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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



Returning to our discussion regarding Job chapter forty-one, you will recall the following verse which describes one of the more amazing attributes of Leviathan, the fire-breathing monster of the deep sea:

"His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth."


Is it possible that there is also a spiritual parallel to his ability to breath fire? As it turns out, this too symbolizes another characteristic of Satan the Devil. This parallel is revealed by comparing the above verse with a passage that is found in the sixth chapter of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians. This chapter concerns the spiritual nature of our warfare against Satan. Consider the following verse:

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked."


Thus we see that just as Leviathan was capable of shooting a flame from his mouth, Satan likewise attacks our minds with the fiery darts of his doubts. You will recall that when that sly serpent tempted Eve in the Garden, this is precisely what he did. He said "Hath God said? Are you sure, Eve? Are you so certain that God is telling you the whole truth?". In a word, that subtle snake caused Eve to doubt God's Word, and we have all paid for that mistake ever since. Satan murdered us all, but Jesus gave us a chance at New Life, Eternal Life. On a related note, the Apostle Paul also writes the following in his Epistle to the brethren at Rome:

"Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."


While Paul was obviously discussing dietary customs and laws in that chapter, and basically saying that each person must believe, eat and live according to their personal degree of faith, at the same time, a deeper spiritual lesson can also be learned from these verses as well. This lesson relates to the incident in Eden. As we have seen, Satan caused Eve to doubt God's Word. I can just imagine the conversation which may have occurred between Adam and Eve during those fateful moments: "What if the serpent is telling us the truth, Adam? What if God isn't really telling us everything? What if He is purposely holding back on us, because He does not want us to be as powerful as He is? What if eating this fruit will turn us into gods?"

Eve obviously knew in her heart that what she was doing was very wrong. God's Spirit must have been trying to convict her heart, even in those final seconds before she took the fateful bite. She knew that she should not doubt God's love for her. However, just like the Apostle Paul, she became spiritually blinded to the truth by her own free will. The Devil's seemingly well-meaning, soft supplications grasped her heart, and captured her imagination, and would not let go. The temptation was simply too great. "What if eating this fruit will turn us into gods? Gods, Adam; gods!"

That was all it took. Satan won in that particular moment. Eve, and then Adam, sinned against God. They rebelled and went against His Word. They broke His Divine Law; for He had clearly told them in so many words "Don't you touch it! Just don't dare touch it, or eat of it! Stay away from the Tree, or else you will surely pay the consequences for your sin!" And they did, and we did as well. As the Apostle John tells us in his first Epistle:

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law."


As we all know now, rather than yield themselves to Satan's lies and deception, what Adam and Eve should have actually done is reflected in the following verses:

"But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."


"And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."


"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."


"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."


"Neither give place to the devil."


"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."


"Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."


Of course, as Bible-believing Christians, we understand that even back then, God had already begun to put His great plan of Salvation into motion. As we saw in part one, the Apostle Paul informs us that this wonderful plan of Redemption was brought into force by the last Adam, or the substitutionary Adam; that is, Jesus Christ, who is the Testator and the Mediator of the New Covenant between God and man. Consider the following verses:

"And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly."


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"


"But now hath he [Jesus] obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."


"And for this cause he [Jesus] is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance."


"And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."


If you are interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of this topic, please consider reading such articles as "The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words".

Another interesting attribute regarding Leviathan which is already apparent to you, is that contrary to what we often see depicted in fantasy movies and stories, the Bible does not describe him as a land-based dragon, but rather as a sea-dwelling monster. As we saw in part two, there exists a spiritual parallel to the Beast which rises up out of the sea in Revelation chapter thirteen. Allow me to share that verse with you again:

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy."


Without going into extensive detail, as I do in a few other articles, let me simply say that I believe that this Beast which rises up out of the sea is the physical manifestation of Satan's power on Earth; that is, the governmental powers and leaders who Satan controls. Notice that the appearance of this Beast parallels the Dragon that we discussed earlier in Revelation chapter twelve. The primary difference is that the Dragon has seven heads with seven crowns, whereas this Beast which rises up out of the sea possesses seven heads with ten crowns. To resolve this difference, a possible solution can be found in Daniel chapter seven. In that chapter -- which also describes a Beast which rises to world dominance -- we find the following verse:

"And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."


