213. It follows from this that the Word without its literal sense would be like a palace without any foundations, a palace built not on land but in the air, which would be the mere evanescent shadow of a palace. The Word without its literal sense would be like a church containing a number of sacred objects and in its centre a sanctuary, but devoid of the roof and walls which hold it together. If they were missing or removed, the sacred objects would be stolen by thieves and ruined by land animals or the birds of the air, and thus scattered. It would also be like the Tabernacle of the Children of Israel in the desert (in the inmost part of which was the Ark of the Covenant, and in its midst a golden lampstand, a golden altar bearing incense and a table for the bread of the Presence), if this were stripped of its outer covering, that is, curtains, veils and posts. Rather, the Word without its literal sense would resemble the human body without its outer covering called skin, or its framework called bones. If deprived of these two, all the contents of the body would fall apart. Again it would be like the heart and lungs in the chest deprived of their covering called the pleura, and its supports called ribs. Or like the brain without its coverings called the dura and pia mater and without its general covering, container and support called the skull. That is what the Word would be like without the literal sense, and this is why it is said in Isaiah that Jehovah creates a covering over all glory (Isa. 4:5).