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AN ANALYSIS OF FIGURES OF SPEECH
Message 3: THE ALLEGORY *
"The Bible student especially cannot afford to
neglect the study of this method of speaking, for it appears
at various places in the Scriptures." |
ALLEGORY ALLEGORY is an
important type of speech. The Bible student especially cannot afford to
neglect the study of this method of speaking, for it appears at various
places in the Scriptures. The one who does not recognize this figure will be
at a loss in many instances. He therefore will, as a consequence, miss the
meaning of the given passage. Literally, the word allegory means to speak
another thing. A person speaks of a given matter or relates certain details
concerning it, but he has an entirely different meaning in view. This type
of language is common, not only to the Scriptures, but also to human
language and thought in all parts of the world.
Possibly the greatest allegory that was ever written in the English language
is Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Everyone who is acquainted with it
knows that he spoke one thing as if he were simply talking about certain
actual facts, localities, people, circumstances, and conditions. At the same
time he did not intend to be understood as speaking solely of them; but he
composed his story in such a way that it was evident there was running
parallel with his account a deep spiritual meaning. There are other
excellent allegories in the English language, as well as in other tongues.
The allegorical method of Origen, one of the early Christian Fathers, and of
many others have done untold damage to the cause of Christ and the cause of
true Christianity. Those of the Alexandrian school of thought and
interpretation, together with Origen, maintained that the literal meaning of
the Scriptures was not the important thing. What they narrated, according to
them, was given to convey a deeper, or spiritual, hidden meaning.
Practically, everything in the Scriptures was thrown into this category. To
them the Scriptures said one thing, but meant something entirely different.
This allegorical method of interpreting the Scriptures is indeed a vicious
and dangerous method to adopt. Frequently, we speak of it as spiritualizing
the Scriptures. Instead of thinking of it as "spiritualizing" the
Scriptures, I would rather speak of it as "evaporating" the Word. According
to the golden rule of interpretation we are to take everything at its
primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate
context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and
fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise. We are never to say that a
passage is allegorical unless the facts are quite positive in that
direction. Only under such conditions are we permitted to think of a passage
as allegorical.
Someone has said that an allegory is an extended metaphor. That is true. But
we must recognize the truth that an allegory is a special metaphor. It is a
story or narration that is told in such a way that the reader or the hearer
can get the lesson intended to be conveyed. A parable is the laying down of
a known truth, or that which is recognized as true, beside an unknown factor
in order to bring out the unknown truth. Parables usually have sufficient
data to enable one to recognize them as this type of speech.
Let us look at a few allegories in order that we may be able to recognize
one when we see it and be able to interpret it properly.
The Allegory Of The Vine In Psalm 80:8-6 the
writer declared that God went down into Egypt, procured a vine there, came
back, drove the nations in Canaan out of it, and planted this vine in their
land. Thus planted in this locality, it grew and developed in a marvelous
manner, sending its branches unto the sea and its roots unto the River.
After the vine thus grew, God broke down the walls around it. Those who
passed by plucked it. Then the boar from out of the woods ravaged it, and
the wild beasts of the field fed upon it. Following this description is an
earnest prayer that God would turn and would have mercy upon this vine of
His planting. When a person takes the entire Psalm into consideration and
sees that it is a prediction concerning the last generation of Israel that
will he scattered among the nations, when he recognizes it as their prayer
to God to come and to deliver them from their evil case, when he remembers
the history of Jacob and of his descending into Egypt and his posterity's
growing into a nation, and when he remembers all of the events connected
with the deliverance at the time of the Exodus, he sees instantly that this
is an allegory. While the psalmist spoke as if he were talking of a literal
vine, at the same time the context shows that he did not mean a literal
vine, but that he was speaking of literal Israel. Having all these facts in
mind, he understands that this is an allegory.
God drove out the nations of Canaan and established His Chosen People in
that land, which He gave to them for a perpetual inheritance. On account of
their disobedience the Lord broke down the barriers protecting His people
and allowed various nations who are represented as wild beasts to come in
and tread down this vine and destroy it. But the time will come when Israel
will see her predicament and call upon God for deliverance. When she does,
Messiah will come.
In connection with Psalm 80, one should study such passages as Isaiah 5:1-7;
27:2-6, and Matthew 21:33-46. The scriptures here referred to are the
outgrowth of the original allegory found in Psalm 80. These must therefore
be studied in the light of the original passage.
