Category Archives: Symbolism

Which Earth is This About? Part II of III

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In a passage in which we might not even suspect what the intention of the author really is, the author of Hebrews, says,

“For he didn’t subject the world to come, whereof we speak, to angels.”
Heb 2:5 WEB

The word world here is a word for the inhabited world (oikomen?). Of course most of the references to “earth” are of this present earth, with absolutely no doubt as to its meaning.

“God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, …”
Gen 1:24 WEB

Or many other passages.

On others usages we might have to think a while.

Jesus says,

“You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? …”
Mtt 5:13 WEB

It does seem to speak of this present earth. Also in the very next verse He says,
“You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.”
Mtt 5:14 WEB

Again it seems to speak of our present world. But then let’s look at an earlier verse.

“Blessed are the gentle,
For they shall inherit the earth.”
Mtt 5:5 WEB

Now of which earth is Jesus speaking? In one sense it seems to apply to this present world, and passages like,

“For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.”
Psa 37:22 WEB

This indicates the wicked have a tendency to die off, and those God favors end up living on. All of which is true in a general sense, however there are many senses in this world when the gentle do NOT seem to inherit everything. And Jesus clearly asserts that this present universe will pass away.

“For most assuredly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.”
Mtt 5:18 WEB

So when you have prophecies of the “earth”
you may have questions to ask.

Often times the context will clearly give the answer. We clearly know, if we are attuned to Scripture at all, that this present earth will NOT last forever.

“10 And,
“You, Lord, in the beginning, laid the foundation of the earth.
The heavens are the works of your hands.
11 They will perish, but you continue.
They all will grow old like a garment does.
12 As a mantle you will roll them up,
And they will be changed;
But you are the same.
Your years will not fail.””
Heb 1:10-12 WEB

So when we have a long passage like Isaiah 24 which talks of the earth being laid waste Isa 24:1, and being polluted Isa 24:5, and then it says,

“The earth shall stagger like a drunken man, and … shall fall, and not rise again.”
Isa 24:20 WEB

Well then we can be pretty sure is speaking the final end of this present earth.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Which Earth is This About? Part I of III

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For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very image of the things, … Heb. 10:1 WEB

Learning to sort out types is a necessary skill for understanding prophecy.

Multiple words are used for this earth.

Perhaps the broadest of these is the Hebrew word eretz. Eretz is of course used for what we would call the earth, and is used unambiguously for the whole thing from the first. For instance.

“God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters he called Seas. God saw that it was good.”
Gen 1:10 WEB

And that is the word eretz, and it talks about this being formed before the sun was lit (which is not until Genesis 1 verses 14 to 16). Even so there is often more to eretz, for it can be used to describe a “land” in the sense of a nation (much as we might sing, “This land is my land, this land is your land …). Also it can be used to describe land in the sense of, “This my land where my house sits.” Lastly, eretz can be used for land in the sense of earth or ground, as in “This land/ground/dirt is no good. It won’t raise anything.” There are of course other Hebrew words, but eretz is the widest of all that are used.

There are two main words in the New Testament.

Perhaps the broadest of these is the Greek word g?. You might say it is a true Greek equivalent to the Hebrew word eretz. G? can translated as earth, world, land, nation, dirt, etc., much as eretz. But there is another common word used, and that is the word kosmos. Kosmos has the sense of this world in the English sense, but also has the sense of the things and the systems of this world. And there are words in both Hebrew and Greek for what we might call “the inhabited world.”

Of course Peter and others speak of the
destruction of this present world.

Peter says,

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.”
2Pe 3:10 WEB

Then Peter speaks of an entirely new creation.

“But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, in which dwells righteousness.”
2Pe 3:13 WEB

Which opens the possibility of speaking of more than one “earth.”

Now sometimes this may be very simple.

For instance Isaiah says,

“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. ”
Isa 65:17 WEB

That seems to be clearly one of the “promises” of a “new heavens and a new earth.” So eretz here seems clearly to be speaking of the new earth.

