God is amazing. No one else could put the shadow of future things into the past. Types and antitypes are examples of God prefiguring the future. Types are the shadow in the Old Testament of things that were to come (antitypes) in the New Testament.
Galatians 4:26 and Hebrews 12:22–23 identify Jerusalem as a type of the church.
| Jerusalem | The Church |
| Type | Antitype |
| Is referred to as the “city of God” (Psalm 46:4; 87:3). | Is described as the household of God and city set on a hill (Hebrews 12:22–23; 1 Timothy 3:15; Matthew 5:14–16). |
| Was the location of the Temple, the central place of worship for Israel (1 Kings 6). | Is the spiritual house where believers are the living stones and offer spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5). |
| Acted as the unifying center for the twelve tribes of Israel (1 Kings 8:1). | Acts as the unifying body for believers from every nation (Ephesians 2:14–19). |
| Was the dwelling place of God in the Temple (1 Kings 8:10–11). | Is the dwelling place of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). |
| Was the city of divine blessings (Psalm 132:15). | Is now the place of divine blessings (Acts 2:47; Hebrews 12:22–24; Ephesians 3:6; Colossians 1:13–14). |
| Was the target of attacks and persecutions for several empires (2 Kings 25). | Faces persecution, as Jesus warned it would (John 15:18–20). |
| Is depicted as being inhabited forever (Jeremiah 17:25). | Will never be destroyed (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 16:18; 2 Peter 1:5–11; Hebrews 12:28). |
| Stood as a symbol of hope and future restoration of prophecies (Jeremiah 33:10–11). | Is a beacon of hope, looking forward to the return of Christ (Titus 2:13). |
