Written and compiled by Gary Kukis
These studies are designed for believers in Jesus Christ only. If you have exercised faith in Christ, then you are in the right place. If you have not, then you need to heed the words of our Lord, Who said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son, so that every [one] believing [or, trusting] in Him shall not perish, but shall be have eternal life! For God did not send His Son into the world so that He should judge the world, but so that the world shall be saved through Him. The one believing [or, trusting] in Him is not judged, but the one not believing has already been judged, because he has not believed in the Name of the only-begotten [or, uniquely-born] Son of God.” (John 3:16–18). “I am the Way and the Truth and the Life! No one comes to the Father except through [or, by means of] Me!” (John 14:6).
Every study of the Word of God ought to be preceded by a naming of your sins to God. This restores you to fellowship with God (1John 1:8–10). If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9). If there are people around, you would name these sins silently. If there is no one around, then it does not matter if you name them silently or whether you speak aloud.
A type is a preordained representation wherein certain persons, events, and institutions of the O.T. stand for corresponding persons, events, and institutions of the N.T. Types are pictures or object lessons by which God has taught His redemptive plan. They are a shadow of things to come, not the image of those things (Col. 2:17 Heb. 8:5 10:1). See the Doctrine of Typology (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
Also see Typology Links below:
Preface: In studying the book of Genesis, we have come across a great many types. The primary ones have been noted in separate doctrines (Abraham, Isaac, Benjamin, Joseph); and this is a collection of those which have been studied already in the book of Genesis.
Jesus Christ is called a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4 Heb. 5:6, 10 6:20 7:15). Therefore, there must be some parallels between Jesus Christ and Melchizedek. |
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Melchizedek |
Jesus Christ |
The name Melchizedek means my King is righteousness. This recognizes that our righteousness is in Christ, not in ourselves. Furthermore, this is in keeping with Gen. 15:6, where Abraham has imputed righteousness because he has faith in Jehovah Elohim. |
Jesus Christ, our King, is our righteousness. [God is speaking]: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and He will execute justice and righteousness in the land [of promise]. In His days Judah will be delivered, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which He will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness.' ” (Jer. 23:5–6; see also Jer. 33:16 Rom. 3:22 1Cor. 1:30 Phi. 3:9 Heb. 7:2 2Peter 1:1). He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Cor. 5:21). |
Melchizedek is the King of Salem, which means the King of Peace. Heb. 7:2 |
Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace in Isa. 9:6 and Heb. 7:2. To us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). |
Melchizedek brings out the communion elements, the bread and the wine, which represent our Lord’s death on the cross for the atonement of our sins (Gen. 14:18). |
The one clear ritual that we are to participate in during the Church Age is the Eucharist, spoken of by Paul in 1Cor. 11:23–36 and by our Lord in the first communion in Matt. 26:26–29, taken the night before He paid for our sins on the cross. |
Melchizedek is presented here as without a recorded genealogy; not even his mother or father is mentioned (as we have seen, the recording of genealogies is quite important throughout the Old Testament). Heb. 7:3 |
The Deity of Jesus Christ has no mother or father, or genealogy, or beginning or end of days. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and he blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever (Heb. 7:1–3; Gen. 14:17–20). |
Being without a genealogy means that Melchizedek’s authority was not derived from His genealogy (Levitical priests derive their authority from their genealogy). |
Jesus Christ is not authoritative because of His genealogy through Mary; He is authoritative because He is the Son of God and because He speaks the truth (Matt. 7:29 9:6 28:18 John 7:17–18). "Point of doctrine: I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. And He has given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.” (John 5:27). |
Melchizedek (a type of Christ) blessed Abram. The greater blesses the lesser. Gen. 14:18–19 Heb. 7:1, 4–7 Recall that all nations and people would be blessed because of Abram, in Abram, and because of his seed (Gen. 12:3 18:18 26:4). |
We are blessed by Jesus Christ and because we are in Him (Rom. 4:6–8 Gal. 3:9 Eph. 1:3, 6). He has blessed us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:6b). All of our blessings are related directly or indirectly to Jesus Christ. The blessing of Abram by Melchizedek reveals this in typology. |
Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God (Gen. 14:18). |
Jesus Christ is also know as our great High Priest (Heb. 9:11 10:19–22), |
Because Melchizedek is a priest of the Most High God, he is under God’s authority. |
Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, was under the authority of God the Father and acting with the authority of God (John 5:17 10:18 14:10 Heb. 5:7–8). |
Over and over again, throughout the Old Testament, we do not just have prophesies of Jesus Christ, but we have people, things and circumstances which are types of Jesus Christ, which illustrate some aspect of our Lord’s Person, His mission or His character. These types are numerous and not always documented in the New Testament. We discover these types by means of an investigation of the Old Testament. |
The doctrine was taken out of Genesis 24 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). |
This type is based upon the text of Gen. 24, which reads, in part: Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years. And the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh, that I may make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac." The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?" Abraham said to him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, Who took me from my father's house and from the land of my kindred, and Who spoke to me and swore to me, 'To your offspring I will give this land,' He will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there." So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master; and he arose and went to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. (Gen. 24:1–10; ESV; capitalized) |