Other passages may not be near so clear.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

The Real and the Type of Circumcision, Part III of III

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The real circumcision is of the heart. That is what really counts, that is what will make it so you can live, as it says in Deut 30:6.

God will one day punish ALL those uncircumcised
in in heart.

“Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will punish ALL those who are circumcised in their uncircumcision: 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners of their hair cut off, who dwell in the wilderness; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart. ”
Jer 9:25 WEB emphasis added.

Jeremiah warned the people, and told them it was circumcision of the heart which counted.

“Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.”
Jer 4:4 WEB

These prophets speaking by the Holy Spirit of God should have been enough.

But some later wanted physical circumcision for all.

There was a big fight in the early church, as described in Acts 15, but physical circumcision was never required. The real circumcision was always of the heart.

So what is a real Jew, if not about physical circumcision?

“28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.”
Rom 2:28-29 WEB

And how would this work out with the Gentiles?

Paul says they were,

“11 in whom you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 You were dead through your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh. He made you alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,”
Col 2:11-13 WEB

It is the inner man of the heart that counts.

That is true even of our initial test of faith, baptism.

“Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:38 WEB

But it is not just about a bath. Peter compares it to the waters that floated Noah’s ark.

“This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you – not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,”
1Pe 3:20 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

The Real and the Type of Circumcision, Part II of III

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So we know that circumcision is symbolic of being clean even in your private parts, even to the extent of cutting off parts of yourself, if they are opposed to holiness and sanctification in the Lord.

If a “type” is involved, often there will be indicators.

I cannot say it is always that way, but it is often that way. If one thing in history is a type, a shadow, a pattern of something else; the clues that symbolism is involved will often come soon in history. Sometimes the tip-off will be little inconsistencies between the text and the example. In the present case, one tip off is in the clear statement made in Deut 10:16.

Israel was early very hard-hearted and stubborn.

She was not even open to what God Himself might command. She wanted to do everything her own way. She trusted not in God, but in herself, and in her ability to do and to perform. Moses commented on these things.

“For I know your rebellion, and your stiff neck: behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against Yahweh; and how much more after my death?”
Deut 31:27 WEB

Moses of course was right, and this true even to this day. Moses commented on their character.

“ They have dealt corruptly with him, they are not his children, it is their blemish;
They are a perverse and crooked generation.”
Deut 32:5 WEB

What can you say but “Ouch!” This is a judgment of Israel that we hear repeated by both the prophets and the Christ Himself in passages like Mtt 17:7, and many others.

And an important prophecy was given about Israel.

One day God Himself will purify the hearts of Israel after the flesh.

“Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.”
Deut 30:6 WEB

There are many conditional promises in God’s Word.

“and he said, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, … I will …”
Ex 15:26 WEB

And so on. However, Deut 30:6 is NOT a conditional promise. It is rather a statement of what God WILL DO. God WILL perform heart surgery on the Jews.

“and he said, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.””
Ezek 36:26 WEB

And this is for the purpose “that you may live,” Deut 30:6.

Now the Jews have practiced physical
circumcision all along.

But that is not the circumcision that is necessary for life. Circumcision of the heart is the real essential, even in Moses Law. Circumcision was from the first symbolic of cleansing the most private parts of our being: our hearts.

But this circumcision of the hearts of the Jews is yet to happen. But it will. Both Jew and Gentile should look forward to those days.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

The Real and the Type of Circumcision, Part I of III

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A missing dimension is much Bible study is an understanding of types or shadows, and how they work. The sign of circumcision as given to Abraham can be a useful study.

“This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your seed after you. Every male among you shall be circumcised.”
Gen 17:10 WEB

Abraham, then 99 years old, and all his house, were immediately circumcised, Gen 17:22-24. Also was the command that if any were not circumcised, they were to be “cut off,” Gen 17:14. And “cut off” meant to be put to death, as in Gen 9:11 and many other passages.

So Circumcision became central to
God’s covenants.

