The Scapegoat as a Type of Christ

In my previous article, I have already explained how the Jewish high priest was a type of Christ. On the annual Day of Atonement, the high priest had to offer several sacrifices, including a bull for a sin offering, a ram for a burnt offering, and two male goats for a sin offering. While the sacrifice of the bull was to make atonement for himself and for his household, the two male goats were for the people. In this article, I want to focus on the two male goats.

The high priest had to cast lots for the goats. He would cast two lots, one for the Lord and one for the scapegoat. One lot would determine which goat was offered to the Lord, and the other lot would determine which goat became the scapegoat.

"Then Aaron shall offer the goat on which the lot for the LORD fell, and make it a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make atonement upon it, to send it into the wilderness as the scapegoat." (Lev 16:9-10).

The goat on which the Lord's lot fell would be slaughtered and offered to God as a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot for the scapegoat fell would be sent into the wilderness as a scapegoat. Both of these goats were types of Christ. As we know Christ has made atonement for us on the cross with His blood (Rom 3:25). The blood of the goat that was sacrificed was used to make atonement for the holy place, for the tent of meeting, and for the altar. But then watch what the high priest did with the other goat.

"When he finishes atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall offer the live goat. Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who stands in readiness. The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness." (Lev 16:20-22)

Simply put, a scapegoat is a goat sent into the wilderness after the Jewish high priest had symbolically laid the sins of the people upon it by laying both his hands upon its head and confessing over it all the sins of Israel. I believe it was more than symbolic, but that an actual transfer happened in the spirit realm, as I describe in my article The Link Between Two Realms.

Then the goat was sent off to a lonely place in the wilderness, bearing their iniquities. This goat, too, was a type of Christ, who became our Scapegoat and bore all our sins in His body on the cross. Scripture says:

"Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted." (Isa 53:4)

For Peter the apostle wrote: "And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." (1Pe 2:24).

Isn't that amazing that all our sins were transferred onto Him on the cross, even though He had no sin of His own? I proved The Sinlessness of Christ from Scripture in my article by that title. When that transfer happened, He actually took up our sins and carried them in His body. He literally carried the sins of the whole world in His body. As the Scripture says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:21, NIV).

Not only were the two goats types of Christ, but even the bull that the high priest offered was a type. We know this because of the way the bodies of the animals were handled afterward. 

"But the bull of the sin offering and the goat of the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be taken outside the camp, and they shall burn their hides, their flesh, and their refuse in the fire." (Lev 16:27)

The apostle explained that this was a type of Christ: "For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate." (Heb 13:11-12)

In saying this he was referring to the fact that Jesus was crucified outside of the city gate of Jerusalem. He is our ultimate Scapegoat who bore all our sins. He is also our sacrifice for sin who was put to death on our behalf, and whose blood has made atonement for us. Do you know the One who did all this for you? Jesus Christ loves you more than anyone else in the whole world, and He died for you. But in order to receive the benefits of that, you must repent of your sins, believe in Him, and accept His free gift of eternal life.

Closing Words

Each aspect of the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) teaches us about Christ as the only One who can make atonement for our sins, and the One who bore all our sins in His body. It teaches us about our need to accept Him as our own Lord and Savior, applying His blood to our hearts by faith. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

[a] 2 Corinthians 5:21 Or be a sin offering

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures where noted taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zondervan, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only.

Author's note:  Also see The Passover Lamb as a Type of Christ, The High Priest as a Type of Christ, The Typology of the Tabernacle, Isaac as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, and The Temple as a Type of Christ. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

__________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Rock as a Type of Christ

Another type of Christ found in the Hebrew Scriptures is the rock from which they drank in the wilderness.

Christ the Rock

First, let's look at Christ the antitype,which is something that is represented by a symbol. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians:

"For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ." (1Co 10:1-4)

In this passage, notice he said that the Israelites "all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ." 

