Expecting the Lion, Seeing the Lamb: VDT Part 8

Episode 20! We reach the edge of Narnia’s world and take the boat out on the Silver Sea. There is a ton of symbolism in this episode, including the significance of mountains and also exploring Jesus being the Lion and the Lamb. 

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Transcript

Intro

SPEAKER_01 0:09

After that, for many days, without wind in her shrouds or foam at her bows, across a waveless sea, the dawn treader glided smoothly east. Every day and every hour the light became more brilliant, and still they could bear it. No one ate or slept, and no one wanted to. But they drew buckets of dazzling water from the sea, stronger than wine and somehow wetter, more liquid than ordinary water, and pledged one another silently in deep drafts of it. And one or two of the sailors, who had been oldish men when the voyage began, now grew younger every day. Everyone on board was filled with joy and excitement, but not an excitement that made one talk. The further they sailed, the less they spoke, and then almost in a whisper. The stillness of that last sea laid hold on them. Today we are continuing our voyage to the very end of the world, and I'm thankful to have you all along for the adventure. Before we get into this, I want to thank everyone for the continued support. I've been working hard on providing other content related to the podcast on Instagram and YouTube, so make sure that you follow me on those platforms as well. Those links are in the episode description. I also want to mention a great way to support the show as well, other than commenting on liking and rating the show, is to check out Free Luma bracelets. This is a Christian company with a mission to share scripture daily with their NFC bracelets. Just scan the bracelet with your smartphone and it will open a portal to daily Bible scripture and much more. Use code stay faithful, all one word, at checkout to save 15% on your order. That link is also in the episode description. We have a lot to cover today in this episode, so let's get into things. So at this point in the journey, it's day after day of not wanting to eat because the water has been sweet enough for us. And if you haven't heard that last episode, uh make sure you you do because we're going to go into more detail about that water in this episode. So the water is stronger than wine, and yet somehow wetter and more liquid than ordinary water. Not only is this water satisfying us to the point of not even eating food, but it's having some other effects as well. One or two of the older sailors on the ship begin to grow younger every day. Which is interesting. But it's it's kind of it's gonna make sense. Um Caspian and Drinian see whiteness. As far as the eye can see, they do not want to crash into this whiteness. If it's land, it is just as smooth and on the same level as the water. But we lower a boat from the ship so we can go and investigate this whiteness. Now, when the boat comes back to the ship, we see that it is filled with lilies. Eustace says that they can't be real lilies, but we turn the ship through what is called the silver sea. As we go down, the whiteness is shot with the faintest color of gold and spread all around us on every side. And Lucy smells something that is sweet but not overpowering. It's fresh, wild and lonely. Caspian and Lucy say they can't stand much more of it, but yet they don't want it to stop either. So several days of this, the water becomes shallower and is soon made clear that we cannot sail any further east than this.

Caspian Wants To Leave Narnia?