So when Moses was called by the Lord the lead Israel out of Egyptian bondage, it was natural that circumcision was an issue. It is unclear what all was going on in the latter part of Exodus 4. If I were guessing, I would say that Moses knew that his sons should be circumcised, but that his wife Zipporah had prevented that from happening! Perhaps she just felt that was nothing that should be done to child: cruel, hurtful, although commanded. So it says,

“24 It happened on the way at a lodging place, that Yahweh met him and wanted to kill him. 25 Then Zipporah took a flint, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 So he let him alone. Then she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood,” because of the circumcision.”
Ex 4:24-26 WEB

A strange passage no doubt. And how did Yahweh appear to Moses? John, like others, tells us,

“No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.”
Jn 1:18 WEB

So was this an angel called the “angel of Yahweh” as in Gen 16:7? Or is it like Exodus 3 where it says,

“The angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. …”
Gen 3:2 WEB

And then Yahweh spoke from the burning bush, and it says,

“Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people …”
Ex 3:7 WEB

And when Moses answered it says,

“Moses said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, …”
Ex 3:11 WEB

Many mysteries (in the modern sense) are here. Still it is clear that circumcision was required. Holiness was to be to the extent of cutting off some parts of yourself, even of your private parts, if that was necessary to cleanse yourself before God! So circumcision became a requirement in Moses law, Lev 12:1-3.

But some other things were there.

So Moses said,

“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.”
Deut 10:16 WEB

Thus indicating physical circumcision was symbolic of something even more important. Inner cleansing!

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Prophecy is Always Moral: The Man of Lawlessness

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Prophecy is never a neutral entity, devoid of any relationship to life.

A World Wide Revolt against ALL authority must happen
BEFORE the Second Coming

We should not be shook up as if the Second Coming has already happened, 2Thes 2:2. A great revolt against God must happen first, 2Thes 2:3. The Greek word is apostasia, and its main meaning is a defection, a revolt. Louw & Nida in their Greek-English Lexicon … 1989, UBS, NY, says it means “to rise up in open defiance of authority, with the presumed intention to overthrow it or to act in complete opposition to its demands …” (emphasis added). It is a much stronger word than the English word “apostasy,” or the KJV “falling away.” Translations that right on target in this instance include the English Standard Version (ESV) and the New English Translation Bible (NET), both of which translates it as a “rebellion.”

A special “man of lawlessness” will be worshipped

as the one and only “god,” 2Thes 2:4

He will be accompanied by “the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,” 2Thes 2:9 WEB. The whole world, all of the unsaved, will worship this man, and God Himself will help this man deceive the lost, 2Thes 2:10-11 WEB.

This man will be destroyed BY THE
SECOND COMING of Christ, 2Thes 2:8

So this is talking about things just before the end of our present universe.

Nothing this big has EVER happened.

No king, no revolutionary, no president, no religious leader, has ever been this big … so far! But Jesus says Scripture cannot be broken, Jn 10:35. This man is called “the beast” in Revelation. It says of when John is writing the book of Revelation, that this man,

“… was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. …”
Rev 17:8 WEB.

Then here is the Clincher:

There is a Mystery Religion that “already works”
in the first century of our age.

and which will work

until it seats this “god,” 2Thes 2:7

There have been, and there are, continual attempts throughout the Christian age to seat such a man as the “true” and one-and-only “god” of this world. You and I have read of such men in history, often without realizing the ultimate objectives.

Prophecy Principles describes some of the false christs of the Christian Age in the section called “Lab Work.”

Some of the men who have claimed the be current “savior” are reviewed in my book Prophecy Principles, in the section called “Lab Work, What does all of this mean to me?” The Christian age has been filled with false christs.

“For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.”
Mtt 24:5 WEB

If it will mean eternal destruction to worship this final false “god” in history, how much worse would it be to be sucked in by one of the many failures down through history, not realizing of what we have become a part.

There is even a competition among various occult groups world-wide, to see who will be able to produce the “real” “beast” of Revelation.

