Typology And Shadows In Redemptive History
Typology in redemptive history refers to the study of how earlier events, persons, or institutions in the Old Testament prefigure or foreshadow later realities, particularly those found in Christ and the New Covenant [1]. These earlier elements are often called "types," and the later realities they point to are called "antitypes." The concept is rooted in the biblical understanding that God's plan of salvation unfolds progressively, with earlier stages preparing for and illuminating later ones.
The Apostle Paul explicitly uses the language of "shadow" to describe Old Testament practices in relation to Christ. For instance, in Colossians 2:17, he states that certain Old Testament observances—like dietary laws, festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths—"are a shadow of things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ" [1]. John Gill, in his commentary on Colossians, explains that these elements were "types, figures, and representations of spiritual and evangelical things" [1]. For example, the distinction between clean and unclean meats under the law was an emblem of the separation between Jews and Gentiles, a distinction that ceased with Christ [1].
Patristic writers also engaged with the idea of shadows and types. Tertullian, for instance, discusses how natural phenomena like the daily cycle of day and night can serve as analogies for divine power, where "Day dies into night, and is buried everywhere in darkness. The glory of the world is obscured in the shadow of death" before reviving [4]. While not directly typological in the redemptive-historical sense, this illustrates an early Christian understanding of how visible realities can point to deeper, spiritual truths.
The Old Testament itself contains numerous instances where later interpreters identify shadows or types. The cloud that descended upon Mount Sinai, signifying God's presence, is seen by some as a "shadow of God manifest to the outward senses; and, at the same time, of God manifest in the flesh" [3]. This suggests that even divine manifestations in the Old Covenant hinted at the ultimate incarnation of God in Christ. Similarly, the phrase "shadow of death" in Job 34:22 refers to thick darkness, a concept that can be understood as a precursor to the spiritual darkness from which Christ delivers humanity [2].
The consistent theme across these interpretations is that the Old Testament, with its laws, rituals, and historical events, was not an end in itself but served a preparatory role, pointing forward to the person and work of Jesus Christ [1]. This typological understanding helps to demonstrate the unity of God's redemptive plan throughout history.
Sources
- Colossians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Colossians 2:17: Which are a shadow of things to come,.... By Christ, and under the Gospel dispensation; that is, they were types, figures, and representations of spiritual and evangelical things: the different "meats and drinks", clean and unclean, allowed or forbidden by the law, were emblems of the two people, the Jews and Gentiles, the one clean, the other unclean; but since these are become one in Christ, the distinction of meats is ceased, these shadows are gone; and also of the different food of regenerate and unregenerate souls, the latter feeding on impure food, the ashes”
- Job (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Job 34:22: shadow of death--thick darkness (Amo 9:2-3; Psa 139:12).”
- Exodus (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Exodus 34:5: the Lord descended in the cloud--After graciously hovering over the tabernacle, it seems to have resumed its usual position on the summit of the mount. It was the shadow of God manifest to the outward senses; and, at the same time, of God manifest in the flesh. The emblem of a cloud seems to have been chosen to signify that, although He was pleased to make known much about himself, there was more veiled from mortal view. It was to check presumption and engender awe and give a humble sense of human attainments in divine knowledge, as now man sees, but d”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 3: Tertullian — CHAP. XII.--SOME ANALOGIES IN NATURE WHICH CORROBORATE THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH. (part 1): Consider now those very analogies of the divine power (to which we have just alluded). Day dies into night, and is buried everywhere in darkness. The glory of the world is obscured in the shadow of death; its entire substance is tarnished with blackness; all things become sordid, silent, stupid; everywhere business ceases, and occupations rest. And so over the loss of the light there is mourning. But yet it again revives, with its own beauty, its own dowry, is own sun, the sa”