(An Allegory)
* Allegory: An allegory is a term for a figure of speech. It is a story or picture with a hidden meaning. The characters in allegories are symbols, which represent particular ideas. The story has a figurative meaning, not just a literal one.
An allegory is like a long metaphor. People have to use their imagination to understand what it is trying to say. A fable or parable is a short allegory with one basic idea (a moral).
-- Wikipedia
The year was 2012, and I was at home on my computer scrolling through the internet when I stumbled across a strange YouTube video that turned my world upside down.
Suddenly, I heard God speak again.
I’d almost forgotten about that voice.
The video was Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit, with Grace Slick’s famous lyrics. There are many versions of this song on YouTube, and also many interpretations about the meaning of the lyrics, but I’m not going to talk about those interpretations, even Grace Slick’s own interpretation of her lyrics, because the interpretation I received was different.
I felt that it came from God.
I believe that God speaks through everyone and that He freely uses whatever is out there to make His point. He doesn’t discriminate; the world is His playground.
What I was shown was that, underneath the surface, the story of Alice in Wonderland is an allegory of the Kingdom of God. It outlines the journey a seeker takes as they look for Him.
The images in the video were from the old Alice in Wonderland Disney movie that I’d seen as a child. As the images came, they triggered an avalanche of ideas in me that showed me a relationship between Alice in Wonderland and the Bible. What I saw and heard explained to me what it means to seek God and what that journey looks like.
From the commentaries, I learned that the video was created by a German student, Conrad Barthelmes, who had made the video to pass a class in media studies. I didn’t know anything else about him. All I knew was that his video had triggered an avalanche of ideas in me — and suddenly, I felt God near me again.
It felt like I had found a missing puzzle piece in a puzzle that I’d been working on for so long, for forever, thinking I’d never complete it. Suddenly, I had this piece in my hand, this crucial piece that slid in and locked into place perfectly and made the rest of my picture make sense. That’s how I feel when God talks to me; everything just FITS.
Because it’s tailor-made for me.
There were no words, only thoughts that were placed in my mind.
The thoughts kept going and going and expanding in me until my mind burst into bloom like a cactus in a desert that had enjoyed its first rain shower in years. Suddenly, everything in my life made sense. I understood God’s message to me as a child when He had told me that I was Alice in Wonderland. Back then, it didn't make any sense at all.
I don't know if what I tell you about Wonderland excites you the way it excited me. Because what I received was custom-made for me and spoke to my own knowledge of the Bible and my own life experiences. But I will share this with you because there is something else that I’ve learned:
When we share our authentic truth with others, our secrets, and messages from God — which is scary — it triggers something in others. It has the potential to open doors that will put people in contact with the hidden gifts and messages that God has put in them. I’ve seen this happen time and again. There are gifts inside people behind locked doors, messages that I need and hunger for in others, held in prison and out of sight by fear — most of all — fear. But when the light shines on those secrets, and the messages come out, it’s powerful.
I hunger for those messages.
I believe that these messages are in you, and I’m waiting to hear them. They’re your gifts, unique to you, and I believe that you were meant to share them with others. But I also believe that none of these gifts come to us for free. We pay a price for them, and we have to fight to get to them. We must look for them, fall into a rabbit hole, and get lost for a while, completely, before we can find them and put them to use. That’s the deal.
It’s not dangerous to get lost in God's rabbit hole. It’s the safest place to get lost in.
Jesus said: “…whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Mt. 10:39)
Here's my message about Wonderland. It's long, but bear with me; it's all relevant.
First, this is the story of Alice in Wonderland in a nutshell:
Alice, who's a curious child, follows a mysterious White Rabbit, falls down a rabbit hole, and discovers the entrance to a peculiar world, a Wonderland. Driven by her intense curiosity and desire to meet the White Rabbit — who keeps escaping her — Alice begins a journey into a strange world, a world where normal rules don’t apply… Along the way, she meets many strange characters, such as the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, and the Red Queen. In this strange new world, Alice experiences the adventure of a lifetime…
And that’s the story in a nutshell.
