PROPHETIC TYPES AND ANTITYPES IN THE TIME OF THE END

DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS AND PROPHETIC TYPES

The Bible has two kinds of texts: those where we can draw a conclusion about a subject by comparing all places where the Bible mentions it, and those where only half of what we need is in the Bible, so we must find the other half ourselves. The first part refers to basic doctrines, and the second part refers to prophecies and prophetic types.

In this study, I will focus on the second part: prophetic types. Two basic questions will be considered:

• How can we know when an account in the Bible is a prophetic type with an antitype?
• Must we view every detail in a prophetic type as an antitype?

Some prophetic types are directly identified, as in Colossians 2:16, 17:

¹⁶ Therefore let no man judge YOU in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; ¹⁷ for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.

This text is all-inclusive: All festivals, new moons, and sabbaths are prophetic types with antitypes. In other instances, not all members of a group, but only parts of it are prophetic types, as we see in Hebrews 10:1 and 8:5:

¹ For since the Law has a shadow of the good things to come, but not the very substance of the things, [men] can never with the same sacrifices from year to year which they offer continually make those who approach perfect.

⁵ but which [men] are rendering sacred service in a typical representation and a shadow of the heavenly things; just as Moses, when about to make the tent in completion, was given the divine command: For says he: “See that you make all things after [their] pattern* that was shown to you in the mountain.”

Hebrews 10:1 shows that not every part of the law is a shadow (prophetic type) of things to come. But the law has a shadow of things to come. This means that we ourselves must find which parts of the law are prophetic types.

When we search for prophetic types, we must use three basic principles. The first is that because we believe in the full inspiration of the Bible, we assume God included every account for a particular purpose and that it has a particular meaning. The second and third principles are found in Romans 15:4:

⁴ For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.

The word “our” refers to followers of Jesus, and the words “all that is written” refer to The Hebrew Scriptures in their totality. Great parts of The Hebrew Scriptures consist of the law of Moses and of books describing different parts of the history of the nation of Israel.

Because the law of Moses is no longer valid, it gives little instruction to the Christians. However, the key word in the passage is “hope”; the mentioned instruction gives Christian hope. Let us dwell on this by reading Romans 8:24 (above) and 8:20 (below):

²⁴ For we were saved in [this] hope; but hope that is seen is not hope, for when a man sees a thing, does he hope for it?

²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will but through him that subjected it, on the basis of hope. ²¹ that the creation itself also will be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.  

Chapter 8 in Romans shows that the hope of the members of this congregation was to be released from their fleshly bodies and receive spirit bodies, so they could be a part of the heavenly government. The hope of the creation was to be free from futility and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.

The point of God is not that “all the things that were written aforetime” will help the followers of Jesus to live devout lives — “a hope that is seen is not a hope.” Instead, the books of the Hebrew Scriptures give Jesus’ followers hope for the future.

For example, the Song of Solomon tells of a virgin who refuses the riches and high position King Solomon offers her because of her love for the shepherd. From this account, we learn the importance of showing loyal love to those who are close to us, according to the members of the Governing Body. But this does not give us hope. This account is a part of “all the things that were written aforetime,” and only if the Song of Solomon is a prophetic type can we say that it represents “the comfort from the Scriptures” that “we might have hope.” Butthemembers of the Governing Body deny this.

The two basic principles for identifying prophetic types are: 1)   All accounts in the Bible are included with a particular purpose and have a particular meaning. 2) All accounts in The Hebrew Scriptures are written, not to give us moral instruction, but to give Christians hope.

After the rebellion against Jehovah by Satan, the Devil, and Adam and Eve, God uttered the first prophecy in Genesis 3:15:

¹⁵ And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.

This prophecy offered a ray of hope, and everything written in the Hebrew Scriptures relates to it directly or indirectly. The identification of the parts of this prophecy requires three things:

• A written account of human history.
• Data in this history that can identify the snake and his seed, and the woman and her seed.
• Data showing how the first prophecy would be fulfilled.

The seed of the woman, who would also be the savior, had to be broadly identified, and this required writing the history of the Jews, the people through whom the savior would come. This is the purpose of the Bible’s historical books. These books are not only history; they also contain prophetic types, as do other books of the Bible.

So, we come back to the basic issue: How can we identify accounts that are prophetic types?

In my book My Beloved Religion — and the Governing Body, I outline ten points that may help us identify prophetic types. I will now elucidate these points in the light of the assumption that no account just gives petty information on trivial matters. But all accounts give important information related to the first prophecy and give God’s people hope.

1) EXPLICIT DECLARATIONS OF PROPHETIC TYPES

Accounts where it is explicitly said that texts represent types, such as Galatians 4:24 and Hebrews 7:1–3.

