The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

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T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

Conclusion

» Three biblical type scenes help us understand the OT essentially as a witness to Christ and his kingdom reign. » God’s deliverance of his people at the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan and entering into the Promised Land, and the restoration of Israel from the Babylonian Captivity–these all parallel God’s work in Christ spoken of in the NT. Please take as much time as you have available to answer these and other questions that the video brought out. In the last section we saw how the experience of Israel represents a redemptive analogy which helps us understand the larger relationship of God with all of the redeemed through Jesus Christ. Three distinctive moments in their history illustrate this principle: their deliverance at the Exodus, the conquest of Canaan and the entering into the Promised Land, and the restoration of Israel from the Babylonian Captivity. What we must seek to understand is both the method of how these analogies work, and the message of how they make more plain for us the work of Christ on behalf of his Church today. Review the key concepts covered in the first section by answering the questions below. 1. What is the definition of type ? Correspondingly, what is the definition of antitype , and how are they related to one another? Why is the focus on Jesus Christ so important in discovering types and antitypes in our understanding of the OT’s witness to him? 2. What are the major hermeneutical justifications for a typological approach of the study of the OT? How does the fact that Jesus and his apostles used this approach in interpreting the OT strengthen our interest in and application of it in our study of the OT? 3. What are the characteristics and aspects of a type in the OT? Why are these important to identify in a proper use of typology? 4. Why is it important for us to believe that God has placed correspondences in the Bible between the experiences and happenings of the OT people and Christ in order to use the typological method? What place ought Christ to take as we seek to draw connections between the Old and New Testament events? Why is it always necessary to appreciate the relevance of a study of a biblical type through the antitype ? Explain.

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Student Questions and Response

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