30. The Eternal Destinies of all Humanity

I love a good origin story! I love understanding how it all began, the humble beginnings, and what got the ball rolling. However, without a satisfying conclusion, the whole thing will fall flat. There are stories I refuse to return to because although I loved the entire journey, the ending was so distasteful that it colored the whole experience in a bad light. I need a satisfying conclusion!

Where everything that has been built up from page one, all comes together with a gratifying payoff. Where all the characters you’ve grown to love have matured, and they’ve changed for the better. The boy gets the girl, the war ends, the family is reunited, the land is renewed, and we hear those famous words, “And they lived happily ever after.” In other words, I really love a good ending. There are only a few movie and book series that I think perfectly stuck the landing with their endings. The Lord of the Rings “Return of the King”, Avengers Endgame, the 22nd film in a 12-year-long franchise, gave me the ending I always wanted. I left the theater emotionally satisfied and a little depressed because it was over. Yes, I know they’ve made more films, but I think Endgame was the perfect way to end the series, and I don’t see them ever surpassing it. But the book that makes me tear up the most every time I finish it is “The Last Battle” by C.S. Lewis. Which some of you may recognize as the last of the Chronicles of Narnia books.

Narnia is no more; it’s been destroyed by its maker, Aslan, the magical Lion. Before it was destroyed, however, he took all his faithful subjects through a magical door to his own world. A world of beauty, perfection, and joy. All the characters you’ve grown to love throughout all seven books are there, including all those who you thought were long dead. What a reunion it is. Friends, brothers in arms, and family members separated by death are now together again. Then Aslan appears in the midst of them. Lewis describes him as a living cataract of power and beauty. And Aslan speaks these words to them,

“Aslan turned to them and said, ‘You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be.’ [Then Lucy, one of the series' most beloved characters, replies] ‘We’re so afraid of being sent away, Aslan. And you have sent us back into our own world so often.’ ‘No fear of that,’ said Aslan… ‘The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.’ [Then Lewis concludes with these words] “And as He spoke, He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that begun 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 the 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.”

It gets me every time I read it. We, as a people, love happy endings. We want things to turn out alright in the end, for love to conquer all, for good to triumph over evil, and for them to live happily ever after. Which in reality means happy from- that- point- forward. The happiness they experience never ends. An eternal happiness that can’t be extinguished. C.S. Lewis believed that our love of fantasy comes from something deep inside. A longing for a deeper reality. A reality where happy endings exist. We understand that in this world, the joy from our most blissful moments fade. Christmas morning ends, friends have to say goodbye, and loved ones are separated by death. So, is all of the hardship and suffering we experience all for nothing: the lost job, the broken relationship, the sickness, losing a loved one. Is it all building towards nothing, or can a happy ending where we live happily ever after actually happen in this world? For those in Christ, it is most certainly guaranteed.

John’s revelation, given to him by The Lord Jesus, is full of encouragement, challenges, and stark realities, yet it ends with a promise of hope. The consummation of all Christ’s redemptive work with His people and with this fallen world. I don’t intend for this to be an article where I argue my particular view on eschatology (my view on the end times). I believe that Christ will be victorious through his church in History. Regardless of whether you are optimistic about what the world will look like before Christ returns, all believers should agree and know that when He does, it will be perfect.

God our Father will dwell with us, and we will see Christ face to face. He will be close enough to wipe away our tears. All we endured for the sake of the Kingdom will be fully realized without the presence of death, pain, and anxious toil.

The earth that was groaning for the day of her redemption is now renewed (Romans 8:18-23). Much like our bodies which have been resurrected unto glorification, so too will the earth be renewed. It is an astounding thought that the very body that is sitting at this computer typing this, that if the Lord should tarry will one day be dead in the ground, will one day be risen and glorified to perfection at the command of Christ. The very ground that I walk on each day will also, at the command of Christ, be changed into a glory unseen since the very beginning. For those in Christ, we have a glorious expectation! “Blessed are those who wash their robes” (Rev. 22:14) who repent and put their trust in Christ alone for salvation. Only they will be welcomed into this happily ever after.

However, for those who have rejected Christ, their eternal destiny will be much different. For those who have trusted in Christ, the day of His return will be glorious and full of joy. “When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed” (2 Thess.1:10). But for the unbeliever, it will be a day of terror.

Christ is a conquering king, and those who have not accepted His terms of peace brought by the blood of His cross will perish, for his wrath has been kindled against those who deny His gospel.

Unfortunately, their misery has only just begun. One day, the wicked will be resurrected to judgment. They will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. What will their fate be?

Those who die in their sins will spend an eternity of conscience suffering and torment in the lake of fire. All joy, happiness, and goodness will be taken away. They will only know God’s wrath and judgment being poured out on them for all eternity. Only sorrow forever after.

All of humanity will meet one of these two fates: joy or judgment. Everyone has an eternal destiny. Are you certain of your eternal destiny? Jesus says, “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” Are you born again? Have you repented of your sins and put your trust in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins? Jesus Christ, fully God, fully man, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life and died on the cross bearing the wrath of God for the sins of His people. He paid the price in full for our sins, and then He died. But three days later rose again from the dead as God’s declaration that His sacrifice satisfied the justice of God. He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, calling for all to repent and believe in Him for salvation, the forgiveness of sin, and eternal life. This invitation is offered to you. You can share in this glorious future with a loving God and a renewed earth.

And what will happen after that, well even if I knew; it would be too great and too beautiful that I would be unable to tell you. For believers, that is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that those who trust in Christ will all live happily ever after. But for Christ’s beloved, it will only be the beginning of the real story. All our lives in this world and all our adventures are only the cover and the title page. But then, at last, we will begin Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has read, which goes on forever, and in which every chapter is better than the one before. Come, Lord Jesus!

Work Cited

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL, Crossway Bibles, 2016.

Lewis, C.S. (1956) "The Chronicles of Narnia, The Last Battle"