 ¹ For this Mel·chizʹe·dek, king of Saʹlem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him  ² and to whom Abraham apportioned a tenth from all things, is first of all, by translation, “King of Righteousness,” and is then also king of Saʹlem, that is, “King of Peace.”  ³  In being fatherless, motherless, without genealogy, having neither a beginning of days nor an end of life, but having been made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.

2) REFERENCES TO GROUPS OF PROPHETIC TYPES

Some accounts include descriptions of groups of events that are types. One example is Colossians 2:16, 17. Verse 17 says, “for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.” The word “reality” is translated from the Greek word sōma (“body”). The point is that there is a body, and it casts a shadow. The shadow is the type, and the body is the antitype. What is the shadow? Verse 16 mentions three things: “a festival” (heortē), “an observance of the new moon” (neomēnia), and “sabbaths” (sabbatōn). Here we have a clear scriptural basis for the conclusion that the Jewish festivals, the Festival of Unfermented Cakes, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Booths, and the New Moon Festivals are types that refer to antitypical fulfillments.

The words of Paul include a great number of accounts in the books of Moses and other books.

3) CLUES IN BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

Many examples show that the near context of an account does not say the account represents a prophetic type.  But persons or things in an account may be identified in other books as types. One example is Elijah. Malachi 4:5, Revelation 11:3–6, and Matthew 17:4 show that Elijah is a prophetic type.

It is true that everything that happened in the life of a person who is a prophetic type need not have an antitypical application. However, Revelation 11:5 says that no rain would fall while the two witnesses, who represent Elijah and Moses, prophesied for 1,260 days. This shows that the accounts in 1 Kings chapters 17 and 18 represent prophetic types — including Elijah and the Baal priests. Revelation 11:6 describes fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:1, 18), and this shows that the events described in chapter 1 are prophetic types.

4) ACCOUNTS WITH SPECIAL OR PECULIAR CONTENTS

Believing in the inspiration of the Bible includes the view that all accounts in the Bible are included with a purpose. This is seen in 2 Peter 1:21:

21 For prophecy was at no time brought by a man’s will, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit.

The word profēteia refers to word(s) inspired by God, whether they refer to the past, present, or future. This means that the words in the text of each book in the Bible were chosen under the influence of the holy spirit. Therefore, all words were chosen with a purpose and have a definite meaning. We can draw the same conclusion from Romans 15:4 The verse says that “all things that were written beforehand” were written for “our instruction” that “we might have hope.” The verse shows two important reasons for including all the accounts in the Bible: to teach us and to give us hope; the accounts were not included for trivial reasons, such as being “filling material” or general lessons.

Several books contain historical accounts. One important reason for the inclusion of these accounts is to have a setting for the nation of Israel and all the prophetic types that are connected with this nation. Another reason is to be able to follow the prophecies about the promised seed, the Messiah, through history, starting with the prophecies about Abraham’s seed.

But there are accounts whose existence cannot be explained on an historical background. I have already mentioned the Song of Solomon, which is a very clear example. In point 3 above, we saw that 2 Kings chapter 1 represents prophetic types. In chapter 2, there is a dramatic account of the separation of Elijah and Elisha when Elijah ascended to the heavens. This is a very special account, and given that all accounts are included in the Bible with a particular purpose, this account must represent prophetic types.[1]

5) GENERAL EXPRESSIONS IDENTIFY PROPHETIC TYPES

Please consider the following examples: Hebrews 10:1 says that “the Law has a shadow of good things to come, but not the very substance of the things.” The expression “the Law” refers to all the writings of Moses. The words do not show that every detail in the Law represents a type. But clearly, the words indicate that a great part of the Law represents types. One set of clear examples is found in the tabernacle. Please consider Hebrews 8:5:

But which [men] are rendering sacred service in a typical representation and a shadow of the heavenly things; just as Moses, when about to make the tent in completion, was given the divine command: For says he. “See that you make all things after [their] pattern that was shown to you in the mountain.

Also, narrative accounts included in the Law of Moses represent prophetic types. First Corinthians 10:6 says:

⁶ Now these things became our examples (typos, substantive), for us not to be persons desiring injurious things, even as they desired them.

The word “example” is translated from the Greek word typos, which, according to Mounce, means “an anticipative, figure, type”. The mentioned examples do not serve only as a warning but also as prophetic types. This is shown in verse 2: “all got baptized into Moses by means of the cloud and of the sea.” We also note a time perspective. 1 Corinthians 10:11 says that the texts were written “as examples” and “for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the systems of things have arrived.” We are living in the last part of the wicked system of things, and therefore the prophetic types from the book of Numbers chapter 25 also point to our day.