These prophecies are pertinent to the ENTIRE Christian age

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

God’s Mountain Will Rule ALL

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Five kingdoms are described.

King Nebuchadnezzar has had a dream in Daniel 2. Daniel, by revelation from God, both tells the king what the dream is, and what it means. Five kingdoms are prophesied to rule.

“31 You, O king, saw, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and the aspect of it was awesome. 32 As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass, 33 its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.”
Dan 2:31-33 WEB

This is summary here, but the first was ancient Babylon ruled by Nebuchadnezzar himself. “ … you are the head of gold.” Dan 2:38 WEB.

This was followed by the Medo-Persian Empire. This is symbolized by breast and arms of silver, Dan 2:32. It was inferior to Babylon, but lasted longer.

Then came the Greeks under Alexander the Great. Alexander is pictured as a large horn in Daniel 8.

“The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.”
Dan 8:21 WEB

Greece of course was to be followed by Rome. Rome is described Daniel 2 as “legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.” In Daniel 7 Rome is described as an frightening beast with large iron teeth. Rome did not seduce or make other rich. Rather she, “devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet,” Dan 7:7 WEB.

“But in the days of those kings …” Dan 2:44

It is clear it is talking about in the days of the Roman Empire, that,

“the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty of it be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.”
Dan 2:44 WEB

Now there was no clear secular successor to Rome.

The successor is the one,

“… that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold …”
Dan 2:45 WEB

“Cut out without hands” (Dan 2:34) would indicate that it was by no human agency that this kingdom comes into being. Then we look back to see the nature of this kingdom.

“the stone that struck the image became a great MOUNTAIN,”
Dan 2:35 WEB.

This is a religious kingdom which comes. This is the kingdom of heaven which John the Baptist and Jesus announced, and into which God’s people have been transferred, Col 1:13.

It indeed struck “the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, … and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them:” Dan 2:35 WEB

“the stone … became a great mountain, and
filled the WHOLE earth.” Dan 2:35

This is still in process. The kingdom has not YET filled the whole earth. But it will. Scripture cannot be broken, Jn 10:35.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Mountains a Blessing, Mountains a Snare

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Both ancients and moderns sometimes prefer mountain settings to the formal worship which God has commanded, both Old Testament and New Testament. When King Balak was trying to get Balaam to help him, it says,

“It happened in the morning, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal; and he saw from there the utmost part of the people.”
Num 22:41 WEB

So “the high places” became a snare to Israel

It says even of Solomon, even at the time when God was truly blessing to him,

“Solomon loved Yahweh, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. ”
1Kgs 3:3 WEB

It was overlooked by God at that time, but later it became a snare to Solomon, and to Israel.

“For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every green tree;”
1Kgs 14:23 WEB

Then the high places became places to practice all that was wicked and evil in religion.

“The children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against Yahweh their God: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city; ”
2Kgs 17:9 WEB

And some mountains oppose others

“15 The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains.
The mountains of Bashan are rugged.
16 Why do you look in envy, you rugged mountains,
At the mountain where God chooses to reign?
Yes, Yahweh will dwell there forever.”
Psa 68:15-16 WEB

The text goes on of the chariots of God leading from Mount Sinai to God’s Holy Mountain.

“17 The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands.
The Lord is among them, from Sinai, into the sanctuary.
18 You have ascended on high.
You have led away captives.
You have received gifts among men,
Yes, among the rebellious also, that Yah God might dwell there.”
Psa 68:17-18 WEB

Of course Psa 68:18 is quoted in Eph 4:8-10 of Jesus return to heaven to await the last day.

Mystery Babylon is seated on seven mountains

“Here is the mind that has wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits.”
Rev 17:9 WEB

The Greek is indeed mountains, oros in Greek, not hills as it is in some translations. Now ancient Roman was situated on seven hills. Hills, not mountains. Mystery Babylon the Great is seated on seven mountains.

