A Shadow of Things to Come
Robert E. Gentet
© 2022
“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.’”
Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV)
Three great story threads run through Holy Scripture. First, the Promise of a Messiah who would defeat the devil. Second, a sacred covenant made with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai. Third, the New Covenant made by the Messiah himself with all believers of all nations. A proper understanding of these three great themes unlocks much Biblical understanding. Here, in a simple form, is the interrelationship of these three major themes. Extensive links provide Scriptural references and fuller explanations to those seeking more understanding.
Part One – The Promised Seed
Genesis 1 and 2 give divine revelation of the origin of the physical Creation, especially the first man and woman. Adam and Eve were direct creations of God. They began with a perfect relationship with their Maker. But, that relationship could be broken.
Adam was warned not to eat of a certain tree in the Garden of Eden -- the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If he did, death (and estrangement from his Creator) was the certain outcome. Eve knew of this danger as well. She fell into transgression by believing and obeying the lie of the serpent (the devil) and eating the forbidden fruit. Adam followed his wife into sin. As a result, they were thrust out of the Garden. They became cut off from God’s presence. And access to the Tree of Life (which would have given them eternal life) was forbidden. The absolute certainty of death now loomed over them.
Thankfully, God is a God of great mercy. Even though access to the Tree of Life was now denied, God gave a wonderful Promise. He promised them (and, by extension, all humanity), a “seed”/descendant/deliverer (later called Messiah/Christ). This coming One would completely crush Satan’s power and hold over humanity. Man’s bondage to death would be nullified. The door to eternal life and God’s presence would be reopened. The serpent’s (the devil) head would be crushed; however, the devil would, in some way, be able to harm this coming offspring/seed. Many more details of this coming Messiah and his life and purpose were made known later through God’s prophets.
The Lack of Fulfillment before the Flood
It appears that Eve thought the birth of her son Cain fulfilled the promised offspring. It was not to be. Instead, Cain turned out to be the first murderer who slew his brother Abel in a rage of jealousy.
After this, the story of man’s history only grew darker and darker. After much time passed, the whole inhabited world became filled with wickedness and violence. This great evil prompted God to order Noah to build a huge Ark for safety. God would destroy the whole human race by a Flood, except Noah and his immediate family. In the Ark, a representation of air-breathing, land-life, animal kinds and eight humans were saved from the destructive, worldwide, watery catastrophe.
During the long time from man’s creation to the Flood, God ruled the peoples of the world directly. God’s setting up of nations and earthly rulers began after the Flood. During the long period from Creation to the Flood, there is no mention of God giving any written laws to humans. Scripture first speaks of written laws from God hundreds of years after the Flood. God had built into man’s consciousness the basic knowledge of right and wrong at Creation. Thus, the people before the giving of the Law had a basic knowledge of right and wrong. This fundamental moral code is still within our human nature from birth.
Repetition of the Promise During the Time of Abraham
The Promise of a coming Messiah was known during the great time period between the Garden of Eden and the days of Abraham. God chose and converted Abram from paganism. His name was changed to Abraham. He was promised that the long-awaited Deliverer would come from one of his descendants. For this reason, the Bible gives us much history about the descendants of Abraham.
The Bible carefully traces the genealogy from Abraham to Jesus Christ. Why? Because it is Christ who fulfilled all the prophecies of the coming Deliverer. An important additional revelation about the Messiah was given to King David of Israel. God revealed to David that his kingly dynasty would last forever. There were times when the throne of David’s dynasty was without a ruler. But, the line of possible heirs never ceased until the One came from the line of David who would remain a King forever.
Promise Finds Fulfillment in Mary’s Son
The angel Gabriel announced to Mary that the One begotten supernaturally through her by the power of the Holy Spirit would forever rule from David’s throne. Christ is the One who fulfilled all the many promises given in the Old Testament about the coming Seed/Messiah. It is Christ – the Man/God -- who broke the fateful hold that sin and death held on all humanity. He is represented as being a second Adam. From him would spring the New Creation. He is the first born of that New Creation. But, this time, it was an Adam who never allowed the devil to prevail over him. Christ never sinned. And, those reborn of him by the Spirit would live forever.
