Another divinely inspired interpretation of what God wants us to know can be found in types and shadows in the bible. They are very similar in that they both are a representation or symbol of things to come. For instance, in Colossians 2 ceremonial laws regarding eating, drinking, religious festivals, etc. are shadows of the coming of Christ. In Hebrews 8: 3-5 (NIV) it explains: Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer. If he were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are already men who offer the gifts prescribed by the law. They serve as a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." The "one" who is referred to here is Jesus.
A type also foreshadows things to come. Adam was a type of Jesus Christ. Where Adam failed, Jesus accomplished. Adam fell to sin, while Jesus prepared a way for us to escape death brought on by sin. Through Jesus we are forgiven of our sins. Agreeably, Romans 5: 14 & 15 tells us: Nevertheless, death reined from the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to many.
