< 2 Nephi 11 >

v. 4 for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.

Types of Christ:

1) The Animal Sacrifices — Pointing to the Atonement
  • Under the Law, animals were offered as sacrifices for sin (Leviticus 1–7).
  • The animal had to be firstborn, male, and without blemish — representing Christ’s perfection.
  • The blood was sprinkled on the altar — symbolizing that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission”(Hebrews 9:22).
  • The offering had to be voluntary and substitutionary — the innocent life dying for the guilty.
 Type: Each sacrifice foreshadowed the Lamb of God, who would offer Himself “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

2) The Passover Lamb
  • The Israelites put lamb’s blood on their doorposts so the destroying angel would pass over them (Exodus 12).
  • The lamb had to be without blemish and its bones unbroken (Exodus 12:46).
  • They were saved from death through the blood of the lamb.
Type: Jesus is called “our Passover [who] is sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
The blood on the doorpost represents His blood marking our hearts, sparing us from spiritual death.

3) The Feasts and Holy Days
Each major feast foreshadowed an aspect of Christ’s mission:
Feast
Symbolic Fulfillment
Passover
His sacrificial death
Unleavened Bread
His sinless life (“leaven” = sin)
Firstfruits
His Resurrection (He is the “firstfruits of them that slept”)
Pentecost (Weeks):
Outpouring of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2)
Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
His great intercessory sacrifice for all
Feast of Tabernacles
His millennial reign and God dwelling with His people (“Emmanuel”)
4) The Priestly System
  • The High Priest was a type of Christ — entering once a year into the Holy of Holies with blood for atonement (Leviticus 16).
  • The priest bore the names of Israel on his breastplate — symbolizing Christ carrying us on His heart.
  • The priest mediated between God and man — as Christ is the “one Mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5).
Type: Christ is the Great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14–16), who offers His own blood in the heavenly temple.

5) The Tabernacle / Temple
Every part of the tabernacle symbolized Christ’s role in bringing us to the Father:
Element
Symbolism
Gate
"I am the door” (John 10:9)
Altar of Sacrifice
 His atoning death.  The law of Moses set forth the sacrifices to be offered here, foreshadowing the Savior and His “great and last sacrifice” (Alma 34:10). Sacrifice can also symbolize our repentance, giving up our sins and offering a broken heart and contrite spirit
Laver (water basin)
Baptism, cleansing ourselves (3 Nephi 27:19-20)
Holy Place
Fellowship through the Spirit
Table of Shewbread
Christ, the Bread of Life
Lampstand
Christ, the Light of the World
Altar of Incense
Prayers ascending through Christ
Veil
His flesh, torn to open access to God (Hebrews 10:20) (Of note the veil originally represented sin keeping us from God's presence in the Holy of Holies, but then Christ took that upon him and became the veil through which we pass)
Ark of the Covenant
God’s throne of mercy and law, fulfilled in Christ​
​6) The Law’s Moral Demands
The Ten Commandments and the purity laws showed Israel:
  • God’s holiness,
  • Humanity’s inability to keep the law perfectly,
  • And thus the need for a Redeemer.