Jesus’ death on the Cross fully paid for the sins of all people because God the Father reckoned that all the sins of the world were put on Christ. He showed His power over the grave by His resurrection. His resurrection power over death nullified all the evil works of Satan. The promise given in the Garden of Eden for a Deliverer was now completely fulfilled through the perfect life, works, death, and resurrection of Christ. Those who believe in Him as their Savior are given the free gift of eternal life. The wooden cross on which Christ died becomes, as it were, the Tree of Life.
Abraham’s Promised Blessings Were Twofold
It is also important to note that God’s promise to Abraham two thousand years before the birth of Christ contained two aspects or parts. First, it promised the long-awaited Messiah. Secondly, it promised to Abraham’s physical descendants through Isaac a literal land (Canaan) in which they would have their own nation. It is needful to carefully separate these two distinctions of the promise to Abraham.
Abraham was told that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. But first, they would suffer enslavement for four hundred long years. They would be delivered from that bondage and taken into the Promised Land. This deliverance from slavery came true during their Exodus from Egypt. Moses was called by God to lead the children of Israel out of slavery and into the Promised Land. God later revealed that in this land the promised Messiah/Seed would be born in Bethlehem.
Part Two – The Old Covenant
Any nation must exist on the basis of laws. The nation of Israel was no exception. What we call the Old Covenant was for that express purpose: it spelled out the laws for this nation in the Promised Land.
What is commonly called the Ten Commandments is the fundamental basis of law for all the laws given in the Old Covenant. From these 10 basic words emanate all the rest of the specific Old Covenant laws. Huge sections of the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy provide minute details of how God expected the people of the Covenant to apply these laws. In fact, the first five books of the Old Testament are sometimes simply called “the Law.”
The Old Covenant gave physical promises and physical blessings to the nation of Israel for obedience. Obedience would insure abundant crops, safety from their enemies, peace in their land, happy, healthy families, etc. Disobedience would invoke all kinds of personal and national tragedies, plagues, and even the loss of their nation, if they absolutely refused to follow the Covenant.
Old Covenant Laws Foreshadowed Something Greater
From the time Moses received these laws on Mt. Sinai, Moses made it clear to the children of Israel that a greater prophet would come whom they must obey. When John the Baptizer came preparing the way of the Lord, the Jews wondered if John might be that Prophet. John denied it. Peter makes it clear that the ultimate Prophet that God sent after Moses’ time was Christ. Christ held the offices of Prophet, Priest, and King. These three offices were strictly segregated during Old Covenant times. When the Messiah came, Jesus is given all three offices.
The Covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai was never meant to be the ultimate, final covenant. The prophets foretold the coming of yet a greater covenant. All of God’s dealings with ancient Israel under the Old Covenant are pictured in the New Testament as mere “shadows of things to come, but the reality is found in Christ.”
The various laws of Moses foreshadowed the greater reality to come. Imagine a botanist who first can only study the shadow of a tree but not the tree itself. He would be able to discern the general shape of the tree and some details about the leaves, trunk, limbs, and branches from their shadows. But, not until he can personally examine the tree itself (the reality) in great detail will he come to greater knowledge.
In the same way, the Old Covenant people had to wait until the Messiah, the Promised Seed, would come to fully discover Reality. Christ is the One who is pictured as casting the shadow of all the Old Covenant laws. In Him, everything foreshadowed in the Old Covenant about the coming Messiah is a “Yes.” He fulfilled all the many detailed prophecies foretold.
We are told that the Old Testament prophets often wondered what the prophecies they were given actually meant. Even the angels waited anxiously to see exactly how God was working out His Plan of Salvation. Our God often works in mysterious ways!
