English Index

LEVIATHAN-THE BEAST WITHIN

The vast majority of the Old Testament writings fall into this category. They had an external application to God's people of that time period (the natural Jew), and now have an internal lesson that deals with the spiritual part of God's people of today (the church of God).

Allegory can be dangerous. When seeking the "hidden" meaning, all kinds of ideas can come forth. "Consistency is a jewel" would surely apply here! The allegory drawn forth must not contradict other Biblical truths!

These thoughts are incomplete. Yet, the message gleaned is an important message for mankind. I do not care to be drawn into a debate of eschatology (Greek word for 'study of the last times'), yet the common teachings expounded today tend to leave me bewildered and dissatisfied. Perhaps the biggest revelation (or revolution!) of my understanding was several years back when someone mentioned that all the symbols in John's Revelation are also in the Old Testament. And to properly understand John's vision we need to look at the application made by those same symbols as used in the Old Testament! As months and years have gone by, lo and behold, I began to see that those symbols were in the Old Testament! I urge the readers of this article to see for themselves as to this matter and search the scriptures. But as for now, consider what I say...

The story of Job intrigues me. Why did God allow such a sizable portion of the Bible be in telling Job's story? Why all the detail of the conversations with his friends? Hidden within these chapters are many sermons, I am persuaded, that the church of today never hears. (No, I do not understand it all by far!) Let me share some thoughts on Job.

According to scripture, Job was a perfect and upright man. Job did those things that were pleasing to God. He did good deeds. He offered prayers and sacrifices. It seems as if, outwardly, not a fault could be found. In the honesty of his heart, Job performed his deeds of righteousness.

But, imagine one day God looking down upon Job. And God smiles. He appreciates and accepts Job's efforts to serve him. And yet he sees something that Job doesn't.

So, God contrives a plan to help Job see deeper than what he currently does. With a 'sneaky' smile God entices Satan (I say sneaky because in my imagination I see God using Satan for His own purposes and it seems Satan doesn't even realize it!) to try Job, knowing that trials bring purification. You likely know the story. Job loses all his goods. "In all this Job sinned not..."

Next, God provokes Satan a little more (with the same 'sneaky' smile, if you will), and Job loses his family. And his wife does worse than die; she provokes him to blaspheme. "In all this did not Job sin with his lips."

Thus far Job passes his tests. How many of us would make it that far without falling into unbelief, discouragement, and self-pity? But the worse is yet to come for Job. Picture God looking into His crucible (with that same smile of expectancy) as he allows the heat to be turned up more!

Enter Job's three friends. A little sidebit of information adds to the story. According to the Septuagint version of the Old Testament, Job was the grandson of Esau. (See Genesis 36 for genealogies. Vss. 10 and 13 and 33 esp. possibly Jobab=Job). Eliphaz would have been his uncle. The other two, as well as Eliphaz, were kings or leaders of tribes. In other words, these were not average men; their presence was to be respected. Imagine one of your uncles, the governor, and the president coming to see you!

Now we look upon Esau and his descendants as a low-down people. And as a type of the fleshly man they are. However, as individuals in their time, some of them evidently were monotheists (one-god worshippers) who knew some about the one true God. Abraham and the Jews were probably not the only ones in the world who truly worshipped God, they are the ones we are told about. Job, this grand-son of Esau (if he indeed be so), had evidently learned about God somewhere. His three friends likewise. In short, the story continues with Job's friends accusing him of some secret sin in his life. And by appearances it could seem that way. Job denies this charge. And his need begins to surface.

It seems that Job begins to justify (prove innocent) himself, and hence God is unjustly allowing this misery to come upon him. And from an outward point of view, Job was right. Job could think of no sin that he had done to deserve this. And his friends could not name one either. Yet, God still saw something in Job that needed dealt with.

First God begins to reveal His own majesty to Job. In essence, God tells Job, "Job, take a look at me, and how great I am". Chapters 38 and 39 tell of this. And Job is humbled. In short his response seems to be "God, I see your greatness, and I won't say any more." But God is not through. Perhaps Job is still hanging on to his own good things he has done, and still sees himself as somewhat good: certainly he does not deserve such calamities as these! And here is where the real essence of this article picks up at...

God now begins to point out Jobs underlying fault. And he uses two animals to do so. Behemoth and Leviathan. In allegory God shows Job two strong animals that inhabit the earth. One lives on land, the other in the sea. And it seems Job understands what God is revealing. These two animals live within Job, and they by their presence defile him! He need not do anything to be defiled before God. Because he is defiled by their very presence. God tells Job, "Job, take a look at who you really are." Job sees the picture and makes a very profound statement, "I abhor myself, and repent..."

Picture now God smiling, nodding His head. Job is finished with his refinement.

Let us look at these two animals God used to reveal to Job his depravity. "Behold now behemoth". Behemoth is an animal that lives on the earth. I will paraphrase what God seems to say.

