It's long but take the time to read:
Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression,
who is the figure/TUPOS of him that was to come.
I can surely see how Adam and Christ are compared,
albeit as opposites...one brought in death, the other brought in life. But how exactly is Adam the "figure"/TUPOS of Him to come?
The word figure is Tupos, which means a type or similar likeness. So how exactly was Adam a type of Christ? Wasn't he really the opposite of a type of Christ? Isn't Adam actually a type of one who fell out of paradise through sin? Isn't Adam really a type of satan/lucifer?
Here is TUPOS used in various verses to demonstrate the similarity not UN-similarity.
1 Peter 5:3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples
TUPOS to the flock.
Titus 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern
TUPOS of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
1 Timothy 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example
TUPOS of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
2 Thessalonians 3:9 Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample
TUPOS unto you to follow us.
1 Thessalonians 1:7 So that ye were ensamples
TUPOS to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
Philippians 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample.
TUPOS
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples:
TUPOS and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were our examples
TUPOS , to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure
TUPOS of him that was to come.
So who showed an example or a type of Christ, Adam or Moses? Who's key aspects of their life resembles what Christ would do? The man who fell from grace and was kicked out of Paradise and whom brought in death? Or was it the LEADER, who led Israel out of captivity, through the wilderness TO the promised land, the same man who brought the rules regarding blood sacrifices that cleansed them?...could it be him that was a type of Christ? It's really not very difficult when It's all spelled out.
Romans 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to
Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
Why does it say death reigned from Adam TO Moses...as if it stopped there? "from Adam to Moses" would seem to indicate that an opportunity for life came with the giving of the law, that there might be a chance through the forgiveness of sins allowed for through the law, at life. And that is true!
Mat 19:16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
Mat 19:17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but
if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
It was difficult but not impossible. The opportunity was there through the law, through Moses.
Romans 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
Exodus 29:36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.
Leviticus 4:20 And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.
Leviticus 4:21 And he shall carry forth the bullock without the camp, and burn him as he burned the first bullock: it is a sin offering for the congregation.
The new testament has a better way but eternal life was possible to achieve under the old covenant.
Rom 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
"who is the figure of him that was to come"
Lets make this as clear and as plain as we can:
"whose life mirrored Christ's life in many important ways?"
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression,
whose life mirrored Christ's life in many important ways.
In this verse, the two being compared are compared as similars, not compared as opposites. That's what the Greek says, nothing in the grammar alters that.
"The shadow of him to come" -what that means is that someone acted in a Messiah like way in the past like a forerunner or early version of a Messiah. Who fits that better? Adam or Moses? Remember it is Christ casting a shadow of himself to the past and a shadow is definitely not a perfect representation but it should have a likeness of the caster. So, who "looks like" a Messiah between those two men?
I don't see Adam as a type of Christ. Adam sinned and was greatly punished and cast from the garden. What kind of type of Christ is that?? There is much written to distinguish the very differences between the first Adam who was flesh, and the last Adam who was spiritual. Scripture makes clear how very different the two were. Adam was the first, Christ was the last. They are opposites in what they represent. When we think of Adam it is failure, sin, death, rebellion, denial, nakedness and shame. I do not think of these things when I think of Christ.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Last
G2078
e?´s?at??
eschatos
es'-khat-os
A superlative probably from G2192 (in the sense of contiguity);
farthest, final (of place or time): - ends of, last, latter end, lowest, uttermost.
We know Jesus wasn't literally the last or "final" man/adam but the term can mean "farthest" as in the "furthest Adam". I would interpret it closer to meaning Jesus would be the farthest from what Adam was and this naturally would be in a spiritual way. Adam symbolizes the worst in us all, the fallen sinner trying to hide his sins from God, blaming others, even blaming God. God punished him with a life time of hardship ending in death. That is a far fall to take from being the man in a "paradise" who did not have to worry about dying, someone who walked with God and then lost it all in an intentional sin. Jesus would be the farthest from that kind of a man, the opposite of that kind of example. This is why Adam does not represent or figure an early type of Messiah. Nothing he did was Messiah-like in the slightest but many others have shown these similar qualities. Moses certainly did in more ways than anyone else.
Moses was the one who led Israel to the promised land, spoke for God on many occasions, wrote the law and was the chief priest basically...
all things Christ would be and fulfill.
Adam is a type for all sinners who fall short, while Moses was the type for Christ (yes Moses did sin as we all do but it was the ways God used Moses that makes him the proper type)
Adam was formed innocent and sinless. He lived with God in Paradise (The Garden). He was tempted with sin and fell from God's grace, and was cast out of that Paradise and sentenced to hard labor and eventual death. In no sense is Adam ever a type of Christ. He is a type of Lucifer, first sinner, fallen creation, a rebel against God, cast from paradise, sentenced to death for his crime...
it's impossible to make Adam into a type of Christ.
Is Adam a Tupos or a type of our Lord Jesus Christ? NO!
Is Adam an "ensample" of what would be found in the life of our Saviour? NO!
That's more like what happened to satan/Lucifer. Adam died for his OWN sins, Christ died for OUR sins. Adam is not a type of the Messiah, he was a type of the fallen man/soul who needed saved by the Messiah. And in that, we are all similar to Adam, all types of Adam....yet none of us are types of Christ.
1 Corinthians 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;
1 Corinthians 10:2 And were all
baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
They were baptized unto Moses because he was the type, but now we are to be baptized unto Christ.