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Doctrine, False or True, Emerges from Interpretation
When you read a doctrinal statement, you might see scripture references attached as proof texts for the various doctrinal pronouncements. That could serve to signal that the doctrine comes from the Bible. Someone might use a verse to prove something, but the meaning of that verse matters in its possible evidence for that point of teaching.
Augustine used allegory for his interpretation of parables and Old Testament (OT) events as prefiguring New Testament (NT) doctrines. Over time, in medieval Catholic theology, this methodology supported the development of a doctrine of salvation where the Roman Catholic Church dispensed saving grace through church-mediated channels, which diluted the emphasis on grace alone in favor of cooperative elements. Allegory allows OT rituals to symbolize NT sacraments, portraying them as necessary vehicles for grace.
Perversion of the Doctrine of Salvation
By means of allegory, circumcision prefigures baptism, making it essential for initiating salvation (e.g., removing original sin). Through allegorization, manna in the wilderness or the Passover lamb foreshadows the Eucharist, where grace is imparted through physical elements, implying repeated sacramental participation for ongoing salvation. This expands salvation from a declarative act — God justifying the sinner — to a process involving seven sacraments — baptism, confirmation, Eucharist, penance, anointing, holy orders, matrimony — as channels of grace, as formalized in Catholic doctrine.
The allegory of Origen treated scripture itself as a sacramental tool for soul transformation, blurring lines between reading, ritual, and grace. Both Origen and Augustine allegorized the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) so that the injured man represents fallen humanity, the Samaritan is Christ, the inn is the Church, and the innkeeper the clergy. This implies salvation involves ecclesial care, including works like almsgiving or obedience to church authority.
The salvation by works of Roman Catholic and Protestant theology proceeds from allegorical interpretation. It does not come from the plain meaning of scripture. Many modern Protestants reject the fruit of allegorical interpretation on the gospel, while accepting the system and embracing other doctrines that arose from its method. Allegorization first led to a spiritualized view of the church by reinterpreting Old Testament promises and prophecies originally directed to Israel as symbolically fulfilled in the Christian community.
Other Doctrines Distorted by Allegorization
The allegorical method blurred the distinction between Israel and the church, fostering what later became known as replacement theology or supersessionism—the idea that the church has spiritually superseded Israel as God’s people. Literal promises of land, restoration, and blessings to Israel (e.g., in the Abrahamic Covenant or prophecies in Isaiah and Ezekiel) were allegorized. Instead of expecting a future literal fulfillment for ethnic Israel, these were seen as spiritual realities already realized in the church.
Use of allegorization in approach to scripture could see the church not as a temporary entity but as the eternal, spiritual kingdom of God on earth. It downplayed any future role for national Israel, interpreting events like the church’s growth as the fulfillment of Old Testament hopes. By the third century, Origen’s allegorical framework systematized this, teaching that the “Israel” in prophecies often symbolized the church or individual believers’ souls.
Universal Invisible Church Aberration
The method of allegorization in scriptural interpretation, particularly as developed in the early Christian era, shifts the understanding of ekklesia (the Greek term, which means “assembly,” yet translated “church”) from denoting tangible gatherings of believers to a more abstract, spiritualized concept of a mystical, universal church encompassing all true believers across time and space. This interpretive approach, which seeks hidden, symbolic meanings beyond the literal text, allows for broader theological constructs that prioritize spiritual unity over visible, institutional assemblies.
Early allegorists took figures like the ark of Noah to represent the church as a universal vessel of salvation, preserving believers spiritually amid worldly judgment. They expanded the story of Hagar and Sarah (Galatians 4:22-29) to depict the church as the “Heavenly Jerusalem”—a mystical, universal entity rather than localized groups. Such interpretations and others fostered a view of the church as a transcendent, invisible body united mystically with Christ, rather than merely individual, earthly assemblies. Origen’s writings emphasized the church’s spiritual continuity with Old Testament “types,” portraying it as a unified, eternal organism rather than discrete local ekklesiai.
In the New Testament, ekklesia appears 118 times, almost entirely referring to local congregations (e.g., the ekklesia at Corinth or Ephesus) or, in secular Greek usage, civic gatherings. A literal, historical-grammatical interpretation maintains this as emphasizing visible, organized groups of believers with defined membership, leadership, and practices. Allegorization, however, suggests a reinterpretation.