This verse informs us that the Beast conquers or in some way destroys three nations or leaders who appear to oppose him. I offer one possible interpretation of this verse in my article entitled "The Beast and the Three Broken Horns". At any rate, this may explain why three crowns are missing from the heads of the Dragon in Revelation chapter twelve.

But the real question for our current discussion regarding the fire-breathing sea serpent Leviathan is this: Exactly what do the seas in which he swims represent? How do they relate to the sea out of which the Beast rises in the Book of Revelation? Once again we can find a Biblical answer in Revelation chapter seventeen. This chapter describes the mysterious Babylon the Great, which some Christians believe represents the false politico-religious system, being as she rides on the back of the political Beast. Consider this verse:

"And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."


Thus we see that the seas and the waters actually represent the peoples and nations of the Earth from which the kingdoms of Satan arise. This provides us with a clear parallel to the Book of Job, and Leviathan, the dragon of the sea. Being as Satan is a spiritual entity, it makes perfect sense that he must manifest his power through those individuals amongst the governments and people of the world who choose to do his evil bidding. We find another confirmation for this interpretation in the following verse that is found in the Book of Ezekiel:

"Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself."


The previous verse appears to have a double meaning in that it not only describes Pharaoh as a great dragon -- meaning that he is one of Satan's worldly rulers -- but it likewise describes the people he rules as being rivers. Following is a similar verse in the Book of Ezekiel which also describes Pharaoh king of Egypt, using even more metaphors:

"Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and foulest their rivers."


As in previous examples, the symbolic nature of seas, waters and rivers is rather apparent. Of course, there is likewise a more mundane explanation for the rivers in which this great Pharaoh lies. Similar to Cairo today, the capital of ancient Egypt was situated in the area of the Nile Delta. It was here where the Nile River -- which at 6,650 kilometers, or 4,130 miles, is generally viewed as the longest river in the world -- splits into various branches, which in turn empty into the Mediterranean Sea. Back then, the Nile Delta was divided by seven branches, which the ancients referred to as "septem ostia Nili"; that is, "the seven mouths of the Nile". Today, however, due to a variety of reasons, there are now only two branches; the Rosetta Branch in the western section of the delta, and the Damietta Branch in the eastern section of the delta.

A few additional verses which likewise describe Satan and his earthly rulers as dragons are the following:

"Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?"


"Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out."


With these verses, we have now concluded our examination of the spiritual symbolism which may be associated with the sea monster Leviathan that is found in the Book of Job. While I have not endeavored to find a symbolic or metaphorical link with every single aspect concerning Leviathan, nevertheless, I hope that the information I have provided in this series will help you to recognize how Leviathan may be a physical representation of Satan, who not only fell from Grace himself due to his pride, but who is also the king of the children of pride.

In summation, the seas in which Leviathan dwells represent the deceived nations, leaders and people of the world who do his bidding. The fire this sea monster breaths symbolizes the fiery darts of Satan's doubts, as well as the deceptions and lies which he casts out in order to snare unwary souls. The scales of this great water serpent represent the very pride which can result in our own downfall if we are not careful. The seven-headed dragon symbolizes Satan's spiritual nature, while the seven-headed Beast is the physical manifestation of his power through secular governments, leaders and their people.

Please note that this subject is considerably deeper than what I have presented in this series. In this series I have primarily focused on those verses which have assisted us in understanding the possible link between Leviathan and Satan and his global Kingdom of Darkness. Let me emphasize that this series represents my personal understanding regarding the possible symbolism behind Leviathan, and is based on what I have personally learned from God's Word over the past forty years. Obviously, I am not infallible. As such, you are not obligated to agree with my interpretation if you do not want to. I encourage you to read other articles, and compare them with what I have written in this series, in order to obtain a well-rounded understanding concerning this issue.

While this series has focused primarily on the spiritual side of Leviathan, let me remind you again that, personally, I am convinced that it was a real creature, and quite possibly an actual fire-breathing dragon, as this seems to be what the Scriptures strongly suggest, in my view.

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below, which are also located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Adaptation, Evilution and the Six Days of Genesis
Who is Babylon the Great?
Satan: His Purpose, Origin and Future
Satan: King of Tyrus, King of Empires
The Beast and the Three Broken Horns
The Blood Atonement: In Jesus' Own Words
The Dinosaur Dilemma and Modern Science
The Earth is Under 7,000 Years Old
The Wisdom of God Versus the Philosophy of Men

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