High Theology Equals High Doxology! The More We Know Of Who God Is, And What His Word Teaches, The More We Will Worship And Be In Awe Of Him!
The Acts Church
Types And Shadows
Of Christ
The Old Testament is full of examples of Christ, His Resurrection, and His Glorification. These notes are simply a resource to reveal the true depth of not only the Old Testament, but also the deep connection between The Old and The New Covenant.
Shawn Owens
Pastor Shawn Owens dedicates part of his study time to make notes easy to read, and thorough for anyone who cannot attend in person. Pastor Shawn desires for these notes help you grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
When the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons. The exact time for Christ to take on flesh and to enter His creation was ordained and determined before the foundation of the world. The exact date and time that the eternal Son of God would be slain on a cross as the true sacrifice for the sins of His people was also set before the foundation of the world. The date and the hour of His death were not random but were rather perfect and precise. The day of His death was Passover as He is the true Passover Lamb who was slain to redeem and lead spiritual Israel out of slavery. The Lamb was inspected, not the person in the house! The worthiness of the Lamb and the blood of the Lamb applied in faith saved the firstborn, not the worthiness of the people themselves. Christ the Passover Lamb was inspected and found worthy to be the true Passover Lamb. He the Passover Lamb who is holy and unblemished and so are the people to whom His blood covers as they are declared holy and with spot or blemish by faith in the Lamb. The unblemished spotless blood of Christ our Passover Lamb applied is what rescues, covers, and saves all the firstborn who have entered through Him as He is the Door. The Lamb was examined and was innocent and so are all who believe in Him as they have been declared holy and innocent by the imputed righteousness of the Passover Lamb and escape death and eternal judgment. We are spared because God did not spare His only begotten Son, the true Passover Lamb!
Moses is pointing to someone greater as he is a type and shadow pointing to Jesus. Jesus left His place of reign and glory to become a servant and a shepherd to set His people (spiritual Israel) free from slavery of the enemy and sin. As He is the Passover Lamb who was sacrificed to set His people free, Christ is the mediator of a better covenant and now intercedes for His people as they journey through the wilderness traveling to the true promised land. Moses sets the people of Israel free, but whom the Son sets free, they are free indeed!
Joseph is a type and shadow of Christ as Jesus would be the greater Joseph. Joseph was in charge of supplying the physical bread to save the lives of many people. Jesus supplies us Himself as He is the Bread of Life who satisfies the spiritual hunger of all who come to Him (John 6:37) both Jew and Gentile and as a result gives them eternal life. Joseph’s brothers in an attempt to destroy Joseph by their own evil actions, actually set up the conditions that would bring about the events that would eventually lead to the saving of many. They meant it for evil, but God meant it for good to save many lives (Genesis 50:20). This is pointing to the cross, whereby the evil actions of evil men to kill and destroy Jesus would set up the event that would ultimately lead to saving of many. Those who ate the bread given by Joseph would hunger again eventually and would all eventually die. However, whoever comes and eats of the Bread of Life, the greater Joseph will never hunger and never die. They meant the crucifixion for evil, but God meant it for good for the saving of His elect!
Jacob’s dream is pointing to the Messiah (the anointed one) who would be the rock and cornerstone upon which the house of God would be built and who access to Heaven would come through. Through His humiliation(descension) and exaltation(ascension), He is forever the mediator between Heaven and earth and between God and man.  We were all at one time separated from God, but all who believe have been reconciled to Him and now rest in Him, His works, and His righteousness as living stones in God’s household. No one has ever ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
Isaac's Bride
God the Father has chosen a bride for His Son and appointed them before the foundation of the world. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Father to those chosen to be the bride of His Son to bring them to the Son. The Holy Spirit regenerates, indwells, seals, and leads the bride though the wilderness journey and will guide us on this journey until one day our eyes behold our Bridegroom for the first time. On that wedding day we will not only see our Bridegroom for the first time, but we will see Him as He is!