The Weak Link in the Old Covenant
The power to keep the Old Covenant came from the human will. But, the human will is weak and often unable to fulfill the Law. It is precisely here that the works and perfect life of Christ become most important, as we shall learn, in the New Covenant.
While the children of Israel promised at Mt. Sinai to keep the covenant, mass rebellion in the wilderness prevented them from entering the Promised Land. Only those twenty years old and younger at this time of rebellion entered the Holy Land forty years later. Only two (Joshua and Caleb) of those over 20 years old at the time they were freed from bondage in Egypt were permitted to enter the Promised Land.
Mass disobedience continued most of the time in the Promised Land. This marked failure to keep the covenant is one of the tragic features of God’s relationship with the ancient nation (later divided into two kingdoms). It eventually ended in national captivity for both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel.
Eternal Life Came through the New Covenant and the Promise
The Old Covenant never contained any promise of eternal life. The promise to crush the head of the serpent (Satan), to free all mankind from the penalty of sin (death), was first given in the Garden of Eden. Nothing that would come later could or would replace this Promise as the means through which God would free mankind from sin, death, and the power of the devil. The Old Covenant was given at Mt. Sinai only codified laws affecting outward worship and interrelations with fellow man. In reality, because natural man is powerless to obey it perfectly, the Law showed how sinful humans are and brought only death.
When Christ was born of Mary, He was born under the Old Covenant/Law. He was subject to all its requirements and kept them perfectly. The Old Covenant ratified at Mt. Sinai with Israel remained in effect until Christ fulfilled all their requirements perfectly and died.
Part Three – The New Covenant
Christ is the prophesied Messenger of the New Covenant. Yet, His disciples while He was with them, often utterly failed to comprehend it. They still thought of the Messiah/Seed – as did the people in Israel – as a physical deliverer who would deliver them from the shackles of the Roman Empire. No wonder they were totally discouraged at His death, not realizing its absolute necessity. After His resurrection, Christ told them to wait in Jerusalem for the giving of the Spirit. Then, with the Spirit’s guidance, they would begin to comprehend.
The Outpouring of the Spirit on All Nations
The New Covenant time of the Church began on Pentecost immediately after Christ’s Ascension into Heaven. The Holy Spirit was poured out on that day, just as Christ had promised. The promise of the indwelling Spirit makes it totally distinct from the Old Covenant. The Spirit opens one’s spiritual eyes to understand spiritual things.
Furthermore, this New Covenant is with all mankind, not just the physical children of Israel. The original promise of a Messiah was given to Adam and Eve, the parents of all mankind. So we would expect the covenant of the Messiah that fulfilled the Promise to apply to all peoples.
A prophecy in the Book of Jeremiah specifically mentions the New Covenant is made with Israel. It came as a shock when Christ’s disciples learned that the New Covenant included the Gentiles as well. The Jews were amazed that the New Covenant wasn’t just with them like in the Old Covenant. It took the help of the Holy Spirit for them to see that God reckons anyone who has faith (like Abraham) to be a child of Abraham too.
The New Testament Church is reckoned as being spiritual Israel because it has the faith of Abraham. Being a part of the New Covenant is not a matter of fleshly descent, but of anyone who has faith in God. And, since the original promise was given in the Garden of Eden to the parents of the entire human race, the New Covenant must apply to all humanity, not just physical Jews. That further explains why Christ commanded the Church to preach the Gospel (which is the message of salvation through the Messiah) to all nations. All peoples become one in Christ Jesus through faith in the works of Christ.
The Book of Hebrews Clarifies the Two Covenants
The New Testament Book of Hebrews speaks much about the two distinct covenants. The book was written specifically to those who had accepted Christ as the Promised Messiah but were yet still meticulously living out the experiences of Old Covenant Temple worship and practices.