The Rock of Horeb

The Split Rock of Horeb

Now let's look at the type of Christ, which was the rock. There were two times when the Lord supernaturally brought forth water from a rock in the wilderness. One was at Mount Horeb in the Desert of Sin during their first year after leaving Egypt (Ex 17:6), and the other time was during their fortieth year of wandering in the wilderness around the time of Miriam's death (Nu 20:1). In his epistle to the Corinthians, Paul was obviously referring to the first occasion, which is recorded in the passage below:

"Then all the congregation of the sons of Israel journeyed by stages from the wilderness of Sin, according to the command of the LORD, and camped at Rephidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, 'Give us water that we may drink.' And Moses said to them, 'Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?' But the people thirsted there for water; and they grumbled against Moses and said, 'Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?' So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, 'What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.' Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Pass before the people and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.' And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. He named the place Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the LORD, saying, 'Is the LORD among us, or not?'" (Exo 17:1-7).

Notice the Lord said, "I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." The Lord stood there on the rock and supernaturally made water spring from it for the people to drink. While the rock itself was an ordinary one, it was a type of the Lord who was their spiritual Rock, who followed them wherever they went in the wilderness. The Rock who gave them water to drink in their desert pilgrimage is the same Lord Jesus who follows us in our earthly pilgrimage and gives us refreshment from His springs of living water.

For He said to the Samaritan woman at the well, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." (Joh 4:10). He added, "...whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life." (Joh 4:14).

Therefore, we can clearly see that Jesus is the spiritual Rock who followed them into the wilderness, who gave them water to drink, and the apostle even called it spiritual drink, because it was supernatural in its origin. The Lord still does the same for us today.

Archaeological Discovery

The Split Rock of Horeb

A couple of researchers produced a video documentary in which they describe their amazing findings at the site of what they believe to be the biblical rock of Horeb. This is a huge rock with a split in the middle, which they can stand inside. It sits atop a hill, and from a distance it is huge, but from close up it is enormous, standing four stories tall.

They said that this part of the world is so arid that it only gets about a half inch (1.27 cm) of rain every ten years. Yet this rock shows evidence that something came up from the bottom of it with great force. It is clear evidence that it happened just as the Scripture says in Exodus 17:6, that water gushed forth, sprang up, or shot forth (Hebrew: yâtsâ'). Normally granite rocks like this would have normal erosion patterns happening from wind and rain running down upon them, resulting in some pieces cracking and falling off. But this one has evidence of pressure-flaking, resulting in very smooth scaling on the inside vertically in an upward direction, which could only happen if water gushed up from beneath it with such great force that it eroded the rock's granite surface. In the video, they provide the following illustration shown below, in which you can see the direction of the water flowing from bottom to top like a geyser. Not only did the powerful force of the gushing water split the rock down the middle, but it also made it smooth as well. It seems to be the original site of the rock of Horeb recorded in Scripture.

If this is the case, which I believe it is, then the amount of water had to be enormous, which it most certainly would have to be in order to refresh 2.4 million people and their livestock with plenty to drink. And it may have continued gushing for a significant period of time afterward. The researchers also found distinct evidence of significant erosion on the rocks comprising the side of the mountain upon which this rock sits. The erosion is found on the smooth stones of that mountain where the water was running down all the way to the bottom, washing out the rocks and sand, and forming a lake at the bottom. To this day there is still an ancient lake bed there as a testimony to this miracle.

They cited Psalm 78 which says:

"He split the rocks in the wilderness And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths. He brought forth streams also from the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers." (Psa 78:15-16). This psalm agrees completely with what they found at this archaeological site -- a split rock in the wilderness, where the Lord once made water gush forth in streams that ran down the mountain like rivers, which collected at the bottom of the mountain and formed a lake as abundant as the sea. There is no other archaeological site in the world that fits this description, except this particular split rock in the desert on top of a mountain.

Closing Words
There are many references to the Lord as our Rock in Scripture, but the one that I want to emphasize here and leave you to consider today is the rock from which the water sprang in the wilderness, which was a type of Christ. As John Wesley said, "And that rock was a manifest type of Christ - The Rock of Eternity, from whom his people derive those streams of blessings which follow them through all this wilderness." Do you know that Rock, who is a spring of Living Water?

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB copyright The Lockman Foundation, all rights reserved, used by permission. Image of the rock may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note:  Also see Adam as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, Moses as a Type of Christ, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Isaac as a Type of Christ

Abraham offering Isaac on the altar

Another type of Christ is Isaac, son of Abraham. We'll begin by first looking at the historical account.

"Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, 'Abraham!' 'Here I am,' he replied. Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.'' (Gen 22:1-2, NIV).

God was testing Abraham to see if he would obey Him by telling him to take Isaac his only son, whom he loved, and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on top of Mount Moriah. This was the son of promise with whom God had promised to established His everlasting covenant. To sacrifice him as a burnt offering would defy all logic, since there would be no other way for God to fulfill His promise if Isaac were put to death. But by faith Abraham obeyed God.

"Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, 'Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.'” (Gen 22:3-5, NIV)

Observe how Abraham assured his servants that he and Isaac both would come back to them. He said "we" (both he and his son) will worship and then "we" (plural) will come back to you. He spoke by faith.

"Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, 'Father?' 'Yes, my son?' Abraham replied. 'The fire and wood are here,' Isaac said, 'but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?' Abraham answered, 'God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' And the two of them went on together." (Gen 22:6-8, NIV).

The words that Abraham spoke to his son here by faith are worthy of noting. "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." He believed that God would provide a lamb.

"When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, 'Abraham! Abraham!' 'Here I am,' he replied. 'Do not lay a hand on the boy,' he said. 'Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.'" (Gen 22:9-12, NIV).

The test was over once God saw that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, because he feared the Lord. Then something amazing happened next.

"Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'" (Gen 22:13-14, NIV).

God supernaturally provided a ram for Abraham to offer up to Him as a sacrifice instead of his son Isaac, which was just as Abraham had believed would happen when he said, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering."

"The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, 'I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed Me.' Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba." (Gen 22:15-19, NIV).

God was looking for Abraham's obedience, and once He saw it, that was all He needed to see. He did not need Abraham to actually sacrifice Isaac.  To obey is better than sacrifice and to hearken than the fat of rams (1 Sam 15:22). The apostle described the faith of Abraham in this way:

"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; it was he to whom it was said, 'in Isaac your descendants shall be called.' He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type." (Heb 11:17-19).

The apostle here specifically refers to Isaac as a type by saying that Abraham received Isaac back from the dead "as a type." This is an explicit reference that leaves no doubt that Isaac was a type of Christ. Just as Abraham offered his only begotten son Isaac on the altar and did not withhold his son, so likewise God the Father offered His only begotten son Jesus Christ on the cross and did not withhold Him. For the apostle said, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Rom 8:32, NIV).

The amazing thing here is that we are the ones who logically should be sacrificing to God, but God instead offered the greatest sacrifice of all for us, and the only sacrifice that could satisfy His wrath, which was the sacrifice of His only begotten Son. That was foreshadowed by Abraham's offering Isaac up to Him on the altar, but God did what He did not require Abraham to do. While God stopped Abraham from following through with driving that knife into Isaac, God on the other hand did follow through with His sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Jesus was indeed crucified, died, and was buried. What a tremendous act of love!

But it doesn't end there, because just as God gave Isaac, who was as good as dead, back to Abraham, God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day. If we could figuratively say with the apostle that Abraham received Isaac back from the dead, we could also say that it, too, happened on the third day. For if you recall, the very next morning after God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, Abraham set off to go and obey God. But it was on the third day that they went together, just the two of them, up onto Mount Moriah, and it was on that third day that he received Isaac back. All of this was a type of Christ's death on the cross and resurrection on the third day.

The Ram Was a Type, Too
In another sense, we could say the ram or lamb that God provided on Mount Moriah was also a type of Christ. God provided a lamb as Abraham believed He would, so that Abraham didn't have to sacrifice his only son. Likewise, God has provided a lamb in that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to die in our place, so that we do not have to perish. Jesus died in our place, just as that lamb died in Isaac's place.

The Lord Will Provide
This study would not be complete if I didn't mention this one last thing.  When Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the offering was, Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." (Gen 22:8). Later on, after the Lord provided the lamb, "Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'" (Gen 22:14, NIV).

