The Shadow Land of the Mosaic Covenant

[Arial]

Most who have been a Christian for any length of time, recognize that the OT is full of shadows and types that come into reality in the NT with the advent of Christ. Some are easy to recognize, such as the sacrifices and the priesthood. But they do not even begin to touch the wealth of shadows that there are. When we begin to see some of the more obscure, we can more clearly see the story of redemption, and in such glory as to take our breath away at our perfect, all knowing, all seeing, all powerful God.

The Garden of Eden itself is a shadow of what awaits those in Christ when He comes the second time. Rev 21:1-6 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, no crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things--- have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new," Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

We have Peter in 1 Peter 3:19-22 showing us how the flood was a shadow of the cleansing by the resurrection of Christ symbolized in baptism.

The exodus itself is a magnificent and long shadow, the forerunner of the believers deliverance from bondage. And there are countless others in the treasuries of his word. But what about the land granted by oath to the descendants of Abraham? Is that too a shadow or is it a fixed, stand alone, piece of the earth? Where does it fit into the covenant of redemption?

It is my view that the land allotted to Israel is also a shadow of what is accomplished through Christ's person and work.

In the Gen 1 we see the concept of land as earth is created. Verse 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

In Gen 2:8-25 God prepared a particular part of the land for man where He dwells with them and placed Adam and then Eve in that Garden.

In Gen 3 Adam fails in obedience and he and Eve are cast out of this land, barred from entering it lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever. Sin and death have entered creation through mankind. The ground is cursed, mankind is cursed, the deceiver is cursed, and a promise is made. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

And so begins the working out of redemption through Christ.

So what is it that Jesus is sent and comes to do and does? Take back the land that belongs to God----all the land---through the destruction of sin and death. And this he does by taking upon his own incarnate flesh the just punishment for sin for a people God gives him.

Psalm 24:1-2 The earth belongs to God! Everything in all the world is his! He is the one who pushed the oceans back to let dry land appear.

So what about the land that was given to Israel? Is it that specific piece of land that is a central focus of redemption, or is that land a shadow of what is to come when Jesus arrives and the good news goes to all the nations? Does the nation/state of Israel and that land remain a distinctive people of God apart from other nations? Or is geographic Israel, the home and birthplace of the Redeemer, and through His work, expanded to cover all the earth as the gospel is carried to every nation?

I propose that geographic Israel is a type of the Garden of Eden, where God dwelt with the people through mediating priests and a temple and sacrifice and law. And it is also a type of what is to come. Now that old order has passed away we have one sacrifice made by Jesus, and one mediating Priest, who does what the old order could not do---- change the hearts of a people for God, granting them through faith his righteousness, and through faith justifying (reconciling) them to God for all time. Doing what the old order could not do----conquering the condemning power of sin and death for the sheep he laid down his life for. A new creation. A new people of God.

Christ reigns in them, now for they are sealed in Him. The gospel never ceases to go to the nations as he gathers all his sheep. And when the time is right, his time, then will come the resurrection, all things made new, God dwelling again among his people, without a temple or sacrifices, and forever. Our home for now is heaven. But when he returns and all things are restored, earth will again be our home made perfect, as we are made perfect, even as Christ is perfect.

 

[Eleanor]

Most who have been a Christian for any length of time, recognize that the OT is full of shadows and types that come into reality in the NT with the advent of Christ. Some are easy to recognize, such as the sacrifices and the priesthood. But they do not even begin to touch the wealth of shadows that there are. When we begin to see some of the more obscure, we can more clearly see the story of redemption, and in such glory as to take our breath away at our perfect, all knowing, all seeing, all powerful God.

The Garden of Eden itself is a shadow of what awaits those in Christ when He comes the second time. Rev 21:1-6 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, no crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things--- have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new," Also he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

We have Peter in 1 Peter 3:19-22 showing us how the flood was a shadow of the cleansing by the resurrection of Christ symbolized in baptism.

The exodus itself is a magnificent and long shadow, the forerunner of the believers deliverance from bondage. And there are countless others in the treasuries of his word. But what about the land granted by oath to the descendants of Abraham? Is that too a shadow or is it a fixed, stand alone, piece of the earth? Where does it fit into the covenant of redemption?

It is my view that the land allotted to Israel is also a shadow of what is accomplished through Christ's person and work.

In the Gen 1 we see the concept of land as earth is created. Verse 10 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

In Gen 2:8-25 God prepared a particular part of the land for man where He dwells with them and placed Adam and then Eve in that Garden.

In Gen 3 Adam fails in obedience and he and Eve are cast out of this land, barred from entering it lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever. Sin and death have entered creation through mankind. The ground is cursed, mankind is cursed, the deceiver is cursed, and a promise is made. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

And so begins the working out of redemption through Christ.

So what is it that Jesus is sent and comes to do and does? Take back the land that belongs to God----all the land---through the destruction of sin and death. And this he does by taking upon his own incarnate flesh the just punishment for sin for a people God gives him.

Psalm 24:1-2 The earth belongs to God! Everything in all the world is his! He is the one who pushed the oceans back to let dry land appear.

