Animals, Colors, Metals, Numbers and Signs in Scripture.

Through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ we have been delivered from the condemnation of sin. This is certainly a extremely great and notable occurrence and worthy of all our admiration and thankfulness. There were several Old Testament signs pointing to the death and resurrection of Christ and of course there is the ordinance of baptism that also points to the death and resurrection of Christ.

One of the first signs of the death and resurrection of Christ is found in the ark that God had Noah to construct. That this is a sign is pointed out to us in 1 Pet. 3:18 "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: 19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; 20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. 21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" Among the things taught us in this passage is that baptism and the ark are like figures, i.e., they are figures of the same thing. This passage also tells us that they are like figures of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

When the floodwaters arose, the ark went down into the waters and most of the ark was covered by the water. The ark was built like a box that is used as a casket. Finally, the ark came to rest on the Mount of Ararat. The waters abated and left the ark on dry ground. Thus, the ark went down into the waters and then came up out of the waters, like Jesus went down into the grave in his death, and he came up out of the grave in his resurrection. Likewise, Christ delivered his covenant people that were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. When he died, they were in covenant in him. When he arose, they were in covenant in him and thus arose in covenant with him from the grave. The eight people in the ark were in the ark when it went down into the waters. Likewise, the eight people in the ark were in the ark when it came up out of the waters. They were saved from drowning in the ark. Similarly, the elect people of God were saved from the eternal condemnation of sin by being in Christ in his death and resurrection.

A similar picture is presented to us in the ark of bulrushes that Moses was placed in. Pharaoh had commanded that all the male children of the children of Israel were to be put to death by drowning in the river: Ex. 1:22 "And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive." While Moses was cast into the river according to the commandment of Pharaoh, yet he was cast into the river through the vehicle of an ark of bulrushes that his parents had prepared for him: Ex. 2:1 "And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. 2 And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. 3 And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink."

Later, the daughter of Pharaoh caused the ark and Moses to be brought up out of the river: Ex. 2:5 "And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. 6 And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children." Thus, like the death and resurrection of Christ, who went down into the grave and rose up out of the grave, so the ark carrying Moses went down into the river (liquid grave) and came up out of the river (liquid grave). Therefore, Moses was saved from destruction by being placed in the ark of bulrushes. This is like the elect family of God who were conveniently placed in Jesus Christ before the foundation of the world: Eph. 1:4-7 "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."

The parting of the waters of the Red Sea and the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea is also a figure of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The children of Israel were made to go down into the river bed and then came up out of the river bed. The scriptures even speak of this as being a baptism: 1 Cor. 10:1 "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;"

Abraham's offering up of Isaac is also a figure of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. While it is true that the ram with his horns caught in the thicket is a type of Jesus Christ being offered in the stead of Isaac, yet Abraham's offering of Isaac is also a figure of the death and resurrection of Christ as we read in Heb. 11:17 "By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son. 18 Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: 19 Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure." The key to understanding this is that Abraham received Isaac in a figure from the dead. Thus, in the mind of Abraham, he was going to offer up Isaac, and then God would raise him from the dead. This thought process of Abraham was a figure of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Daniel, because he refused to obey the King's commandment, was sentenced to be cast into a den of hungry lions. Daniel went down into the lion's den and then the next day was taken up out of the den of lions. God had shut the mouths of the hungry lions and no harm came to Daniel. The sentence of death certainly was upon Daniel and his coming up out of the den of lions was in type like a resurrection from the dead. Daniel was preserved by God from harm from the den of hungry lions. Similarly, the elect of God are preserved from eternal condemnation through the work of Christ in his death and resurrection.

Finally, we look at perhaps the strongest sign of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ found in the Old Testament. The Lord himself told us that Jonah was a sign of his death and resurrection: Matt. 12:38 "Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." Jonah was cast into the sea and swallowed by a giant fish. After three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, the fish vomited Jonah up on dry ground. Jesus went down into the grave for three days and three nights and then arose up from the grave. This sign shows us the fallacy of those who teach that Jesus was buried on Friday night and arose on Sunday morning. There is no way that was three days and three nights. I will believe the Lord and let others believe a lie on this point.