Even Mount Moriah was a type of the hill called Calvary (Lk 23:33). According to this verse, the place where Jesus was crucified was The Place of the Skull, which in Aramaic is the word Golgotha, and in Latin is the word Calvary. So both Isaac and Jesus were offered to God on top of a hill. Mount Moriah was located in Jerusalem, where Solomon's temple was later built (2 Chr 3:1), and Calvary was located near Jerusalem outside the city (Jn 19:20; Heb 13:11-13), where Jesus (whose body was a type of the temple) was crucified on the cross. It was there on Calvary that the Lord provided the Lamb of God to die in our place.

Closing Words
In our study of the sacrifice of Isaac to God on the altar, we have seen that he is a type of Christ. As Abraham's only begotten son, who was offered up on the altar to God, he foreshadowed God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ, who was offered up on the cross to God as the perfect sacrifice. Just as Abraham by faith received Isaac back on the third day, as if from the dead, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and lives forever more. God did what He did not require Abraham to completely do. And we even saw how the lamb or ram the Lord provided on Mount Moriah prefigured Christ the Lamb of God, who was given for us on the cross of Calvary.

Studying types of Christ like this can help us grow in our love and knowledge of the Lord. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scriptures where noted taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zonervan, used by permission. Other Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Image may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for commentary and educational purposes only.

Author's note:  Also see Adam as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, The Passover Lamb as a Type of Christ, and Hagar and Sarah as Types. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

_______________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Passover Lamb as a Type of Christ

The Passover Lamb is a type of Christ found in one of the seven Jewish feasts. Let's study this feast to understand how the lamb represents Christ.

The Passover
On that very first Passover, while the Jews were still in Egypt and God was executing His judgments upon Pharaoh and his people, God decided to strike down the firstborn male child of every Egyptian household. In order for the Israelites to keep their household safe, they had to kill a lamb and put some of its blood on the doors and door posts of their home.

Moses wrote in the Law, "Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household.

'Now if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his neighbor nearest to his house are to take one according to the number of persons in them; according to what each man should eat, you are to divide the lamb. 'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. 'You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month, then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.

'Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. 'They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 'Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but rather roasted with fire, both its head and its legs along with its entrails. 'And you shall not leave any of it over until morning, but whatever is left of it until morning, you shall burn with fire.

'Now you shall eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste—it is the LORD'S Passover. 'For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments—I am the LORD. 'The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

'Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance." (Exo 12:3-14)

This was so important that the Lord had the Israelites rehearse it every year.

"And when your children say to you, 'What does this rite mean to you?' you shall say, 'It is a Passover sacrifice to the LORD who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He smote the Egyptians, but spared our homes.'" And the people bowed low and worshiped." (Exo 12:26-27)

Jesus Christ the Lamb of God
John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ identified Him as the Lamb of God just before the Passover. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (Jn 1:29, NIV). Jesus has become our Passover Lamb, which he demonstrated when He gave his life on the cross for us.  In fact, He was crucified during the Passover Feast.

When we put our faith in Jesus, His precious blood is applied to our hearts and our sins are washed away.  Since He was the spotless Lamb of God, His blood applied to the hearts of those who put their trust in Him saves them just as the blood of the Passover lamb saved the Israelites in Egypt.

The apostle Peter wrote: "...knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (1Pe 1:18-19)

The apostle Paul wrote to the Hebrews, "For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Heb 9:13-14)  "Therefore, brethren...we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus..." (Heb 10:19)

The apostle John wrote: "But if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." (1Jo 1:7)

The Types Explained
Let's go back and look at seven aspects of the Passover from Exodus 12:3-14, so that we may fully understand their significance to us.

1. A Lamb for Each Household

"They are each one to take a lamb for themselves, according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household."

This is a very personal matter. Each one must do this, which signifies that we must each make our own personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

2. An Unblemished Male Lamb a Year Old

'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old..."

Jesus Christ was a young male around thirty-three years old. He was sinless and perfect, completely obedient to God His heavenly Father. For more on this see The Sinlessness of Christ.

3. Kill it at Twilight

"...kill it at twilight..."

Just as the lamb had to be killed, Jesus Christ was put to death on the cross of Calvary.

4. Put Some of the Blood on the Doorposts and Lintels

"...take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses..."

Just as the Jews had to apply the blood of the lamb to the entrances to their homes, the blood of Christ must be applied to each of our hearts. We must personally take that action by faith in Him.