So what about the land that was given to Israel? Is it that specific piece of land that is a central focus of redemption, or is that land a shadow of what is to come when Jesus arrives and the good news goes to all the nations? Does the nation/state of Israel and that land remain a distinctive people of God apart from other nations? Or is geographic Israel, the home and birthplace of the Redeemer, and through His work, expanded to cover all the earth as the gospel is carried to every nation?

I propose that geographic Israel is a type of the Garden of Eden, where God dwelt with the people through mediating priests and a temple and sacrifice and law. And it is also a type of what is to come. Now that old order has passed away we have one sacrifice made by Jesus, and one mediating Priest, who does what the old order could not do---- change the hearts of a people for God, granting them through faith his righteousness, and through faith justifying (reconciling) them to God for all time. Doing what the old order could not do----conquering the condemning power of sin and death for the sheep he laid down his life for. A new creation. A new people of God.

Christ reigns in them, now for they are sealed in Him. The gospel never ceases to go to the nations as he gathers all his sheep. And when the time is right, his time, then will come the resurrection, all things made new, God dwelling again among his people, without a temple or sacrifices, and forever. Our home for now is heaven. But when he returns and all things are restored, earth will again be our home made perfect, as we are made perfect, even as Christ is perfect.

The land shadowed eternal life (Heb 11:13-16)?

 

[Arial]

The land shadowed eternal life (Heb 11:13-16)?

Absolutely. That is a good one that goes perfectly with the OP.



13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

And, even though we are fully redeemed now, we too are longing for a better country--a heavenly one.
This one:

The New Heaven and the New Earth​

21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.[c] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

 

[Alive]

One of my favorites involves the tabernacle set up in the wilderness.
The first thing you see in the hot blazing sun is the fence of pure shining white jumping out of the wilderness landscape.
A type of Christ, where when entered begins a journey involving what is within.
The tabernacle was amazing.

 

[Eleanor]

One of my favorites involves the tabernacle set up in the wilderness.
The first thing you see in the hot blazing sun is the fence of pure shining white jumping out of the wilderness landscape.
A type of Christ, where when entered begins a journey involving what is within.
The tabernacle was amazing.

Refresh my memory on the white.
Natural linen is not pure white.

 

[Alive]

Refresh my memory on the white.
Natural linen is not pure white.

It appeared so from the wilderness in the sun.

 

[Eleanor]

It appeared so from the wilderness in the sun.

Was the wilderness sand?

 

[Alive]

Was the wilderness sand?

I suspect much like it is today. Mostly sand and rock.

 

[Arial]

There is a crucial thing that happens to the pre-trib, pre-mil eschatology in understanding the land and redemption in the way that was presented in the OP.

If the land allotted to Israel is a shadow of the fullness of redemption, the second advent of Christ, then it changes what that eschatology does with the nation state of Israel and her people, and that entire interpretation and interpretive method of the book of Revelation. There can no longer be the land of Israel or the throne of David as the interpretive means. There can no longer be a pause in redemption, and then a thousand year long step backwards into the shadows of the Law. There can be only Christ as the interpretive means.

If the land and the throne are both seen for what they are, as shadows of the fullness of redemption, as the steady progression of redemption through history, then and only then can we see the full glory and accomplishment of Christ in his first advent----at the cross. And then and only then can we truly understand his priesthood and his present Kingship.

It is the very reason that the writer of Hebrews wrote that epistles. He spends what we have as the first five chapters, explaining to a dispersed Jewish Christian audience recapitulating what they should have known of the priesthood of Melchizedek ----first from the first appearance of this priest in Gen and then from his second appearance in Psalm 110. The Jews had always had a priest mediating for them with God in the temple. Now they had no priest and they had no temple, they were being persecuted, were discouraged and in danger of falling away---out of fear or for convenience. They were in trouble and needed a mediator----what they were used to.



At the end of chapter five, the writer says this 11-14 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have the powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

The writer pauses here to point out something very important. They did not understand the Priesthood of Christ. They were immature Christians who had not progressed beyond the basics. It made them wobbly and confused. He made it clear that not growing in our knowledge of God and the things of Christ, puts us in a dangerous position. And he points out the dangers. At the root is a complete lack of discernment even between good and evil, what is truth and what is deception, and leaning again on the things of the world. Then he encourages them and sets out to explain the Priesthood of Christ. They do have a Priest interceding for them and this Priest did and does what no earthly priest could do. He does not inhabit a temple and the believer is cleansed by Him in a way that allows the believer to go directly before the throne of grace where the Priest forever reigns.



To pull this back to the pre-trib, pre-mil position---that position in itself, imo, fails just as much as those immature Christians in understanding the Priesthood of Christ (though of course it is acknowledged) as those the author of Hebrews was writing to. Redemption is not about dividing the body of Christ by distinguishing natural Israel from true Israel (who is Christ and those who are his)and having Jesus deal with one (the church) and then returning to deal with the other and give them back the land promised to the natural descendants of Abraham, returning to the shadows of the Law. He is making one people and one land---the whole earth---HIS kingdom. Taken out of the hands of the enemy, the enemy forever destroyed. In His first advent Jesus accomplished all the work that needed to be done on earth. He has ascended back to the Father and is crowned King and established as Priest. When He returns it will be in judgement of the wicked and their removal forever from the earth. Those in Christ who have died will be resurrected, just as He was, and those who remain will be changed.