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Friends, said Caspian, we have now fulfilled the quest on which you embarked. The seven lords are all accounted for, and as Sir Repacheep has sworn never to return, when you reach Ramandu's land, you will doubtless find the Lords Ravillion and Argos and Mavramorn awake. To you, my lord Drinian, I entrust this ship, bidding you sail to Narnia with all the speed you may, and above all, not to land on the island of Deathwater, and instruct my regent, the dwarf Trumpkin, to give to all these, my shipmates, the rewards I promised them. They have been earned well. And if I come not again, it is my will that the regent and Master Cornelius and Trufflehunter the Badger and the Lord Drinian choose a king of Narnia with the consent. But sire, interrupted Drinian, are you abdicating? I'm going with Repacheep to see the world's end, said Caspian. A low murmur of dismay ran through the sailors. We will take the boat, said Caspian. You will have no need of it in these gentle seas. And you must build a new one on Ramandu's island. And now, Caspian, said Edmund, suddenly and sternly, you can't do this. Most certainly, said Ripici, his Majesty cannot. No, indeed, said Drinian. Can't? said Caspian sharply, looking for a moment not unlike his Uncle Miraz. Begging your Majesty's pardon, said Rhinelf from the deck below. But if one of us did the same, it would be called deserting. You presume too much in your long service, Rhinelf, said Caspian. No, sire. He's perfectly right, said Drinian. By the mane of Aslan, said Caspian, I had thought you were all my subjects here, not my schoolmasters. I'm not, said Edmund. And I say, you cannot do this. Can't again, said Caspian. What do you mean? If it please your majesty, we mean shall not, said Repacheep, with a very low bow. You are the king of Narnia. You break faith with all your subjects, you especially with Trumkin, if you do not return. You shall not please yourself with adventures as if you were a private person. And if your majesty will not hear reason, it will be the truest loyalty of every man on board to follow me in disarming and binding you till you come to your senses. So Caspian gives a speech that declares that he's going with Reapcheep to the world's end. Edmund sternly tells Caspian that he cannot do this. Edmund makes a point to tell Caspian that he is not Caspian's subject like the rest of them, so he's pulling a little bit of rank with Caspian here. The rest of the crew then threatens to disarm and bind Caspian, and Caspian's hand goes to uh his sword's hilt. Lucy even points out that he promised Ramandu's daughter that he would come back for her. So Caspian agrees with Lucy. See, it's always the women. It's always a woman you gotta I'm I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding. Um But he's he's not happy about it. And he ends up lashing out at Reaper Cheep and slamming his cabin door shut. And something that was uh really sad about that um because even later we see Caspian with tears in his eyes, but what was really sad about him lashing out at Repacheep is just that Repacheep points out, like, you promised to be good to the talking beasts. And Caspian in his anger he says talking beasts, yes, but not those that won't stop talking. He was just he was so upset with Repacheep and Yeah, it was kinda kind of a sad thing to to read. Um But as he's in his cabin, it turns out that Aslan speaks to him through the gold lion's head that's on the wall. And Caspian comes up back out and he says that it was terrible, his eyes. Not that he was at all rough with me, but only a bit stern at first, but it was terrible all the same. Aslan told him that he is going back to Narnia, while Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, and Repacheep will go on from there. Like from where they are now. Caspian is sad, and Lucy reminds him that when they would have that they would have to go back to their world sooner or later. And Caspian, through his tears, says that this is sooner, and that that's why it was so sad. So Lucy encourages him that he will feel better once he gets back to Ramandu's Island. So they venture on the boat through the lilies that lay on the water, and they have Reapach's oracle on board with them, and the Dawn Treader flies all their flags and hangs out the shields in honor of their departure. Because remember, the Peven sees Reapachheep and Eustace, they're not coming back. So this is the last time they will see the Dawn Treader, or the last time they will see anybody on uh the sh the the ship itself. And so Lucy shed a few tears, and C. S. Lewis mentions that she didn't feel it as much as you might have expected her to. And so here's a quote The light, the silence, the tingling smell of loneliness itself were too exciting. And so there is also this need to there sorry, there's no need to row the boat as the current is drifting us steadily to the east, and none of us sleep or eat. We go on like this all night, and all the next day we glide eastward, and on the third day we see something like a wall between us and the sky. And I find it fascinating that we're on this little boat for three days with no sleep and no food, with the current directing us, and it seems a little bit familiar, um, which we'll get into. Um, but the the interesting thing is, you know, maybe for the first time on this voyage, we also think that, like we think nothing of danger at this time. I mean, think about it. All the other stops, there might have been some uncertainty, some uh risk of danger, but now for the first time on this silver sea that's just pulling us eastward, uh, there's no fear of danger. And the sun is rising, and we see it through the wall, and the wall turns into rainbow colors. And the wall is a long, tall wave, which explains why the sun going through it would show rainbow colors, but it's a long, tall wave fixed in one place like the edge of a waterfall, and it appears to us to be thirty feet tall. Then we see something behind the wall and behind the sun as well. Now we would not be able to see the sun if our eyes were not strengthened by the water of the last sea. But now we could not only see the sun uh that was behind the wall, but behind that as well. And we see what we see behind the sun is a mountain range that we couldn't see the top of. The mountains must have been outside of the world. Now just picture that for a moment, that you just see this huge mountain range, which mountains are huge to begin with, but that you can't see the top of, and that it just it makes you think that the top of it must be outside of the world itself. Now I think and we're gonna break this down later, trust me, but I think C.S. Lewis did this on purpose because I believe there is some significance and some symbolism to this. But we'll get there. So these mountains are warm, green, and full of forests and waterfalls, and then suddenly we feel a breeze. Now this breeze has a magical sound and smell to it. Now, the boys never talked about it afterwards, but Lucy could only say it would break your heart.