"V.15 Behold the behemoth of your flesh. He is from the earth and feeds on earthly things. V.16 He is strong, and not easily overcome because of this strength. V.20 He lives in the wilds, and is an untamed thing. V.21 He takes care of himself, seeking those things that gratify himself, and V.22 seeks out those things and places that are comfortable and pleasing to him. V.24 You can try to catch him and control him, but he escapes your snares."

Next, God turns Job's attention to another animal that lives on earth. This one abides in the sea. I will paraphrase what God seems to tell Job. For a clue, Leviathan=soul (in the sense of comparison to body and spirit)=old nature=old man=first Adam= inner depravity=self.

"Job, can you catch your old nature? Can you, Job? V.3 Will your old nature voluntarily humble himself to your control? Will he be submitted to your control? V.4 Can you make a covenant with your self-centeredness so that you can control him? Will your inner depravity be your slave (and not the other way around!)? V.5 Can you tame the carnal nature Job? Could you tame that nature in your daughters so they would not be controlled by their own desires? (Wouldn't that be nice!!) V.6 Can a whole crowd of you get together and kill him? V.7 Or can you kill him on your own? V.8 If you try to overcome your selfishness, you will find the battle is to hard and will give up trying. The memories of the battles will cause you to despair of trying any more! V.9 When you think about overcoming the power of sin within, it will despair you! V.10 And if you get tired of dealing with him, you can not even chase him away! V.13 Job, can you put a bridle on your human nature?"

Beginning in verse 18, God begins telling some unusual things about Leviathan that excludes a normal animal from the description. When he neezes (sneezes or breathes out) a light shines out. He breathes out fire and sparks. Smoke comes out of his nose as well. For this reason, I am convinced that this is an allegorical animal, and not a literal one. But what of man's carnal nature? Perhaps James had this in mind when he called the tongue "a fire, a world of iniquity"!

Some more of this monster's attributes are revealed to Job yet. Verse 22 suggest he is stiff-necked, and verse 23 suggests that his skin is not easily entreated. Verse 24 tells of his extra hard heart, and verse 25 unveils an anger problem. When men try to overcome him with psychology, drugs, and good works programs, he rises up in fury. Whatever mankind may have to throw at him is of no avail. Alas, alas...

Finally let us look at the home of this wild, untamed creature. It seems he lives in what is called "the deep". "The deep" is an interesting term. In the Greek language the word is "abyss". (Abyss is a compound of 'a' meaning 'no', and 'byss' meaning 'bottom'. Hence "abyss" means 'no bottom' or 'bottomless') In the Septuagint version (a Greek translation of the Old Testament), the translators used "abyss" for "the deep" at times. "The deep" was a term used for the sea also. Allegorically, it seems that the sea, (the deep or the abyss) is a type of the soulish part of man. And herein lives Leviathan, the animal that is (see V. 34) king over all the children of pride!!!

Summarizing this animal, we find he cannot be caught, humbled, subdued, tamed, killed, or chased away. He is an angry monster that is strong , proud, and hard hearted. He is at home in the sea of mankind's soul, and is the king of the kingdom of pride. Do you understand the title of this article now? Do you understand why Job, when he understood God's allegory, abhorred himself? Job understood that although he did good things, he needed his inner part to be born fresh and new. If the most righteous man on the earth needed to be set free from Leviathan, how about me and YOU?

It is of no coincidence, I feel, that when John saw his vision while at Patmos he saw one dragon and two beasts. The dragon was in heaven, but the two beasts were from the earth. And distinction is further made that one rose up from the earth, while the other came forth from the sea. This parallels the description of the two beasts in Job. The Greek word for revelation is 'apocalypse' which is a combination of 'apo' meaning 'from' and 'calypse' meaning 'cover or veil'. So, the revelation of John was to uncover (unveil) some things. As I see, Leviathan and Behemoth are being shown for who they really are. They are cohorts with Satan, and all three together make up a false trinity. Mankind's greatest enemies unveiled!

Over the years I have heard many suggestions for the Anti-Christ's identity. Caesar, Hitler, and The Roman Catholic Church are some of the more common thoughts. Membership in denominations, social security numbers, UPC bar codes, computer chips, Sunday keeping, and even slow-moving vehicle signs have been suggested for the "mark".

What do all these things have in common? They are all physical objects or actions that can be seen by the physical eye. Have you ever considered looking into the spiritual realm? The realm of the 'unseen' powers? The kingdom of God is in this realm. The natural eye cannot see the kingdom of God. (LK 17:20-21) Study the make-up of the kingdom of God mentioned in Ro. 14:17, righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Unseen realities! Unseen, yet as real as any physical property.

