Typology For Beginners: A Catholic Perspective on Understanding the New Testament through the Old Testament

First-century Jews converted to Christianity in droves because they understood Jesus fulfilled what was foreshadowed in their Sacred Scriptures. Because the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament was so Christocentric, they could easily see Jesus as the Paschal Lamb, the Last Supper as a new Passover, and Mary as the Ark of the Covenant.Other stories, too, such as the story of Jonah and the large fish, Jael and Judith, Rahab the prostitute, Boaz and Ruth, Noah’s Ark, the crossing of the Jordan, and the water from the Rock that Moses struck – were all seen as pointing to Christ, Mary, the Church, and the Sacraments. This would have been exciting for them because they had waited for the Messiah for over two thousand years, and they were convinced Jesus is God to the point of even dying as martyrs during the various Christian persecutions.Sadly, we no longer see these connections today; they are still there, but no one’s pointed them out to us. The document Dei Verbum (Word of God) from Vatican II recommends we read the Bible also typologically, but if no one shows us how, we might not be able to see the connections.This book comes to the rescue by revealing the patterns that the early Christians saw. It will undoubtedly open a new way of reading the Bible so that it is exciting again.Read more