We have a type of Christ, presented as the servant, in this chapter of the Bible. A type is someone whose actions represent or parallel those of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "You search the [Old Testament] Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these [Scriptures] that bear witness of Me." John 5:39). In this passage, we have a model servant, a type of Jesus Christ. |
1) He is there to represent his master, so even his name is not mentioned. He is there on the business of his master, not for his own pleasure. Our Lord said, "For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him Who sent Me." (John 6:38) 2) This servant had seen his master whom he served. The family that he went to had not. In John 6:46, Jesus said, "Not that any man has seen the Father, except the One Who is from God; He has seen the Father." 3) The servant does not go where he is not sent. The model servant goes exactly to where he is sent. Our Lord, who originally was not sent to the Gentiles, said, "I was sent noly to the lost sheep of house of Israel." (Matt. 5:24) 4) The servant does exactly what he is sent for. Jesus Christ said, I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge and My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him Who sent Me." (John 5:30) 5) The servant is prayerful and thankful. Scripture records many prayers of our Lord. "Father, I thank You that You heard Me. Furthermore, I knew that You heard Me always." (John 11:41b–42a). 6) The servant speaks not of himself but of his master who sent him. "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He Who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true and there is no unrighteousness in Him." (John 7:18). 7) The servant speaks not of himself but of his master's riches and of Isaac. "Let not your heart be troubled; You believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's home are meany dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you.." (John 14:1–2a). 8) The servant presents a true issue and requires a clear, no-nonsense decision. "With complete certainty [lit., truly truly] I say to you, he who heard My word and believe Him who sent Me, has eternal life and does not come into judgement, but has passed outof death into life...For God so loved the world that He gave His uniquely-born Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 5:24 3:16). |
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Types, by the way, are quite different from prophecies, even though there is obviously a prophetical nature in the concept of typology. Generally speaking, a type is not revealed, at his or its inception, as a type or as being prophetical. When the Ark of the Covenant was built, for instance; or when David brought the Ark into Jerusalem; at no time did anyone say, “And this Ark represents Messiah-to-come.” However, after the fact—after the antitype is fully understood—then we can look back and see how it is clearly the image of the type.
This doctrine was taken out of Genesis 25 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). It will be expanded upon in the book of Leviticus. |
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The Ark of the Covenant |
Jesus Christ |
The ark was hidden in a compartment in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. |
All that God would do was not fully revealed to the Jews. In retrospect, it all makes sense—we understand exactly what God was teaching in the Old Testament. However, when these things occurred, the Jews did not fully understand what would happen. |
The arks was constructed out of wood and overlain with gold. |
The wood represents the humanity of Jesus Christ; the gold represents His deity. |
On top of the Ark is the Mercy Seat, which the High Priest sprinkles with the blood of an animal sacrifice once a year. |
The blood represents the spiritual death of Jesus Christ on the cross, when He took upon Himself all of our sins and paid for those sins. God will show mercy to those who believe in His Son. |
On both sides of the Mercy Seat are two angels (one on each side), looking down upon the Mercy Seat. |
Angels, fallen and elect, observe the crucifixion, understanding at once the justice, righteousness, mercy, love and grace of God. |
In the Ark was the Ten Commandments; the bowl of manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded. To man, this represented the Law, which man was required to keep (but that he could not); the provision of God for the Jews; and the eventual resurrection. |
The Ten Commandments represent the Law, which Jesus Christ kept. The manna represents the provision of God which He provided for God the Son when He was on earth. Aaron’s rod that buds represents our Lord’s resurrection after the crucifixion. |
When the High Priest sprinkles the blood on the Mercy Seat, all of this takes place in the Holy of Holies, where it cannot be seen. |
When Jesus died for our sins, God placed thick darkness over that area so that he could not be seen when dying for our sins. |
My point is, the parallels are amazing; but to those in the Old Testament, they did not fully understand what the Ark of the Covenant was all about. |
The High Priest was a type of Jesus Christ; but, at no time, was that stated in the Old Testament. But here we are told that Jesus became a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God. And what was His purpose as our High Priest? To make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Abraham as a Type of Christ (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) |
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Isaac, when offered up by Abraham, was a type of Christ (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) |
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Jacob as a Type of Christ (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) |
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Moses as a Type of Christ (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) |
Types and Antitypes in Deuteronomy (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) |
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