SPEAKER_00 15:18

But it was not sad.

SPEAKER_01 15:21

And so I want to point something out here is that there's been a couple times in this in this book, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, that C.S. Lewis kind of I mean, he does this throughout other books too, but he kind of breaks the fourth wall in a sense where and especially with this book, there's been other times too where I really feel like this story is being told through Lucy's perspective. In the sense that like I can see C. S. Lewis, right? Let's just imagine this for a second. C. S. Lewis is sitting down with his friend Lucy, and she's telling him this story, and he's recording it and then writing it writing this story about it. Because it just always seems to be from her perspective, and even he at this point in the book, he mentions that after they're out of Narnia and they're back home, that Edmund and Eustace they never spoke about this magical smell and sound, but Lucy does. So I kind of get the picture that like C.S. Lewis is sitting down with all of them and he's getting their perspectives or whatever, and like no comment from the boys, but Lucy will. And so I don't know. I th I think it's just kind of a fun way to think about it. It's a cool perspective that like he's almost interviewing these characters and then retelling their story. It's just fun to think about. But at this point, none of us doubt that we are in fact seeing beyond the end of the world and getting a glimpse into Aslan's country. And

Goodbye Reepicheep

SPEAKER_01 17:07

then the boat hits the ground, as the water is now too shallow for it, and Repacheep announces that this is where he goes alone, and he's excited, and he gets into his coracle, he throws his sword into the sea, and none of us try to even stop him. And his so his sword lands upright with the hilt above the surface of the water, and he says goodbye, and Lucy does what she has wanted to do since she first met him, which is she gives him a hug. Reapercheep rows his coracle over this giant wave, and we never see him again. Now C.S. Lewis says in the book again, just going on with like now he's giving his opinion that it's his belief that Reaper Cheap made it safely to Aslan's country and is alive there to this day.

SPEAKER_00 18:10

So we get out of the boat and we're waiting in the water and not towards the wave though. We're waiting in the water southward with the wall of water to the to our left. Now I can't tell you why we did this, but it says in the book that it was fate, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Because and so remember already, the boat was already pulling us towards the east, and now something's pulling us southward. Interesting. So although we feel we were uh and are grown up now having been on the Don Treader, there's a lot of growing up that needed to happen, right? Uh we now feel the complete opposite. And we're holding hands as we wade through the lilies, and the interesting thing is we never get tired. All this time, the water is getting shallower to the point where we are on dry land. One thing I want to add here before we move on to the next part of the story, I don't want to just gloss over Repacheep is just gone now. Like, think about the adventures we've had with Reaper Cheap, even in the previous book in Prince Caspian, like just what a a noble mouse. Like, he's so courageous and he is so he has so much valor and honor, and you know, even having lost his tail in Prince Caspian, and Aslan blesses him with a new one, uh, you know, his history even comes back from you know, the mice before they were talking beasts to when they helped uh chew the cords and the ropes off of Aslan when he was uh died, and when he died on the stone table, and that was why they were then created and or made to be talking beasts. And so he comes from that line, obviously, where they were already noble before they were talking beasts, and I don't know, it's just such a a great character. And I hope one day to do a bonus episode just focusing on Reaper Cheap. Uh, but that is that is something that I really want to do because there's there's just so much that could be said, and it's really unfortunate that this is where his story ends. And uh it's good to know though, C.S. Lewis does give us some hope saying that he made it safely to Aslan's country, and that he's still there to this day. It's really comforting to know. So goodbye, Reaper Cheep. We'll miss you, but uh we're happy for you too. At last they were on dry sand, and then on grass, a huge plain of very fine short grass, almost level with the silver sea and spreading in every direction without as much as a molehill. And of course, as it always does in a perfectly flat place without trees, it looked as if the sky came down to meet the grass in front of them. But as they went on, they got the strangest impression that here at last the sky did really come down and join the earth. A blue wall, very bright but real and solid, more like glass than anything else. And soon they were quite sure of it. It was very near now. But between them and the foot of the sky. There was something so white on the green grass that even with their eagle's eyes they could hardly look at it. They came on and saw that it was a lamb. Come and

