part-1-conclusion

** The Treasure Valley Fox - The Wicket Gate**

**Key Points – Conclusion**

In these final words, John Bunyan directly addresses the reader. He warns against misinterpreting his allegory, mocking its outward form, or rejecting the whole because of its imperfections. He urges the reader to look past the “curtains” and “metaphors” to find the spiritual substance — the gold wrapped in the ore. Bunyan knows that some may discard the book entirely, but he hopes that honest hearts will separate the dross from the gold and be helped by what they find. This conclusion is both a humble defense of the allegory and a final, earnest plea that the reader would not miss the central message: the narrow way that leads to life is found only in Christ.

Conclusion

Now, reader, I have told my dream to thee,
See if thou canst interpret it to me,
Or to thyself, or neighbor: but take heed
Of misinterpreting; for that, instead
Of doing good, will but thyself abuse:
By misinterpreting, evil ensues.

Take heed, also, that thou be not extreme
In playing with the outside of my dream;
Nor let my figure or similitude
Put thee into a laughter, or a feud.
Leave this for boys and fools; but as for thee,
Do thou the substance of my matter see.

Put by the curtains, look within my veil,
Turn up my metaphors, and do not fail.
There, if thou seekest them, such things thou’lt find
As will be helpful to an honest mind.

What of my dross thou findest there, be bold
To throw away, but yet preserve the gold.
What if my gold be wrapped up in ore?
None throw away the apple for the core:
But if thou shalt cast all away as vain,
I know not but ‘t will make me dream again.

Bull’s Eye

This conclusion is Bunyan’s final plea to the reader: Do not be content with the surface of the story. The allegory is a veil; behind it lies spiritual truth. Many will read *The Pilgrim’s Progress* and only see an old story with strange language and imperfect poetry. Others will mock it or use it for mere entertainment. But Bunyan warns that to stop at the outside is to miss the gold.

The true value of this book is not in its literary form, but in the way it points the reader to Yeshua as the only Gate, the only Way, and the only hope of the pilgrim. Those who read with an honest heart will find help for their souls. Those who only play with the outside or reject it because of its imperfections will remain in their ignorance — like Ignorance himself, who came so near the gate and yet was cast away. Bunyan would rather the reader throw away the dross and keep the gold than throw away the whole book and remain lost.

Pilgrim’s Progress Reflection

Bunyan ends his great work not with triumph, but with a sober and humble appeal. He knows that some readers will misunderstand, mock, or discard his book. He also knows that some will be genuinely helped by it. His concern is not for his own reputation as a writer, but for the souls of those who read.

This conclusion reveals Bunyan’s heart as a pastor and a pilgrim. He is not writing for clever critics or for those who only want to be entertained. He is writing for honest seekers — those who are willing to look past the form and search for the substance. He invites the reader to do what he himself has done: to examine everything by the light of Scripture and to keep what is true.

In the end, Bunyan is content to be misunderstood if even a few souls are helped to find the narrow way that leads to life.

Deep-Study

**Deep-Study: The Conclusion – Misinterpretation, the Gold, and the Honest Heart**

Bunyan’s conclusion is brief but weighty. It contains three main exhortations:

1. Beware of Misinterpretation
Bunyan warns that misreading the allegory can do real spiritual harm. Some will twist it to support error. Others will use it to justify their own rebellion. Still others will read it only as a story and miss its purpose entirely. The book was written to show the way of salvation, not to entertain or to advance a party spirit. To misinterpret it is to risk “evil ensues.”

2. Look Past the Form to the Substance
Bunyan uses several striking images:

• “Put by the curtains, look within my veil”
• “Turn up my metaphors”
• “What of my dross thou findest there, be bold to throw away, but yet preserve the gold”

He knows the book is imperfect. The poetry is uneven, the language is sometimes rough, and the story has its flaws. But he pleads with the reader not to reject the whole because of its imperfections. The gold of spiritual truth is worth far more than the literary ore in which it is wrapped.

3. An Honest Heart is Required
Bunyan is not writing for the proud, the mocking, or the merely curious. He is writing for those who have an honest desire to know the truth. Such readers will be willing to separate the dross from the gold. They will not throw away the apple because of the core. They will read with humility and with a heart that wants to be helped.

This conclusion is a fitting end to the book. Bunyan has shown the whole journey — from the City of Destruction to the Celestial Gate. Now he leaves the reader with a final test: Will you read with an honest heart? Will you seek the substance and not be offended by the form? Will you keep the gold and throw away the dross?

Those who do so will find that The Pilgrim’s Progress is still, after more than three hundred years, one of the most helpful books ever written for the Christian soul — because it consistently points the reader to Yeshua as the only Way, the only Door, and the only hope of the pilgrim.

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