Gandalf, The Balrog, and Aragorn

Gandalf's fight against the Balrog and Aragorn's travel into the mountain are both analogies of Jesus Christ's descent into the Land of The Dead. When Gandalf is fighting the Balrog, he sacrifices himself to save the others, just as Jesus sacrificed himself to save us. Balrog could be considered a description of Satan: a large, fiery demon that tries to stop Gandalf from saving the others. Aragorn's travel into the mountain is very symbolic of Jesus' descent into the Land of The Dead. Aragorn travels into the mountain and offers the souls within a chance at redemption. Jesus travels to Hades and offers the souls within redemption. Aragorn is their redeemer; Jesus is our redeemer. The souls in both stories are givin the option to follower their redeemer. Both Jesus and Aragorn offer the souls to be free.