Note: If you've never read the story or watched it as a movie, you should. Especially if you want to understand how it compares to the Bible and is God inspired. Here's a little longer, yet compact, plot summary.
***
These are the story elements from a Biblical point of view. This is how Alice in Wonderland becomes an allegory of the Kingdom of God:
Alice: This is the child of God. The one who seeks Him. In other words, Alice is anyone who seeks to hear and follow God's voice and ways, His Kingdom, which is the Kingdom of God.
This Kingdom, this place I call Wonderland, is found within you.
The reason why Alice represents the child of God is because she has all the characteristics of a child of God. First off, she IS a child — literally. In the Bible, Jesus teaches us to become like little children — innocent. Alice is also hungry for answers. She’s pursuing these answers with everything she has. She’s open-minded and curious because she's bored and unhappy with her present reality. Because of this boredom and unhappiness, she's exactly like someone whom the Bible describes as poor in spirit. She wants more. More life within. (Find the qualities of a child of God in the Beatitudes in the Book of Matthew, chapter 5, where Jesus begins His teaching with "Blessed are the poor in spirit...")
God sees the void in Alice and responds by sending the White Rabbit because He knows that Alice will follow.
The White Rabbit: This is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus and Truth. It's our guide and God's bait that causes us to follow Him.
Our spirits are drawn to the Truth. The Holy Spirit is like a fishing bait, or “the hook” or "lure" that intrigues people and causes them to follow Him. God knows that people won’t come to Him easily. There are many obstacles and resistance within them, so He must convince them that it’s in their best interest to come. He must draw them in. People have a natural fear of the unknown that sleeps within them. They're afraid of the path that leads to the truth because it's covered with stones and thorns -- pain.
There are also evil, spiritual forces (the devil and his helpers, demons) all around us, all day long, messing with our minds, whispering negative thoughts into our heads that we mistake as our own. These are the stones and the thorns on our paths. This is the resistance. These negative spiritual forces lie to us about God, His character and purposes, and what it means to follow Him. They also lie about who WE are. They minimize, mock, and discourage us. They throw sticks in our wheels to delay, distract, threaten, and confuse us. They will do whatever they can to keep us from answering God's call and stop us from venturing on the journey into the truth.
But God has His ways of making people come, of “luring them in.” He sends the white rabbit to intrigue us. He catches people like one catches timid fish.
That's why Jesus said to His disciples, “I will make you fishers of men." (Matt. 4:19)
Speaking of fishing. Currently, the internet serves as one of God's fishing nets. And here we all are! Inside that big net.
How clever of Him.
The Holy Spirit is like a white rabbit. Or a fishing bait. Or a dangling carrot in front of a stubborn donkey.
All these things have the same function; they symbolize the Holy Spirit, whose job is to put movement into our lazy bodies to push us forward toward God.
When the Holy Spirit/White Rabbit passes us by, we're all like Alice; we must follow.
Because we just can't help ourselves.
***
Wonderland: This is the Kingdom of God. It’s a world, or reality, which in many ways functions like the physical world we live in, but in many ways is also the complete opposite of it. From the physical world's perspective, Wonderland’s rules make no sense. They're simply – foolish – they're mad!
This is because the natural world (our humanness, our flesh) can never fully understand the things of the spirit.
"For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other so that you do not do what you want." (Gal. 5:17)
From the natural world's point of view, the things of the Spirit/Wonderland seem foolish because its wisdom is out of its grasp, its system of thinking. This is how Wonderland is a parable to the Kingdom of God:
"For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." (1 Cor. 1:21)
Many things in Wonderland seem foolish in comparison to the worldly perspective. Wonderland simply doesn't operate by the same rules as the natural world. Flowers talk, cats have floating heads, unbirthdays are celebrated... It is a place where nonsense rules and rational thinking go out the window.
