In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, he lays out the “Genesis” for the world of Middle-earth. “There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Iluvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones” (Tolkien, p. 15). Eru is God, Arda is the Earth, and the Ainur are like Angels. These Ainur are divided into two groups, Valar and Maiar. The greater are the Valar, who are a sort of pantheon of gods in the Greek sense, the lesser are Maiar, and are angels/demons proper.
Evil Cannot Create – It Can Only Destroy
One of the Valar was Melkor, the Middle-earth equivalent of the devil. Everything wrong with the world – evils, maladies, afflictions, even swamps and flies- is a result of Melkor corrupting the creative work of the Valar that fashioned the Earth. In long-forgotten ages of an untold number of years before the events of the “First Age” (let alone the Lord of the Rings), the Valar and Melkor fought against each other. The Valar created something beautiful, and Melkor distorted and ruined it. The chief and most blasphemous of these corruptions are the Orcs.
This plays out not just with the physical world of Arda, but also with the minds of creatures, even elves and men. The one thing that Iluvatar made without the Valar were elves and men. Elves were immortal and forever bound to the world even after death, but men were given the “gift of Iluvatar.” This is death as a peaceful rest departing from this world, unlike the elves who may “grow weary of ten thousand centuries.”
But even the gift of Iluvatar of death is marred and corrupted by Melkor. “But Melkor has cast his shadow upon it, and confounded it with darkness, and brought forth evil out of good, and fear out of hope” (p. 42). Therefore, men throughout the ages feared death and ever sought to delay or prevent it.
The Lies of Melkor
Our main focus, however, is the lies of Melkor, specifically his lies to the elves in Valinor, or more specifically, to the elf Feanor.
In early Middle-earth history, the host of the Valar went against Melkor and besieged his fortress of Utumno. Melkor was defeated and brought in chains to be imprisoned in Valinor, the paradisical dwelling of the Valar. Afterwards, the elves were invited to come to Valinor and stay with the Valar. Most of them came and dwelt in peace and bliss in Valinor for many ages. Eventually, Melkor had served his sentence, pleaded for pardon, and was released in Valinor on good terms – or so they thought.
The Unchaining of Melkor
Melkor found his best company among the Noldor elves, who were skilled craftsmen, jewelers, and lore-masters. We are told that “the Noldor took delight in the hidden knowledge that he could reveal to them; and some hearkened to words that it would have been better for them never to have heard” (p. 66).
The greatest among the Noldor Elves was Feanor, the most beautiful, the most skilled craftsman, and the “fieriest spirit” among the elves. He is responsible for crafting the Silmarils, three coveted jewels, desired not for their power (as with the One Ring), but because of their divine beauty. The Silmarils contained the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, the only source of light in Arda beside the stars. The chief of these admirers was Melkor.
Even though Melkor hated no one else more than Feanor, (and Feanor hated Melkor) Feanor was “snared…in the webs of Melkor’s malice,” and Melkor in his lust and envy declared, “Feanor had learned much art from him… instructed by him in the greatest of all his works” (p. 66).
We will come back to Feanor.
The First Lie
The first of Melkor’s lies to the Noldor Elves concerns the rise of men in Middle-earth. Melkor saw, “how the silence of the Valar might be twisted to evil” (p. 68). He told the elves that the Valar wanted them held captive in Valinor, because they were too powerful and numerous to govern, but the Valar, “might more easily sway this short-lived and weaker race,” of men. The elves would be robbed of dominion in Middle-Earth and would be supplanted by men, who would consequently be controlled by the Valar.
Effective lies always have a hint of truth. “Small truth was there in this, and little have the Valar ever prevailed to sway the wills of Men; but many of the Noldor believed, or half believed, the evil words” (p. 68). We remember the words of the serpent, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” (Gen. 3:1). Tolkien gives us these ominous words, “But he that sows lies in the end shall not lack of a harvest, and soon he may rest from toil indeed while others reap and sow in his stead” (p. 68).
The Unrest of the Noldor
Feanor’s beloved mother died while giving birth to him. Afterwards, his father, Finwe, remarried and bore two more sons, Fingolfin and Finarfin. Feanor was no fan of his new stepmother and stepbrothers, but he dearly loved his father. This inevitably caused strife within the family, much like Jacob’s sons in Genesis 37. Melkor uses this strife also to sow seeds of doubt and evil.
“Melkor set new lies abroad in Eldamar and whispers came to Feanor that Fingolfin and his sons were plotting to usurp the leadership of Finwe…” (p. 69). Melkor’s lies were “smouldering”, “pride and anger were awake among the Noldor, he spoke to them concerning weapons.” This is the first time we see elves making swords, spears, and shields, much like Tubal-Cain in Genesis.
