Recently I gave this small icon (found on a website that allows free distribution) to a new member of our church's blog, as a "blog-warming present." It has Tolkien's character Gandalf' declaring, "You cannot pass!" (as a traffic sign, LOL) to Melkor's dark spirit called The Balrog, Durin's Bane. The Balrog attempted to stop the fellowship of the rings' passage to safety on a bridge across a great chasm.

Here is Gandalf's speech (and my favorite scene):

"You cannot pass," he said.. ..."I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass."

According to Tolkien's vision, the "Silmarillian" informed both the mythology of "The Hobbit", and "The Lord of the Rings." It contains the following information.*

• Ilu'vatar - was Middle Earth's God of Creation (Ea), and the....
• Ainur were Ilu'vatar's created holy ones or angels who were given part of the mind of Ilu'vatar
• the Flame of Anor - the name of the light given to the Ainur
• the Secret Fire - is the Holy Spirit, the power that holds Ea together, giving life and substance to Ilu'vatar's creation.
• Udun- source of the dark flame, possibly Hell, and possibly the darkness of the cast out spirit called Melkor, who called himself the Dark Lord of the Earth.

Truly, Gandalf's mighty battle with "The Balrog" one of Melkor's dark spirit beasts caused Gandalf to later be so changed that his hair and beard turned white and he was slow to recognise his old companion's and friends. Many consider Gandalf to be a Christlike figure. One who is changed (resurrected?) after a battle pitched deep in the bowels of Middle Earth. However, I think there is a simpler idea at work here.

Like Tolkien's Gandalf we need to resist the Devil and wield the power of God's Holy Spirit within us as we battle principalities and powers.

After our battle to stop Satan's schemes against our families, church, and ourselves, all the while wielding the power of God's Holy Spirit, we should come out of that battle, changed and unrecognizable as a New Creature, closer to the God of our creation. We could even extend the analogy to leaving old acquantances and situations that chained us to sin and the celebration of it.

Remember we can only do that battle in and through His power. Ephesians 6 shows us the armor which God would have us equipped with.

Say with me to those powers and principalities, "You cannot pass!" --in the power of Jesus' blessed name!

Side note: With all the above in mind, even though Tolkien often said that his great works were not an allegory for scripture, you can still see that his thoughts were still greatly inspired by scripture. The Genesis account of the creation of the earth and its creatures is similar to his. Truly he was considered a devout man. The person who in fact lead C.S. Lewis to the Lord of our Salvation.

*Culled from the Complete Guide to Middle Earth.