Disclaimer: I do not own the Lord of the Rings or any of its material, the Tolkien family does.
Middle-Earthen Heaven
Somewhere in America during the Spring, on a Sunday afternoon, five eleven- and twelve-year old, 6th grade children were playing in a children's park. They were sitting down just now in the shade of some trees and were discussing things that interested them. Their names were John, Joan, Joseph, Jenny, and Michael, and one thing that made them so close to each other was that they all loved the Middle-earth writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, particularly the Lord of the Rings. They were also all Christians, and all were American except for Michael, whose family were immigrants from England. John and Joan were twins.
Today they were getting excited, because in the Sunday school class they took together, they had been discussing the topic of Heaven according to the Bible books of Isaiah and Revelation, and they had decided that they hoped Heaven must be like Middle-earth.
"I'm telling you guys," John was saying, "Heaven is going to be a place of natural beauty, like the beauty Tolkien's Elves always loved. Not only is that the original way the world was made, what with the Garden of Eve and Adam and Eve, but Elven realms like Menegroth, Rivendell, Ithilien, and Lothlórien were always the most magical and wondrous places in Middle-earth. When they were destroyed, like Menegroth, or faded, like Rivendell and Lothlórien, the world lost a slice of Heaven." Obviously, John was a lover of Elves.
"But I still say that the world would have been designed with artificial beauty sooner or later, even if evil hadn't entered the world," objected Joan, who preferred the Dwarves, "and the Dwarves made things of such great beauty that they could have lent a hand in the building of the New Jerusalem. Revelation does say that it will be made of many jewels, gems, and gold."
"Yes, but we don't know if the Dwarves and Elves are even real," said Joseph, who was the most practical of their group. "Tolkien's stories, as wonderful as they are, are still fiction. I think that if any geography or culture from Middle-earth exists in Heaven, it will have to be that of Men and Women, because they're the only sentient beings besides angels whom we know exist."
"Come on now, guys," said Michael reasonably, "We're friends, and we work like a team when we think about both God and Middle-earth. Why don't we all play a little game? Let's lay out what we each hope Heaven will be like, and then think of a way to put our ideas together, and then maybe we can paint a broader picture on what we hope Heaven will look and feel like."
"It sounds like a fair plan to me," said John. "I've been longing to tell people what I dream of in Paradise."
"Me, too," said his sister Joan.
"Let's not forget that the Bible also says that no man has seen or heard what truly awaits us in Heaven," said Jenny, who was a little practical herself, though not as much as Joseph, "But I'm willing to tell you my hopes and dreams of Heaven, too."
"Same here," said Joseph and Michael.
"Who should go first?" asked Joan.
"Well, him being the most practical and Men-loving of us, why not let Joseph go first?" suggested John.
"I'd be honored to!" Joseph said mock-reverently. "But I'll show you guys that even 'ordinary' beauty can sometimes outshine 'magical' beauty.
"Although Revelation says there will be no more sea, I hope the New Earth is something like Númenor, the Valarian gift to mortal Men during the Second Age. I want to see a place of vast country and cities, to see tall palaces and laughing children and proud maidens and fair women, and to be among men and women who are skilled in arts, crafts, and ship-making, and to see a holy place on the highest peak much like Meneltarma. I want a place with different climates and landscapes like Númenor, or earth, with the stony plains, high-lands and cliffs and chilly climate of Forostar, the fertility, firs and rocks of Andustar, the vineyards and farmlands of Hyamustar, the wide spread country and tree plantations of Hyarrostar, the great hills of Orrostar, and the grasslands and humid climate of Mittalmar.
"However, I don't want it all to be nothing but majesty. I'd like to see some simple settlements there, too, humble little trading cities like Lake-town, or Esgaroth as it was later called, where people can do ordinary business by a beautiful body of water or something. And I hope that it has at least one settlement like the village of Bree, complete with good food, good company, good ponies and horses, and the Prancing Pony Inn. I don't know whether people will ever go to bed and sleep in Heaven or not, but even if they don't, the Prancing Pony and its owner, Barliman Butterbur, would be a nice cozy place to relax and unwind after a hard day's work or travelling."
"That sounds to me like a Man with a plan!" remarked Joan. "But are you sure you wouldn't want these great palaces and humble villages to look a little glamorous? It'd certainly be great eye candy."
"It could also wear out and ruin my eyes, I think," Joseph replied. "I don't need gold or jewels to say something looks beautiful."
"Neither do I," said John. "And to prove it, I'd like to tell you what I dream of Heaven, and it can shine like gold without actually being gold," he added with a knowing glance at his sister.
Joan rolled her eyes and said, "When my turn comes, I'll show you that gold and jewels are only my love, not my obsession, boys."
"You do that," said John, "But let me say what I have to say first.