"In that direction," the Cat said, waving its right paw round, "lives a Hatter, and in that direction," waving the other paw, "lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they're both mad." "But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do I know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here." (From Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll)
When the spirit of God first approaches you, you don't know what to think. It seems crazy; people will say you've gone mad. But the pull is too strong to resist. Like Alice, you choose to enter Wonderland and embrace its madness because NOT doing it is no longer an option. You're too hungry for more.
And so, deeper into the nonsense, you dive, just like Alice, to quench the hunger because, like Alice, you're on a quest for your true identity.
It's about identity, you see. The truth of who you really are. This journey to Wonderland/ the Kingdom of God.
This is the point, the relationship between the two -- the mad quest for truth and identity.
And that's the allegory in a nutshell.
And so, how it works with Alice is how it works with the children of God. On the outside, through rational eyes, faith and the things of the spirit will always sound crazy. The paths that lead to inner freedom are strange and unknown to the natural mind. But an inner logic moves the children of God forward on their journey toward their final destination. There is wisdom in the seemingly foolish path a believer takes. It may look silly, crazy, or even scary sometimes, but it's the only way for Alice to find her way where she needs to go.
Finding the entrance to the topsy-turvy Wonderland is a mystery. You can only find it by following the White Rabbit. When he passes you by, no one knows. Jesus said: “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John. 3:8)
Jesus also said it in another way: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (John. 6:44-51)
And this is true.
Because the transformation into a child of God is a miracle that comes from God's Hand alone, and no one can take credit for it; no one can make it happen.
No one knows when it’s their time to fall into the rabbit hole and find Wonderland. But when you do, it's like jumping from a three-dimensional reality into a four-dimensional one. Or a ten-dimensional one. A new perspective enters your mind, and you'll never be the same again.
You are born again, into the spirit, into the Kingdom of Heaven. You've found Wonderland.
It takes a bit of madness. A bit of letting go. You must take the risk, take the courageous jump into the unknown. You must put your own ideas aside and follow the rabbit wherever he leads you.
But don't be scared; the white rabbit won't harm you. Wherever he takes you will be good for you. It might get messy for a while, but in the end, it always brings healing and growth. It will take you to the truth. And when you find the truth within you, you'll know it's right.
You'll know because the answers will come from within you. Because the kingdom of God is within you. (Luk. 17:21) And when you've made that mad jump when you've taken the risk and found out for yourself, then you'll truly know from deep within - what it means to be born again.
***
Wonderland/the Kingdom of God exists in the spirit realm, almost like a mirror image of the physical world. This is because the spirit realm, although invisible, is the actual world and much more real than the one we see around us. Everything that's created and exists in the physical world is first created in the spirit realm.
In some ways, the physical world is like a negative image of the Kingdom of God. It has its problems. It's like looking around you through night vision goggles, where black is white and white is black. Here, many things are backward or upside-down compared to the Kingdom of God. Of course, here, we think it’s the right-side-up because we're used to our earthly perspective. We're brought up in a world where our minds point toward natural things, things of the flesh, and not towards the Spirit, towards Him.
What I mean is, for example, this: Something that in the natural world is usually considered important might mean nothing in the Kingdom of God. Something that many consider great improvement here might in the Kingdom of God actually have the opposite effect. It might make you backslide in your spiritual growth. Something valuable here might have little or no value at all in the Kingdom of God.
Like owning the world’s biggest art collection, gaining certain people’s respect, getting invited to all the best parties, getting that position that everyone admires, or looking really gorgeous in a bikini...
None of these things are in themselves necessarily bad. God can certainly make all of them happen – when it's right. After all, He does want to bless you and make you happy.
But He does NOT want these things for you if they're your first priority and your happiness depends on them. If they're your sun, moon, and stars, your everything, what your world revolves around, and what you’re seeking to find in life. If they're more important to you than Him.
Because if these things replace God for you in one way or another, and there's no room for Him in the equation, He will no longer be your center. Now He's sitting somewhere in the closet of your mind, where you only take Him out when you think it fits you, maybe as a nice conversation piece or during a Sunday church service when you think you have the time. If this is the case - I tell you, you've got problems. Whether you see it or not. Because when all these other things have become your goals, they have become your idols. And idols make your love shrink, and your soul shift out of balance.
