Essay on Typology book

G.W.H. Lampe and K.J. Woollcombe.

(Great Britain:635 Alec R.Allenson, INC 1956)
I.

The reasonable of Typology.

As Augustine said that in the old testament the new lies hid, in the New testament
the meaning of the old becomes clear also Paulinus of Nola put this in poetic way,
the old law establishes the new, the new law completes the old, in the old you find
hope, in the new you find faith, but the grace of Cheist links old and new
together.(page 13)
Whenever scripture said it must have a literal fact and allegorical meaning (13),
example : 1. The sacrifice of Isac as a story but it is a shadow of fathers gift his only
begotten son, for mans salvation 2. The story of the striking of rock and the manna
in the desert portrayed the Christian sacraments 3. The two wives of Abraham
(hand maid and free woman) that represent the two testaments, as Mr R. L. P
Milburn expressed it in his Bampton lectures on early Christian interpretation of
history, The view gradually gained acceptance that, Im the providential ordering
affairs by God, the events of the old Testament were carefully designed to
foreshadow and prepare the way for those redemptive actions which were to mark
the decisive turning-point in the history of the world.(12)
Origen himself professed to attach importance to literal sense of Scripture, as the
starting point of the deeper Spiritual interpretation, in order the prophetic
foreshadowing to be importance the discerned in the history of Israel must occurred
in actual fact. (14)
The rise of higher Criticism or impact of modern literary and historical criticism was
make the literal truth of historical narrative was being called in question, and the
conclusive lead to the act of breaking down of the old conception of unity of
Scripture and the consequent discrediting of the typological and prophetical
exegesis familiar to so many generation of Christians.(16-17)
Church in second century have this kind of dilemma, either the typological and
allegorical readable as a Christian book, or drastic solution promoted by Marcion ,
either throw out gospel and read the bible as a Hebrew scriptures, or throw away
the old testament, for as it irrelevant to those who live under the new covenant.(17)
The Jews looked back to mighty acts of God in ancient history to find the reality
which gave coherence and unity to all subsequent development. The Christians, in
some measure, reversed this position. The great acts of God in Israelite history
acquired significance because of their character as foretastes of what was later
accomplished in Christ. (28) the crossing of the red sea was significant because it
there could be discerned the pattern of Gods activity towards man which the

Christian was conscious in his own experience as one who had been delivered by
Christ from spiritual bondage.(29)
Typological study is necessary if we are to appreciate the meaning of the New
Testament(19),
Scripture indeed a unity, but its unity does not consist in its character as a body of
diverse literature, united by a common cultural inheritance and great common
themes garb of an entire system of spiritual truth, coherent and integrated body
of spiritual and moral instructionby those to whom its author, the holy spirit, gives
the key.(30)
Typological exegesis is the search for linkages between events, persons or things
within the historical framework of revelation, wheres allegorism is the search for
secondary and hidden meaning underlying the primary and obvious meaning of a
narrative, and does not necessarily have any connection at all with the historical
framework or revelation.(40)
Allegory must be referred to Hellenistic ideas about correspondences of the earthy
order as the shadow with the intelligible sphere as the reality, to the Alexandrian
tradition..disregard of the context and the original meaning of proof-texts.(32)
No allegorist can claim to be interpretating scripture or to be a biblical Theologian.
(33)
The allegory is concerned usually with moral edification rather than with pointing
to Christ.(33)
Why should a scriptural allegory have more value than a good allegorical
interpretation of any other book?(32)
II.

The Biblical Origin and Patristic development of Typology.

Typology, considered as a method of exegesis, may be defined as the

estabilishment of historical connection between certain events, persons or things in
the Old Testament and similar events, persons or things in the New Testament.
Irenaeus eschatological prophecy in old Testament called recapitulio and it has
two aspects:
1. Consummative.
For ex:
When he said, the son of God became Son of David and son of Abraham, he
was using the word in consumptive aspect.
He meant God purpose in electing Jewish, and the house of David and Jewish
nation Consumed or perfected by Christ.
2. Reiterative.

When he said that the redemptive acts of God in Christ recapitulated the
acts of God in creation, he was using the word in its reiterative sense.
Recapitulating himself in Adam, while Adam was created formed by clay then
Jesus as Second Adam also receive birth for recapitulation of Adam.(43)
God predestinating the natural man to be saved by the spiritual man.(49)
To use typology it solely for expressing the consistency of Gods redemptive activity
in the old and in the new Israel. (75)
Allegorism (hellenistic platonism), material word and world of idea(69), used in
Gnisticsm, plain
(beginner) ,deeper allegorical sense was the true faith of
Gnosticsm.(70)
If Christ is both present in Old testament and New testament:
1. The History of Salvation, is the grand Narrative and theme of
history.
2. He is God from the beginning of time, and he is a triumph God
(Trinity).
3. We have a full pictures of truth (Prophetical, theological, historical,
eschatological)