The worldwide flood and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are mentioned in Genesis, which is a part of “the Law.” Peter connects baptism with the flood (1 Peter 3:20, 21), and Jesus shows that the flood and the destruction of the cities on the plain foreshadow the destruction in the great tribulation. (Matthew 24:37–39; Luke 17:28–32)

Because of the words in Hebrews 10:1, there must be a great number of accounts in the Law where the prophetic nature is not mentioned in the close context.[2] This must be accounts that are special in the sense that they are not necessary for the regulation of the religious and secular life of the nation of Israel, which was the purpose of the Law. One example is the account of the cities of refuge and the blood avenger in Numbers chapter 35.

6) THE WORDS ABOUT THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS

The apostle Peter gave a talk where he said about Jesus:

Whom heaven, indeed, must hold within itself until the times of restoration (apokatastasis) of all things of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old time.

The Greek word apokatastasis means, according to Louw and Nida: “to change to a previous good state— ‘to restore, to cause again to be, restoration.’” What is necessary to change the earth to its “previous good state”? First, the wicked enemies of God must be removed, and second, the earth must be made into a paradise. This means that not only the words of the prophets that directly speak about a paradise earth are prophetic, but also the words about the destruction of God’s enemies. When we realize the true meaning of “restoration,” a great number of accounts in the prophets must be included in the term “restoration prophecies.”

7) ACCOUNTS CONNECTED WITH PROPHETIC WORDS IN THE PROPHETS

When a narrative is sandwiched between two prophecies about the future, it may be taken as prophetic types, even when this is not explicitly stated. One example is the Assyrian attack on Israel in Isaiah, chapter 10.

8) TEXTS THAT ARE WRITTEN DOWN AFTER THE INITIAL FULFILLMENT MUST REPRESENT PROPHETIC TYPES

A number of prophecies in the books of the prophets were fulfilled on Israel and Judah. Some of these speak about the judgment and destruction of the land. The texts that were written down after the fulfillments on Israel and Judah, such as Ezekiel chapters 4–9, must represent prophetic types.

This is so because there is no purpose in writing prophecies that the persons for whom they were fulfilled did not know about. The only reason for these prophecies must be that the literal events that fulfilled them must be prophetic types with an antitypical fulfillment. Such prophecies are of the same nature as point 4, “Accounts with special contents.”

9) PERSONS AND EVENTS THAT ARE SAID TO BE SIGNS AND PORTENTS

The word mōfet may be a token of a future event. In our context, this refers to a prophetic type. Isaiah and his sons were prophetic types (Isaiah 8:18; 20:3), and this is confirmed in Hebrews 2:13. Ezekiel was a prophetic type, as well. (Ezekiel 12:6, 11; 24:27) If we accept that Ezekiel was a prophetic type in the same way as Isaiah and his sons, the actions and appointments of Ezekiel must represent prophetic types for our time. One example is that Ezekiel was appointed as a watchman (Ezekiel 33:7), and in this function, he must be a prophetic type. The high priest Joshua and his associates also were prophetic types (Zechariah 3:8).

10) PROPHETIC ACTIONS THAT ARE SAID TO REFER TO THE LAST DAYS

Jehovah asked the prophet Hosea to marry a woman who was loved by another man. This action was a prophetic type for events “in the last days.” (Hosea 3:5)

When we apply one or more of these points to “all the things that were written aforetime (Romans 15:4), we see that a great part of these accounts represent prophetic types.

 

[1]. The book Let Your Name Be Sanctified was criticized in The Watchtower of March 15, 2015. The points regarding Elijah and Elisha that are discussed above show that the explanation of the prophetic types in the book has a solid basis.

[2]. Three passages from the prophets, which we would not have taken as prophecies if the Christian Greek Scriptures had not said so, are: Zechariah 11:12–13—fulfillment in Matthew 27:9. 10; Jeremiah 31:15—fulfillment in Matthew 2:17, 18; Hosea 11:1—fulfillment in Matthew 2:15. Because we know that the Law “has a shadow of the good things to come,” we expect to find a great number of prophetic types there. The examples from the prophets illustrate that we must look carefully to find these prophetic types, also in accounts that at first sight do not seem to be prophetic.

THE APPLICATION OF PROPHETIC TYPES ON THE PEOPLE OF GOD

In this section, I will show that prophetic types are applied to the people of God in the time of the end and how detailed the fulfillments of the antitypes are.

The main article of the Watchtower of March 15, 2015, presented the new view of prophetic types, and Questions from Readers elucidated this view, and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the writer satirizes the previous view of types and antitypes presented in the Watchtower literature.

