Typological Prophecy: A Comprehensive Analysis of Divine Pattern, Historical Correspondence, and Hermeneutical Escalation
1. Introduction: The Architecture of Redemptive History
The interpretation of prophetic literature within the Judeo-Christian tradition constitutes one of the most intellectually demanding and theologically significant disciplines in biblical studies. Central to this discipline is the concept of typological prophecy—a hermeneutical framework that posits a divinely orchestrated structural unity between the events of the Old Testament and the revelations of the New. Often obscured by the lay query for "typocological" prophecy—a linguistic conflation likely merging "typology" with sociological classifications or a simple orthographic error—the subject properly concerns the theology of types (from the Greek typos). This report provides an exhaustive examination of typological prophecy, arguing that it is not merely a method of literary prediction but a comprehensive theology of history. It asserts that historical events, persons, and institutions were divinely intended to function as prefigurations of greater, future realities, governed by the dual principles of historical correspondence and eschatological intensification.1
To understand typological prophecy is to understand the claim that the God of Israel is the Lord of History, acting with such sovereign precision that the biography of a patriarch, the architecture of a tent, or the exodus of a nation can serve as the architectural blueprint for the Messiah. Unlike rectilinear prophecy, which involves a direct verbal prediction followed by a fulfillment (e.g., Micah 5:2 predicting Bethlehem), typological prophecy is indirect, functioning through the medium of historical analogy. It requires the interpreter to discern a "divinely intended pattern of events encompassing both historical correspondence and intensification".1
This report dissects the anatomy of typological prophecy, tracing its linguistic origins and distinguishing it from competing hermeneutical models such as allegory and the "double fulfillment" fallacy. It explores the fierce academic debates regarding the prospective versus retrospective nature of types, analyzing whether the ancient Israelites could perceive these patterns or if they are visible only through the lens of the Christ-event. Furthermore, it surveys the historical development of the doctrine from the Patristic era through the Reformation to the modern critical turn initiated by Johann Salomo Semler, and finally, its resurgence in contemporary evangelical scholarship. By integrating insights from biblical theology, literary criticism, and historical analysis, this document aims to provide a definitive reference on the mechanics and significance of biblical typology.
1.1 Linguistic Clarification: "Typology" vs. "Typocology"
It is necessary to address the terminology explicitly. The term "typocological" appears sporadically in academic literature, primarily within sociological studies of welfare states, where it refers to classifications based on institutional logic.3 In the context of biblical prophecy, however, "typocological" is a misnomer. The correct theological term is typology, derived from the Greek noun typos, meaning "a blow," "an impression," "a mold," or "a pattern".5 The term entered the English theological lexicon in the 1850s, notably in the writings of William Hetherington, a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, though the conceptual practice dates back to the apostolic authors themselves.6 The user's query regarding "typocological prophecy" is treated throughout this report as an inquiry into this established theological field of typological prophecy.
2. Hermeneutical Foundations: The Logic of Promise and Pattern
Typological prophecy relies on a specific set of hermeneutical presuppositions regarding the nature of time, the unity of Scripture, and the sovereignty of God. It stands in contrast to the cyclic view of history common in ancient paganism, positing instead a linear, teleological history where the past is not merely prologue but promise.
2.1 The "Promise-Plan" of God
Scholars such as Walter Kaiser have championed the concept of the "Promise-Plan" of God as the unifying center of biblical theology. This thesis suggests that the Old Testament is not a disparate collection of laws and stories but a coherent narrative driven by a single, all-encompassing promise of a seed, a land, and a blessing that expands through successive covenants.8 In this view, typology is the mechanism by which this promise is sustained and elaborated across centuries. The promise is not static; it evolves. The "seed" promised to Eve (Genesis 3:15) becomes the "seed" of Abraham, then the "son" of David, and finally the Messiah. Typology tracks the organic growth of this promise, ensuring that the fulfillment in the New Testament is organically related to the expectations of the Old.10
2.2 Divine Design and Sovereign Authorship
The validity of a type rests on the conviction of divine design. A correspondence between two events separated by centuries is considered typological only if it is "divinely intended".1 As Richard Davidson argues in his seminal dissertation on typological structures, the correspondence must be rooted in the text and history, not merely in the imagination of the reader.12 This implies a high view of providence: God must control history sufficiently to ensure that the life of Joseph or the structure of the Tabernacle aligns precisely with the future reality of Christ. As one source notes, "God is often compared to a writer, using actual events instead of fiction to shape his narrative".14 In this framework, history itself becomes a mode of revelation; God speaks not only through oracles but through orchestrated events.
