The way is shut. It was made by those who are Dead, and the Dead keep it, until the time comes. The way is shut.

 

This is definitely a reading household. Between myself and their mother, my kids have been introduced to books all across the spectrum. So, it should come at no surprise that we have read through the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books. As a matter of fact, Dad here is a total sci-fi and fantasy nerd. The four books that got that started: The Hobbit, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, and A Wrinkle in Time. If you have kids, I highly recommend setting aside some time on a Sunday evening and reading these to them.

Anyway... I get caught up personally in linking The Hobbit & LOTR and the Narnia series to the messages we find in the Bible. Most of us know that J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Christian, as was his good friend C.S. Lewis. These two wove their understanding of faith into their work, it's perhaps a bit easier to see it in Lewis' work, but it is there in Tolkien as well. Because I am the tangent King here, I will say if you want a good example of the fundamentals differences between protestant and roman beliefs, compare the Narnia Chronicles with LOTR. It's a pretty good juxtaposition thematically.

I digress as usual. One of my favorite parts of the LOTR trilogy is the army of the dead. Partially because the CG is pretty cool, considering that this is a 17 year old film, but mostly because it offers a glimpse of the doctrine of redemption. The question is, does it offer us a correct view of redemption biblically? 

In the story, the army of the dead is caught in limbo, or purgatory, because they broke their oath, or rejected the call, to fight for Isildur against Sauron. Some further Tolkien lore suggests that the men of Dunharrow secretly worshipped Sauron, but all in all these guys are caught between life and death because they broke an oath, or a promise and disobeyed a call. And they wait. 

What are they waiting for and how does this tie into the Bible? 

The bible teaches us that without Christ we are spiritually dead. This is what God is saying when he tells Adam that if he eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he will surely die. God isn't saying physical death here, He is talking spiritual death. To be sure, the sin begins the cycle of life and death on earth, but the heavier point is, Adam and Eve are now spiritually dead. 

Consider for a moment that there are two significant trees pointed out in the garden, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Why then, is there only one command, to not eat of the second tree? Why are Adam and Eve not forbidden to eat of the tree of life? When they are one with God prior to the fall, Adam and Eve walking in fellowship with God, they have regular access to the tree of life. Once they sin, they no longer have access to that tree.

It is important to note that it is not God's anger, or His judgement and the resulting curse that causes this spiritual death. It is solely the act of disobedience. 

Genesis 3:6-8

"So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden."

Notice that as soon as they disobey, they recognize something is wrong. In the very next verse God is walking through the garden looking for them. I almost typed, "innocently" looking for them. That's wrong, God knew, but notice in the text, His anger and wrath aren't kindled until what? Adam and Eve try to deny or shift blame.  Once they double down on their act of disobedience, then does the punishment come. And part of that punishment is no longer having access to the tree of life.

Genesis 3:22-24

"Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"— therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life."

Adam and Eve broke the original covenant with God, they broke a simple oath to not eat of the tree. The result, spiritual death. As most reformed Christians will say, they were, "dead in their sins and trespasses."