The article presents some previous examples of types and antitypes from the Watchtower literature, and then we read:

Some writers in the centuries after Christ’s death fell into a trap​—they saw types everywhere. Describing the teachings of Origen, Ambrose, and Jerome, The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia explains: “They sought for types, and of course found them, in every incident and event, however trivial, recorded in Scripture. Even the most simple and commonplace circumstance was thought to conceal within itself the most recondite [hidden] truth . . . , even in the number of fish caught by the disciples on the night the risen Saviour appeared to them​—how much some have tried to make of that number, 153!”

Augustine of Hippo commented extensively on the account where we read that Jesus fed about 5,000 men with five barley loaves and two fish. Since barley was considered to be inferior to wheat, Augustine concluded that the five loaves must represent the five books of Moses (the inferior “barley” representing the supposed inferiority of the “Old Testament”). And the two fish? For some reason he likened them to a king and a priest. Another scholar fond of looking for types and antitypes asserted that Jacob’s purchase of Esau’s birthright with a bowl of red stew represented Jesus’ purchase of the heavenly inheritance for mankind with his red blood!

If such interpretations seem far-fetched, you can understand the dilemma. Humans cannot know which Bible accounts are shadows of things to come and which are not. The clearest course is this: Where the Scriptures teach that an individual, an event, or an object is typical of something else, we accept it as such. Otherwise, we ought to be reluctant to assign an antitypical application to a certain person or account if there is no specific Scriptural basis for doing so.

USING THE STRAWMAN ARGUMENT

Some writers in the centuries after Christ’s death fell into a trap​—they saw types everywhere. (page 18) Can we conclude, though, that every character, event, and object described in the Bible foreshadows someone or something? In the past, such an approach was often taken. (page 7)

The Watchtower literature has never claimed that “every character, event, and object described in the Bible foreshadows someone or something.” By using these words, the author misleads readers into believing that earlier Watchtower writers held strange views that we today cannot accept.

USING SATIRIZING ARGUMENTS

The article first rejects the argument that everything in the Bible represents a prophetic type. This shows how silly the Watchtower’s past approach has been. But as mentioned, it is a straw man.

Then, the article gives an example of Augustine of Hippo’s antitypical interpretation to show how silly detailed antitypical interpretations are. But Augustin’s interpretations do not resemble the Watchtower interpretations of antitypes. This is a new straw man.

By using this argument the writer puts previous writers of the Watchtower literature in a bad light,

THE ELEVATION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY 

Instead of following the silly course of the past, the members of the Governing Body have now discovered the true way of interpreting the different accounts in the Bible:

For many years, God’s people found this approach to Bible accounts faith strengthening [prophetic types and antitypes]. Why, then, have things changed?

As we might expect, over the years Jehovah has helped “the faithful and discreet slave” to become steadily more discreet. Discretion has led to greater caution when it comes to calling a Bible account a prophetic drama unless there is a clear Scriptural basis for doing so.

Do not follow the foolish course of previous writers of the Watchtower literature. But follow what we write, for Jehovah has made us wiser than them.

THE SPECIFIC  SCRIPTURAL BASIS FOR TYPES AND ANTITYPES  

If such interpretations seem far-fetched, you can understand the dilemma. Humans cannot know which Bible accounts are shadows of things to come and which are not. The clearest course is this: Where the Scriptures teach that an individual, an event, or an object is typical of something else, we accept it as such. Otherwise, we ought to be reluctant to assign an antitypical application to a certain person or account if there is no specific Scriptural basis for doing so.

All the words in the quotation are true. However, the expression “specific Scriptural basis” is taken to the extreme. It includes only examples that are directly spelled out in the Bible as types, such as the tabernacle and the offerings mentioned in the Bible. Apart from that, members of the Governing Body say prophetic types do not exist.

It is true, as the quotation says, that “Humans cannot know which Bible accounts are shadows of things to come and which are not.” But above, I have listed ten criteria that can show which accounts are prophetic types. Moreover, in the next article I make a detailed study of the prophecy in Malachi 4:6 that the antitype of the prophet Elijah will be present in the time of the end. At the outset, humans cannot know the antitype of Elijah. But Jehovah’s inspiration of the prophecy about Elijah shows that, despite what the members of the Governing Body say, God’s people can understand the antitype of Elijah.

THE ALTERNATIVE EXPLANATIONS ARE OFTEN VACUOUS AND ALLEGORICAL

The writer who presented the new view of prophetic types compared the explanations of previous Watchtower writers with the allegorical interpretations of Augustine of Hippo. What is ironic is that the new way of interpreting texts that previously was viewed as prophetic types is “what a text reminds the members of the Governing Body of,” and these reminders are often just as allegorical as the interpretations of Augustine of Hippo. I give two examples from the book Pure Worship of Jehovah—Restored At Last (2019), page 243. Ezekiel describes a new temple with buildings, walls, and gates, and we read:

The perimeter wall, which enclosed the temple complex in the center of a wide area, reminds us that we must never let anything corrupt our worship of Jehovah.

