This is from a set of lessons I taught about the Bible.  I know I will get attacked for this...oh well.

            The last two chapters have dealt with figurative language in the Bible.  An awareness of three additional kinds of special language forms will enhance our comprehension of Scripture even more.  These three remaining forms ― the Old Testament type, the symbol, and Old Testament poetry ― are the subject of this chapter.

The Old Testament Type

            The type is a person, event, office, or institution from Old Testament history which foreshadows its antitype ― a person, event, office, or institution in the New Testament.  This type-antitype relationship can be compared to an object reflected in a mirror.  Just as the object is more important than its reflection, so the New Testament antitype takes precedence over its Old Testament counterpart.  This comparison to a reflection in a mirror should not, however, give the impression that Old Testament types were not real.  Rather, history before Christ was controlled by God in such a way that it would be a reminder of promises he would fulfill in the New Testament.

            An example of an even that was a type is found in Hosea 11:1: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.”  When Israel was a young nation God called them from bondage in Egypt.  Matthew shows that this event was a type of Christ’s sojourn in and exodus from Egypt as a young child.  “So he [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:14, 15).

            Romans 5:14 calls Adam “a type of Him who was to come” (NASB).  That is in some respects Adam was similar to Christ.  Both men greatly influenced all mankind.  “For just as through the disobedience of the one man [Adam’s] the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man [Christ’s] the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).  While the extent of their influence was the same, the result was different.  Adam brought sin and death; Christ brought forgiveness and life.

            Another type is to be found in the story of the serpent of bronze (Numbers 21:4-9).  Christ Jesus is the antitype (John 3:14-16) of that serpent.  Christ’s sufferings on the cross parallel the serpent on the pole in several important areas:

                        Numbers 21:4-9 (type)                      John 3:14-16 (antitype)

                        Israel sinned.                                       The whole word has sinned.

                        Israel was punished by snakes  All mankind is subject to condemnation

                        The bronze serpent raised on pole        Christ raised up on the cross

                        Those who look at serpent lived           Believers in Christ have eternal life.

            Just as there were likenesses between the serpent and Christ, so there were, of course, also differences.  It is wise to note them, lest too much be made of the similarities.  For one thing, the bronze serpent had no power in itself; it was the Lord who really healed the people.  Christ, however, was no mere statue; he actually does have “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18).  Then, too, the salvation that Christ has won is infinitely greater than a mere prolonging of life on earth.

Symbols

            Simply put, a symbol is a sign.  In everyday symbols are used frequently.  For example, a simple X marker along a road represents a railroad crossing.  People have learned to recognize the meaning of the sign, even though it contains no writing.  The X has become a symbol.  Church art and architecture also contain many symbols.  Every Christian recognizes the symbol of the cross.  Seeing it reminds us of Christ crucified and everything contained in that message ― sin, suffering, love, forgiveness and salvation.  A crucifix is that of a cross with the body of Jesus affixed and this serves as a reminder of the payment Christ made for the world.  An empty cross is a visual reminder that Jesus is no longer on the cross but exalted in glory.  Many churches also make use of the Chrismons.  These Christmas tree ornaments all symbolize Christ in one way or another.  Similarly the color purple has become a symbolic color in churches.  It is used during Lent and Advent to symbolize the mood of those seasons, one of sorrow and repentance, and also to show our belief that Christ is our king.

            The Bible, too, makes use of symbols.  Biblical symbols are much like types.  But whereas types are limited to representing the future, symbols can represent that which is past, present, or future.

            A look at a few symbols will help illustrate this.  Perhaps the most famous of all Biblical symbols is the rainbow.  To the Christian it is more than water drops refracting and reflecting the sun’s rays.  It is God’s promise never again to destroy the world by a flood (Genesis 9:12-17).

            Sometimes the color white is also symbolic.  It represents purity and victory.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).  At his transfiguration Christ’s clothes became as “white as the light” (Matthew 17:2).  And the saints in heaven are “wearing white robes” (Revelation 7:9).

            The name Jerusalem is on occasion a symbol of heaven.  In the book of Revelation, John spoke of this heavenly Jerusalem, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2).  The hymnist was thinking of this symbol when he wrote the thrilling words, “Jerusalem, thou city fair and high, would God I were in thee!” (CW 212:1).

            OF unique interest in the area of symbolism is the book of Revelation.  This book contains John’s God-given vision of heaven.  In 2 Corinthians 12:4 Paul relates his own special vision of heaven and states that what he witnessed was “inexpressible” in human words.  Keeping this in mind, it is understandable that John uses symbolic language in much of Revelation.  Since it is so heavily symbolic, this last book of the Bible should be interpreted in the light of the literal, easier to understand portions of Scripture.

Old Testament Poetry

            As indicated in the first lesson, a large part of the Old Testament was written in poetry.  This includes not only the so-called poetical books, but also sizable portions of the prophets and sections of the historical books.

            Most people today tend to think of poetry in terms of rhythm and rhyme.  Hebrew poetry, however, consists of a balance of thoughts more than of words and sounds.  Such balance is called parallelism.  This means that one line in Hebrew poetry parallels the next.

            Unfortunately this poetry has often been lost in English translation.  It is good to see that some of the newer translations of Scripture have printed the poetical sections in verse form.  As will be seen, this is a great aid in capturing the feeling of the original Hebrew.  The New English Bible, the New International Version, and the Revised Standard Version are three translations that have this commendable feature.

            There are three main kinds of parallelism.  The first is called synonymous and expresses the same thought in two or more different ways in each verse.  The second part of a verse echoes the idea of the first.  Here are a few illustrations of synonymous parallelism:

O Lord, rebuke me not in they anger,

Nor chasten me in thy wrath! (Psalm 38:1 RSV)

For the Lord, the most high is terrible,

A great king over all the earth.

He subdued peoples under us,

And nations under our feet. (Psalm 47:2, 3 RSV)

Perish the day when I was born

And the night which said, ‘A man is conceived’! (Job 3:3 NEB)

            The second type of parallelism is called antithetic.  In such verses contrasting or opposite thoughts are placed side by side.  Here are two examples:

For the wicked shall be cut off;

But those who wait for the Lord

Shall possess the land.  (Psalm 37:9 RSV)

A soft answer turns away anger,

But a sharp word makes tempers hot.

A wise man’s tongue spreads knowledge;

Stupid men talk nonsense. (Proverbs 15:1, 2 NEB)

            Synthetic is the term applied to the third variety of parallelism.  In reality this is not true parallelism, for the balance of thought is lost.  This category might be considered a catchall for what cannot be fit into any other classification.  In synthetic parallelism the thought which begins a verse is continued or expanded through the rest of the verse.  Some examples of this are:

It is better for a man to hear the rebuke

Of the wise

Than to hear the song

Of fools. (Ecclesiastes 7:5 RSV)

O Lord, how manifold are thy works!

In wisdom hast thou made them all;

The earth is full of thy creatures. (Psalm 104:24 RSV)

            All Old Testament poetry does not fit perfectly into the preceding categories.  Yet a basic understanding of parallelism will lead to a deeper appreciation of Scripture’s poetry.