And now you've lost your center, too.
You might not see it at first, but over time, that cold chill, that feeling of distance, will take over. And you'll start to wonder why things don't feel the same.
It's like making a cake with too much flour or egg in it. It won't work. It'll look like a mess, and no one wants to eat it. That's what it's like when God is missing from the batter of your soul or when there's too little of Him. When some other ingredient in your life pushes Him aside, it messes you up, and the harmony is gone, and you'll make a really bad cake.
Jesus said: You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled by men. (Matt. 5:13)
He also said it in another way:
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John. 15:4)
That's the problem with idols. They steal your spirit away from God and – you away from you.
And they're in the churches, too, idols, make no mistake. They're there, masked and wearing religious attire. They come to you speaking of spiritual things, but all they do is push God out of your soul.
Jesus said: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! (Mark 7:9)
He also warned His disciples to "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees." (Matt. 16:6)
To highlight what actually mattered, He said it like this: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matt. 22:37-40)
I'll repeat that: All the Law and the Prophets that the Bible is based on hang on these two commandments. This is the point of all the teachings of the Bible. That you
1. learn to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind
and
2. your neighbor as yourself.
And that's the entire message of the Bible in a nutshell:
Learn how to LOVE.
It's what takes you to the innocent place within you.
Many of life's priorities are different in Wonderland compared to the natural world. Playfulness, imagination, and everything childlike rule. Calculated, rational, and stiff thinking, "adult thinking," must move aside. This is because Wonderland is a place of innocence.
It's the same way with the Kingdom of God when you compare it to the world. The two often have opposite and competing sets of rules and values. And like Wonderland, the Kingdom of God is for the innocent.
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Mt 10:16)
In the Kingdom of God, the most important thing to pursue - is love.
I’m not talking about romantic love, which has its purpose, time, and place - when it's right. I'm talking about the unconditional love you have for others and God. That’s the valuable pearl, the price, the thing to go after. It's the base of everything else in you. Everything good in you grows forth from that base, so you need to go after it because it makes you - you.
Jesus said: "...the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Matt. 13:45)
Do you know yourself? Do you like the person in the mirror? Follow the White Rabbit, and he'll introduce you to yourself in ways you never expected.
He'll peel back the layers in you, and with each layer, you discover things about yourself that were crucial and worth finding. You'll never want to go back again.
Satisfaction guaranteed.
Just know: Sometimes, the path to life is hard:
Jesus said: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark. 8:35)
He also said: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John. 15:2)
It isn't comfortable to be pruned, but it's necessary.
It's because in order for
your love to grow bigger, you must become smaller. You must become
humble. And becoming humble isn't a comfortable process. For example, that admirable position you want that makes everyone think that you’re wonderful, smart, charming, important, and beautiful... doesn’t usually help your love grow... usually, it just makes your ego grow, and in Wonderland, a big ego is like a ball of chain attached to your leg. It makes it very difficult to get anywhere in Wonderland.
So, you have to get rid of the ego. And you will, as long as you keep following the White Rabbit.
Because if you do, as soon as you get serious about following God is that God quickly registers you to the Get-Rid-of-the-Ego Academy, and soon, some very strange things start happening to you. I guarantee it. And like Woody from Toy Story, you might think: "Why did I ever want to come to this place?!"
But you'll change your mind later. When the gifts appear, the hidden treasures buried in your soul, the rewards you worked and fought so hard for. They'll start showing up, these gifts. And now they're yours, and no one can steel them from you.
They won't come easy, though; it's hard labor, being in the Academy of God. You have to do shoveling and sink your shovel in dirt, because your ego is a stiff opponent.
Just take it from me. I've battled with my own ego all my life, and I've been a student at the Academy for years and years, and I don't know if I'll ever graduate. But here I am. And you'll be too, if you want to follow God.