Feanor now, in secret, started to make “swords for himself and his sons.” He began openly defying the Valar, declaring their captivity “thraldom,” seeking to lead the Noldor to the lands beyond out from under the yoke of the Valar, free to practice dominion in Middle-Earth. “Thus with lies and evil whispers and false counsel, Melkor kindled the hearts of the Noldor to strife” (p. 69).
Melkor’s lie of Fingolfin’s usurpation came to fruition. When Fingolfin beseeched Finwe to restrain Feanor’s pride, Feanor came in, drew his sword, and set its tip on Fingolfin’s chest, believing Fingolfin was attempting to usurp him. Feanor said, “Get thee gone, and take thy due place!” The Valar were aware of Feanor’s misdeeds and haughty words. He was brought before them at the gates of the city of Valmar. The root of Feanor’s rot was revealed to be Melkor, but Feanor was not held guiltless. He was exiled from the Noldor city of Tirion for 12 years. Finwe went with Feanor out of love for his son. Fingolfin began to rule in Tirion; thus, “the lies of Melkor were made true in seeming.” Melkor went to visit Feanor and feigned friendship, saying,
“Behold the truth of all that I have spoken, and how thou art banished unjustly. But if the heart of Feanor is yet free and bold as were his words in Tirion, then I will aid him, and bring him far from this narrow land.” (p. 71).
Feanor was humiliated by the Valar and wondered if Melkor could be trusted. Melkor, seeing this, pushed by his lust for the Silmarils, warned Feanor that the jewels would not be safe from the Valar. Feanor perceived this overreach and told Melkor, “Get thee gone from my gate, thou jail crow of Mandos!” and shut the door in his face. Melkor’s heart was black with anger, and he plotted how to steal the Silmarils.
To summarize the following events, Melkor hired a demon spider, and they both destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor. Melkor stole the Silmarils and escaped to Middle-earth. Feanor, seeking to recover his prized jewels and to escape the ‘thraldom’ of the Valar, gathered a host of the Noldor to head to Middle-Earth. They sought to use the ships of the Teleri, a seafaring tribe of elves, but they refused, resulting in the first of three elf by elf “kinslayings.” The rest of The Silmarillion is the tale of the Noldor and other elves, eventually along with men, and their wars against Melkor and his armies of darkness, to reclaim the Silmarils. The result of these wars is unspeakable grief, countless dead, untold tragedy, and “Unnumbered Tears” (p. 192). All stemming from the lies and deceits sown by Melkor and his corrupting of all things.
Relevance to Us
You might ask how all this is relevant to Christians, besides being a captivating story. The Devil only uses tactics that work to some extent. He loves to feed our minds lies and deceptions, oftentimes these lies containing a hint or even a lot of truth. He will bring up things that have happened in your life, ways that family or friends have sinned against you, and ways that you were wronged. He’ll convince you that you “had it hard” or “didn’t have the blessings or privileges of others.”
The point is that even if these things are true, why does the Devil bring them up, and to what purpose? To thus sow lies: “Remember that time your family member sinned against you? You should look for an opportunity to get back at them.” Or, “These bad things happened to you because your friends are jealous. They’re out to destroy you; they’re after what only you possess.”
Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? – Num. 16:13.
You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. – Gen. 3:4-5.
We see the forked tongue of the serpent everywhere in Scripture.
Becoming Equipped
What then, are we to do to combat these lies? The first piece of the Armor of God, Paul tells us, is the Belt of Truth (Eph. 6:14). Your belt held everything together: your tunic, scabbard, etc. If you’ve ever worn a loose pair of jeans without a belt, you know the feeling – uncomfortable, unprepared, chaotic, anxious.
We also have the Scriptures as a rule to measure the evil ones’ lies against. “You should get revenge, it’s only right,” – Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord (Rom. 12:19).
“Just a little lust won’t hurt,” – Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (Rom. 6:1-2).
“You can’t come back from this; you’ve sinned too greatly. There’s no hope for you,” – But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).
We must reject the lies of the evil one. He speaks to us so that we might dwell in bitterness and envy, steeped in hatred and resentment. He wants us to be led astray by false logic and evil ideas. He seeks to sow corruption and discord just as Melkor did in Valinor with the elves. But our Lord tells us, …your word is truth (John 17:17). In the Proverbs we are told, Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight (Prov. 12:22). Truthful lips shall endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment (Prov. 12:19).
We must recognize lies when they come and put them to death. We must set our minds on things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8).
Let us walk in the light, as He is the light.
Amen.
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