For the apostle says, "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."

5. Eat the Flesh of the Lamb

"They shall eat the flesh that same night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs."

Each individual must eat Christ's flesh and drink His blood. He who does so has eternal life.

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him." (Joh 6:53-56).

At the last supper on the night He was betrayed, at the meal with His disciples, He said of the bread that He broke, "Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you." Likewise, as He gave the cup to them and told them all to drink from it, He said, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins."

When Jesus had finished all these words, He said to His disciples, "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion." (Mat 26:1-2).  On the night he was betrayed, He celebrated the Passover with His disciples. "While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body.' And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.'" (Mat 26:26-28)

"And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.'" (Luk 22:19-20)

6. No Leftovers

"you shall not leave any of it over until morning..."

They took Jesus' body down from the cross after He died and buried Him. They did not leave Him there until morning.  

7. When God Sees the Blood, He Will Pass Over You

"...The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live; and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you..."

When God sees the blood of Jesus His Lamb on your heart, He will pass over you and will not destroy you with the wicked. You will not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16). The blood of Jesus also protects you from any plague that God sends upon the wicked.

God Sacrificed His Lamb
While God required the Jews to sacrifice a lamb on the Passover and every year as a memorial, it was all pointing to the day when He would once for all sacrifice His own perfect, sinless Lamb on the cross without defect for our sins. He sacrificed for us what was most precious to Him, His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. As the apostle said, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8, NIV).

Like a Lamb to the Slaughter
The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophet Isaiah, predicting the sufferings of Christ that would happen some seven hundred years later in the 53rd chapter of that book. It is clearly referring to Christ, as that detailed description could not match anyone else but Jesus. The entire chapter is about His sufferings, but I will just quote a few key verses, the first of which declared that He would be led like a lamb to the slaughter. It says, "He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter..." (Is 53:7a, NIV).

His life was an offering for sin: "Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin." (Is 53:10a, NIV).

He bore the sin of man: "...He poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Is 53:12b, NIV).

If you have never read that chapter, you really must read it to appreciate the full significance of it. I suggest you begin at Isaiah 52:13 and continue through the end of chapter 53.

The Glorified Lamb
In the book of Revelation, the glorified Lamb of God is revealed up in heaven, where the Lord took the apostle John to show him these things. He saw the Lamb that was slain standing between the throne and the elders (Rev 5:6), and they all worshiped the Lamb there (Rev 5:8), including the angelic choir (Rev 5:11-12), every created thing (Rev 5:13), and a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, tribe, peoples and language (Rev 7:9-10).

He saw a countless multitude before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, who were washed in the blood of the Lamb, which is the very reason why they were before God's throne (Rev 7:14-15). Throughout eternity the Lamb will be their shepherd, and will guide them to the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Rev 7:17). They overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony (Rev 12:11).

John also saw one hundred and forty-four thousand standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion, who follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev 14:4). John also saw those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, holding harps of God. And they sang the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb (Rev 15:2-3). With the Lamb were the called and chosen and faithful (Rev 17:14).

John heard them say in heaven that there would be a marriage of the Lamb, for which the Bride must make herself ready, which would be accompanied by a marriage supper attended only by those who were invited (Rev 19:6-7).

John was shown the wife of the Lamb, the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God (Rev 21:9-10). Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life would enter the holy city (Rev 21:27). John saw a river flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb (Rev 22:1), which will be in the holy city (Rev 22:3).

I go into much more detail about this in my follow up to this article called The Glorified Lamb of God.

Closing Words
In our study of the Passover Feast, we have seen that the lamb is a type of Christ. Almost every aspect of the Passover Feast is symbolic, pointing us to Him. We examined the lamb itself, which was required to be a year-old male without any blemish or defect. We also examined how they ate the lamb, and how each household had to put some of its blood on the entrance to their home. Each aspect of the Passover teaches us about Christ as the only One who can save us from being struck down by the wrath of God, and our need to accept Him as our own Lord and Savior, applying His blood to our hearts by faith. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB, copyright Lockman Foundation, used by permission. Other Scriptures where noted taken from the Holy Bible NIV, copyright Zonervan, used by permission. 