You don't even need to do anything to find opportunities to humble yourself because those opportunities will come looking for you. The White Rabbit will see to it if you obey Him. If you follow God's directions (found in the Bible among other places, but mostly inside of you) and really try to do what He says.
Entrance to Wonderland: This is what happens after Alice has fallen into the rabbit hole:
She follows the White Rabbit down a long hall and soon finds herself in front of a tiny door. There's a golden key that opens the door, but she herself is too big to fit through. She can only peek in through the doorway, and see a lovely garden on the other side. But she can't get to the garden, because she's too big. Luckily, she finds a mysterious little bottle on a table next to her. There's a label on the bottle, which says: DRINK ME. So she drinks the liquid inside the bottle and immediately starts shrinking in size. But after having become small enough to fit through the door, she realizes she has left the key to the door on the table where she found the bottle. And now she can't get the key, because she's too small to reach it! This is when her eyes fall on a tiny glass box lying under the table. On the box it says EAT ME. Alice decides to taste the little cake inside the box to see if it will help her. Soon, she starts growing in size, which makes it possible for her to retrieve the key.
In other words, for Alice to get into Wonderland, she has to first adjust her size by eating and drinking something. This is the only way for her to fit through the magical door that leads to Wonderland.
How this whole eating and drinking and fitting through the door fits in with the allegory of the Kingdom of God goes like this:
Just like it's difficult for Alice to fit through the door that leads to Wonderland, it's also difficult for us to get into the Kingdom of God. Our humanity prevents it, our sinful nature, our weaknesses. Just like Alice, we're not fit to enter; we just can't do iit in our natural size.
In the book of Luke, the Bible describes an event where Jesus is approached by a rich man who asks Jesus what good things he should do to receive eternal life. Jesus tells him to go and give all his worldly possessions to the poor and afterward come and follow him. This causes the rich man to leave, crushed. Jesus then states to his disciples that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”. When the horrified disciples ask who then actually can be saved, Jesus replies, "with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." In other words, God will find a way to “squeeze that rich man through the eye of the needle”.
God will make the impossible possible.
I've seen it happen in my own life, and I'm here to testify of it.
I am that rich man.
And actually, we all are. Don't believe me? Then go study the Bible with all its scriptures and laws and see if not at some point, you, too, will hit a massive brick wall and discover that you just can't do it. You won't measure up, it's just too much, it's too hard, you're too weak, God is too good, and you're not, and no matter how hard you try, you just can't meet the requirements and be perfect.
Don't worry.
This is exactly why Jesus came.
He came because no matter how hard we try, we'll never make it through the door alone, never without Him. He's our key to the Kingdom of God. He became that key when He died on the cross for us. He became our bridge over uncrossable waters. Somehow, through His sacrifice on the cross, He did this; He changed something in the spirit that undid what happened in the fall of man, during the original sin (and don't ask me about the details of this, because I don't understand all these details, this tremendously important event in the history of mankind, no one does, I don't care who they think they are) All I know is that He took our sins upon Himself and bought us free from them. And anyone who believes in Him can walk into God's Presence in His footsteps, sort of hidden behind His back, using Him as a shield. That's how God set it up because we couldn't do it alone. God had to step in to help us, to give us the tools for our personal transformation so we could follow Him. (Ro. 8:1-4, Heb. 9:15)
Jesus is the door to the Kingdom of God, to Wonderland.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Mt 7:7-8)
And just like Alice found things to eat and drink to transform her into the right size, there's something for us to eat and drink, too.
I'm talking about the Communion, the bread, and the wine, these are the things for us to eat and drink. Because the bread represents the body of Christ, His flesh, which was sacrificed. And the wine is the blood of Christ, which was shed on the cross for humankind. Jesus told us to eat these in remembrance of Him at the Last Supper, before He was crucified. (1Co 11:23, Mk 14:22)
He said: "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me."
The bread and the wine is what takes you through the door to Wonderland.
