Typical Faith

Types and anti-types are a way of making promises or introducing ideas. First, there is a description, which could be reinforced by a photograph. Then, a color photo. Then, we get a skit or Super-8 movie that gives the characters in the photos motion and a sense of action. It’s not real, though, until you can hear the voice and smell the perfume.

Peter described the ark in which Noah was saved by Yahweh from the flood as an “antitype” of baptism (1 Peter 3:21). Antitype is a transliteration of the Greek compound word that blends “contrasting with” and “a mark” or “a model” to imply that a picture or statue or die-cast imprint is offered to point to an idea as information or a warning or introduction.

First, there was a stone altar on a mountain. Then, there was a rock that was a place to dream of a ladder going into heaven. Then, there was the tabernacle in the wilderness. Then, David designed a temple that Solomon built. Then, Zerubbabel built a replacement of Solomon’s temple, which was destroyed. Then, a Herod built a temple, which was standing when Jesus was in flesh. Jesus pointed at His body one day while his disciples were marveling at that temple and said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it.” Next, Paul called both individual believers and gathered sons & daughters of God temples. Finally, the permanent, real eternal temple is in the new Heaven, built by God, not by men, and made up of His most favored people.

We have access to heaven and eternity already by faith. Continuing to get more excited by the tent or the temples and the ceremonies than we get about spending life and time with Jesus is settling for the movie when we can have the Person.

At every opportunity, find the ways and places that our awesome God is making His presence known. Make every sacrifice necessary to enter that place, and take as many with you as will listen and believe that there is more.