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 In this famous passage the wise
man urged young people to remember their Creator in the days of their youth,
before the evil time would draw near, when they would not have any pleasure
in Spiritual and eternal things. They should, he said, do this
before the sun, and the
light, and the moon, and the stars, are darkened, and the clouds
return after the rain; 3. in the day when the keepers of the house
shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the
grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the
windows shall be darkened, 4. and the doors shall be shut in the
street; when the sound of the grinding is low, and one shall rise up
at the voice of a bird, and all the daughters of music shall be
brought low. |
This language certainly is not literal. It is introduced in
such a way that it is not to be recognized as simply a metaphor or a
parable. The writer said one thing, but it is evident that he has a meaning
running parallel with what he actually and literally says. The facts of the
context indicate that this is true.
This passage has been interpreted as a prediction concerning the judgment
day, or what we premillenarians call the great Tribulation Period, when
God's judgments are brought upon the world. Of course, when a person takes
in the entire trend of thought, he can make that idea fit into this context.
But that is not the normal meaning. Again, there are those who interpret
this as a reference to the day of death, which is thought of as a gathering
storm that comes and takes the life of a person in old age. There are
elements in the passage that seem to favor this interpretation. And yet
there are still others who interpret this allegory as a reference to the
coming of the late winter or early spring in Palestine, which often proves
fatal to the infirm and weak. The facts may be twisted to yield such an
idea. Again, there are those who think of it as a warning against old age.
This certainly cannot be true; for the righteous, when they reach a ripe old
age, are represented in such passages as Psalm 92:12-14 and Proverbs 16:31
as being in a glorious condition.
The suggestion has been made, with good reason, that this allegory presents
a sensual old man who has spent his life in the gratification of the flesh,
and who is approaching the inevitable hour of passing out of this life. The
human body is represented in this allegory as a house in which the man
lives. The keepers are probably the arms; the strong men are the legs; the
grinders that cease are the teeth; those that look out of the windows are
the eyes; and the doors possibly are the mouth and ears. Generally speaking,
this seems to be the consensus of opinion of the best commentators.
Thus the young person is urged to remember God, to come to Him and to give
his life and all that he is to the Lord in youth and to serve God throughout
life to the end of the same. Such a one who does this is indeed wise. The
one who fails to do this must inevitably meet the condition which is here
mentioned, and against which one is warned.
Allegories Used By Ezekiel The prophet Ezekiel was
very fond of the use of allegories. For instance, "chapter 16 contains an
allegorical history of Israel, representing, by way of narrative, prophecy,
and promise, the past, present, and future relations of God to the Chosen
People, and maintaining throughout the general figure of the marriage
relation." In similar imagery found in chapter 23, the prophet represented
the idolatries of both the northern and the southern kingdoms, the capitals
of which were Samaria and Jerusalem. Though these are allegorical
representations, the meaning of the prophet is very clear. In chapter 15
Israel is represented under the allegorical picture of the wood of the
vine-tree, or grapevine, which is unprofitable at its best for lumber or
manufacturing purposes. But after it has been burnt and snatched from the
fire, it is of less value than ordinarily. Thus the Lord pictorially
represented Israel's unprofitableness in His sight. The imagery in 19:1014
is practically the same with little changes. In 19:1-9 the allegory of the
lioness and her whelps is presented. Again we see the same method of
language employed by the prophet in chapter 31 in his prediction concerning
Assyria. The Allegory Of The Good Shepherd And The
Fold In John, chapter 9, appears a record of our
Lord's healing a blind man, whom the Jews had excommunicated from the
synagogue. The Pharisees became bitterly angered by our Lord's performing
this miracle. In discussing this situation, Jesus said that He had come into
the world that they who see not might see, and that those who see might
become blind. This saying called forth a retort from the Pharisees in the
form of the following exchange of words: Are we
also blind? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin:
but now ye say, We see: your sin remaineth (John 9:39-41). This
situation was the occasion of our Lord's speaking the allegory of the Good
Shepherd and the fold of the sheep.
Our Lord declared that those who do not enter by the door, but climb up some
other way, are thieves and robbers. But the one that enters by the door is
the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter opens. Such a one goes in,
calls forth his sheep, puts them forth, and goes before them, leading them
to green pastures and to still waters. This language, spoken under the
conditions set forth in chapter 9 and as an outgrowth of that which had just
occurred, is obviously not to be taken literally, but is a story that is
used to illustrate great and fundamental truths. As we learn from reading
the first eighteen verses of John, chapter 10, Jesus was and is the Good
Shepherd. To him the porter, John the Baptist, opened. He went into the fold
of Israel to call forth all of those who were His own. Those who constituted
His own are none other than those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
and who receive the truth when it is presented to them. In other words, the
fold of which Jesus was speaking was the Jewish nation. His sheep were the
truth lovers who accept Jesus and His salvation. He leads them forth from
Judaism into another fold, that of His own.
