Luke 24:27

We should begin with a definition.  Typology is a biblical author’s intentional comparison of two (or more) persons, institutions, or events.  These comparisons are observed between the type (the original) and the antitype (the after copy).  Authorial intent behind such comparisons is suggested by the presence of verbal concordance and shared thematic patterns, a literary phenomenon extensively seen throughout the Scripture.   Admittedly our confidence in the validity of biblical types is more secure the more extensive the verbal concordance and the more elaborate the thematic patterning.

Today, however, there is an unfortunate hesitance on the part of many reformed exegetes to recognize and work with biblical types.   This is in spite of the overwhelming evidence that the exegetical method of the evangelists and apostles was robustly typological.   Such reluctance, it seems, stems from several misunderstandings. First, there is a lack of appreciation for the typological framework that undergirds the entire apostolic understanding of Jesus.  Second, there is a striking under appreciation of the necessity of typology to sustain reformed (especially Pauline) covenantal theology as well as an unwarranted fear of the loss of the historicity of the Bible to allegorical fancy, a fear which fundamentally misunderstands Paul’s own use of allegory in Galatians 4.  And finally, there has not yet developed a consensus on the precise method by which legitimate types may be recognized.  This short paper is intended to speak to these misunderstandings and, hopefully, to help to correct them.

Read the full article: Typology and Reformed Exegesis