In fact, it is an essential part of understanding the Bible as a whole. In fact, as we shall discover, typology demonstrates that the temporal and theological gap between the Old and New Testament is not a hindrance to our Bible reading, but a help. In this article, we look at what typology is, and how it can help us to interpret the Old Testament with confidence. One of the key ideas which was raised was how the two Testaments are related through typology. We also began to explore the way God's Old Testament promises and purposes are fulfilled in the New, and what that says for how we ought to treat the Old Testament. Biblical theology shows us that we both live in the same age, the 'last days', and our common faith outweighs our peripheral differences. In the article "Jumping the Gap" (Briefing #209), we concluded that it is wrong-headed to feel there is an insurmountable cultural gap between the world of the New Testament believer and the world of the twentieth century Christian. We sense a huge gap between the Old and New.
It's just too obscure, we tell ourselves, and stick with more familiar literature such as the New Testament epistles. So how are the food laws in Leviticus going to train us in righteousness? What kind of rebuke do we get from the elaborate temple descriptions at the end of Ezekiel? Questions like these lead us to push the Old Testament aside. We know that Jesus has 'fulfilled', 'abolished' and 'reinterpreted' its teaching but we also know that "all Scripture is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Tim 3:16). This article is a follow up to Jumping the Gap (Joshua Ng)Ĭhristians often don't know what to do with the Old Testament.