Jesus declared clearly that He had other sheep that were not of the Jewish
fold, that He would bring them and put them together, and that there would
be one flock, one shepherd, and one fold. Of course this language is a
reference to the honest truth-seeking Gentiles who hunger and thirst after
God, and who accept the truth when it is given to them. Thus this marvelous
presentation of truth is very forceful and vivid.
In connection with the thought of our Lord's being the Good Shepherd, one
should read and study such passages as Jeremiah 23:1-4. When this scripture,
however, is studied in its context, it is seen that it refers to the
regathering of the honest, conscientious, truth seekers among the Jews into
the great fold of Israel of the millennial kingdom of our Lord. The same
thought is presented in Ezekiel, chapter 34. Our Lord, as the Good Shepherd
who lays down His life for the sheep is set forth in such a passage as
Zechariah 11:4-14. The Allegory Of Hagar And Sarah
In Galatians 4:21-31 the Apostle Paul gave us the famous
allegory of Hagar and Sarah. Hagar, the bondwoman, signifies in this
comparison the old covenant, which pictorially presented Jerusalem in her
bondage and slavery. On the other hand, Sarah, the free-woman, stood for the
new covenant which answers to the Jerusalem which is from above, that is,
the new Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven when the Lord Jesus
Christ returns to this earth and sets up His millennial kingdom. (We must
not confound the Jerusalem from above here mentioned with the new Jerusalem
described in Revelation, chapter 21. This latter one is the eternal
Jerusalem, that comes down out of the eternal heavens and rests upon the
eternal earth.)
Ishmael, the one born according to the flesh, answers to those Jews who were
then in the bondage of sin and in the grip of a dead legalism. Isaac, the
child of promise, answers to those who are Christians, and who are enjoying
the freedom with which Christ has made us free.
Ishmael, the child after the flesh, persecuted Isaac. This fact answers to,
or typified, the persecution of the believers by the legalists. The
instruction which God gave to Abraham was that he should cast out the
bondwoman with her son in order that the freewoman with the child of promise
might enjoy the privileges which were theirs by divine grace. This fact
answers to the exhortation for the children of the free-woman not to become
again entangled in the yoke of bondage. These analogies are pointed out and
are very clear. It is to be noted that the Apostle stated specifically that
the argument which he was making was an allegory. This constituted an
argumentum ad hominem. By this type of reasoning the Apostle showed the
absurdity of those legalists who were trying to force the yoke of the law
upon the believers in Christ. The Allegory Of The
Warrior In Ephesians 6:10-20 the Apostle introduced
his famous allegory of the Roman soldier who was armed that he might make an
offensive attack against his enemy. Thus the Apostle spoke of a soldier with
the various pieces of his armament and of his fighting to the finish. But in
the connection in which the Apostle used this language, a person sees
instantly and clearly that he was not talking about literal warfare; but
that he was speaking of a spiritual conflict which the child of God has
daily. Obviously the Apostle, in this passage, was speaking of the spiritual
conflict that believers have daily as they fight against the powers of Satan
and sin.
There are numbers of other allegories that are presented in the Scriptures.
But these suffice to call our attention to their general use. Of course, the
greatest allegory that is to be found in the Scriptures is that of the Song
of Solomon. There is however quite a bit of controversy as to its
significance. The Jews, for instance, say that it represents Messiah in His
relation to Israel. Many Christians, on the other hand, see in this
marvelous hymn reference to Messiah in His relation to the church - the body
of believers. There are others, however, who see the relationship that
exists between Christ and the individual Christian set forth by this book.
There are objections to all of these interpretations. Some, on the other
hand, see in this pictorial representation the divine setting forth of true
love between a young man and his beloved and puts love on a high and holy
plane.
It is impossible for one to be dogmatic as to the meaning of this great
allegory. It is altogether possible that there may be an element of truth in
each one of the interpretations just mentioned. In view of the uncertainty
let us hold ourselves in a firm reserve and not become dogmatic where the
Scriptures do not warrant such a positive attitude.
May we see, because of this little study in allegories, how to interpret
them and thus discover the lesson that the Holy Spirit had in giving us
teaching in this form. * *
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