The Lamb

SPEAKER_01 22:11

have breakfast, said the lamb in its sweet milky voice. Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass and fish roasting on it. They sat down and ate the fish, hungry now for the first time in many days. And it was the most delicious food they had ever tasted. Please, Lamb, said Lucy, is this the way to Aslan's country? Not for you, said the Lamb. For you, the door into Aslan's country is from your own world. What? said Edmund. Is there a way into Aslan's country from our world too? There is a way into my country from all the worlds, said the lamb. But as he spoke, his snowy white flushed into tawny gold, and his size changed, and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane. Oh, Aslan, said Lucy, will you tell us how to get into your country from our world? I shall be telling you all the time, said Aslan, but I will not tell you how long or short the way may be, only that it lies across a river. But do not fear that, for I am the great bridge builder. And now come. I will open the door in the sky, and send you to your own land. Please, Aslan, said Lucy, before we go, will you tell us when we will come back to Narnia again? Please, and oh do do do make it soon. Dearest, said Aslan very gently, you and your brother will never come back to Narnia. Oh Aslan, said Edmund and Lucy, both together in despairing voices. You are too old, children, said Aslan. And you must begin to come close to your own world now. It isn't Narnia, you know, sobbed Lucy. It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live never meeting you? But you shall meet me, dear one, said Aslan. Are are you there too, sir? said Edmund. I am, said Aslan. But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here a little, you may know me better there. So we walk on sand and then grass, and there is something that we see on the grass, even though we have this amazing eagle-like vision, it's hard for us to see. And now we see that it's a lamb. Kinda unexpected. The lamb asks us if we want breakfast, and the lamb has a sweet milky voice. And for the first time in a long time we feel hungry. And there was already a fire lit with fish roasting on it. It was the most delicious food we had ever tasted.

SPEAKER_00 25:50

Lucy asks if this is the way to Aslan's country, and the lamb says not for you.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

For you, the door to Aslan's country is from your own world. As the lamb is talking, it is revealed that the lamb is Aslan, as it turns into the great giant lion himself, and he's towering over us. He's so big. Lucy asks Aslan how we will get from our world or f how we will get into Aslan's country from our world, and he says, I shall be telling you all the time, but I will not tell you how long or short the way will be, only that it lies across the river. But do not fear that, for I am the bridge builder. Is that not true? God is telling us all the time how to get to him, through his word and through revelation of the Holy Spirit, but he doesn't tell us how long the journey will be. We trust him and obey his word, and he will build bridges and make a way for us to get to him. Lucy asks Aslan when we will be back in Narnia, and he tells her that for her and Edmund they will never return to Narnia because they are too old. And this is exactly what happened with Peter and Susan. Now it's just a reality for these two as well. And Lucy and Edmund are in despair over this news, and especially Lucy, who believes that she will not know Aslan in her world. That was the bigger issue. Not even that it was Narnia, but that it was not knowing Aslan. That's what's so hard for her. And so he explains to her that in her world he has a different name, which of course is Jesus, right? And that she must learn to know him by that name. And that this was the reason that they were brought to Narnia in the first place. That knowing him there for a short time, that they would be able to know him better in their world. And I believe that if they are looking for him in their world, they will find him. Because if we seek for Jesus, like if we're seeking him, he will reveal himself to us, and they will recognize who that is. And so Lucy also asks Aslan if Eustace will come back to Narnia, and Aslan just replies, Do you really need to know that? And he moved on. And so Aslan opens a door in the sky, and there was a a this is a quote from the book, by the way, there was a rendering of the blue wall, like a curtain being torn. There's some symbolism there, and a terrible white light from beyond the sky, and they feel Aslan's mane and a lion's kiss on their foreheads, and then the back bedroom in Aunt Alberta's home in Cambridge. Just like that, Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are back home as if they had never left. Right. So they see some things, they see rendering of a blue wall, and it looks like a c curtain's being torn. There's just this very bright light from beyond the sky, and then they feel Aslan's mane and a lion's kiss on their foreheads. And they're back. It's it's pretty interesting imagery to imagine, and much different than the Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie, which guys, uh don't get me started. Like, it's a good movie, but having read the book, it just doesn't do it justice. I'm I'm sorry. Like, I I encourage you guys, like, if you've only seen the movie, please read the book because it's so much better, I gotta say. Um, they get so much stuff wrong, and the timeline's all messed up, anyways. I I don't like I said, I'm gonna get myself all worked up here. No, it's all good. Um, yes, they're back home in Cambridge.