And mountains are allegories of religions

“24 These things contain an allegory, for these are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children to bondage, which is Hagar. 25 For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to the Jerusalem that exists now, for she is in bondage with her children. 26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is the mother of us all.”
Gal 4:24-26 WEB

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Mountains for Places of Worship

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When Abraham was being tested by God, the testing was associated with a certain mountain.

“He said, “Now take your son, your only son, whom you love, even Isaac, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.””
Gen 22:2 WEB

Then when it is talking about the blessing of God which will come to His own, it says,

“Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh-jireh.a As it is said to this day, “In Yahweh’s mountain it will be provided.””
Gen 22:14 WEB

And it was on that mountain where Abraham symbolically was sacrificing his very own son,

“accounting that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.”
Heb 11:19 WEB

And that also had later associations and became God’s special mountain.

“Then Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh appeared to David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ”
2Chron 3:1 WEB

It is common, very natural, to associate Mountains
with high and exalted worship

Many talk about feeling so close to God when they worship on some high mountain viewing much of the earth in the distance. Mountain are often referred to as if a religious blessing.

“ The blessings of your father
Have prevailed above the blessings of the ancient mountains,
Above the bounty of the age-old hills.
They will be on the head of Joseph,
On the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers.”
Gen 49:26 WEB

Then when God came to call Moses

“Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God’s mountain, to Horeb.”
Ex 3:1 WEB

God’s instructions then were to come back to this very same mountain.

He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.””
Ex. 3:12 WEB

And that is what they did.

“Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the Mountain of God.”
Ex 18:5 WEB

And God came to Mount Sinai

“Moses went down from the mountain to the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes.”
Ex 19:14

And God came to Sinai.

“Yahweh came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. Yahweh called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.”
Ex 19:20

If you take the entire context of Scripture, it is easy to see the associations between mountains and religion.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901

Time Order in Types

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Quite often when God wants to tell us about what will happen in the future, He uses people, places or things which have happened in the past as examples of what will happen in the future. The examples are symbolic of what will happen in the future. The examples are sometimes called “types” in Scripture. We might in modern English call them “prototypes.”

Jesus is our passover lamb.

“ … For indeed Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed in our place.”
1Cor 5:7 WEB.

Of course the first passover lambs were sacrificed in Egypt around 1440 BC. They put the blood of the passover lamb on the door posts of their dwelling, and when angel of death came, he would passover their houses, and not strike them. But the yearly passover lambs were merely symbolic. Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment.

“The next day, he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
Jn 1:29 WEB.

So the symbolic was early and yearly. The ultimate fulfillment was nearly 1500 years into the future.

God will raise up a prophet like Moses.

That is what God said.

“I will raise them up a prophet from among their brothers, like you; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.”
Deut 18:18 WEB

A prophet “like you,” that is to say, like Moses. What would that mean? Well he would be a leader of God’s people. He would be a lawgiver and would bring a new law. He would lead God’s people into the promised land (heaven). And we could go on and on. Peter quotes this passage as applying to Jesus Christ in Acts 3:22. There is a great deal more to say about the ways that Moses is symbolic of Jesus Christ.

Notice that the “type” (Moses) was already present when the prophecy was given. Howerver, the fulfillment (Jesus) was about 1500 years into the future.

The promised land.

As was discussed in “The Author of Hebrews Identifies a Type:The Final Rest,” evidently the land of Canaan, the promised land, is symbolic of our final rest in heaven.

Canaan was taken over in the 15 century BC. The Final rest in heaven, is still yet to come.

The types often occur soon in history.

The original “abomination of desolation” (Dan 11:31) was evidently an idol set up in the temple in Jerusalem in the early 2 century BC in the times of the Greek King Antiochus Epiphanes. The ultimate fulfillment is sometime in the future. So Jesus says,

“15 When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
Mtt 24:15 WEB

The fulfillments are often in the distant future

Often times there is more than one type of an important person, place, or thing in the future. Moses, Solomon, the passover lamb, and more, are all types of Jesus the Christ.

WEB is the World English Bible, a copyright free revision
of the original ASV American Standard Version 1901