statements baffled and crushed the best that human and spiritual minds could offer

death couldn't hold him...ripped up the enemy's gates and carried them off in display

nazirite vow...The Lord declared at the Last Supper He wouldn't be drinking wine again until The Kingdom

his death brought down the pagan temple and slew its nobles...The Lord conquered the devil and the world in His death

Probably a whole lot more, those I just grabbed from memory. Of course, the types in the OT all had their flaws described as well...those are for our teaching too, such as David's faith and repentance even when things looked very bleak indeed. The sacrifices in Leviticus also all point to The Lord, the Tabernacle, the Temple, the Feasts, all of it. There are also types pointing to the anti-Christ, types of believers, types of churches, etc. Awesome Book, a treasure indeed. Forget universities, the Bible is greater than all of them, and the best Teacher is always with you.

[arapahoepark]

Whenever you read the Bible, look for The Lord Jesus in the story. The whole Book is about Him.

For example, Sampson was a type of The Lord, something about him pointed to The Messiah:

birth, name and purpose predicted before his birth...obvious, no need to explain

great strength, but not from himself...the Holy Spirit, also being the only unfallen Man ever, His physical condition was also phenomenal, He was beaten severely by many men but never passed out where the strongest men I ever heard of would have died

slaughtered numerous enemy with the jaw of a donkey...The Lord's simple one and two sentence answers and statements baffled and crushed the best that human and spiritual minds could offer

death couldn't hold him...ripped up the enemy's gates and carried them off in display

nazirite vow...The Lord declared at the Last Supper He wouldn't be drinking wine again until The Kingdom

his death brought down the pagan temple and slew its nobles...The Lord conquered the devil and the world in His death

Probably a whole lot more, those I just grabbed from memory. Of course, the types in the OT all had their flaws described as well...those are for our teaching too, such as David's faith and repentance even when things looked very bleak indeed. The sacrifices in Leviticus also all point to The Lord, the Tabernacle, the Temple, the Feasts, all of it. There are also types pointing to the anti-Christ, types of believers, types of churches, etc. Awesome Book, a treasure indeed. Forget universities, the Bible is greater than all of them, and the best Teacher is always with you.

Amen! Isn't President Teddy Roosevelt the one who said that a knowledge of the Bible is far better and worth more than a college education?