The Holy Spirit In The Water

SPEAKER_01 30:44

Okay, so um we've covered a lot in this episode, and there's a lot of juicy symbolism that we need to go over. So I want to take some time to go through some things, although I'm sure some of you have noticed some already, but let's take a deeper look, shall we? Uh the first thing I want to point out, it's not super deep, but it's maybe it's just a coincidence, but I noticed that there were that they were on the boat for three days. The reason I bring that up is that after Jesus' death, he rose on the third day, and so here we are on the boat, and on the third day we see Aslan again. And so that may just be a coincidence, but also probably not, because I know C.S. Lewis is very intentional with these things. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:46

The the next thing I wanted to point out is that I see something in the current.

SPEAKER_01 31:54

Uh, the current is pulling us in, it is directing us where we should go. And that reminds me of the Holy Spirit. And there are some people out there, and uh, you know, I've I've heard this said many places. One one person that I want to kind of reference, his name is Daryl Johnson. Uh, but there is this belief out there that the Holy Spirit is the river that flows from the throne in the book of Revelation. Uh so it, you know, it it there's a quote that it's like, and he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and the Lamb. Now, earlier in Revelation, John describes the spirit as being before the throne.

SPEAKER_00 32:52

It's interesting that this water is just before Aslan's country.

SPEAKER_01 33:03

But the fact that there is a body of water coming from the throne of God in Revelation shows us that the water is the Holy Spirit, and Jesus even makes this connection in the last episode uh in this series, um, you know, we talked a lot about the sweet water being the living water that Jesus talks about. And so Jesus says that He when he's talking about that, he's saying it at the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles. And part of this feast celebrates God providing water for the Israelites in the wilderness. The water was a picture of the gift of the Holy Spirit that was to come. Now, in the new heaven, so referring to Revelation now, in the new heaven, the Holy Spirit will flow freely. The living water reference is back in another way here. And even when we're waiting in the water, they like we don't grow, like they don't grow tired, they feel free to point to the point of feeling like children again, all the while it is still leading them where they need to go. And I feel like, you know, the Holy Spirit guiding your life, there is a lot of freedom in that. Like obviously, we lose, you know, the control that we want to have. And, you know, but when you make that choice to allow him to lead you and then to obey that, like there is there is freedom in that. And we also see that they couldn't look at the sun if their eyes were not strengthened by the water. And this reminds me of how the Holy Spirit helps us to fix our eyes on Christ by providing us the strength to do so. So, like they couldn't fix their eyes on the sun, S-U-N. We can't fix our eyes on the sun, S-O-N, capital S O N, um without the Holy Spirit giving us strength to do so.

SPEAKER_00 35:35

Now, another thing that caught my attention was that they could see mountains beyond like over the wave, they could see mountains into Aslan's country but they couldn't see the top of it.

SPEAKER_01 35:54

Now I've mentioned in previous episodes why mountains are specific and even in or sorry, significant, not specific. What am I doing? Why mountains are significant even in scripture. Historically, mountains were viewed as a place where heaven and earth meet, which is why C. S. Lewis could be referring to that belief in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, because he says that they can't see the top of the mountains in Asan's country, that it looks like they're out of this world. So we've all we also see in scripture that there are many spiritual things that happen on mountains. Now I've talked about this again in in past episodes, but Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and his many meetings with God on the mountains, uh, Jesus and his transfiguration, the sermon on the mount, Christ being crucified on a mountain, those are all some brief examples. Um, I've also even heard the theory that the Garden of Eden may have been on a mountain. And I believe this is also kind of ties into why the Tower of Babel was being built in an attempt to reach heaven. I mean, we look at it, and there are pyramids all over the world, too, which seem to almost be some sort of counterfeit mountain. Um, you know, a fallen angel would know this about mountains, and as we know, like fallen angels were were jealous, and they want this for themselves. And so this is going to be a brief overview of this, guys, but they're jealous, they want it for themselves, and in some places where you know these fallen angels are, there's no mountains, and so they have to try to create them for themselves, which could also be why there is technology unknown to mankind found in pyramids that and like you know, these beings would have a technology that we are unaware of. Now, we can go into rabbit trails about all this stuff, but that's not really the point of this. I'm just trying to paint a picture of why mountains are significant and why, you know, uh, yeah, there's spiritual significance to mountains, but it just makes me wonder like, why are people trying to reach God? Like, why are we trying to reach God on our own terms? Like, you know, God invites us up to the mountain, but he will meet us on his terms. You know, in the Old Testament, God calls them to the mountain where he is going to meet them, them. Uh, this is something that is designed by God and it has been tainted by the enemy uh for reasons that we're gonna get into. One thing I want to point out as well is uh when Moses meets God in the burning bush, notice something that the bush was already burning. Right? It didn't just all of a sudden light on fire when Moses looked at it. Like it was already burning. And something I think I want to say about that is when they see the lamb in Voyager of the Dawn Treader, when they see the lamb, there's already a fire lit with the fish roasting. I don't know if that's just a coincidence or not, but it's interesting that the burning bush was already lit and this lamb already had the fire lit. It's like it was waiting for them.