The story of Abraham and Isaac is about a father and son on a mountain but is a type and shadow pointing to what would occur nearly 2,000 later in this same area between the Eternal Father and the Eternal Son. God the Father would send His Son, His only begotten Son to fulfill the promise He made on Moriah that on the mount of the Lord a sacrifice would be provided. This would be fulfilled in Jesus who in this same area, like Isaac would carry the wood on His back to the place of sacrifice and would willingly lay down His life in trust His Father. Isaac was not the son that by his sacrifice would take away the sin of the world, but was pointing to the promised Son who could take away the sins of the who would be the true sacrifice of God, the Son of God. Jesus trusted the Father even unto death as He tasted the wrath of the Father as it pleased the Father to crush His Son in our behalf so that we could have peace with God. God promised He would provide a sacrifice in this area, and this was fulfilled 2,000 years later when the Son of God would die on Mount Calvary. Many read this story and ask how could Abraham be willing to sacrifice His son? The deeper question is how the eternal Father could send His eternal Son to be the sacrifice and suffer His wrath in the place of evil fallen. This is love that our finite minds can’t comprehend fully and should bring us to awe, reverence, and worship for His mercy, grace, and love for His people. He spared nothing as He sent His Son, His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
One day God’s wrath will be revealed upon all ungodliness and those who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. When He comes on the Last Day, He is looking for righteousness. Those who are unrighteous will face the immutable eternal wrath of God that will be poured out. All those who are descendants from Abraham by faith are covered in the righteousness of Christ and will be spared from the wrath of God because Christ satisfied the wrath of the Father upon the cross. It is faith in Him that we are declared righteous and will escape the wrath to come and enter into the consummation of the land that was promised to Abraham and his descendants where righteous dwells.
Melchizedek is noted to have no recorded genealogy or documentation of his birth or of his death. The Old Testament presents Melchizedek specifically and solely as a king and priest providing neither his genealogy that preceded him of his genealogy that succeeded him so that He would symbolize an “eternal king and priest” since he had no record of documentation of birth or death (Melchizedek did have parents, just not a genealogy record that could be found). This would be a type and shadow to point to Jesus, the only true eternal king and priest who is without beginning or without end. This speaks to His eternal nature as He has life in Himself (aseity).
The wrath of God upon the wicked and ungodly came via the flood in the time of Noah. Only those who believed God and by faith entered the ark were saved from the coming wrath and death. The flood was a foreshadowing of the judgment on the Last Day and the ark was foreshadowing of Christ who saves us from the wrath to come. All those who by faith believe in the work of the cross, enter through the only door into the ark which is Christ, and are covered by His atonement will be rescued from the wrath to come and will step foot one day into a new Heaven and an new earth where the curse has been removed and where righteousness dwells.
Abel was a shepherd who offered a Lamb sacrifice to God which was accepted and pleasing to God. Abel’s “innocent” blood which poured into the ground still speaks. However, Abel was a type and shadow pointing to Christ who is the
the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God who was innocent and killed by envious and evil men. His sacrifice was pleasing to God and His blood will speak forever for His sheep!
Christ is referred to as the Last Adam. In the story of Adam and Eve we see a foreshadowing of Christ and His bride, The Church. As Adam was put to sleep (which can be used to describe death) to make his bride, Christ died on the cross to purchase His bride. Adam’s disobedience and sin resulted in him and his bride getting kicked out of paradise. However, the last Adam’s obedience and Him taking the sin of His bride, results in Him welcoming His bride into paradise.
Elisha means “God is salvation”
The Levites did not have their own inheritance of land to settle in due to being the priestly family. There were to be given isolated areas of land within the other family’s allotments of land as to be a presence in all the lands since they were priests. (Joshua 13:14) (Joshua 18:7) (Deuteronomy 18:1-2).Therefore, the Levites were given 48 cities to live in throughout Israel from other tribes’ land. Out of the 48 total cities, 6 of those were specifically designated as cities of refuge (Numbers 35:6-7). Three of the 6 cities of refuge were east of the Jordan and three were west of the Jordan.
In Genesis 22 the story of Abraham and Isaac are typology pointing to Father (Abraham) and Son (Isaac) and the redemptive sacrificial work of the Lamb on the same mountain centuries later. In Genesis 24 the oldest servant of the house in charge of all that Abraham had owned was more than likely Eliezer who is mentioned in Gen 15:1-3. Abraham represents the Father, Isaac Jesus the Son, then Eliezer is typology of the Holy Spirit.
The Sabbath
Our final rest will be in Heaven with Jesus who is the true substance of the Sabbath!
Joshua representing Jesus and grace lead the Israelites into the Promised Land instead of Moses who represents the law. Moses’s one sin disqualified him from the promised land as this is symbolizing that one sin against God’s holy commandment with grace is worthy of eternal damnation and not entering the promised land.
God promised that He would be in the fire with them and to those who are His, the same promise is to all those who are called by His name.
We are finally being tabernacled by Yahweh, we are in the Promised Land and our earthly tents have been done away with in lieu of our permanent residence.
David is the ultimate type and shadow of Christ. Jesus is referred to as the Son of David, Christ’s kingly reign forever is cemented in the Davidic Covenant, they are both born in Bethlehem, both shepherds, both kings, etc. In this type and shadow we see David again being a type and shadow of Jesus.
The story of Daniel and the lions den points not only the preceding events of Jesus’ arrest, but also to His resurrection.