The Castle: Soon after reaching Wonderland Alice starts heading towards the Castle, because that’s where the White Rabbit is heading. So that’s where she’s heading too.
The Castle represents the Throne of God (being close to the Throne means being real close to the Father), and reaching close to it is the ultimate goal for a child of God. As you know, castles are places where kings and queens live, and places where a coronation would generally take place. Jesus, is of course, the King of this Castle, and the soon to be queen is the Bride of Christ. But before the coronation can take place another king and queen must be removed first.
For the child of God to get close to the Throne of God means *she's entering the inner courts of Heaven, the most sacred places. And to get there, so close to our Heavenly Father, means to become the Bride of Christ.
*Side note: I use the pronoun "she" for the child of God, although it could just as well be "he."
Becoming the Bride of Christ means she'll soon marry God. There's a wedding on its way. When the child of God marries God, it means she has won the war of her soul. She has allowed God to purify her through the trials of life and now she's safe at home. All the hardships He took her through when she followed His chosen path for her. She didn't take the easy road, the wide road. She took the narrow one, the one full of stones and tears and hardships. But she took it, because she wanted to follow the white rabbit. And now she can marry God and live with Him forever.
Now she can finally wipe all her tears. Now God can completely fill her, completely dwell inside of her. Not just inside her spirit, but her soul and body too. And when He fills her like that, she'll radiate with joy, like a beacon of light and hope for others. Now all the promises God has made her can be fulfilled. And now she'll be free from sin, body, soul and spirit. The happiness of that union is likened in the Bible to a wedding feast.
When she marries God she receives the crown of life. She has crucified her body and soul on the cross with Jesus, and now her resurrection has come. Now she will reign with Him, by His side, as His queen, and He will no longer call her His disciple. He will call her friend...
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (Jas 1:12)
You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (Jn.15:14-15)
It's because falling down the rabbit hole and finding Wonderland (or being born again) is just the beginning. That’s when the real journey begins, the journey to fullness of God. Sometimes Christians (especially new ones) miss this point. As soon as the white rabbit has lured a child of God into Wonderland His next mission is to get her to the Castle. And the journey to the Castle is a difficult journey, a journey of growth in love. Alice's love grows when she becomes smaller. Every time she lets go a little more of that ego and pride, and all those other sins and illusions that keep her in a prison, she grows in love, and God can become bigger inside of her. And the closer she is to the Throne, the closer she is to her fullness in God, her true home, her final destination.
So the smaller your ego is, the bigger your love is. And the bigger your love is, the bigger God can be inside of you. And the bigger God can be inside of you, the closer you are to the Castle, where you've finally finished your journey, your race.
As she walks through Wonderland Alice meets a lot of strange characters on her path. Some of them are friendly, some are not, and some are something in between.
(For a more thorough list of characters, study them here.)
These are the key characters God spoke to my mind about:
Hookah the Smoking Caterpillar has a discussion with Alice about her apparent identity crisis. When Alice meets him she no longer has a clear idea of who she is. This is a very normal reaction for anyone who is either in the process of entering, or has just entered Wonderland.
"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, "I - I hardly know, Sir, just at present - at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then." "What do you mean by that?" said the Caterpillar, sternly. "Explain yourself!" "I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir," said Alice, "because I'm not myself, you see." (From Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll)
Hookah is like a sign post. He is someone, who points Alice in the right direction on her path. He provides Alice with the information she needs in order to continue her journey in Wonderland. Is he a friend? Maybe not exactly a friend, but not a foe either, because he's helping her. He's just the right person at the right time. So really, sent to her by God. When Alice arrives at the mushroom, thanks to Hookah's advice, she'll now know exactly what to do. She'll know which side of the mushroom to eat to make her grow larger or smaller. This helps her move along on her path.