Author's note:  Also see The Glorified Lamb of God, The Typology of the Tabernacle, Moses as a  Type of Christ, Isaac as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, and The Temple as a Type of Christ. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at Writing for the Master. Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

__________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

The Typology of the Tabernacle

The tabernacle and all its furnishings were types and shadows of things to come. They were made according to the pattern shown to Moses on the mountain and they are a copy of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle in heaven that the Lord pitched, not man (Heb 8:2).

Speaking of Jesus, the apostle said, "If He were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already priests who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: 'See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.'” (Heb 8:4-5).

In these verses we can observe two things: First, the earthly tabernacle is a copy and shadow of the sanctuary that is in heaven. This is true not only of the tabernacle as a whole, but of every individual aspect of it. It is a copy of its counterpart in the heavenly sanctuary, indicating that it is patterned after the original. And it is a shadow of its counterpart in heaven, which indicates that it looks like the original in the same way your own shadow looks like you, even though it is not you. Secondly, that is why the Lord warned Moses to make everything according to the pattern the Lord gave him, otherwise it would not be a correct copy of the heavenly one.

Of the heavenly tabernacle, John said when he saw it: "After this I looked, and I saw in heaven the temple—that is, the tabernacle of the covenant law—and it was opened." (Rev 15:5, NIV).

In the ninth chapter of Hebrews, the apostle gives us a great deal of information about the articles in the earthly tabernacle.

He said, "Now even the first covenant had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary." (Heb 9:1). This means that God set forth regulations for the Hebrews' worship and for their earthly sanctuary as follows:

The Holy Place

"For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place." (Heb 9:2). As you can see in the photo image above, there was an outer barrier surrounding the entire sanctuary, which is also shown in the diagram below from an overhead view. The barrier had one door or gate by which the priests would enter and exit, which was a type of Christ, who is the door (Jn 10:9) as well as the Way (Jn 14:6).

The area inside that barrier, not including the inside of the tabernacle itself, was known as the outer court. The court contained the brazen altar, upon which the priests offered animal sacrifices to God. The brazen altar was a type of the cross, where the blood of Christ was shed as He was sacrificed in our place, on our behalf, and for our sake.

The court also contained the brazen laver filled with water, which the priests bathed in before entering the Holy Place. This is a type of being baptized in water, cleansed from sin, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Just as the priests had to be pure and holy before they entered the Holy Place, so we must be pure and holy to come before the Lord in His heavenly sanctuary.

"Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god." (Ps 24:3-4, NIV)

The tabernacle building itself was divided into two parts, the outer part being the Holy Place, which was behind the first veil. Inside to the left was the golden lampstand to light the place. In one sense we could say this is a type of Christ, who is the Light (Jn 8:12), but it is also a type of the Holy Spirit. John said when he was taken up to heaven that "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God." (Re 4:5, NIV).

Opposite across from the golden lampstand was the golden table upon which was the bread of the Presence located on the right side of the Holy Place (Ex 25:30; 35:13; 39:36; Num 4:7; 1 Sa 21:6; 1 Ki 7:48; 2 Chr 4:19). This is a type of Christ, who is the bread of life (Jn 6:35). One might also say the bread of the Presence represents the Word of God, too, since we feed upon it. Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Dt 8:3; Mt 4:4). Since Jesus is the Word of God (Jn 1:1), the  bread of the Presence still points to Christ. The priests had to keep the bread on this table fresh before the Lord at all time. And with the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word to our hearts as we read it, He always keeps it fresh for us.

In front of the second veil that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, was the altar of incense, which is a type of praise and worship. The smoke from the fragrant incense that the priest would burn on this golden altar rose up to God's nostrils in heaven.

"May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice." (Ps 141:2, NIV).

"And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people." (Re 5:8, NIV)

"Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne." (Re 8:3, NIV)

The Holy of Holies
The apostle said, "Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place..." (Heb 9:3). Most people were excluded from this inner room.

Inside it was "the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant..."  (Heb 9:4). The ark represents the ark in heaven itself. As it says in Revelation, "And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm." (Rev 11:19)

The earthly ark has a gold-covered lid over it. "And above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail."  (Heb 9:5). The ark of the covenant in Scripture represents the presence of God. This is where God's shekinah glory descends and fills the place. No man comes to the Father except by Jesus (Jn 14:6), and the ultimate goal is to enter into His glorious presence.

