Preface.

* The letter referring to the literal, external text of the Bible. is...

[sealed] book, etc. But God’s word—which is the Holy Spirit, the Light, Key, Sword, Life, Sanctuary, Bread, and Christ—is barely even the outer court outer court: In the ancient Temple, the outer court was the public area. Franck argues that the written Bible is merely the entryway to faith, whereas the "Sanctuary" is the internal presence of God. leading into the Sanctuary. Therefore, nothing is more against the sense of Scripture, and nothing is less God’s Word, than Scripture itself if one understands it according to the letter; it is an eternal Allegory allegory: For Franck, an allegory is not just a literary device but a spiritual reality where the external stories of the Bible represent internal, eternal truths about the soul and God.. It is impossible to say what a door one opens to all heresy and daily new sects, as they appear. Likewise, what absurdity and mischief follow if one understands the Scripture according to the dead letter: one could almost as easily defend Ovid’s On the Art of Love original: "Ovidium de arte amandi," a Roman instructional poem on seduction. Franck provocatively suggests that without spiritual interpretation, the Bible's literal stories can seem as scandalous or indefensible as a book on carnal love. as one could if they wanted to follow the Scripture everywhere according to the [literal] letter—