The Mad Hatter and his friends: The events at The Mad Tea Party demonstrate to Alice how little sense Wonderland makes in comparison to what she's been used to in the real world. For awhile this causes great confusion and discouragement for Alice, and she's about ready to quit on Wonderland altogether. Is the Mad Hatter a friend? I don't know, to be honest. This is because in the original Disney Movie Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland I don't think he is. Especially because he and his friends testify against Alice in the trial, as if they were her foes. It also doesn't seem like Hatter is a friend in the original book. But the way Hatter is portrayed in the more modern movie version of Alice in Wonderland, played by Johnny Depp, he's definitely a friend. And I believe these modern versions of Alice in Wonderland are also God inspired. So this part I can't say too much about. But as the Mad Hatter is portrayed in the original Disney movie I see that his function can be represented by those Christians that are not lead by the spirit of truth. The sin in them has misled them, and caused them to become a stumbling block to Alice, the true believer, and their harsh treatment of her reveal this condition to the bystander.
As Alice hurries out from the Mad Tea Party and continues looking for the White Rabbit, it is clear she has had enough:
"At any rate I'll never go there again! said Alice, as she picked her way through the wood. "It's the stupidest tea-party I ever was at in all my life!" (78, Carroll)
Cheshire Cat: What led Alice to the Mad Tea Party in the first place was the advice of the strange Cheshire Cat, whom she met in the woods. One might suggest that she shouldn't have listened to his advice at all.
But actually Alice is completely right to follow his advice.
It would be easy to confuse Cheshire Cat with an enemy, since there are some strange things going on with him on the surface. For example, sometimes his head starts floating next to his body. His laughter is quite crazy too, and some, if not most of his comments. But appearances are deceiving, because from a Christian viewpoint the Cheshire Cat represents a friend.
What I look at is the function of the character in order to judge who's a friend and who's an enemy. The reason why the Cheshire Cat is a friend is because he does three very useful things for Alice (In the Disney 1951 movie version): First of all he teaches to Alice how things work in Wonderland, second, he warns Alice of the Red Queen, and third, he shows Alice the way, out of the forest, and straight to the castle where she's heading.
The lesson with Cheshire Cat is to never judge a book by its covers.
The same lesson applies to the people the child of God meets on her Path to God. Just because someone doesn't look like her first pick for a friend doesn't mean that someone couldn't provide her with some important lessons. Just because the person looks or sounds a little weird, doesn't mean they might not become valuable players in the life of the child of God. This person might actually turn out to be instrumental in the long run for her spiritual growth. The child of God must learn to discern everything and everyone correctly, and to be careful, because there are wolves in sheep's clothing too.
In Wonderland that wolf is the Red Queen.
The Red Queen represents the devil or the false church. All those things that are enemies to the will of God. Although the Red Queen dwells in the Castle this is just a bluff, because she has no business being there.
And this, too, is a parable to the Kingdom of God.
A very similar wolf to the Red Queen roams around in churches too, where people go look for God. This wolf is a spirit. A spirit of the antichrist, or the devil, who finds people, like puppets, to do his will. When this evil spirit finds a good candidate, he slides in and becomes his/her puppeteer, and uses him/her for his advantage.
And just like the Red Queen has no business in the Castle, the devil and his helpers have no business in churches. But that's where you'll find him again and again. As a matter of fact, the more serious a person is about listening to God's voice, the more they'll run into the spirit of the devil. It's a pattern in the life of a true believer, a war that must be fought, a persecution that must be endured. It happened to Jesus and all His disciples too, and so many other believers throughout history. Just like the high priest and the pharisees came after Jesus and His disciples with the power of the devil, so the Red Queen and her minions will come after Alice.
Take note of another parable: Both enemies (wolves) in Wonderland and the Kingdom of Heaven operate the same way and have the same characteristics: Both dwell in high places and claim to be the ones who rule. Both are mean, proud and judgmental, and use fear and control to get their way. And both are equally pretentious and vain.
Just look at the red Queen as the perfect prototype of that. She always wants to win.
Take also note of the little king, who follows her around. He's another interesting and noteworthy character. Obviously he's no king at all, after all, a king's job is to rule, but this little king does no ruling at all. Instead he lets the Red Queen rule and decide everything. She's really the one who's the boss and wears the pants in this relationship.
