Excerpt from The Pilgrim’s Progress
John Bunyan
Bunyan, John. “The Pilgrim’s Progress.” Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Buffalo: Geo. H. Derby and Co., 1 Jan. 1853. Web. 10 Nov. 2014. <http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bunyan/pilgrim.html>.
Now I saw in my dream, that the highway up which Christian was to go, was fenced on either side with a wall, and that wall was called Salvation. [Isaiah 26:1]. Up this way, therefore, did burdened Christian run, but not without great difficulty, because of the load on his back.
He ran thus till he came at a place somewhat ascending; and upon that place stood a cross, and a little below, in the bottom, a sepulchre. So I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up with the cross, his burden loosed from off his shoulders, and fell from off his back, and began to tumble, and so continued to do till it came to the mouth of the sepulchre, where it fell in, and I saw it no more.
Then was Christian glad and lightsome, and said with a merry heart, “He hath given me rest by his sorrow, and life by his death.” Then he stood still a while, to look and wonder; for it was very surprising to him that the sight of the cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked, therefore, and looked again, even till the springs that were in his head sent the waters down his cheeks. [Zech. 12:10]. Now as he stood looking and weeping, behold, three Shining Ones came to him, and saluted him with, “Peace be to thee.” So the first said to him, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” [Mark 2:5]; the second stripped him of his rags, and clothed him with change of raiment, [Zech. 3:4]; the third also set a mark on his forehead, [Eph. 1:13], and gave him a roll with a seal upon it, which he bid him look on as he ran, and that he should give it in at the celestial gate: so they went their way. Then Christian gave three leaps for joy, and went on singing,
“Thus far did I come laden with my sin,
Nor could aught ease the grief that I was in,
Till I came hither. What a place is this!
Must here be the beginning of my bliss?
Must here the burden fall from off my back?
Must here the strings that bound it to me crack?
Blest cross! blest sepulchre! blest rather be
The Man that there was put to shame for me!”
Are angels allowed to forgive my sins
Certainly not, but as God's messengers, they may certainly report that our sins are forgiven, may they not?
Thats what I was thinkin but I was thinkin it dangerous because some might misunderstand
Another observation about this dream is that the shining ones and this story mention death,burial,but no resurrection,jus sayin
Good point. We must always be as the Bereans, checking everything we read and hear against the unerring Truth – God's Word, even (and especially) what we read and hear from "usually reliable" sources. Let's remember that "The Pilgrim's Progress" is indeed an allegory, and while it is a beautiful tribute to the Lord Jesus, it is not His Word. I would liken it to a worship song in prose. I do recommend it, but certainly not as a replacement for the prayerful study of God's holy Word.
Paul tells us to test the spirit,and if no mention of Christ in body,or Christ in resurrection then it is not the full gospel and of the antichrist
1john 3:24 not paul as I stated earlier,test the spirit,seems like the spirit is in this teaching,what joy!!! 🙂
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Not sure exactly what you're trying to say, but "The Pilgrim's Progress" is definitely a Christian allegory. But we need to be very careful. It is a beautiful piece of literature, and definitely Gospel-based, and true to the Gospel, but it is certainly no substitute for the Word of God. Nothing is. You can listen to Steve's teachings all day long, but you still need to be in the Word itself on your own in private with God every day. One other comment I'd make is that this excerpt is by no means a complete picture of Bunyan's magnum opus. The excerpt is only a tiny fraction of the whole, which I found personally very moving. I wouldn't base any judgement on the book's merits solely on this snipet. That would be like what the news media does taking a 10 second sound bite out of a 30 minute interview. I highly recommend this book. It's public domain, and may be read in its entirety here – http://www.ccel.org/ccel/bunyan/pilgrim.html