2.3 Prophecy as "Forthtelling" Pattern
Traditionally, prophecy is understood as "foretelling"—predicting the future. Typology expands this definition to include "forthtelling" a pattern. The prophets often utilized Israel's past to depict its future, predicting a "New Exodus" or a "New David." This creates a trajectory where the past (the type) becomes the vocabulary for describing the future (the antitype).15 This phenomenon is described by scholars as "redemptive irony," where God uses the fallen realities of the present (like the wilderness wanderings) to foreshadow the glorious realities of the future (messianic triumph).17
3. The Structural Mechanics of Typological Prophecy
To distinguish legitimate typology from subjective association, scholars have identified specific structural components that must be present. These components—type and antitype, historical correspondence, and escalation—form the "grammar" of typological interpretation.
3.1 The Type-Antitype Relationship
The fundamental unit of typology is the relationship between the Type (the original historical entity) and the Antitype (the later fulfillment).
The Type (Typos): This is a person, event, institution, or object in the Old Testament. Crucially, it must have had a concrete, historical existence and a meaningful function in its own time. It was not an allegory or a fable; the Passover lamb was a real animal slain for a specific purpose in the Mosaic economy.18
The Antitype (Antitypos): This is the reality in the New Testament (usually Christ, the Church, or the Eschaton) that fulfills the type. The antitype corresponds to the type but exists on a higher plane of reality.14
This relationship is defined by analogy, not identity. David is a type of Christ, but David is not Christ. The connection lies in the correspondence of their office (King), their election (Anointed), and their experience (Suffering/Exaltation), despite the vast differences in their moral character.20
3.2 The Principle of Historical Correspondence
For a prophecy to be typological, there must be a discernible alignment between the type and the antitype. This correspondence operates on both a horizontal axis (history) and a vertical axis (heaven/earth).
Horizontal Correspondence: This links an event in Israel's history with an event in the life of Jesus or the Church. For example, the Israelites passing through the Red Sea corresponds to the believer passing through the waters of baptism (1 Corinthians 10:1-4).15
Vertical Correspondence: This links an earthly institution with a heavenly reality. The earthly Tabernacle was a "copy and shadow" of the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 8:5). This vertical dimension suggests that the earthly type is a material representation of a spiritual truth.23
3.3 The Principle of Escalation (Intensification)
The most critical feature distinguishing typology from mere parallelism is escalation (often called intensification or Steigerung). The antitype is invariably greater than the type. The fulfillment does not merely repeat the pattern; it glorifies it. The move from type to antitype is a move from the lesser to the greater, from the shadow to the substance, from the temporary to the eternal.1
Feature
The Type (Old Testament)
The Antitype (New Testament)
The Escalation (Intensification)
Priesthood
Aaron/Levitical Priests
Jesus Christ
From priests who die and offer animal blood to an eternal Priest offering His own blood.23
Kingship
Solomon
Jesus ("Something greater than Solomon is here")
From a wise but flawed earthly king to the Incarnate Wisdom and Eternal King.20
Prophet
Jonah
Jesus
From a reluctant prophet saved from a fish to the Son of God raised from the dead.14
Deliverance
The Exodus from Egypt
Salvation from Sin
From political liberation from a temporal tyrant to spiritual liberation from sin and death.26
Sanctuary
The Tabernacle/Temple
The Body of Christ / Heaven
From a man-made tent to the "true tabernacle set up by the Lord" (Heb 8:2).23
This principle is vital for Christian theology because it validates the Old Testament while simultaneously asserting the superiority of the New Covenant. The type possesses a pedagogical value—"teaching children their letters," as one source puts it—before the full literacy of the Gospel is achieved.18
4. Distinctions and Boundaries: Defining Typology Against Alternatives
Throughout the history of interpretation, typology has often been confused with other hermeneutical methods. Precision requires distinguishing it from allegory, rectilinear prophecy, and the concept of double fulfillment.
4.1 Typology vs. Allegory
The distinction between typology and allegory is perhaps the most heavily litigated boundary in biblical hermeneutics. While modern scholars of "figural reading" sometimes blur the lines, arguing that both belong to the same family of "spiritual" interpretation 29, traditional and evangelical scholarship maintains a sharp dichotomy based on historicity.