So who does the little king represent, this little push-over, this lap dog belonging to the Red Queen, who's obviously not very nice to others? Can't be a true king, since a king would never let the Red Queen boss him and others around, because a true king, like Jesus, is fair and just. And Jesus, according to this Christian parable, is the true King of the Castle.
So what this little king in this parable represents, is the fake jesus of the churches of today. A fake jesus, who will not correct injustice in his house, his churches. (And yes, there's some corrections needed in the Christian Churches of today) So this little king's job is to allow the Red Queen (the spirit of the antichrist) to continue to rule. That is his only job. He's only a puppet. And just like the Red Queen is the real boss in the relationship, so the devil is the one who controls this fake jesus in the Christian churches of today.
Both the Red Queen and the king are only cheap copies of the real thing. But their days in the Castle are numbered.
Of course, the Red Queen hates Alice with a passion, and doesn't want her anywhere near the Castle/Throne of God, because she knows that as soon as Alice arrives, she'll be dethroned. This is because Alice is the true queen, the Bride of Christ. Therefore, the Red Queen will persecute and interrogate Alice, and finally take her to court. There she'll make her question her innocent quest for truth (God) with bogus charges. The trial, led by the false king and the Red Queen will be a mockery of justice, and the evidence brought against Alice completely illogical, based on lies, and proving nothing. Nevertheless, since the false king serves as judge, the Red Queen is allowed to drop her absurd, final judgment: “Off with her head!”
This too is a parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. Because what happens with Alice in the trial also happens with the true children of God.
It's all part of the path of God. At some point the persecution always comes. As Jesus said: "'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also."
The Playing Card Soldiers: The Red queen controls the access to the castle with an army of playing card soldiers. The playing card soldiers represent weak people, who have no substance and are not led by the spirit of truth. They let the Red Queen shuffle them around. They don’t think for themselves, but blindly obey senseless orders and persecute the innocent and pure, thinking they serve a higher call. This army is organized and numerous, and completely dedicated to its cause. Of course there is no true power in this army. In truth it's nothing but a flimsy deck of cards, dealt by the Red Queen, who wants to play her games using others to do her dirty job. All the playing card soldiers can do is try to intimidate and create temporary stumbling blocks for Alice.
But they can't stop her. And neither can the Red Queen. Because Alice is the true queen and she won't stop until she's arrived where she belongs. At the Castle.
She won't stop, she can't stop, because she's been eating and drinking from God's table and is simply hungry for more. She's been feeding her head. That's what happens at Wonderland. The deeper in you get, the more hungry you'll be for more.
And she's only had a taste, a little nibble to know what she's been missing all her life, and now she's unstoppable, she won't stop until she gets her fill. That's what happens when you start getting answers to your questions, when the White Rabbit starts leading you down His path. He'll lead you to places that'll seem uncomfortable for you. That's what it's like at the Mad Tea Party, a little overwhelming for you, a little uncomfortable sometimes. Sometimes it can get so bad you just want to scream: "Take me out of this maddening place!" But don't get mad, don't lose hope, don't give up. The White Rabbit has good reason for everything He does. He only wants to fill you more, you see, and to do that, He has to make you hungrier and thirstier than you'll ever been in your life. Because He knows that if you hunger and thirst for Him, you'll seek Him, and if you seek Him you'll find Him.
Can you hear the White Rabbit calling you already? What are you waiting for? Go look for Him! Go feed your head with your questions! And go seek the answers to your questions from inside of you, because that's where they're hidden. Inside of you! Because that's where the entrance to Wonderland has been hidden, so close to you that you missed it.
“The Kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is’, or ‘There it is’, because the kingdom of God is within you”. (Luke 17:20)
Can you hear His voice?
I think I can. I think I can hear the white rabbit, calling me all day and all night from Wonderland, with a voice full of longing, asking, when, when will you come? Can you hear that voice too? I hear what it says, I hear what it's hoping for. It says: "I wish you were here!"