Uploaded December 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Allegories have been commonly used throughout history. Stories were often told with a secondary moral lesson in mind. No language was ever so developed that it did not need symbols, metaphors and allegories to improve upon it's methods of communication. In the fifth century, however, Augustine misused the method of allegorical biblical interpretation by making the Old Testament's view of Israel an allegory of New Testament Christianity. Skewing the scripture, Augustine had taught that God had forever forsaken the Jews and had made the church the recipient of all of his promises to Israel. Such a view prevailed and warped Christian theology over the next thousand year - until the reformation. Today, conservative theologians adopt a literal view of scripture. The literal view is the correct view. However, there is a place for allegory in the Bible. Galatians 4:22-26 tells us that Abraham's two wives, Sarah and Hagar, were allegories of law and grace; Joseph was an allegory of Christ; etc. Eschatology, the doctrine of last things, depends heavily on allegory. In this series of four programs, J.R. Church and Gary Stearman give the case for allegory as it pertains to prophetic studies.
Allegories have been commonly used throughout history. Stories were often told with a secondary moral lesson in mind. No language was ever so developed that it did not need symbols, metaphors and allegories to improve upon it's methods of communication. In the fifth century, however, Augustine misused the method of allegorical biblical interpretation by making the Old Testament's view of Israel an allegory of New Testament Christianity. Skewing the scripture, Augustine had taught that God had forever forsaken the Jews and had made the church the recipient of all of his promises to Israel. Such a view prevailed and warped Christian theology over the next thousand year - until the reformation. Today, conservative theologians adopt a literal view of scripture. The literal view is the correct view. However, there is a place for allegory in the Bible. Galatians 4:22-26 tells us that Abraham's two wives, Sarah and Hagar, were allegories of law and grace; Joseph was an allegory of Christ; etc. Eschatology, the doctrine of last things, depends heavily on allegory. In this series of four programs, J.R. Church and Gary Stearman give the case for allegory as it pertains to prophetic studies.