"Like I've said, Elvish beauty is the kind of beauty most closely related to that of God, and at least two Elf realms that endured into the Third Age are the kind of places I'd like to encounter in Paradise, because without them, it wouldn't be like Paradise to me. Those realms are Rivendell and Lothlórien. I would love to have a home like Elrond's home, a city of peace and learning, only larger, though I must admit I like the name Imladris better than the name Rivendell. It's good for just about anything decent, whether it's food, sleep, singing, story-telling, or standing/sitting and thinking, or more than one of the above, like Bilbo once described it as, and it would be the best possible place to read and study the history of the Elves as well as get more in touch with God's Word. One can't feel depressed there, either, because there's such an air of joy in Imladris. A large hall with several tables for feasting and a dais, a porch for congregation with friends and family, and the Hall of Fire, where there's a year-round fire in the fireplace and carven pillars, and people can sing, tell stories, or just think quietly, all add to the joy.
"Lothlórien, in its turn, is a realm I would love to visit in my vacation time for its tall golden trees. The golden sunlight through the Mallorn trees would make it cheery all the time. Only love and purity existed in the minds of those who lived there in Middle-earth, and I would love to see Elven women like the Lady Galadriel there, fairer than all the jewels under the earth!" Joan clicked her tongue, thinking he was spiting her again, but restrained herself. "And just think, with all the leaves always being on the trees, or decorating the grounds of Lórien, which are the things they're meant to do, I'd never have to worry about raking, bagging, or burning the leaves!" John added as a semi-serious joke. "Caras Galadhon is the most beautiful capital city Heaven could possibly have, too, what with its moat called the Deep Fosse, the green earth surrounding it, the tallest Mallorn trees in the land, and the Mirror of Galadriel."
"That sounds beautiful, John," said Jenny. "I'd like to see some natural life mixed with that loveliness myself. You know how much I love the Ents, especially Treebeard, and nature as well, and I wish that something like them actually existed, or at least used to exist. But maybe God will do something like that in Heaven; maybe there will be talking tree-herds, shepherds of the trees, and they can teach us all kinds of things about the flora, or Olvar, as Tolkien called it, of the earth. I also look forward to seeing the fauna, or Kelvar, of the New Earth, particularly the birds, and I hope that an old wise man, wise in animal- and forest-lore, like Radagast the Brown Wizard, lives somewhere there in a home like Rhosgobel, to educate humankind on plant and animal life like no one ever has since the days of King Solomon. I'd like to see beasts like bears, rabbits, cats, hounds, and horses in Radagast's care, and I hope that some Bird realms are there, too, like Rhosgobel, the Eagles Eyrie, home of the Great Eagles, and Ravenhill, home of the Ravens. I think there should be sapient talking Birds like the Eagles and the Ravens, as well as the rare Thrushes, and talking animals, also. That's my Middle-earth-related Heavenly dream."
"Fangorn Forest?" remarked Joan. "You've got to be kidding me! I'm not sure if I love the idea of talking, walking trees that are stronger than any other created sentient being! But I have imagined a kind of Heaven that even John and Jenny's so-called 'natural' beauty couldn't rival, and it involves the Dwarves of Durin's line, especially Gimli.
"I believe that God wants designed and artificial beauty to complement His natural world, why else would Revelation talk about a new Holy City with walls and buildings made of a variety of jewels and gems, and a street made of gold? To me, Heaven is going to be like the Dwarf realm of Khazad-dûm, with some details added from the Glittering Caves of Aglarond and how Gimli and his Dwarf colony used them. Khazad-dûm was the fairest Dwarf home ever with its many pillars, ancestral statues, and domed halls, constructed with the skill of a cabinet-maker, not to mention the west Door to Moria. I would also love to see metal as fine, strong and light as the mithril found in Khazad-dûm. Just think how Jesus Christ and His angels would look dressed in armor like that! The cold springs of Kibil-nâla would be refreshing to drink from and bathe in, too, and the dark water of Kheled-zâram could show any beautiful constellation of stars in a way as to honor him/her who looks in it.
"It wouldn't be perfect, though, without the geography of the Glittering Caves and the traits of Gimli, and God says Heaven will be perfect, so my dream includes Aglarond, too. It has immeasurable halls filled with an everlasting music of water that tinkles into pools, like the Caves, and Kheled-zâram. There will be chamber after chamber, hall opening out of hall, dome after dome, stair beyond stair, and lights, like torches, burning and shining during the day, and going out at night. I know Revelation says there will be no need for lamps, (or sun or moon), but maybe God will have lights there kind of like lamps or torches, to serve as His illumination. And we who live there will work for a living, like God expects almost all of us to do as grown-ups, including digging and mining for more precious things to beautify His City, but we will humbly tend the stone, not quarry it in greed; with cautious skill, tap by tap, a small chip of rock and no more, perhaps, in a whole anxious day, as Gimli said to his friend Legolas the Elf."
"Well, I'm impressed," said Joseph, "I never thought you could speak of Dwarf beauty so eloquently, Joan."
"Me neither," said John. "I guess, I owe you an apology for doubting your good motives behind your love for the Dwarves."
"That's okay, it's forgiven," Joan said good-naturedly, "Although I'm not sure that I am as eloquent or poetic a speaker as Gimli, or Tolkien, for that matter."