Allegory: Historically associated with the Alexandrian school (Origen, Clement), allegory often searches for a hidden meaning that is detached from the historical reality of the text. It assumes the historical shell is less important than the philosophical kernel. For instance, interpreting the "two lips" in the Song of Songs as the Law and the Gospel is an allegorical leap that ignores the text's genre as love poetry.30 Allegory is controlled only by the interpreter's imagination or philosophical presuppositions.31
Typology: Associated with the Antiochene school, typology is "firmly rooted in concrete realities".1 It respects the historical validity of the Old Testament event. The binding of Isaac (Genesis 22) is not a fable about self-sacrifice; it was a real historical crisis for Abraham. Typology argues that this real event was structured by God to prefigure the sacrifice of the Son. As K.J. Woollcombe notes, typology searches for linkages within the historical framework, whereas allegory searches for meaning underlying it.1
4.2 Typology vs. Rectilinear (Predictive) Prophecy
Rectilinear prophecy (from the Latin rectus, straight + linea, line) refers to direct verbal prediction. When Micah says, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah... out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel" (Micah 5:2), he is engaging in rectilinear prophecy. The text functions primarily as a prediction of a future event.1
Typological prophecy is distinct because the text usually has an immediate, non-predictive meaning in its original context. Psalm 22 is a lament by David about his own suffering. It does not explicitly state, "The Messiah will be pierced." However, because David is a type of the Messiah, his suffering serves as a mold that the Messiah fills. The prophecy is fulfilled not because David saw the future, but because the Messiah enters into David's experience and escalates it.20
Rectilinear: "The Messiah will come."
Typological: "Out of Egypt I called my son" (referring to Israel, but fulfilled by Jesus).
4.3 The Fallacy of "Double Fulfillment"
A common lay explanation for prophetic complexity is "double fulfillment"—the idea that a single prophecy has two distinct fulfillments, one near and one far. Scholars often reject this terminology as "crude and imprecise".30 The objection is logical: "If a prophecy is filled full once, it can hardly be filled 'fuller' later!".19
Instead of "double fulfillment," scholars prefer terms like "manifold application" or "progressive fulfillment" via typology. The prophecy has one meaning (the immediate historical referent), but that referent is itself a type. Therefore, the ultimate fulfillment in Christ is not a second meaning of the text, but the culmination of the history the text describes. This maintains the integrity of the original author's intent while allowing for the expanded divine intent.33
5. Historical Development of Typological Hermeneutics
The trajectory of typological interpretation mirrors the history of the church itself, evolving from a defense mechanism against heresy to a central pillar of medieval art, before facing near-extinction in the Enlightenment and revival in the 20th century.
5.1 The Patristic Era: The Battle for the Old Testament
In the early church, typology was the primary weapon against Marcionism, a heresy that sought to decouple Christianity from Judaism by rejecting the Old Testament. Church Fathers like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus of Lyons utilized typology to demonstrate that the two testaments were written by the same God.
Irenaeus and Recapitulation: Irenaeus developed the concept of recapitulation (anakephalaiosis), arguing that Christ is the New Adam who succeeds where the Old Adam failed. He viewed the six days of creation as a typological map for the six ages of the world, rooting his typology deeply in the structure of Genesis.35
The Antiochene Reaction: While the Alexandrian school (Origen) drifted toward allegory, finding types in every tent peg of the Tabernacle, the Antiochene school (Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia) insisted on theoria—a mode of seeing the spiritual sense supervening on the literal sense without destroying it. They established the precedent that legitimate typology must be historically grounded.15
5.2 The Medieval Era: The Quadriga and Visual Typology
Medieval exegesis codified interpretation into the Quadriga or fourfold sense: Literal, Allegorical (Typological), Moral (Tropological), and Anagogical (Eschatological).36 Typology flourished in medieval art, notably in the Speculum Humanae Salvationis ("Mirror of Human Salvation"), a popular theological handbook from c. 1324. This text presented biblical history in visual pairs: a New Testament event (Antitype) was flanked by multiple Old Testament prefigurations (Types). For example, the Resurrection of Christ might be depicted alongside Jonah emerging from the whale and Samson carrying the gates of Gaza. The Tree of Jesse iconography also visually reinforced the genealogical and typological connection between David and Christ.21
5.3 The Reformation and the Puritan Experiment
The Reformers, Luther and Calvin, rejected the excesses of the fourfold method, seeking a return to the sensus literalis. However, they retained typology as a valid extension of the literal sense within the covenantal framework.
