Page 24 - Jesus is coming - Class version

LITERAL INTERPRETATION. 21

words preceding, which say that this Son of David should
be born of a virgin ; but take them to be merely a figurative
manner of describing the remarkable character for purity
of him who is the subject of the prophecy.' 'But why/
continued the Jew, 'do you refuse to believe literally verses
32 and 33, while you believe implicitly the far more incredi-
ble statement of verse 31?' 'I believe it,' replied the clergy-
'Ah!' exclaimed the Jew, with
man, 'because it is a fact,'
an inexpressible air of scorn and triumph, 'You believe
Scripture because it is a fact; I believe it because it is the
Word of God.' "
And now, dear reader, was not the argument of the Jew
candid and forcible? There are symbols, figures or tropes,
metaphors, etc., used in Scripture and there are, also, al-
legories.
But, unless they are so stated in the text, or plainly
indicated in the context, we should hold only to the literal
sense.
The words of Christ in 1 John 7:38 we are told in the
very next verse were spoken "of the Spirit, which they that
believe on him should receive."
The allegory in Gal. 4:24-31 2 in no possible manner
detracts from the literal sense of Scripture, but on the
contrary it confirms it. We know that both Hagar and
Sarah had a literal physical existence. Mt. Sinai and Jeru-
salem are literal.
We have a literal Christ, the mediator of the new cove-
3 And so we believe that the Jerusalem which
nant. is
(1) John 7:38. He that be- eth to bondage, which is Agar.
lieveth on me, as the Scripture 2 5. For this Agar is mount
hath said, out of his belly shall Sinai in Arabia, and answereth
flow rivers of living water. to Jerusalem which now is, and
39. (But this spake he of the is in bondage with her children.
Spirit, which they that believe 26. But Jerusalem which is
on him should receive : for the above is free, which is the
Holy Ghost was not yet given; mother of us all.
because that Jesus was not yet (JJ) Heb ^ .^ ^ ^ Je _
4:24. Whicli things
^ T H
two u
thmgs man tnat , o AeAbel>
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the mount Sinai, which gender-