The lofty outer gates and inner gates remind us that Jehovah has high standards of conduct for all who would engage in pure worship.

These reminders are taken out of thin air and are purely allegorical. The temple walls and lofty outer gates have no relation to the worship of Jehovah. The book “The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah”—How? (1971) analyzed the Hebrew text of Ezekiel, and it pointed out prophetic types and antitypical fulfillments of the text of Ezekiel. The new book on Ezekiel discusses the prophetic sayings of Ezekiel only in a few cases. But in most cases, it discusses the lessons we can learn and what the texts remind the members of the Governing Body of. Many of these lessons and reminders are trivialities with little meaning.

Ezekiel chapter 8 describes specific visions of Ezekiel of violations of God’s laws and idolatry, which occurred in Jehovah’s temple in Jerusalem. The book “The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah”—How? (1971) described the modern antitypes of these visions. But the descriptions in Pure Worship of Jehovah—Restored At Last (2019) are bland and vapid trivialities:

The Idolatrous Symbol of Jealousy (8:5, 6, pages 53–54):

Apostate Judah certainly reminds us of Christendom. Idolatry is widespread in the churches of Christendom, which makes invalid any devotion that the people claim to give God.

Seventy Elders Offering Incense to False Gods (8:7–12, pages 54–58):

What can we learn from Ezekiel’s account of those 70 Israelite elders who offered incense to false gods? For our prayers to be heard by God—and to keep our worship pure in his eyes—we must remain faithful even “in the darkness.” (Prov. 15:29)

Women . . . Weeping Over the god Tammuz (8:13, 14, page 58):

What lesson can we learn from Jehovah’s view of what these women were doing? To keep our worship pure, never mix it with unclean pagan practices.

Men “Bowing Down to the Sun” (8:15–18, pages 58–59):

What can we learn from the account of those sun worshippers? To keep our worship pure, we must look to Jehovah for spiritual enlightenment.

I cannot believe Jehovah revealed these dramatic situations of violations of his law in his temple just to remind his servants that his worship must be pure.

THE PATTERN OF PROPHETIC TYPES AND PROPHECIES

It is true that “humans cannot know which Bible accounts are shadows of things to come and which are not.” (The Watchtower of March 15, 2015, page 17) We can add that humans also cannot know the details of how the prophetic type is fulfilled as an antitype.

But Jehovah has instructed his servants regarding the answers to both situations. As I have shown above, there are ten biblical criteria for identifying a situation as a prophetic type. Below, I present what Jehovah has taught us about the fulfillment of prophetic types.

We need to understand two Hebrew words. The word mōfēt means “a token of future event, and “sign” means “omens promised by prophets as pledges of certain predicted events.” (BDB) Both words refer to situations that will get an antitypical fulfillment in the future. Different examples of antitypical fulfillments follow.

EXACT SIMILAR PATTERNS

Isaiah 20:2-4

² at that time Jehovah spoke by the hand of Isaiah the son of Aʹmoz, saying: “Go, and you must loosen the sackcloth from off your hips; and your sandals you should draw from off your feet.” And he proceeded to do so, walking about naked and barefoot. And Jehovah went on to say: “Just as my servant Isaiah has walked about naked and barefoot[1] three years as a sign (’ōt) and a portent (’mōfēt) against Egypt and against E·thi·oʹpi·a, so the king of As·syrʹi·a will lead the body of captives of Egypt and the exiles of E·thi·oʹpi·a, boys and old men, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks stripped, the nakedness of Egypt.

This is an example where the nature and contents of the antitype of the “sign and portent” are exactly similar: “going naked and barefoot.”

Ezekiel 4:1-7

¹ “And you, O son of man, take for yourself a brick, and you must put it before you and engrave upon it a city, even Jerusalem. ² And you must lay siege against it and build a siege wall against it and throw up a siege rampart against it and set encampments against it and put battering rams all around against it. ³ And as for you, take to yourself an iron griddle, and you must put it as an iron wall between you and the city, and you must fix your face against it, and it must get to be in a siege, and you must besiege it. It is a sign (’ōt) to the house of Israel.

⁴ “And as for you, lie upon your left side, and you must lay the error of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you will lie upon it you will carry their error. ⁵ And I myself must give to you the years of their error to the number of three hundred and ninety days, and you must carry the error of the house of Israel. ⁶ And you must complete them.

