The Christ in Prophecy Journal

Prophetic Anti-Types

Not only is the Bible resplendent with prophetic verses, it is also full of prophetic types. Prophecy in type is symbolic prophecy. Think of it as prophecy that has come alive, embodied in the life of a person, ceremony or thing.

Adam as an Anti-type to Jesus

Paul refers to this kind of prophecy in Romans 5:14 where he points to Adam as “a type of Him who was to come.” Adam, a major Old Testament figure, serves as a type of Christ, although he is really more of an anti-type. An anti-type is a negative symbol that points to positive truths. Adam’s anti-typical prophetic nature is seen in the following comparison, published in The Christ in Prophecy Study Guide by Dr. David R. Reagan, pages 7-8.

  • Adam had a living soul (1 Cor. 15:45) — Jesus a life-giving spirit (1 Cor. 15:45).
  • Adam was of this earth (1 Cor. 15:47) — Jesus from Heaven (1 Cor. 15:47).
  • Adam rebelled against God (Gen. 3:1-7) — Jesus obeyed God perfectly (Heb. 5:8-9).
  • Through Adam, all were made sinners (Rom. 5:19) — Through Jesus many will be made righteous (Rom. 5:19).
  • Adam brought death (Rom. 5:14-15; 1 Cor. 15:22) — Jesus brought life (Heb. 2:14-15).
  • Adam lost dominion (Gen. 1:26 and Gen. 3:17-24) — Jesus won dominion (Heb. 2:5-9).

Paul further explains this in more detail in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58 where he’s comparing and contrasting between Adam and Jesus. While the shedding of man’s blood (like Abel’s) brings nothing but death, the shedding of the Perfect Man’s blood brings life. While Adam had a living soul that birthed the entire human race, better is Jesus who is a life-giving spirit whose salvation births eternal life.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

6 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • I have a question about #7 – Through the house of David from the Christ in Prophecy Study Guide. There are some that teach that Jesus did not descend from David as told in Matthew because of the curse of Jeconconiah. This leaves Luke which does not line up with Matthew’s genealogy. Some teach that Luke was referring to Mary, but there is nowhere in the scriptures that imply Mary is the lineage discuss in Luke.

    What is the opinion from Lamb and Lion ministries?

  • The question remains, how can you convince a skeptic that Luke was discussing Mary’s lineage, when Luke fails to mention her at all?

    How can we presume this to be “gospel”?

    PS: Thanks for the link.

  • I have found you can’t convince a skeptic of anything even if God were to come down Himself and explain it to them. They don’t WANT to believe.

    If Jesus’ lineage didn’t hold water, then God wouldn’t have had it in the Bible. Joseph’s lineage is simple, because as the “adopted” son of Joseph, Jesus had all the rights and privledges as an heir to that line. Mary’s line is more amazing, because in Israel at that time a woman’s lineage wasn’t considered important. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the mother’s line became the only valid indicator of a person really being a Jew.

  • My last question: How would one be able to assert that Luke’s lineage is of Mary and not Joseph as it is written in most of the translations.

    Just curious and I am needing some outside help from others regarding this.

    thanks again.

  • That Luke 3’s genealogy is Mary’s is inferred by the context. Matthew 1’s genealogy goes with the book’s theme of the royalty of Christ, which begins with the promises to the Patriarchs and goes through the father, who for Jesus was his adopted father Joseph. Luke 3’s genealogy goes with the book’s theme of the humanity of Christ, descended from the first man Adam. Jesus’ humanity came from Mary alone. Matthew 23 makes it clear people thought Joseph was the father, but Joseph was only the son(-in-law) of Heli.

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