" Prophetic and Messianic Themes in The Chronicles of Narnia "
Noah's Dove
" Prophetic and Messianic Themes in The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe "
Although it is possible to read the Chronicles of Narnia as pure
adventures, they also are very much grounded in Christian themes.
Lewis seems to have intended The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe as a
more accessible (for children) version of the Easter story.
Aslan, the Lion who sang Narnia into being in The Magician’s Nephew,
clearly is a Christ-like figure. In The Lion, The Witch and The
Wardrobe, he returns to the world he created to redeem it from the
eternal winter of the White Witch.
The witch is an evil figure, who tempts Edmund, one of the prophesied
“Sons of Adam,” and turns him against the other “Sons of Adam and
Daughters of Eve” and against Aslan himself. Here, we have a parallel
to to mankind turning from the Word of God.
Aslan defeats the Witch’s winter, but she has one last trick up her
sleeve. She claims Edmund, saying that Deep Magic From The Dawn of
Time has given her dominion over such traitors. Only blood will save
the boy, so Aslan secretly agrees to be sacrificed by the Witch. His
death, however, is only temporary, because Deeper Magic from Before
the Dawn of Time guarantees that the wrongly sacrified will be brought
back to life. The morning after his sacrifice, Aslan returns to his
final victory over the evil witch.
If you remove the fantasy elements, the basic outline is familiar as
the Easter story. Other elements of The Lion, The Witch and The
Wardrobe further echo the Easter story of Jesus’ death and
resurrection:
Just as Jesus held vigil at Gesthemane with a few trusted disciples,
Aslan spends a lonely night before his sacrfice with Lucy and Susan.
Bound and condemned, Aslan is mocked by the White Witch’s followers;
Jesus is mocked by Pilate’s soldiers.
When Mary Magdalene and the other women go to the tomb, it is empty,
and Jesus’ body is gone. Later, the women are the first to see him
after the resurrection. Similarly, in The Lion, The Witch and The
Wardrobe, when Lucy and Susan go back to the table to find Aslan’s
body, it is gone; they, too, are the first to see Aslan after his
resurrection.
Christian parallels http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia
Specific Christian parallels may be found in the entries for
individual books and characters.
C.S. Lewis was an adult convert to Christianity and had previously
authored some works on Christian apologetics and fiction with
Christian themes. However, he did not originally intend to incorporate
Christian theological concepts into his Narnia stories. As he wrote in
Of Other Worlds:
Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could
say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy
tale as an instrument, then collected information about child
psychology and decided what age group I’d write for; then drew up a
list of basic Christian truths and hammered out 'allegories' to embody
them. This is all pure moonshine. I couldn’t write in that way. It all
began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a
magnificent lion. At first there wasn't anything Christian about them;
that element pushed itself in of its own accord.
Lewis, an expert on the subject of allegory[8] and the author of The
Allegory of Love, maintained that the books were not allegory, and
preferred to call the Christian aspects of them "suppositional". This
indicates Lewis' view of Narnia as a fictional parallel universe. As
Lewis wrote in a letter to a Mrs Hook in December 1958:
If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which
Giant Despair [a character in The Pilgrim's Progress] represents
despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality, however, he is
an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, 'What might
Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia, and He
chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He
actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all.[9]
Although Lewis did not consider them allegorical, and did not set out
to incorporate Christian themes in Wardrobe, he was not hesitant to
point them out after the fact. In one of his last letters, written in
March of 1961, Lewis writes:
Since Narnia is a world of Talking Beasts, I thought He [Christ] would
become a Talking Beast there, as He became a man here. I pictured Him
becoming a lion there because (a) the lion is supposed to be the king
of beasts; (b) Christ is called "The Lion of Judah" in the Bible; (c)
I'd been having strange dreams about lions when I began writing the
work. The whole series works out like this.
The Magician's Nephew tells the Creation and how evil entered Narnia.
The Lion etc the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
Prince Caspian restoration of the true religion after corruption.
The Horse and His Boy the calling and conversion of a heathen.
The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" the spiritual life (especially in
Reepicheep).
The Silver Chair the continuing war with the powers of darkness
The Last Battle the coming of the Antichrist (the Ape). the end of the
world and the Last Judgement.[3]
With the release of the 2005 Disney film there was renewed interest in
the Christian parallels found in the books.
To watch the full 2005 movie goto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ6exK876G0
Following are some Biblical references that are the basis of Messianic
themes in the Chronicles of Narnia:
Rev.22
[1] And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
[2] In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the
river,
was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and
yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for
the healing of the nations.
[3] And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of
the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
[4] And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their
foreheads.
[5] And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle,
neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and
they shall reign for ever and ever.
1Cor.2
[9] But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither
have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him.
John.3
[16] For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.
Dan.12
[3] And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars
forever and ever
Eph.2
[8] For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God:
[9] Not of works, lest any man should boast.
2Cor.4
[17] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
[18] While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things
which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but
the things which are not seen are eternal.
Rom.2
[7] To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory
and honour and immortality, eternal life:
1Cor.15
[53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal
must put on immortality.
[54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and
this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass
the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
Isa.53
[1] Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD
revealed?
[2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root
out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall
see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
[3] He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and
acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he
was despised, and we esteemed him not.
[4] Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we
did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
[5] But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his
stripes we are healed.
[6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
[7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his
mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Rev.5
[1] And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book
written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.
[2] And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is
worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?
[3] And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was
able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
[4] And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to
read the book, neither to look thereon.
[5] And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of
the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book,
and to loose the seven seals thereof.
1Cor.15
[25] For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
2Tim.2
[12] If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he
also will deny us:
Rev.5
[10] And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall
reign on the earth.
Rev.11
[15] And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of
our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
[17] Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and
wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great
power, and hast reigned.
Rev.20
[4] And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given
unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the
witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark
upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned
with Christ a thousand years.
[6] Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:
on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of
God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev.22
[5] And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle,
neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they
shall reign for ever and ever.
Is there good reason to have hope? Yes, much assurance can be found
in the Bible's Messianic Prophecies:
Messianic Prophecy: Review the incredible evidence that Jesus of
Nazareth is promised Messiah
Be assured that these prophecies were not conspired after-the-fact.
www.messianic-prophecy.net/
Messianic Prophecy: Investigate the statistical odds that one man
would fulfill every single one of them in this sample of just seven.
www.messianic-prophecy.net/messianic-prophecy.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewi
Lewis's trilemma
In a much-cited passage in the book Mere Christianity, Lewis
challenged the increasingly popular view that Jesus, although a great
moral teacher, was not God. He argued that Jesus made several implicit
claims to divinity, which would logically exclude this:
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing
that people often say about Him: 'I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great
moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.' That is the
one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the
sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would
either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a
poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make
your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a
madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can
spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and
call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising
nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that
open to us. He did not intend to. (Lewis 1952, p. 43)
Recommended Resource: The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - Seven
Volumes.
Christian Themes in:
The Magician's Nephew
Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Last Battle
Return to:
The Chronicles of Narnia