7 “And you must lie upon your right side in the second case, and you must carry the error of the house of Judah forty days. A day for a year, a day for a year, is what I have given you. ⁷ And to the siege of Jerusalem you will fix your face, with your arm bared, and you must prophesy against it. ⁸ “And, look! I will put cords upon you that you may not turn yourself from your one side to your other side, until you will have completed the days of your siege.

Ezekiel was in Babylon, and he began prophesying in the fifth year of King Jehoiakin, which is 613 BCE. (Ezekiel 1:1-4)

The sign of laying siege to Jerusalem was a situation of a similar pattern; this small siege was a prophetic type of the future greater siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. A similar pattern is also seen in the time periods. Ezekiel should lie on his left side for 390 days, and on his right side for 40 days, one day representing one year.

This situation shows the importance of prophetic types because six years before it happened, Ezekiel’s actions pointed to the very year when Jerusalem was destroyed. The 12-tribe kingdom was divided into two parts in 997 BCE, and 390 years would end in 607 BCE. The 40 years evidently began when the prophet Jeremiah was appointed to warn the kingdom of Judah about its coming destruction. These 40 years also ended in 607 BCE.

PATTERNS THAT ARE NOT CLEAR PARALLELS 

1 Kings 13:1-4

¹ And here there was a man of God that had come out of Judah by the word of Jehovah to Bethʹel, while Jer·o·boʹam was standing by the altar to make sacrificial smoke. ² Then he called out against the altar by the word of Jehovah and said: “O altar, altar, this is what Jehovah has said, ‘Look! A son born to the house of David, whose name is Jo·siʹah! And he will certainly sacrifice upon you the priests of the high places that are making sacrificial smoke upon you, and men’s bones he will burn upon you.’” ³ And he gave a portent on that day, saying: “This is the portent of which Jehovah has spoken: Look! The altar is ripped apart, and the fatty ashes that are upon it will certainly be spilled out.”

⁴ And it came about that, as soon as the king heard the word of the man of the [true] God that he had called out against the altar in Bethʹel, Jer·o·boʹam at once thrust out his hand from off the altar, saying: “YOU men, grab hold of him!” Immediately his hand that he had thrust out against him became dried up, and he was not able to draw it back to himself. ⁵ And the altar itself was ripped apart so that the fatty ashes were spilled out from the altar, according to the portent that the man of the [true] God had given by the word of Jehovah.

The portent (prophetic type) in this text is that the altar would be ripped apart and be destroyed, and the antitype is that human bones will be sacrificed on other altars. The parallels are that the altar will be destroyed, and sacrificing human bones will also “destroy” the altars — make them unclean and unfit for offerings.

The prophetic types under point 1) are written for the people and are simple: small symbolic actions are prophetic types of similar but greater antitypes. The antitype of the altar that was ripped apart was for the king, and it was more complicated. The antitype is described, and we see the parallel. But we would not have found this antitype without the explanation

PERSONS AS PROPHETIC TYPES 

Melchisedek was a type of Jesus: Hebrews 7:1-3:

¹ For this Mel·chizʹe·dek, king of Saʹlem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him ² and to whom Abraham apportioned a tenth from all things, is first of all, by translation, “King of Righteousness,” and is then also king of Saʹlem, that is, “King of Peace.” ³ In being fatherless, motherless, without genealogy, having neither a beginning of days nor an end of life, but having been made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually.

As the text shows, Melchisedek was king and priest just as Jesus, and Melchisedek had no human genealogy, just as Jesus, who was the Son of God.

Isaiah and his sons were prophetic types of Jesus and his anointed disciples, who also was the sons of Jesus, I quote Hebrews 2:11-13 (above) and Isaiah 8:18 (below):

¹¹  For both he who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified all [stem] from one, and for this cause he is not ashamed to call them “brothers,” ¹² as he says: “I will declare your name to my brothers; in the middle of [the] congregation I will praise you with song.” ¹³ And again: “I will have my trust in him.” And again: “Look! I and the young children, whom Jehovah gave me.”

¹⁸  Look! I and the children whom Jehovah has given me are as signs (’ōt) and as miracles (mōfēt) in Israel from Jehovah of armies, who is residing in Mount Zion.

We note that Isaiah used the words ’ot and mōfēt, which both can refer to prophetic types. Isaiah was a prophetic type of Jesus, and his children were types of Jesus’ spiritual children.

Isaiah’s children were individually prophetic types.

Shear Jashub Isaiah 7:3:

³ And Jehovah proceeded to say to Isaiah: “Go out, please, to meet Aʹhaz, you and Sheʹar-jaʹshub your son, to the end of the conduit of the upper pool by the highway of the laundryman’s field.