Apparently, the Book of Hebrews was written just before the destruction of the physical Temple at Jerusalem in 70 AD. It was a time when the last outward vestiges of the Old Covenant would pass away. It was a plea to grow in grace and knowledge beyond the shadows cast by the physical laws and practices of the Old Covenant. The physical Temple – the center of worship of the old way – would shortly be destroyed and never again rebuilt. The reality had come. Christ identified His own Body as the Temple of God. The physical one at Jerusalem was merely the shadow. There is no longer a need for a physical Temple. The Church becomes a part of the spiritual Temple of God, Christ being the Chief Corner Stone.
The superiority of the New Covenant over the Old is mentioned ten times in the Book of Hebrews. This is done by repetition of the word “better.” The new is a better covenant. How is this?
Hebrews 6:9 – The New Covenant has “better things.” The specifics of these better things are more fully described in the remainder of the Book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 7:19 -- It has a better hope. The only hope given in the Old Covenant had to do with matters of this life – one’s crops, family, health, etc. The Hope of the New Covenant concerns the resurrection of our bodies and life eternal!
Hebrews 7:22 – Overall, it is simply a better covenant. As we would say today, a better deal!
Hebrews 8:6 – It has better promises. The things we most often think needful -- food, clothing, shelter, etc. -- are a given in this covenant. No longer is the emphasis on the physical. The emphasis now is on eternity, life with God beyond this mortal life!
Hebrews 9:23 – The New Covenant has better sacrifices. The Old Covenant required countless animal sacrifices (besides some non-animal offerings). But, those sacrifices could never forgive sin! They only reconciled Jews back to the community of Israel. The New Covenant has one supreme sacrifice that never needs to be repeated over and over again. Christ’s death on the cross only occurred once. This one sacrifice of God’s Son satisfied all the requirements for atonement. No other sacrifice is ever needed to reconnect us to God the Father and annul the awful penalty of sin (death).
Hebrews 10:34 – The New Covenant has better and lasting possessions. The promises attached to the Old Covenant concerned a relatively small area of the earth’s surface and could be lost through disobedience. The New Covenant speaks of inheritance of the whole earth, and, in fact, a co-inheritance with Christ of all things in the New Heavens and New Earth! And, this is all ours without our works! It is given to us freely through the efforts of Christ, through faith in him.
Hebrews 11:16 – The New Covenant has a better country. We are now citizens of the everlasting Kingdom of God. Our inheritance is a New Heavens and New Earth.
Hebrews 11:35 – A better resurrection. Those who are part of the New Covenant are given a new, spiritual body that never dies at Christ’s return. The resurrected, physical bodies of those who are lost are consumed.
Hebrews 11:39-40 – God planned something better for us who live under the New Covenant. It was not until Christ conquered the devil and rose from the dead that the promise became fulfilled. For us this is a past event, but to those believers who lived in Old Covenant times, it was yet future. They looked forward to the coming of the Messiah while we look back.
Hebrews 12:24 – The New Covenant speaks a “better word.” This is a summation statement of the overall vast superiority of the New over the Old. Its words give us something far better in every way. The promise of the Spirit living within us is a guarantee of a total transformation at Christ’s Return. It is the best word imaginable.
Summary of Differences
The three prominent themes of the Bible are:
(1) The Promise of a Seed who would come to save humanity and nullify the works of the devil,
(2) A covenant made with the nation of Israel at Mt. Sinai and,
(3) The New Covenant was proclaimed by the Promised Seed – the Messiah. If one can clearly understand the purpose of each theme, the overall story thread of the Scriptures becomes much clearer.
Here, are seven keys showing the purposes of the three themes.
(1) First, and foremost, the Bible gives the promise of a future male who would crush the head of the serpent. Already, in the Garden of Eden, God gives hope after human sin enters Creation. Mankind, now cut off from God because of sin, will be restored to a proper relationship with their Creator through a male descendant of Eve.
This restored relationship came about through Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary. Nothing that God said or did after the Promise in the Garden changed the method by which He would redeem mankind. No law-keeping or animal sacrifice could ever reconcile man to God. It would come only through the supreme sacrifice of the incarnate God/Man Himself.
