76 Antitype
ANTITYPE
A greek word, properly signifying a type or figure corresponding to some other type. The word antitype occurs twice in the New Testament, viz. in the Epistle to the Hebrews 9:24, and in the 1 Epistle of St. Peter chap. 3:21. where its genuine import has been much controverted. The former says, that Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures or antitypes of the true–now to appear in the presence of God. Now the Greek signifies the pattern by which another thing is made; and as Moses was obliged to make the tabernacle, and all things in it, according to the pattern shown him in the Mount, the tabernacle so formed was the antitype of what was shown to Moses: any thing, therefore, formed according to a model or pattern, is an antitype. In the latter passage, the apostle, speaking of Noah’s flood, and the deliverance only of eight persons in the ark from it, says, Baptism being an antitype to that, now saves us; not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience towards God, &c. The meaning is, that righteousness, or the answer of a good conscience towards God, now saves us, by means of the resurrection of Christ, as formerly righteousness saved these eight persons by means of the ark during the flood. The word antitype, therefore, here signifies a general similitude of circumstances; and the particle whereunto, refers not to the immediate antecedent water, but to all that precedes.
Charles Buck (1771-1815) was an English Independent minister, best known for the publication of his “Theological Dictionary”. According to the “Dictionary of National Biography”, a Particular Baptist minister named John C. Ryland (1723-1792) assisted Buck by writing many of the articles for the aforementioned publication. One may conclude, based not only Buck’s admiration for his friend Ryland, but also on the entries in his Theological Dictionary, that he stood head and shoulders with the High-Calvinists of his day.
Charles Buck on the Biblical Covenants (Complete)
Charles Buck's Theological Dictionary