The Lord Almighty was enthroned between the cherubim that were on the ark, in that sacred place above it known as the mercy seat made of pure gold (Ex 25:17-22; 26:34; Nu 7:89; 2 Sam 6:2), which represented the mercy seat that Jesus now occupies in heaven in the presence of the Father.

"Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance."  (Heb 9:6-7)

This means that only one man in the whole world, which was the high priest, was allowed into this Most Holy Place, and he only entered in there once each year on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of sacrificial animals and offer incense. He had to wear bells on the hem of his robe and have a rope tied to his leg. The reason was that as long as the other priests outside that room could hear the bells, they knew he was still alive, but if he dropped dead in the holy presence of God, they would not be able to enter in, so the rope enabled them to drag him out. That is why the priest always entered that place with blood to make atonement.

When Jesus died on the cross to make atonement for us with His blood, the earth shook, the rocks split, and the veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, opening the way for those who are in Christ to enter into this place now (Mt 27:51). Prior to that awesome moment, that sacred place remained unoccupied by any human being for 364 days per year. But now through His death on the cross, Jesus has made the way for all those who are in Him to enter that Most Holy Place every day of the year, no matter where they are on earth. This is a major change between the Mosaic covenant and the New Covenant in Christ's blood.

We know that the tabernacle is a symbol for us, because the Scripture says so. During the first century, before the Romans destroyed the temple, the apostle wrote: "The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time."  (Heb 9:8-9a)

Furthermore, since the tabernacle was only a copy and shadow of the reality found in Christ, the gifts and sacrifices offered there were unable to clear the consciences of the worshipers as only He can do. The apostle said, "Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation."  (Heb 9:9b-10).

Take Me In
Have you ever been into the Holy of Holies? Some people prefer to be outer court Christians, content to remain in the background. They pay God a visit on Sundays, but they do not earnestly seek His face either at that time or during the rest of the week. Let me encourage you not to be an outer court worshiper, but to seek Him with all your heart and press in to the Lord, so that you may truly know Him. Get hungry for God! Desire His presence more than the air you breath. Ask Him to take you into the Holy of Holies, which is His very throne room. There is only one way into that Most Holy Place, and that is by the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore, brethren...we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus..." (Heb 10:19). For more on this see my blogs Practicing the Presence of the Lord and Seeking the Lord.

There is a beautiful song from the 1980's by Petra called Take Me In, which expresses this hungry heart's cry to the Lord. It goes like this:

Take me past the outer courts
Into the holy place
Past the brazen altar
Lord, I want to see your face

Pass me by the crowds of people
The priests who sing your praise
I hunger and thirst for your righteousness
And it's only found one place

Refrain:
Take me in to the holy of holies
Take me in by the blood of the lamb
Take me in to the holy of holies
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am
Take the coal, cleanse my lips, here I am

May that become the cry of our hearts, and let us draw near to God.

Closing Words
In our study of the tabernacle, we have found many types of Christ. Almost every aspect of the tabernacle is symbolic, pointing us to Him. We examined the door to the outer court, the brazen altar, the sacrifices offered there, the brazen laver, the Holy Place, the golden lampstand, the table of shewbread, the golden altar of incense, the second veil, the Holy of Holies, the ark of the covenant, the blood, and the high priest. Each of these teach us about Christ as the only Way to the Father, and how He has made it possible through His blood for us to be in the immediate presence of God without being struck dead. I trust this has helped to accomplish that very goal in your life as you have read this article. I hope you will come back again later to enjoy more articles on the types in the Bible.

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Image of second temple may be subject to copyright, used per Fair Use Act for educational and commentary purposes.

Author's note:  Also see The High Priest as a Type of Christ, The Temple as a Type of Christ, Manna as a Type of Christ, Moses as a Type of Christ, Adam as a Type of Christ, Noah's Ark a Type of Christ, Hagar and Sarah as Types, and The Mysteries of the Faith. You can access the Main Directory for Biblical Typology, or my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  Now I'd like to ask a very important question.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

__________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.