The name means “a remnant will return,” and Shear Jashub was a prophetic type showing that Judah would be conquered and experience captivity. But a remnant of the people would return to their land. This was both a negative and a positive message. The names of the other two sons represented positive signs.

Immanuel Isaiah 7:13-16:

¹³ And he proceeded to say: “Listen, please, O house of David. Is it such a little thing for YOU to tire out men, that YOU should also tire out my God? ¹⁴ Therefore Jehovah himself will give YOU men a sign (’ōt): Look! (‘almā) herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving birth to a son, and she will certainly call his name Im·manʹu·el.

¹⁵ Butter and honey he will eat by the time that he knows how to reject the bad and choose the good. ¹⁶ For before the boy will know how to reject the bad and choose the good, the ground of whose two kings you are feeling a sickening dread will be left entirely.

These prophetic words represent a sign (’ōt), a prophetic type. The Hebrew word ‘almā, which means “young woman,” may or may not refer to a virgin. Because the children of Isaiah were prophetic signs, it is likely that Immanuel was the son of Isaiah, but the text does not tell us. Matthew 1:23 quotes the words of Isaiah, and for the Hebrew word ‘almā he uses the Greek word parthenos (“virgin”). So, he shows that the maiden who would give birth to a son is a prophetic type of Maria, who gave birth to Jesus. The name “Immanuel” (“God with us”) refers to the function of Mary’s child: that he would lead persons to God.

The prophecy shows that individuals can be prophetic types of other individuals: here, Immanuel and his mother were prophetic types of Mary and Jesus. But individuals can also be prophetic types of actions.

The name Immanuel (“God with us”) was also applied to the Jewish nation. The last part of the prophetic words shows that before Immanuel was old enough to distinguish between good and bad, the enemy nations would be destroyed, something that really happened.

Mahēr shālāl hash baz Isaiah 8:1-3:

¹ And Jehovah proceeded to say to me: “Take for yourself a large tablet and write upon it with the stylus of mortal man, ‘Maʹher-shalʹal-hash-baz.’ ² And let me have attestation for myself by faithful witnesses, U·riʹah the priest and Zech·a·riʹah the son of Je·ber·e·chiʹah.”  ³ Then I went near to the prophetess, and she came to be pregnant and in time gave birth to a son. Jehovah now said to me: “Call his name Maʹher-shalʹal-hash-baz, ⁴ for before the boy will know how to call out, ‘My father!’ and ‘My mother!’ one will carry away the resources of Damascus and the spoil of Sa·marʹi·a before the king of As·syrʹi·a.”

The words, Mahēr shālāl hash baz means: “Come quickly spoil; he has come quickly to plunder.” Isaiah should write these words on a large tablet. Later he used this name for his son. Both the large tablet and Isaiah’s son were signs that before the son could say his first words, Assyria would plunder Syria and Israel, which oppressed Judah. History confirms that this happened.

A PROPHETIC TYPE WITH TWO ANTITYPES AT DIFFERENT TIMES

Daniel 11:31:

³¹ And there will be arms that will stand up, proceeding from him; and they will actually profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and remove the constant [feature]. “And they will certainly put in place the disgusting thing that is causing desolation.

The context gives no clues to identify the abomination that is causing desolation. But Jesus showed that there was an antitype in the first century CE. I quote Matthew 24:14-18 (above), and Luke 21:20, 21 (below):

¹⁵ “Therefore, when YOU catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place, (let the reader use discernment,) ¹⁶ then let those in Ju·deʹa begin fleeing to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let the man on the housetop not come down to take the goods out of his house; ¹⁸ and let the man in the field not return to the house to pick up his outer garment.

²⁰ “Furthermore, when YOU see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near. ²¹ Then let those in Ju·deʹa begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst of her withdraw, and let those in the country places not enter into her.

Because the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies and the disgusting thing that causes desolation cause the same reaction—of people fleeing to the mountains—they must be identical. The Roman armies were disgusting because they stood on the holy place with their standards to which they sacrificed, and they caused desolation when they destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE.

However, the setting of Daniel chapter 12 is the time of the end, and verse 11 shows that there will be an antitype of the disgusting thing that causes desolation in the time of the end:

¹¹ “And from the time that the constant [feature] has been removed and there has been a placing of the disgusting thing that is causing desolation, there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.

The time of the end began in 1914, and at that time the Roman armies were gone. The small mountains where people would flee in the first century CE still exist. But people in the time of the end had no reason to flee to these mountains. Jerusalem and Judah still exist, but we do not expect Jerusalem to be surrounded by armies.

To find the antitype of the disgusting thing that causes desolation in the time of the end, we need to look for an entity that played the same role as the Roman armies toward an entity that resembles Jerusalem.

