I'm glad you replied. the first thing I need to point out is that you are using strange Bible. By that, I mean that the word has been changed or at best a bad translation. The words in question are "are being taken figuratively" that is not what the original text stated. "These things are an allegory" is what is stated in all bible that are not new age "New American Bible". Why were the words change (a question to myself?). These two things are not the same, there are close but no cigar! When one said something is an allegory we know that we have to think of them in terms of an allegory. But when one uses the word figuratively it could mean you don't have to concern yourself with it.
There is more my insites on this subject at this page.
http://geneticmemory.org/index.php/wu-files/45-meat-for-strong-men
Also you can check out
Palm 78:21 dark saying
Prov 1:6 understanding proverbs
2 Cor 3:15 the vail