Puritan Typology: In the 17th century, the Puritans took typology in a radical new direction. They applied it not just to Christ, but to themselves. They viewed their migration to America as a typological enactment of Israel's Exodus. New England was the New Canaan; the Atlantic was the Red Sea. This "group identity typology" allowed them to interpret their struggles (famine, war) as divine signs, a theme that would deeply permeate American literature.14
5.4 The Enlightenment Shift: Semler and the Death of Typology
The critical turning point occurred in the 18th century with Johann Salomo Semler (1725-1791), often called the "father of historical-critical research." Semler introduced a sharp distinction between "religion" (private, moral, universal truths) and "theology" (public, historical, dogmatic traditions). He argued that the Old Testament was a historical document of the Jewish people, conditioned by its time, and devoid of supernatural foresight.38
By distinguishing the Bible as a historical artifact from its use as a source of dogma, Semler shattered the unity of the canon. If the OT authors were merely writing local history, then typology was nothing more than a later Christian invention—an accommodation to Jewish thinking rather than a revelation of divine truth. This inaugurated a period where typology was dismissed as pre-critical superstition.39
5.5 The 19th Century and the German Schools
In 19th-century German Protestantism, the debate evolved into a philosophical struggle.
Hegelian School: Theologians influenced by Hegel favored typological interpretation because it fit the dialectical model of history (thesis-antithesis-synthesis), viewing Christianity as the synthesis of earlier religious forms.
Kantian School: Theologians influenced by Kant preferred rectilinear interpretation or moral abstraction, viewing typology as historically contingent and logically suspect.14
Meanwhile, in England, the term "typology" formally entered the language in the 1850s via William Hetherington and Patrick Fairbairn's The Typology of Scripture (1847), which sought to place the method on a sound, moderate footing.6
5.6 The Modern Revival: Goppelt and Contemporary Scholarship
In the mid-20th century, Leonhard Goppelt (1911-1973) resurrected typology as a respectable academic discipline with his book Typos (1982 translation). Goppelt demonstrated that the New Testament use of the Old was not arbitrary allegory but a systematic theological method rooted in the conviction of Jesus' messianic identity. He argued that one cannot understand the NT without understanding its typological substructure.41 This revival has continued with scholars like G.K. Beale and Richard Hays, who explore how the NT authors "read backwards" to find Christ in the OT patterns.17
6. The "Prospective" vs. "Retrospective" Debate: When Does the Type Appear?
A central question in current scholarship concerns the directionality of typology. Does the type point forward before the fulfillment appears (prospective), or is the connection only visible looking back from the New Testament (retrospective)?
6.1 The Prospective View (Predictive Typology)
Proponents of prospective typology (e.g., Walter Kaiser, G.K. Beale, Richard Davidson) argue that types are inherently predictive. They assert that the Old Testament text contains "indicators" of its own incompleteness.
Arguments: They point to the "Promise-Plan" (Kaiser) and the fact that OT institutions like the Tabernacle are explicitly called "copies" of a heavenly reality (Exodus 25:40), implying a built-in forward reference.8 G.K. Beale argues that God created "prospective homologies" to excite faith and hope in the OT saints. For example, the promise of a "seed" in Genesis 3:15 created an expectation that was tracked through the genealogies, making the type visible to the faithful before Christ arrived.17
Implication: Typology is objective and verifiable within the OT text. It is not merely a Christian reimagining of Jewish history.
6.2 The Retrospective View (Figural Reading)
Proponents of retrospective typology (e.g., Richard Hays, Christopher Seitz) argue that typology is primarily a hermeneutical act of the early church. They emphasize "figural reading," where the significance of the type is only "activated" by the appearance of the antitype.
Arguments: They argue that the original readers of Hosea 11:1 ("Out of Egypt I called my son") could not possibly have seen a future Messiah in a statement about the past Exodus. The meaning is generated when the NT author, guided by the Spirit, places the lens of Christ over the OT text. This view relies on "sanctified imagination" and the community's rule of faith.44
Implication: Typology is a creative, retrospective transformation of the text. It acknowledges that the NT authors often saw things in the text that the human OT authors likely did not.