Allegorization Produced an Ecclesiology
Passages like Ephesians 1:22-23 and Colossians 1:18, which describe the institution of the church as the “body of Christ,” are spiritualized to mean an invisible, universal organism including all believers (past, present, and future), not bound by geography or time. This stretches the metaphor beyond its intent, as “body” in the plain sense of the word means coordinated, visible unity in a single assembly. Spiritualization abstracts ekklesia from its concrete roots, allowing it to encompass a “mystical body” where spiritual union trumps physical assembly.
Without allegory, the various ecclesiological texts are in their normal sense, generic (referring to the church institution) or ideal (a model for local churches), not a universal entity. Allegorization facilitated the rise of Roman Catholic ecclesiology by the fourth century, where the “universal” (catholic) church emerged then as a hierarchical, visible institution claiming spiritual authority over all believers—though the invisible aspect persisted in mystical theology. Post-Reformation, Protestant thinkers like Luther adapted ekklesia to an “invisible church” of true believers amid corrupt visible structures.
The universal, invisible church theory lacks apostolic origins and relies on arbitrary, non-literal readings that “imagine” a church without objective reality. In mysticism, allegorization further evolves the concept into a “mystical church,” where hidden meanings and experiential spirituality (e.g., via meditation or rituals) prioritize inner unity over biblical literalism. This can lead to syncretism, blending Christian doctrine with non-biblical ideas like pantheism, opposing the view of the church as distinct, called-out assemblies.
Amillennialism Arising from Allegorization
Building on the spiritualized ecclesiology, allegorization naturally extended to eschatology—the study of end times—by reinterpreting prophetic passages about future events, the millennium, and Christ’s kingdom as non-literal, already-realized spiritual truths rather than impending physical realities. This moved early Christianity away from premillennialism (a literal thousand-year reign of Christ after His return) toward amillennialism (no literal millennium; the “kingdom” is spiritual and present).
The same figures allegorize eschatological texts, especially in Revelation, Daniel, and the prophets, to apply to the current church age or inner spiritual experiences. Literal elements like a physical resurrection, earthly kingdom, or tribulation were symbolic of spiritual victories, the soul’s journey, or the church’s triumph over evil. Origen rejected a literal millennium (Revelation 20), viewing it as “carnal” and instead interpreting it as the soul’s ascent to God or the church’s ongoing spiritual reign. He allegorized details like the 144,000 in Revelation 7 and 14 as symbolic of spiritual perfection, not literal groups.
Augustine and Roman Catholicism
Augustine, influenced by Origen, formalized amillennialism in The City of God. He interpreted the millennium as the entire inter-advent period (from Christ’s first coming to His return), with Satan “bound” spiritually at the cross (not literally), saints reigning now through the church, and the resurrection as spiritual regeneration rather than bodily. Prophecies of a restored Jerusalem or kingdom were allegorized to the heavenly city or the church’s spiritual state.
The Edict of Milan (AD 313), which legalized Christianity and aligned the church with the Roman Empire, diminished expectations of an imminent, disruptive return of Christ. A literal kingdom seemed unnecessary when the church was prospering “on earth.” This, combined with allegorization, made amillennialism the dominant view by the medieval period, sidelining premillennialism, held by earlier teachers, like Irenaeus and Justin Martyr, who anticipated a literal renewed earth. Eschatology became less about future cataclysmic events and more about present spiritual realities, such as the church’s role in society and as a channel of salvation.
Spiritualization or allegorization discouraged literal interpretations of end-times prophecies, influencing doctrines like the nature of the resurrection (spiritual vs. bodily) and the timing of Christ’s return. Just as it provided a flexible interpretive tool that first spiritualized the church’s identity (as the fulfillment of Israel’s promises), then extended to eschatology by reimagining future prophecies as current spiritual experiences. This detached doctrine from scripture’s plain sense.
Separate from Allegorization History
True, biblical Christianity took a path through the plain meaning of the text of scripture. This emphasizes the true meaning of the words in the original languages and their grammatical, historical interpretation. This yielded a true gospel, church, and eschatology separate from state churchism. History shows two paths, one distorted by allegorization, a subjective, man-centered approach, and the other in true faith in what God said.
You cannot bifurcate the fruits of allegorization, choosing its ecclesiology and eschatology and not its soteriology. The two are inextricably connected. An ecclesiology and eschatology of alleogorization will lead to its soteriology. Obviously, its soteriology will produce its ecclesiology and eschatology even faster. God is one. The lack of cohesion on doctrine does not represent the true God. I call on every reader to leave all of the evil fruits of the perversion of the allegorization of scripture.