"I think all of your visions sound good," said Michael, who had been silent for a while, "and there might be some truth to each of them. However, I think my dream of Heaven is the one that's the most like the kind Tolkien would have dreamed of himself."
"Why, what is it?" asked Jenny. "Valinor?"
Michael chuckled for a second. "No, I'm afraid not, not quite that grand. No, I was thinking of the Shire, the home of the majority of the Hobbits, my favorite race in Middle-earth. It's a pre-modern society with innocent and child-like inhabitants in the Hobbits, who don't live in a cynical age, and they live simple lives as farmers, shopkeepers, and craftsmen, without the help of complex machines they don't understand or like. They also live the good life that the Oxford dons of England enjoyed. They eat, they drink, they smoke, they argue, they gossip (I know many Christians consider gossip a sin, but that was what Tolkien wrote), they collect too many gifts, or 'mathom,' which they rarely throw away, they garden, and they love, and they preferred a well-ordered and well-farmed countryside as their home. It would be a wonderful home, to be at peace with nature and the people around me, and the Hobbits themselves really are amazing creatures. And I would love to have towns and villages there like Hobbiton, Frogmorton, complete with its frogs, and Bywater, complete with the river called the Water, and to have a cozy, comfortable home like Bag End, or a similar Hobbit hole."
"That one was right under our noses," said Jenny, "and I never considered it. I think it sounds just as good as my idea."
"I think all of our dreams of Heaven sound good," suggested Michael, "so, now that we all know what we hope for, why don't we figure out a way all of our dreams could coexist there, if possible?"
"I'm game," said Joseph.
"So are we," said John, Joan, and Jenny.
"Well, my hopeful home, Númenor, is the largest in overall size so let's say that the New Earth is something like that, to start with," said Joseph.
"Okay," they said.
"Then, let's say it has a holy place atop a tall mountain in the very middle, like Meneltarma, and that it's divided into the six provinces that I named earlier," he continued. "Then, maybe the Lake-town, or Esgaroth, could be on the southern edge of Mittalmar, in a large lake, and the village of Bree would not be too far away from it."
"All right, then, maybe the Shire would be nearby, spread over Hyamustar and Hyarrostar," suggested Michael.
"I think Lothlórien should be spread out over Hyarrostar too, near the Shire," said John, "and Rivendell should be in Andustar, southeast of the city of Andunië and the tower of Oromet."
"Fangorn Forest must be in or near the same region as Lothlórien and the Shire," said Jenny, "because Fangorn and Lórien are close to each other in Middle-earth, and Rhosgobel, and its owner, Radagast, or whatever old man happens to dwell there, must be a little ways to the north of all three realms, but not too far, because otherwise, how could Radagast study forest-lore as well as animal-lore?"
"And I say that Khazad-dûm and the Glittering Caves should be in either northeastern Andustar, south to southwestern Forostar, or one in each location," declared Joan.
"Now we are definitely Men and Women, or boys and girls, with a plan, if I do say so myself!" said Joseph. "We should all get along well now."
"I think we should all make a pact of friendship here," said Michael suddenly.
"Why?" asked Joan, "Do you want us to report to each other whose ideas get more support from friends, family, and clergy than others?"
"No, of course not!" Michael responded. "I was just thinking that, if Heaven is real, and if we all make it there one day, we should look at what God grants us, and then compare what we truly get to our dreams of Middle-earth we've just talked about."
"Why not?" asked John, "I like the thought of us getting together for another conversation on this subject, even if it is a long time from now."
"And I know I'll get something along the lines of what I'm asking for," said Joseph.
"Now, now, Joseph, be careful," said Jenny, "It's good to think about your own kind, too, but don't let your hopes and dreams become pride or arrogance, okay?"
"That wasn't really my intention," Joseph responded, "but I will be careful about that."
"Then let's join right hands," said Michael. They stood up and put their right hands together, one on top of the next.
"We now pledge to come back together after the revealing of the New Heaven and the New Earth to compare our gifts and grants from God to each others', and to our Middle-earth-based dreams and hopes, for we believe in Middle-earth and its peoples, and we know that J.R.R. Tolkien, the great author who wrote these stories, was a messenger from God himself, sub-creating and portraying a fictional but nonetheless true world based on the one we live in now. We pledge this in the name of Jesus, and of I AM, Eru, the Creator and Father-of-All. Amen."
They sat down again and were a silent for a few moments.
"So," said Joan suddenly, "what should we talk about now?"
"It's too nice a day for talk, I think," said John. "Come on, I'll race you all to the softball field! I heard there's going to be a great game there, and we can watch it with the pleasure of five little Hobbits," he joked heartedly.
"Great!" they all said, and they ran together to the softball field.
A/N: Like all fanfics in this website, this is a work of fiction, and of the author's imagination. I don't know if Heaven is going to be like this or not anymore than anyone else does. This was meant as entertainment, and to show a possible appearance for Heaven if it's like Middle-earth in appearance and atmosphere.
Hope you enjoyed! Please R&R!