At the end of the last blog I said I was planning a deeper dive into the song, and Ephesians 5, but was then lead to write this week, not about the first two lines of the song, but to begin with the 3rd and 4th lines!…….
“This is the REAL thing now and forever
Toward which all other stories lay claim.”
There is one REAL story, the story that is set forth in the biblical narrative. Every other human story told in human life or imagination simply reflects elements of The Story.
A few weeks ago the Holy Spirit prompted me to lift and read again my favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia, The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.
The more I read the more I was enthralled at how this particular story describes where I believe we find ourselves in The Story in these days.
(I realized it is the sixth book in the series of seven, just as we are at the end of the 6th Millennium from Adam, and now entering into the 7th Great Sabbath Millennium.)
At the end of my brief telling of the story, I will also connect The Silver Chair to the story of The Stranger that I posted on the April 22nd blog.
The story begins when school friends Jill and Eustace find themselves in another realm where Jill then walks up to the edge of a high cliff. Eustace tries to pull her back, but in the ensuing tussle he tumbles off! Aslan suddenly appears and saves the day by blowing Eustace….all the way to Narnia.
Jill is in awe of Aslan and is moved to repent to him for her stiff neckedness and pride that had caused Eustace to fall. Aslan then also blows her to Narnia to join Eustace in a quest for the missing Prince Rillian. She has been given 4 signs that they are to be guided by.
They discover Prince Rillian’s mother had died after being bitten by a green serpent in the woods. He obsessively journeys back there initially in an attempt to find and destroy her murderer, but this transitions to an obsessive quest for a most beguiling woman he has seen and become enchanted with. One day he fails to return.
The two children are aided in their quest for the missing Prince by Puddleglum the Marsh wiggle, a gangly frog like creature, who becomes an endearing companion, despite his ‘glum’ disposition.
At one point the three come across a beautiful lady dressed in green. Beside her rides a silent knight in armor. She directs them to Harfung castle to join the Giants for their autumn feast. While in the castle the three are horrified to discover in the Giant’s recipe book ‘Man pie’ and a recipe for Marsh wiggle! They realize they are to be the feast!
They flee the palace and find themselves tumbling into the world of Underland. Here they are apprehended by the sad captive Earthmen who escort them to the Queen’s castle. The Queen is not there, but the one inside the armor is. No longer silent he childishly extols ad nasueum the virtues of his Queen and her plan for them to break through to Overland to together become it’s new rulers.
He then tells them about the Silver Chair, and how each evening for an hour he goes ‘mad’ and becomes violent and dangerous, and must be tied to The Silver Chair until the ‘madness’ passes.
The three agree they will not be persuaded to release him no matter what protestations he makes. However at one point he charges them,“by the great Lion, by Aslan himself” to release him…. and they realize…. this is the fourth sign!
Having muffed the first three they know they must take the risk and so they cut him free. He immediately grabs his sword and hacks the The Silver Chair to pieces, thus destroying it’s enchanting power.
The chair had not been keeping him ‘sane’, it was in fact the source of his madness and responsible for his loosing contact with what was real and true. “Lie there, vile engine of sorcery!“ he says.
The knight then identifies himself, “I am Rillian, Prince of Narnia”
However just as the four are about to make an escape, the Queen enters. When she realizes what has happened she engages them in conversation. As the smell of the magic dust she has sprinkled on the fire and the hypnotic sound of her mandolin strumming take effect, her seductive speech almost succeeds in persuading them that the Overworld is a dream and the Underworld is real, until Puddleglum in a last ditch effort to escape the enchantment, stomps his foot in the fire.
The pain jolts him back to his senses.
The Queen, seeing that her scheme has failed, suddenly changes into her true serpent self, but before she is able to kill the Prince, he kills her with his sword.
As I have reflected on this I have been reminded again of the story I shared a few weeks ago that was sent to me by Lois our prophetic Ojibwe sister, just before she died – The Stranger. Let me quote from it again:
“Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family……….. The stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening.”
It was The Silver Screen that morphed into the TV, and Media in general, that marked the beginning of an age of propaganda. For decades this has been a controlling power ‘enchanting’ us, shaping our ideas and values, and keeping us ‘spellbound’
The biblical story that The Silver Chair mirrors which I believe is being played out in our day, is found in the story of the fall of ‘Mystery Babylon’ in Revelation 18. A few texts……..
v. 7. “In her heart she BOASTS, “I sit as QUEEN…”
v. 22. ” By your MAGIC SPELL all the nations were lead astray”
v. 3,13 “The merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries…..their cargoes…..BODIES AND SOULS OF MEN.”
The proud queen works her MAGIC in conjunction with…..
THE GIANTS
……representing BIG CORPORATIONS when corrupt.
When corporations are built on a false foundation and not on the one true foundation, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, their motivations are flawed. Their bottom line is to grow richer. They do this by ‘feeding’ on the BODIES AND SOULS OF MEN People are considered as a disposable commodity to be controlled, manipulated, exploited and discarded, to enrich the few.
THE SILVER CHAIR
……representing The Silver Screen/ THE MEDIA,
Their role is to work the MAGIC by keeping the people ‘spell-bound’, for as her name ‘MYSTERY Babylon’ suggests, the queen’s power lies in her secrecy.
JILL who has repented from her pride
…..represents HUMILTY
EUSTACE who at one point suspects something underhand is going on and protests,“I’m a King’s man!”
…..represents INTEGRITY
PUDDLEGLUM who reasonably concludes they should release the bound Prince
…..represents THE FACTS THAT ADD UP OVER TIME
He is also the HERO who courageously embraces the pain to help re- awaken his companions to what is TRUE and GOOD.
As the four escape this dark realm to regain Overland, they realize that with the destruction of The Silver Chair, the spell over the Earthmen has also been broken! The former captives now exuberantly flee the dark realm to joyfully regain their FREEDOM! and their true homeland.
Below is an interview with Dr Judy Mikovits.
On her foundation of repentance and forgiveness, you can look for HUMILITY and INTEGRITY. You can check for FACTS THAT ADD UP OVER TIME by reading her book “Plague of Corruption.” and you can discern,
“Is she is a present day Puddleglum – like Hero!?”
I believe that in these days we can take heart for the scripture is indeed now being fulfilled,
“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!”
…….”Rejoice over her, O heavens!
Rejoice, saints and apostles and prophets!
God has judged her for the way she treated you.” (Rev.18:2,20)