6.3 Synthesis: Retrospective Patterning based on Prospective Revelation
A mediating position suggests that while the specific identity of the antitype (Jesus of Nazareth) was not visible to the OT audience, the pattern was. The prophets themselves engaged in "inner-biblical typology," using the Exodus to predict a future deliverance (Isaiah 11:11, Jeremiah 16:14-15). Thus, the "typological habit" was native to the OT. The NT authors simply identified Jesus as the telos of these established patterns.16
7. Biblical Case Studies: The Grammar of Fulfillment
The abstract principles of typology are best understood through specific biblical examples where the interaction of type, antitype, and escalation is clearly visible.
7.1 Adam and the Second Adam (Romans 5)
Paul's comparison of Adam and Christ in Romans 5:14 ("Adam, who is a type of the one who was to come") is the locus classicus of biblical typology.
The Type: Adam is the federal head of humanity; his act of disobedience brings condemnation and death to all who are "in him."
The Antitype: Christ is the Second Adam; His act of obedience brings justification and life to all who are "in Him."
The Escalation: The "free gift" is not merely the reversal of the trespass; it brings "much more" (Romans 5:15, 17). Adam lost an earthly paradise; Christ gains a heavenly one. The typology works through antithetic parallelism—correspondence by contrast.20
7.2 The Exodus and the Sonship of Israel (Matthew 2)
Matthew 2:15 cites Hosea 11:1 ("Out of Egypt I called my son") as fulfilled in Jesus' return from Egypt.
The Type: National Israel, God's corporate "son" (Exodus 4:22), is delivered from tyranny and tested in the wilderness for 40 years, where they fail.
The Antitype: Jesus, the true "Son," is delivered from Herod and tested in the wilderness for 40 days, where He succeeds.
The Logic: Jesus recapitulates the history of Israel. He succeeds where the nation failed, validating His claim to be the True Israel. This is a retrospective typology that relies on the corporate solidarity of the King and His people.1
7.3 The Serpent in the Wilderness (John 3:14)
Jesus explicitly invokes this type: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up."
The Type: The bronze serpent (Numbers 21) was God's remedy for judgment. Those bitten by snakes looked at the image of the curse (the serpent) and lived.
The Antitype: Jesus on the Cross becomes the "curse" (Galatians 3:13) for us.
The Escalation: The bronze serpent saved from physical death temporarily; Christ saves from eternal death permanently. The correspondence lies in the act of "lifting up" (exaltation via crucifixion) and the requirement of faith ("looking" vs. "believing").14
7.4 Melchizedek (Hebrews 7)
The Type: Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14 as the King of Salem and Priest of God Most High. He has no recorded genealogy, giving him a literary appearance of having "no beginning of days nor end of life" (Hebrews 7:3).
The Antitype: Jesus is a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.
The Escalation: Melchizedek was a mortal man whose genealogy was simply omitted; Jesus is the eternal Son of God whose life is truly indestructible. This typology allows the author of Hebrews to argue for a priesthood superior to the Levitical line.19
7.5 Joseph: From Prisoner to Prince
Though not explicitly cited as a type in the NT (a point of debate regarding "warrant"), Joseph is widely recognized as a comprehensive type of Christ in Christian tradition (e.g., by Sam Emadi).16
The Type: Beloved by his father, rejected by his brothers, sold for silver, falsely accused, descends into the pit/prison, exalted to the right hand of the throne, saves the world (and his rejecters) from famine.
The Antitype: Jesus—beloved Son, rejected by His own, sold for silver, descends to death, exalted to God's right hand, saves the world from sin.
The Escalation: Joseph saved bodies from starvation; Jesus saves souls from damnation. The narrative arc creates a pattern of "suffering followed by glory" that Christ fulfills.14
8. Typology in Literature and Culture: The Puritan Legacy
Typology has exerted a profound influence beyond the walls of the church, particularly in the formation of American cultural identity and literature.
8.1 The Puritan Typological Identity
The Puritans who settled New England did not view typology merely as a way to read the Bible; they viewed it as a way to read their lives. As documented in studies of American literature, figures like John Winthrop and Cotton Mather utilized typology to frame the colonial experience.