Look now at the carnal nature and the fleshly lusts. Can you see the carnal nature in man or physically grab hold of it? Are the desires for food and comfort tangible, touchable? Is the reproductive desire a visible property? Yet the Leviathan of 'carnal nature' and the behemoth of 'fleshly lusts' are as real as the paper (or computer screen) you are looking at, the which can see with the natural eye, and felt by your fingers.

See how these two animals live within the unregenerated man and control him? See how the human race is in bondage to these two, in conjunction with the devil? See how that Satan, Self, and Flesh are the gods of this world, and all upon the earth worship them? See them having "all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond" in their grasps, and how all are marked as their slave? See how these are anti-christs, opposing the anointed (whether Jesus, his anointed followers, or the anointing itself)? The message is a timeless one to those who will hear. Whether living in A.D. 96 (when the Revelation is figured to have been written), 1000 A.D., or today, you (and every other human being) were born a slave to this false trinity. Sobering news indeed...

Straight to the point. The beasts of Job and Rev. 13 are within mankind. Leviathan can be called self, old nature, first Adam, carnal nature, man of Sin, or Anti-Christ. As revealed in Job and Revelation he cannot be caught, humbled, subdued, tamed, chased away, or killed by man's best efforts. He resides in the "sea" of the soulish part of man, and is a great king. In conjunction with behemoth the flesh, they rule all of humanity from their birth and make slaves of them. They mark their captives with the number 666.

Concerning the number 6. Throughout scripture we find this number appearing several times in conjunction with the carnal man. The first Adam was created on the 6th day. Next we see God's people being chased by their former slave-master Pharaoh with 600 chosen chariots. (What a picture of reality!) Now turn to 1 SA. 17:4+. We find the big man Goliath terrorizing God's people with threats and fears. His height? 6 Cubits and a span. He carries 6 pieces of weaponry, of which the spearhead weighs 600 shekels. Looking amongst his relatives we find a strange trait: one had 6 fingers and 6 toes! (2 SA. 21:20) Proverbs 6:16 mentions 6 things God hates- notice that they come from the unconverted natural man! And finally look at the image made by a noted self-centered king. (Dan. 3:1) This man later lived like a BEAST, but he made an image (My guess is it looked like himself) that was 60 cubits tall and 6 cubits wide. Could that be the same image that is mentioned in Rev. 13:15 that the beast of the earth made everyone worship? Sounds familiar doesn't it! [As a little trivial sidenote of interest, look at the sixth word of the sixth verse of the sixth chapter of the sixth book of the New Testament-KJV. Of course I place absolutely no doctrinal weight on this coincidence!]

Why did God allow these minor details of the number six to be recorded about the people above? Notice the similarity of Pharaoh, Goliath, and Nebuchadnezzar. They were all MEN that OPPOSED God's ANOINTED people. We find the number 6 connected with all three. Is God trying to tell us something? Your biggest enemy is the man (WITHIN YOU) that opposes the anointing, anointed, and anointer. Paul tells us in Romans that the carnal mind is enmity against God. No wonder when Job saw this he told God, "I abhor mySELF..." !

There are some interesting scriptures in the Old Testament that speak of man as being beast-like. Ecc. 3:18 tells how that the sons of men (a term for carnal men) are like a beast. Notice that proud men are like beasts in Ps. 49:12 and 20. And in Ps. 73:22 a foolish and ignorant man declares himself as a beast. Interestingly enough, no lion or beast is on the way of holiness (Is. 35:8-9). If you stop and think about it, you will probably agree that man in his natural state lives like the animals do. Every man looks out for himself first! It is truly a "dog eat dog" world we live in!

The New Testament writings also tell us the same. 2 Pe. 2:12 and Jude 10 both call certain men, "natural brute beasts" and: "what they know naturally, as brute beasts". Pretty straight language from two apostolic men!

Sometimes the same spiritual anti-type is described by different types. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God, while also the Lion of the tribe of Judah. So He is a lion and also a lamb! In the same way the anti-christ is the man of sin, while also being the 'beast'. Let us turn now to Daniel to see another type of the arch-enemy within us.

In Daniel chapter 7, Daniel's dream is recorded. He saw four beasts come up from the sea. (Notice the sea again!). A lion, a bear and a leopard; some having other strange body parts. The fourth beast was diverse from the others, and from Revelation we see why. It was a combination of leopard, bear, and lion, as well as having many heads. These beasts represented kingdoms that would rule the land of Israel until the time of Christ. (Ponder the spiritual implications of that!) Practically all commentators and historians agree that these beasts represent the Babylonian, then Medo-Persian, then Greek, and then finally the Roman Empire. (So accurately does Daniel foretell history, some feel the book of Daniel was written after the fact!) Always remember: The physical type in the Old Testament gets shifted to a spiritual anti-type in the Gospel age!