(2) The Promise was repeated many times before Christ’s birth and new knowledge was added to enlarge what to expect from the promised offspring. After the Flood, God chose Abram (later renamed Abraham) to begin a nation from which the Promise deliverer would be born. He was told that through one of his descendants all the nations of the earth would be blessed. This was clearly understood to mean the Messiah, and throughout the writings of the Old Testament prophets, much more clarity would come. Over three hundred Old Testament prophecies of this coming Seed/Messiah were fulfilled in the birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ.
(3) Before the coming of Christ, a covenant was established with the many descendants of Abraham’s grandson, Jacob/Israel. This Old Covenant came 430 years after the promise of a physical land was given to Abraham. The twelve sons of Israel lived in Egypt and grew into twelve separate tribes. They were later joined together to form one nation.
While in Egypt, they became slaves. God sent Moses to free them and lead them into the Promised Land. On their journey to the Promised Land, God gave them laws at Mt. Sinai. These laws – based upon the Ten Commandments – formed the basis of their national identity.
It was later revealed that this covenant at Mt. Sinai would be replaced by a better covenant. The Old Covenant consisted of only temporary blessings (and curses, if disobeyed). It consisted of blessings of land for a nation, good weather, abundant crops, health, and protection from enemies. It never promised eternal life.
(4) With Jesus Christ, all the blessings of the Promise are fulfilled. Christ – the Messiah – is the One through whom forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God is possible. He is the Messenger of the New Covenant. With him, all the “shadows” cast by the Old Covenant laws become reality and take on their intended meaning. He is the real Passover Lamb. He is the ultimate Sabbath rest. Through him and his body – the Church – the rituals of the Old Testament Holy Days are fulfilled. The laws regarding unclean meats are abrogated when it is revealed that non-Israelites are not to be regarded as outcasts anymore. All believers in Christ. both Jew and Gentile, become the new Israel.
(5) The Old Covenant formed a physical nation among all the other physical nations of the world. As such, they waged war, when necessary. Christ made it plain that, in this present age, His Kingdom was not of this world. While God is Supreme Ruler, at the present time, angels are given certain power over the nations. In the age to come, when Christ returns, all nations become subject directly to God’s Kingdom. No evil power will be present in the world to come.
(6) The two covenants often stand in stark contrast to each other. The Old Covenant was concerning the physical aspects of life. The Ten Commandments were written on tablets of stone symbolizing the hardness of the human heart. The New Covenant is written on human hearts by the Spirit and the saints are powered by the Spirit. The Old Covenant only offered temporal blessings in this life. The New Covenant recognizes our human needs in this life, but its emphasis is on the spiritual and eternal blessings. The Old Covenant presented the letter of the law. The New Covenant is served in the way of the Spirit. The Old Covenant was only temporary. The New Covenant is eternal. The Old Covenant was ruled by the laws of Moses. The New Covenant has the commands of Christ. The Old Covenant because of human weakness brought death. The New Covenant through the Spirit brings forgiveness and life.
(7) The New Covenant begins the New Creation. Christ is the First Born of all creation. He is the Adam of this new creation. All Christians are born again in the spirit through faith and baptism and become the children of God. Their bodies are born anew later at Christ’s Second Coming and the resurrection from the dead.
The ancient nation of Israel only foreshadowed a greater Kingdom to come that would be ruled by the Greater David, Christ who rules on the throne of David forever. Under God’s Kingdom, there is no death, no pain, no suffering, and no loss to enemies. It will be a Kingdom filled with joy and productivity. In the New Heaven and New Earth, the evil angels and all who oppose God’s rule will be absent. The great disappointments and tragedies of this present age will be no more. God has many surprises in store for all who are citizens of His everlasting Kingdom. Now is the day of salvation. God’s will is made plain:
“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Rev. 22:17.)