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Types of Christ, Part 1, The Temple

There have been many types of Christ in Scripture, each of whom show prophetic patterns revealing characteristics of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. In fact, there have been types of Christ throughout history, even if they are not recorded in Scripture. Broadly speaking, as members of the body of Christ begins to be conformed to the image of Christ, and as they do the works of Christ in obedience to the leading of the Spirit, they too become types of Christ, each in his/her own way.

But types of Christ can even be unbelievers, such as King Cyrus of Persia, who is called a messiah in Isaiah 45:1,

¹ Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed [messiah], whom I have taken by the right hand to subdue nations before him and to loose the loins of kings; to open doors before him so that gates will not be shut.

Cyrus was a type of Christ in that God raised him up to overthrow Babylon and to release the captives of Judah (and other nations as well). He was a type of Christ also by authorizing the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem, and this prophesied of Christ who authorized the true temple described by Paul in Ephesians 2:20-22. Hence, the foundation stone of this temple is said to be Jesus Christ Himself, and His glory filled it on the day of Pentecost.

The Second Temple

Notice that the second physical temple that was completed in 515 B.C. under the ministry of the prophet Haggai, was never glorified by God’s presence. As with Solomon’s temple, it was only a type and shadow, being made of inferior materials such as wood, stone, and gold. God’s presence filled Solomon’s temple, but after that site was cursed by God, Haggai’s temple was built on a cursed site (Jeremiah 25:18; 26:6). It was the same curse that had fallen upon Shiloh in the days of Eli, when the glory of God departed from that location (1 Samuel 4:22; Jeremiah 7:14).

It was on account of this curse that the glory of God would no longer return to a building made with wood and stone in Jerusalem. The glory was to come to the blessed heavenly Jerusalem, and this glory was to express itself in temples made of living stones. Christ’s death on the cross set us free from the curse for Adam’s sin, and it is only by faith in His blood that the glory of God may indwell our hearts—the Most Holy Place under the New Covenant.

If God ever intended to glorify another temple in the earthly Jerusalem, surely He would have glorified Haggai’s second temple. That temple, after all, was built according to divine direction. Yet the glory had already departed from that place. As in the case of Shiloh earlier, it was a second “Ichabod,” forsaken for all the same reasons.

That second temple was rebuilt by Edomite dynasty of King Herod just before and after the birth of Christ. In John 2:20 they confessed that the project took 46 years. When Jesus began His ministry, the temple had only recently been finished. It certainly served its purpose, but once again, because its priests refused to hear the word of the Lord and to accept the true high priest of the order of Melchizedek, the curse of God was not lifted from that site. So the curse has remained to this day.

Therefore, if the Jews ever build a third temple on the old site on which to offer animal sacrifices once again, it could not be glorified by the presence of Christ. At best, it would be just another type and shadow of better things to come. To offer animal sacrifices is to proclaim their lack of faith in the final Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Apart from such justifying faith, that site remains under the divine curse and, as Paul says, must ultimately be “cast out” (Galatians 4:30).

The Unfruitful Temple and Nation

Jesus lamented for Jerusalem and its beautiful temple in Matthew 23:37, 38,

³⁷ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. ²⁸ Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!

Earlier, Jesus had cursed the unfruitful fig tree in Matthew 21:19, saying, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” This fig tree was a prophetic type of the nation of Judah. The tree was full of leaves, but it had no fruit. Fig leaves have been a problem since Adam (Genesis 3:7). God has always required fruit that He can eat. Any tree that pretends to be productive on account of its leaves will be cut down if it fails to bear fruit. John the Baptist was a divine fruit inspector, and he said in Matthew 3:8-10,

⁸ Therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance; ⁹ and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, “We have Abraham for our father”; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. ¹⁰ The axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

The religious leadership did not believe that they needed to repent. Neither did they believe that God would ever chop down their tree. They were, after all, physical descendants of Abraham; hence, God would never do this. Yet it happened 40 years later. John saw the axe being laid at the foot of the tree as God prepared to chop it down for being unfruitful.

Men never seem to learn the lessons of history. Surely the Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees all knew how God had chopped down their tree, using Babylon to do the work. But instead, they said: “If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets” (Matthew 23:30). They admitted that their fathers had sinned, causing the destruction of the city and the temple. “But this time,” they asserted, “we are righteous and would never kill the prophets!”

Really? Jesus disagreed. Jesus’ parable in Matthew 21:33-40 shows how they had not only killed the prophets but had also conspired to kill the Son, saying in verse 38, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.” This was not a case of mistaken identity, nor was it accidental. They recognized who He was, and that is why they killed Him.

Hence, the city was destroyed in 70 A.D. after a 40-year grace period. It was destroyed for the same reason that the city was destroyed in 586 B.C. Jerusalem will again be destroyed for the same reason, according to the word of the Lord in Jeremiah 19:10, 11,

¹⁰ Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you, ¹¹ and say to them, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired’….”

The city was “repaired” in the days of Nehemiah after being destroyed by Babylon. The city was again “repaired” after the Romans destroyed the city in 70 A.D. The city still exists today. Therefore, Jeremiah’s prophecy must have a greater fulfillment at the end of the age when God casts out the city for the last time (Galatians 4:30).

In the end, the type must be fulfilled by the antitype. Prophetic types are imperfect, and they act as signs of things to come. Types were never destined to be the final fulfillment of prophecy. Types were designed to point to a permanent antitype. So it is with Jerusalem. Paul makes it clear that there are two Jerusalems (Galatians 4:22-25). Only one of them is the true city of God, the capital of His Kingdom. John confirms this in Revelation 21:2. His description uses quotes from the prophets regarding Jerusalem, but he interprets these as pointing to the New Jerusalem.

In other words, the earthly city is an imperfect type of the heavenly city. The earthly city was never meant to bring forth the promise of God. So Hebrews 11:8-10 tells us,

⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents [temporary dwellings] with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; ¹⁰ for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

In other words, Abraham “lived as an alien in the land of promise,” because by faith he was looking for a greater city and a “better country” (Hebrews 11:16). This was not the land of Canaan. Canaan was a mere type of something greater yet to come. Hence, Zionism is an illusion that seeks to reclaim the type and to re-establish Old Covenant worship, complete with animal sacrifices and an Aaronic priesthood.

Christians who support Zionism proclaim by their words that they support the claim of the bondwoman (Galatians 4:25) and that the children of the flesh are indeed the children of Abraham who are heirs of the world. But the children of Abraham are those who follow his example of faith and do what he did (John 8:39). Those who are of faith are Abraham’s children (Galatians 3:7 and are, in fact, the children of God (Galatians 3:26).

When we stand before God in the divine court, and He asks us to identify ourselves, the court will accept our answer and treat us accordingly. If we claim Hagar-Jerusalem as our mother, then we will be treated as children of the flesh—not as the children of God. Remember the Amalekite who claimed to have killed Saul. David treated him according to his words (2 Samuel 1:15, 20). I suggest that we should all know who we are in Christ, so that we may avoid the biggest mistake of our lives.