“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect” (Hebrews 10:1).
The Bible’s foreshadowing is one of its most incredible, infallible proofs of divine inspiration. There is a host of clear and compelling evidences that the Scriptures’ Author knew its end from the beginning (see Isaiah 46:10).
Jesus and His cross cast a long and extensive shadow across the pages of the Old Testament. Not only does the old covenant contain numerous predictive prophecies about the Messiah (Luke 24:44-46), it also has types (Romans 5:12) and shadows (Hebrews 10:1); i.e., people, events, and actions which have specific and seminal similarities with Jesus and His gospel.
The Passover lamb (Exodus 12), the various types of sacrifices found in Leviticus 1-7, and the events and sacrifices of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) foreshadow Christ and His cross in profound and significant ways.
Without the New Testament, these bloody events are a conundrum. With the New Testament, they provide immense depth to John’s declaration: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
There is much to see in the Old Testament in the shadow of Christ.
Good article;. The O. T. Is so essential to learning and understing the N. T.