One of the most encouraging prophecies in the Old Testament is the verdict announced in Daniel chapter 7. Summed up, there is a kingdom coming that is going to smash all other kingdoms to pieces! And since the kingdom of God is in the unseen spiritual realm, the kingdoms that it destroys are the powers of darkness that hold humanity captive. It seems that the fourth beast of Daniel 7 is the same beast as Rev. 13. It seems that he is a conglomeration of the first three put together and then some! Study the maps in your Bible and see how each kingdom got bigger than the proceeding one, until Rome controlled all!

Next take a look at the dream of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 2. Here another type of the same anti-type (the man of sin here) appears. The same four kingdoms are shown in another way. Notice how each kingdom is a stronger substance than the proceeding one, and also of less value (exactly how human nature goes when not conquered by Christ!). Notice also that it is an image in the dream (idolatry again-look at Rev. 13;15 once more!). And this image looked like a MAN! In our study, MAN keeps coming up doesn't it?

So what is the sum total of these beastly dreams? It seems the fourth beast is a final version of the total depraved human nature that man is born with. It is a kingdom that controls the 'whole' earth. God's people were even under his domain. But the stone came rolling down out of the mountain and smashed those kingdoms to pieces!!! "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is and everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him (Jesus)." Da. 7:27

REDEMPTION FROM THE BEAST'S KINGDOM HAS COME! Worthy is the Lamb that was slain... Holy, Holy, Holy... Hallelujah forever!

While were talking about this beast, let's take a look at his 'wife'. In Rev. 17 we find a woman riding upon the back of what appears to be the same animal of Rev. 13:1. I spoke of this woman as being his 'wife'. The Bible doesn't say that explicitly, but the suggestion could be there. Actually, 'girl-friend' may be the better term. She is called a whore in verse 1. At any rate, throughout the Bible a woman is a type of the church. Paul alludes to this allegory in Eph. 5:32. Without going into detail here, study the book of Proverbs to see the warnings given about whores. And then turn to the final chapter of that book to find a description of the perfect, virtue laden wife. Now consider that wife to be the pure church of Christ, and the whore to be the rest of the world... See the spiritual picture?

If you have not turned to any other scripture references while reading this, please do so for this one. Lev. 18:23. First, the Old Testament laws are types of the spiritual laws at work in the kingdom of God. If God would have wanted to have a type of the law of gravity, he might have said, "Thou shalt not never throw a stick upward, only downward may it be thrown." Thus he would have made a shadow of the law of gravity with a natural law. The spiritual reality that God is revealing in this scripture is awesome. Any woman (church) that lies with (gives love to) a beast (Leviathan of self, or Behemoth of flesh) is called confusion (Babylon-which means confusion). We see this very thing in Rev. 17!!!! The woman was riding the beast (by implication having a love affair with him?) and hence she is called Babylon! Turn to Ex. 22:19 for the next law of the kingdom of God. Here it says that such a woman shall be put to death. The sum total of this is that you will die spiritually if you give yourself to serving self or the flesh!

A study of Lev. 21:9-15 reveals another aspect in this. The high priest (Jesus) is only allowed to marry a virgin (unspotted from "the world" -lust of the eye, lust of the flesh, and pride of life) church. Notice that the whore is to be burnt with fire in Leviticus, and then turn to Revelation and see the doom spelled out to the woman riding the beast. If you guessed "utterly burnt with fire" you were right! The Bible is an amazing book isn't it!

A little side-note of interest. Notice the relationship of the whore and her "boyfriend". Hatred and enmity... that how many ungodly marriages go? Isn't that how the "world" (lust of eye etc.) treats us when we give ourselves to it? We lie down before it to receive it thrills, but in the end we are left desolate, lonely, and defiled. Sum total of this? Self is a hard task-master...

GOOD NEWS! We are not left desolate! Ps 74:14 reads: "Thou brakest the heads (notice plural) of leviathan in pieces," Man can't do it but God can! "In that day (gospel age) the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword (Word of God) shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea." Is 27:1

Man could not (and still cannot) kill Leviathan. But Jesus with his mighty sword brings deliverance to us! What a gospel we have!!!

So we sum up this whole article. We are born with anti-christ reining within us. He marks each human as his slave, and all must serve him. Man's best efforts cannot deliver himself from his own natural desires. Those who continue to live with this beast are whores against God, and are condemned to eternal fire. Those who repent and believe on Jesus Christ can be over-comers of the beast (Rev. 15:2), can have a new name marked upon their foreheads (Rev. 7:3 and Eph 1:13), and can be delivered from the chains of the malicious trinity of Satan, self and flesh. In the end this evil trinity will be destroyed (as well as the harlot), and Jesus shall marry the virgin church of God.

Do you understand the title now? Leviathan-The Beast Within?

One more question-

Who is your king; Jesus the Christ, or, Self the Anti-Christ?  -Mike Atnip

Please write me and tell me what you thought of this article.