In
his fantasy story, The Lion, the Witch
and Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis imagines a beautiful, enchanted land called
Narnia. It has towering waterfalls, majestic snow-capped mountains, idyllic beaches
and lush forests. However, when four siblings accidently wander into Narnia
from their wardrobe, what they find is not a utopia, but a frozen wasteland.
The kingdom of Narnia has fallen under the curse of Jadis, the Ice Witch, who
has cast Narnia into a hundred year winter. Moreover, Narnia’s true king, Aslan
the lion, is nowhere to be found.
The
inhabitants of Narnia are powerless to stop the black magic of Jadis, who
captures one of siblings, Edmund, and holds him hostage. Then one day, Aslan is
rumored to be back in Narnia. As Aslan enters Narnia a strange thing
happens—the inhabitants notice the witch’s ice beginning to melt. Upon his
return, Aslan proposes a ransom for the release of Edmund. Aslan allows the
Witch to take his life so that Edmund can go free. She accepts and plunges a
dagger into the heart of Aslan.
It
looks like all is lost. However, the creatures of Narnia notice soon after the
death of Aslan that the ice in Narnia is totally thawed. Three days after his
death, Aslan is miraculously brought back to life. Aslan and the Witch face off
in a final battle. When Aslan roars all of Jadis’ minions wither in fear and
then the witch is crushed in the jaws of Aslan. Narnia is finally free of the
curse and the presence of evil in the kingdom is banished.
It
obvious to see the Christian allegory that Lewis had in mind when he wrote the
Narnia series of books. Narnia like Earth is in the clutches of the old
Serpent. For now the Adversary rules this world system and has the curses of
death, disease and disaster to aid him. However, there are rumors that the King is
soon returning to reclaim what was lost.
Jesus
is our Aslan, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, who gave his life on the Cross to
set us from the captivity of Satan. Upon Christ’s return and conquest the curse
of sin will be taken away, just as Aslan’s presence in Narnia caused the tundra
of Narnia to thaw. The redemption will be complete—through his death and
resurrection from the dead Jesus will restore everything in the spiritual and
physical realm. As Rev. 22:3 promises, “No longer will there be anything
accursed.” Why? Because of 1 John 3:8, “For this reason the Son of God
appeared: to destroy the works of the devil.”
What
will the New Earth, with the curse removed, look like? In our resurrection
bodies, we will again dwell on Earth— a New Earth— completely free of the
Curse. Unencumbered by sin, human activity will lead naturally to a prosperous
and magnificent culture. The removal of the Curse will be as thorough and
sweeping as the redemptive work of Christ. In bringing us salvation, Christ has
already undone some of the damage in our hearts, but in the end he will finally
and completely restore his entire creation to what God originally intended
(Romans 8:19-21). Christ will turn back the Curse and restore to humanity all
that we lost in Eden. -DM
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