New Israel: They believed they were the "New Israel" in covenant with God. The Atlantic Ocean was their Red Sea; the Native Americans were often cast as Canaanites or Amalekites; the wilderness was their desert of testing.14
Individual Typology: Diaries from this period (e.g., by Mary Rowlandson during her captivity) are saturated with typological thinking. Rowlandson interpreted her suffering through the lens of Job and Joseph, viewing her captivity not as random misfortune but as a divine type of the soul's captivity to sin and eventual deliverance.37
8.2 American Romanticism: Hawthorne and Melville
This typological habit bled into the American Renaissance, though often in secularized or inverted forms.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne critiques the rigid typology of the Puritans. The letter 'A' is meant to be a fixed type of "Adultery," but the narrative destabilizes this, allowing it to mean "Able" or "Angel." Hawthorne explores what happens when a community imposes a typological reading on a human being, turning Hester Prynne into a living symbol.37
Herman Melville: Moby Dick is a masterpiece of typological subversion. Ahab views himself typologically, often confusing himself with biblical kings. The white whale is interpreted through a myriad of typological lenses (God, devil, nature, indifferent fate). Melville uses the language of biblical typology ("Call me Ishmael") to explore the ambiguity of meaning in a post-Christian world.37
9. Theological Implications: The Unity of the Canon
The doctrine of typological prophecy carries immense theological weight. It serves as the "glue" that binds the sixty-six books of the Bible into a single canon.
9.1 The Logic of Continuity
Typology answers the Marcionite challenge by affirming the abiding value of the Old Testament. The Law and the Prophets are not discarded; they are fulfilled. This continuity is essential for Christian ethics and ecclesiology. As the "New Israel," the Church inherits the promises (and warnings) of the Old, interpreted through the lens of Christ. The Eastern Orthodox Church, in particular, maintains a heavy emphasis on this continuity, using typology to link liturgical practices with Levitical forms.14
9.2 Christocentricity and the Interpretation of Reality
Ultimately, typology asserts a Christocentric view of the universe. It claims that Christ is not an afterthought in history, but the telos toward which all history has been moving. As Colossians 2:17 states, "These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ." This hermeneutic invites the believer to read the Bible—and arguably, the world itself—as a system of signs pointing to the Redeemer.
10. Conclusion
Typological prophecy is a sophisticated theological framework that posits a universe saturated with divine intent. Far from the "typocological" error of the user's query—or the sociological classifications of welfare states—true biblical typology is the study of how the God of history writes his signature across time. It operates through the twin engines of historical correspondence (connecting the events of the Old Testament to the New) and eschatological escalation (revealing the New as the glorious fulfillment of the Old).
From the foreshadowing of the Cross in the uplifted serpent of Numbers to the recapitulation of Israel's history in the life of Jesus, typology reveals a "Promise-Plan" that spans millennia. It distinguishes itself from allegory by honoring history, and from rectilinear prediction by honoring the organic, developmental nature of revelation. Though challenged by the Enlightenment critique of Semler and debated by modern scholars regarding its prospective visibility, typology remains the primary way the New Testament understands itself. It affirms that the "New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed," offering a vision of history that is not a chaotic sequence of accidents, but a structured drama of redemption.
Table 1: Summary of Key Typological Pairs
Type (Old Testament)
Antitype (New Testament)
Principle of Correspondence
Principle of Escalation
Scriptural Warrant
Adam
Christ
Federal Headship; One act affecting many.
Disobedience to Obedience; Death to Life.
Rom 5:14; 1 Cor 15:45
Passover Lamb
Christ
Sacrificial death; Protection from wrath; No broken bones.
Animal blood to Divine blood; Temporary to Eternal redemption.
1 Cor 5:7; John 1:29
The Flood
Baptism
Judgment by water; Salvation through the ark/water.
Physical cleansing to Conscience cleansing.
1 Peter 3:20-21
Manna
Eucharist / Christ
Bread from heaven; Sustenance in wilderness.
Physical food to Spiritual life; "True Bread."
John 6:32-35
David
Christ
Anointed King; Suffering and Exaltation.
Earthly Kingdom to Universal Kingdom.
Acts 2:25-31
Jonah
Christ
Three days in the depths; Deliverance.
Reluctant prophet to Willing Savior; Resurrection.
Matt 12:40
Bronze Serpent
Christ
Lifted up on a pole; Look and live.
Image of curse to bearer of sin; Believe and live.
John 3:14
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