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im just being hopeful here... but is it possible heaven is like or is aslan's country? i mean it kind of sounds like the bible description of heaven.

Yes, Aslan's Country is indeed heaven. It is especially made clear in The Last Battle when all who have died in the Old Narnia are young again and alive. It is even mentioned that no time passes in Aslan's Country, just like in heaven.

I would say that Aslan's Country is meant to be Heaven, rather than Heaven is Aslan's Country. Heaven -- or the New Earth -- is the real thing. Aslan's Country is a fictional portrayal of it.


~Riella

I would say that Aslan's Country is the medium for C.S. Lewis to explain what he believes heaven will be like: similar to this world, but with colors and feelings far beyond our imagination. And of course, it is our real home. But honestly, whenever I think of heaven I think of Aslan's Country. I could not imagine a better heaven, but then again I'm not God.

I definitely think Aslan's Country was meant to represent Heaven. Pretty much everything in Narnia was somehow or another metaphorical to our world or to Christian principles, and it's obvious that's where Aslan lives along with the Emperor Beyond the Sea (That's why he's the Emperor beyond the sea...because he lives in Aslan's Country beyond the sea), and considering Aslan is a representation of Christ, it's quite plainly obvious His Country is meant to represent Heaven, and Lewis's description of Aslan's Country matches quite well to St. John's descriptionof Heaven in Revelations, so I think there's really very little question about this.

Ithilwen wrote:I would say that Aslan's Country is meant to be Heaven, rather than Heaven is Aslan's Country. Heaven -- or the New Earth -- is the real thing. Aslan's Country is a fictional portrayal of it.


~Riella

Seconding Ithie, as the wording is very important. Heaven is not meant to be Aslan's Country, but Aslan's Country is meant to be Heaven. Heaven is the reality created by an infinite God. Aslan's Country is a representation, created by a finite man, of what that reality might be like (with respect to the Narnia series and its inhabitants).

Sort of an alternate reality of Reality.

I agree that it's not really a point of Heaven being Aslan's Country, but Aslan's Country is a representation of Heaven. It's not Heaven in itself, because Narnia is a land created by C.S. Lewis, not one that exists in real life, the same goes with Aslan's Country. Aslan's Country is to Narnia what Heaven is to us, it's not that they are one and the same, more like Aslan's Country is the way Lewis explained Heaven to his readers, so they could imagine it in some way, or not even that, so they could understand Heaven in a way. At least that is the way I see it

I am probably in the minority here, but I actually think that heaven could bear a good deal of resemblance to Aslan's Country. After all, God is an infinite human being and heaven is likely to be infinite as well, so who's to say there couldn't be a corner of Narnia in heaven somewhere, created just for us? After all, He knows the desires of our hearts and he knows how much we long for Narnia. In fact, He's the one who put that longing there. *shrug* It's not impossible.

However, whether heaven looks like Narnia or not, I actually don't think that's the point. I think the point is, heaven is our true home, the one we long for. Thus, I can say with confidence that heaven will satisfy every desire or need we've ever had. And in that case, I think heaven doesn't have to be Narnia for us to be happy―because it will be much, much better.

As Jack himself said: “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

As glorious as Aslan's Country sounds, I believe it was still written by a human man and that was as far as his imagine could stretch, and that the true heaven will be far more wonderful and glorious even than what's described in the Last Battle. But yes, I do believe that Lewis intended it to be a picture of heaven from a Narnian perspective. And I think he realized that even he could not begin to imagine how amazing heaven will really truly be.

Lewis in The Last Battle wrote:And as [Aslan] spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page: Now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

MountainFireflower wrote:I am probably in the minority here, but I actually think that heaven could bear a good deal of resemblance to Aslan's Country. After all, God is an infinite human being and heaven is likely to be infinite as well, so who's to say there couldn't be a corner of Narnia in heaven somewhere, created just for us? After all, He knows the desires of our hearts and he knows how much we long for Narnia.

I think instead of God making Heaven like Narnia because we long for Narnia, Lewis made Narnia like Heaven because we long for Heaven.

I don't think we need worry about Heaven being like Narnia or Aslan's Country. Heaven is far more like what our hearts desire than either fictional land can be.


~Riella

fantasia_kitty & Ithilwen - very well put!

I think one of the reasons that I like The Last Battle so much is that while no one this side of Heaven can know what Heaven is like - Lewis manages to give the reader a glimpse not of what Heaven will look like, but the overwhelming joy that we will have there. When the various characters that we have followed through 6 previous books reach "New Narnia" and start running across the land and then swim up the waterfall - and they can't feel afraid even if they try - well, it just gives the reader a small taste of that joy. And I say a small taste or just a glimpse, because Heaven is going to be SO much more! To see my Savior face to face - wow....words fail (one of the reasons that I like the old hymn "Joy Unspeakable" so much - makes it clear that words are just not enough).

The New Heavens and New Earth will be far better than imaginary Heavens, the new Narnia, and the present-day real Heaven.

Read Revelation. Even saints in Heaven are awaiting the Earth's redemption.

Read Romans 8. God promises the "creation itself" awaits physical resurrection just as Christians are (having already been spiritually resurrected).

Heaven really never came alive in my imagination before I read The Last Battle. It was the last Narnia book I read, I think I was about 9 at the time. It's amazing the misconceptions that we can take on board as being biblical, whether unconsciously or consciously. I enjoyed singing and I loved God but I didn't want to be singing to him, whilst playing a harp in the clouds, for all eternity! Thankfully, the New Heaven and the New Earth will be so much better.
Give Randy Alcorn's book Heaven a read for a highly-comprehensive and biblical look at our eternal home with God.

I think Lewis wrote about Aslan's Country to parallel Heaven. And I think that in doing that he was trying to shatter the idea that "Heaven is this super boring place."
It has helped capture my imagination that Heaven is a very active, joyful place, and I think that was his intent.

LUCYOFMIDDLEEARTH wrote:im just being hopeful here... but is it possible heaven is like or is aslan's country? i mean it kind of sounds like the bible description of heaven.

I have only seen the movies, but that was the idea I got from the third.

total relism: It definitely does seem that way in the third movie, I agree. Also, once you read The Last Battle, you may see even more parallels.

Also, welcome to NarniaWeb! I look forward to seeing your thoughts around the forum.