My book, The Presence of Jesus Christ Leading to the Jubilee — The Chronology and the Prophecies, from page 100, has a detailed study of the antitypes of the disgusting thing that causes desolation in the first century CE and in our time. The conclusion is that the disgusting thing that causes desolation is the United Nations. It is disgusting and stands on a holy place because it is a rival to the kingdom of God, and it will, in connection with the great tribulation, cause the desolation of the counterpart to Jerusalem, namely, the religious harlot Babylon the great.

THE PROPHETIC TYPES THAT ARE REJECTED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE GOVERNING BODY 

We have now reached the high point of this discussion: the Governing Body’s rejection of most prophetic types in The Hebrew Scriptures. I use the prophet Elijah as an example, and I quote Malachi 4:5 (above), and Revelation 11:2-8 (below):

⁵ “Look! I am sending to YOU people E·liʹjah the prophet before the coming of the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah. ⁶ And he must turn the heart of fathers back toward sons, and the heart of sons back toward fathers; in order that I may not come and actually strike the earth with a devoting [of it] to destruction.”

² But as for the courtyard that is outside the temple [sanctuary], cast it clear out and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. ³ And I will cause my two witnesses to prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days dressed in sackcloth.” ⁴ These are [symbolized by] the two olive trees+ and the two lampstands and are standing before the Lord of the earth. ⁵And if anyone wants to harm them, fire issues forth from their mouths and devours their enemies; and if anyone should want to harm them, in this manner he must be killed. ⁶ These have the authority to shut up heaven that no rain should fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every sort of plague as often as they wish. ⁷ And when they have finished their witnessing, the wild beast that ascends out of the abyss+ will make war with them and conquer them and kill them.

The antitype of the prophet Elijah would be present before “the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah.” Elijah’s antitype in miniature was present in the first century CE, as Jesus pointed out in Matthew 11:112-14:

¹² But from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens is the goal toward which men press, and those pressing forward are seizing it. ¹³ For all, the Prophets and the Law, prophesied until John; ¹⁴ and if YOU want to accept it, He himself is ‘E·liʹjah who is destined to come.’ ¹⁵ Let him that has ears listen.

The purpose of John the Baptist, the antitypical Elijah, was to “turn the heart of fathers back toward sons, and the heart of sons back toward fathers.” And John the Baptist was a forerunner for Jesus Christ and helped people to turn to Jesus.

Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE, and this was a great tribulation. But Jehovah’s great and fear-inspiring day did not come in the first century CE. This day would come at the end of the time of the end. And the antitype of Elijah would be present in the time of the end, as the quote from Revelation 11:2-7 above shows.

In connection with the disgusting thing that causes desolation, the literal aspects of fulfillment in the first century CE—Jerusalem, Judah, Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem, and people fleeing to the mountains—do not exist in the time of the end. But the same situation exists at the end: a disgusting entity standing on holy ground that would cause desolation for another entity.

The antitype of Elijah in the time of the end could not be one human being, as in the case of John the Baptist, because God’s purpose is not connected with individual human beings. However, the fulfillment of the killing of the two prophets (the antitypical Moses and Elijah) after 1,260 days, mentioned in Revelation 11:2-7, refers “dashing the power of the holy people to pieces,” as we see in Daniel 12:7:

⁷ And I began to hear the man clothed with the linen, who was up above the waters of the stream, as he proceeded to raise his right [hand] and his left [hand] to the heavens and to swear by the One who is alive for time indefinite: “It will be for an appointed time, appointed times and a half. And as soon as there will have been a finishing of the dashing of the power of the holy people to pieces, all these things will come to their finish.”

The quoted words show that the antitypical Moses and Elijah in the time of the end are Jehovah’s Witnesses. I think that the members of the Governing Body accept this conclusion. But then they stop. They refuse to accept that the actions in Elijah’s life, as written in the books of Kings, represent prophetic types with antitypes in the time of the end. Elijah’s actions are dramatic, and I see no other reason why they are included in the Bible, except that they are prophetic types.

On the background of the purpose of the antitypical Elijah—“to turn the heart of fathers back toward sons, and the heart of sons back toward fathers”—in the next article I will discuss the fulfillment of the test with the 450 Baal prophets, the dividing of the Jordan River by Elijah, the vineyard of Naboth, that Elijah was taken to the heavens in a windstorm, and that his successor Elisha also divided the water in the River Jordan.

 

[1]. The basic meaning of the Hebrew word ‘ārōm is “naked.” But it can also mean “stripped.” It is clear that Isaiah and the captives were not completely without any clothes. But they were stripped of most of their clothes.