SPEAKER_00 39:57

It was on it like it was on their terms, right?

SPEAKER_01 40:04

So, anyways, yes, the idea of God meeting on like people on mountaintops and the significance of that it was designed like that, the enemy has tainted it, but God can take these tainted things and make them holy again. And so, you know, there's a there's a lot of spiritual things like I'm saying happen on mountaintops, and one of those is sacrifices, and sacrifices are still happening on mountains to this day, and it happens in the Bible as well. When I was on a missions trip in Haiti, and this is back to like 2012, something like that, uh, you know, one of the places that we were staying, we could hear uh like voodoo rituals, uh, some some sort of you know practices happening in the high mountains, and we like while we were sleeping. Now, this was creepy and I mean kind of scary to hear these things, you know, just the drums pounding rhythmically and and whatnot. But this is kind of just proof that this stuff is still happening to this day. And even in Peru, there's I've heard stories of shamans going up to high mountains to meet with the gods of the Inca. And it's believed that these gods, like lowercase g gods, show up and meet with this shaman in person. Uh now now, obviously, this is a whole nother discussion, right? That we could get into here, but I I just again, the spiritual significance, either good or bad, of mountaintops. And I believe this is why the top of the mountains in Aslan's country cannot be seen because of this ancient belief that mountains is where heaven and earth meet. It also reminds me that we are finite compared to what is up there. And it challenges our perspective. It humbles us to see ourselves in a correct way in light of who God is. Climbing up the mountain is gonna suck. Because remember, he calls us up to the mountain, and climbing up is gonna suck. And you know what, you might have to stop and question yourself on if this is what you really want. But there is a cost to climbing these mountains, but in doing so, we learn to humble ourselves. We've done something difficult that is beyond our capabilities. But the good news is the one who is beyond that difficulty has equipped us to be able to get there. Now see how things are flowing together, you know, pun like no pun intended. Uh the symbolism of the Holy Spirit in the water as well.

SPEAKER_00 43:19

But when we get to the top of the mountain, we need to enjoy it. But in humility, remembering who got us there.

SPEAKER_01 43:33

So that's just my thoughts on the on the mountain there. It's significant for some for some, you know, there's some thought there.

The Lion

SPEAKER_01 43:44

Now we get to what I would say is the main event the lamb. So Jesus is described as the Lamb of God and the Lion of Judah. Now, obviously, we know Aslan is a supposal for Jesus. He's, you know, it's supposed to be Jesus in this other world. And so the lion makes sense because we've heard the you know lion of Judah, right? But now we see the lamb. And in the old testament, there's many times where a lamb without blemish is required for sacrifice. And it's clear to see that this points us to Jesus as he was the sacrifice for our sins, and he was without blemish, having known no sin. John the Baptist also called Jesus this when he said, Behold the Lamb of God. In Revelation, we read like so that there there's kind of like the Lamb imagery. Now we're gonna see why this is relevant here. So in in Revelation, we read, and this is really cool, guys, but sorry, I'll I'm getting excited. Uh in Revelation we read that John s saw something in his vision. So I'm gonna read to you now from Revelation five, verse five to seven. But one of the elders said to me, Do not weep, behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose the it to loose its seven seals. And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb, as though it had been slain, having seven eyes, which are seven spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. Then he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of him who sat on the throne. Alright, let's break this down a little bit. So an elder is showing John, the one who could open the scroll. It's the lion of Judah, the root of David.

SPEAKER_00 46:16

That's what that's what he sees.

