“These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.“ [Colo 2:17]
In the entire Bible, God used typologies to conceal and reveal the hidden truths!
He used different kinds of amazing types and antitypes to reveal the extraordinary majesty and the supremacy of Christ in all from the beginning till the end. Bible talks about Jesus Christ from genesis to revelation!
This article will bring light into few of the typology God used in bible which reveals the supremacy of Christ Jesus!
The Tabernacle, the Dwelling Place of God
In typology the wilderness tabernacle was a projection of God’s redemptive plan in the new covenant in Jesus Christ’s blood. Let us extract some of its hidden nuggets!
“Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them “(Exo 25:8)
“Then I will live among the people of Israel and be their God”(Exo 29:45)
It has ever been the desire of Almighty God to dwell in the midst of His people. In order to do so, the Lord gave Moses the plan for the Tabernacle and He cautioned Him that“And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain”(Exo 25:40)
This same verse is repeated in book of Hebrew to reveal that the sanctuary was a copy and shadow of what is in heaven and God warned Moses to do exactly as its shown by God!
“They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”[Heb 8:5]
This tabernacle was a temporary place of worship that the Israelites built according to the specifications given by God while wandering in the desert and used until King Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem. The tabernacle was kind of a tent which divided into two rooms: 1st room- was the Holy Place, where the table of showbread, the golden lampstand, and the altar of incense were placed. 2nd room, was the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was placed. The rooms were separated by a veil.[Remember this veil is tore from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross, based on His finished work] .The tabernacle was first erected in the wilderness exactly one year after the Passover when the Israelites were freed from their Egyptian slavery. It was a mobile tent with portable furniture that the people traveled with and set up wherever they pitched camp. God knew that the Israelites needed visual evidence of His presence along with them. Then it was for the Israelites but later in the fulfillment of this shadow God wanted to dwell amongst us permanently and came to us as Emmanuel in the New covenant. The Apostle Paul wrote this in the NT that “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14) Here the word “dwelling” is the same word for “tabernacle” used in the Old Testament. In other words, God came in living flesh to dwell or to tabernacle among His people. The tabernacle really was a prophetic projection of the Lord’s redemptive plan for His people. Jesus came down and lives among us bodily as a Jew and now living inside of us in Spirit and He Himself fulfilled the picture of the Old Testament tabernacle! The Tabernacle of Israel is perhaps the best illustration of the Design of God and the grace of God in providing a way to have a relationship with mankind. The Tabernacle was part of the Sinai Covenant that the Lord made with Moses, which was called the Mosaic Law. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.[John 1:17]. The Law included ritual for worship and the center of the ritual was this Tabernacle. The plan of the Tabernacle illustrated the grace of God in providing a dwelling among mankind- Emmanuel! The Christ in you!
Every part of the Tabernacle and each article of furniture represented our Lord Jesus Christ, the God-man, and His work of salvation for mankind!
From the above picture we can understand that each and every objects in the tabernacle points to Jesus Christ in different direction of His redemptive work and the eternal salvation plan fulfillment in the New covenant.
The unique style of God which were used in Bible as Types and Anti types shows yet another proof that Gods infinite wisdom and the divine plan ordained from all eternity.All these shadows pointing to one Person! Jesus Christ! Who brought the eternal redemption through the perfect sacrifice on Cross!
Ark Of the Covenant!
Let us study one of the most amazing biblical theological development in Scripture has to do with the anti-typical fulfillment of the symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant which was part of the tabernacle and kept inside the Holy of Holy place in the inner room. Of all the items God asked Moses to make for in the tabernacle, as per the pattern He showed him in the heaven, the Ark of the Covenant stands out as the most famous. The reason the Ark of the Covenant carries such a unique status because it was the center of Israel’s worship and God performed many miracles by this Ark!
Out of all the other objects in the tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant was the first object which God asked to construct in the tabernacle – Just like the first body part formed in the fetus of a mother’s womb is the head! In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word or Son was the first thing formed from the Pure Spirit of Yahweh, who is the head of all Kingdoms.
The first item God asked Moses to make in the tabernacle was the Ark Of the Covenant, just like Jesus Christ was the firstborn of overall creation!
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” & “And He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. [Col 1:15&18]”
What is this Ark of the Covenant?
The design and the materials used for constructing the Ark of the Covenant proclaim much spiritual truth for us to know and enjoy. We are the New Covenant Priests who carries this Ark of the Covenant who is Christ. It calls for a reason and necessity to get this revelation into your mind. Hence this article will unveil many amazing facts about Gods Wisdom and the Mystery hidden for ages which is revealed to us , who are the saints of God in Christ Jesus. You and Me!!
“And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around. You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side. And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” (Exod 25:10-22)
If we study the above scripture in detail we can see that the Ark provides an outstanding illustration of the incarnate Son of God. The gift from heaven, the chosen lamb of God ordained from all eternity for to redeem the mankind in the divine sovereignty of God! The Ark of the Covenant inside the Holy of Holies represented Christ our all in all as well as the fruit of the Spirit of the adult Christian life. The Ark was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. The wood represented the humanity of Christ and the gold, the deity. The combination represented the Lord Jesus Christ, the uniquely born Son of God in Hypostatic Union – perfect humanity and undiminished deity. The Lord Jesus Christ was uniquely qualified to satisfy the demands of a Holy and Righteous God and bear the sins of the world. As deity, He was equal with God. As humanity, He was equal with mankind. As deity, He was acceptable to God. As humanity, He could represent mankind. The Lord Jesus Christ, thus, became the mediator between God and man.
Jesus Christ was 100 % Human & 100 % God
The Ark represents the union of the two natures in Christ!
Jesus Christ was from the beginning and the first fruit of all creation!
“the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory”[John 1:14]
Jesus Christ revealed the Glory of God to the Human race as the Ark was overlaid with Gold!
The symbolism of the Ark of the Covenant has been fulfilled in Christ. Yes! Jesus Christ is the Ark of the Covenant as a substance for us to carry and be blessed supernaturally! The only thing or the “work” left for us believers is to enter His finished work of rest through his grace! We are to rest in Jesus our true ark, who will carry us through tempestuous waters from victory to victory!