SPEAKER_01 46:18

Now Lion of the Tribe of Judah. This is a messianic title that comes from Genesis forty-nine verse 9 to 10, Isaiah 31, verse 4, and Hosea 11, verse 10. Sorry. Now the title Root of David comes from Isaiah as well in Isaiah 11, verse 10, and then again in Revelation, this time in chapter 22, verse 16. A lion is an amazing image for the Messiah because it represents strength, a heroical spirit, and guys, lions are just known as king of beasts. These are reasons why I believe C.S. Lewis chose a lion, you know, being a king, heroic, strength.

SPEAKER_00 47:21

But then so yeah, the elder announces this lion of Judah, but John sees a lamb.

SPEAKER_01 47:30

So why? Like the elder announced a lion, so John is expecting to see a lion in instead he sees a lamb. And the Greek word that John uses uh for uh for lamb is like a little or even delicate lamb. And I I just I think this is so crazy. Like we like in a good way, of course. Like we we got onto the sand in Aslan's country in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Like, okay, I guess they're not in Aslan's country, but whatever, be f you know, near it, like you can see in like over the the wave you can see glimpses of it. And we didn't see Aslan, right? They they see this little lamb who is so white that they can hardly look at it. But just like John in Revelation, they were probably expecting to see Aslan. Right? Because but they but they see a lamb instead. I I thought that was crazy when I read that. Like in both scenarios, the lamb is also the lion and the lion is also the lamb, right? But I just thought this connection was so cool. Like doing the research for this episode has been so much fun, and I just like I knew that like I was researching it, and I knew like, okay, Jesus obviously lion, let's look into that a little bit. He's also a lamb, let's look into that, and I just had a feeling like I I think I I think the Holy Spirit was kind of directing it. I think he was, but like I just had this idea of like just search in your Bible app, like and just search, and I searched some keywords, and then there it was in Revelation, and I didn't even realize it, but it's like wait, yeah, John was expecting a lion, he saw a lamb. That's exactly what happens here. Oh, it blew my mind. Uh it just blew my mind. But this this also ties into my last point about mountains in a way. So Jesus's transfiguration happened on a mountain, and one of the lessons from that is that uh it is the lesson of transformation, that when we trust in God to guide and direct us, he will like we will be transformed. Romans 2 12, verse 2, sorry, Romans 12, 2 talks about being transformed by the renewing of our minds. So there is a theme of transformation that we see in scripture as well. So, how fitting is it that this lamb would transform into a lion in this story.

SPEAKER_00 50:38

It's fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Also, at Jesus' transfiguration, he was shining when Moses met with God on the mountain and he came back down, and his face was shining. Aslan in the form of a lamb was almost too bright to look at. There's some serious symbolism happening here, and I I don't know, I'm blown away.

SPEAKER_00 51:05

The last thing I want to mention is that Edmund asks Aslan if Aslan is in in their world as well, and he replies with I am.

SPEAKER_01 51:22

Now, it just reminds me of in the Bible, when God says that about himself, like in the burning bush, like he he says, like this is a title of God, I am. And so this may not be anything, but I wanted to mention it because this is what it made me think of. Well,

Closing

SPEAKER_01 51:45

I want to thank everyone for tuning into this episode of Faithful Fables, episode 20. 20 episodes, you guys. Thank you for coming along on this journey with me. Let's go for 20 more. Uh, you know, it's it's been great. And what an episode for episode 20. I think this is this has been really great. And and I'm sad in a way that you know this voyage has officially come to an end. This was a great journey and a fantastic story with a ton of good things about trusting God and free will, and of course, how the Holy Spirit will be guiding and directing us through life's toughest situations. And you know what? We have one more episode covering this book. You know, the actual voyage is done, but I'm going to be going into a little bit more detail on the Lost Lords of Narnia, so stay tuned for that. Remember to leave a rating and a comment, as that will help get the show in front of more people and the gospel to more people. I want to close out this episode by reading the last paragraph of the Voyage of the Dawn Shredder. So until next time, stay faithful. Only two more things need to be told. One is that Caspian and his men all came safely back to Ramandu's island, and the three lords woke from their sleep. Caspian married Ramandu's daughter, and they all reached Narnia in the end, and she became a great queen and the mother and grandmother of great kings. The other is that back in our own world, everyone soon started saying how Eustace had improved, and how you'd never know him for the same boy. Everyone except Aunt Alberta, who said he had become very commonplace and tiresome. And it must have been the influence of those Pevensey children.