In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. -- Isaiah 27:1
When we see “land” or “earth”, particularly in the Old
Testament, it usually has something to do with or in some way symbolizes
Israel, God’s people, and His system. The
sea is sometimes a symbol for the Gentile nations and the world system. Revelation 13, for example, speaks of two
beasts, one arising from the sea and another rising out of the earth.
- And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. (Revelation 13:1)
- Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. (Revelation 13:11)
The life of the sea is mostly out of sight. It is obscured and occult like the
subconscious mind. Leviathan terrorizes
the depths, but this is not always apparent on the surface. Our lives are often driven by fears and
half-forgotten, hidden motives of which we are usually unaware. We struggle with what appears, unable to
understand the twisted thing that underlies it.
Leviathan flees for it is both a dread creature and a creature of
dread.
There is no place to stand upon the sea. It shifts constantly beneath us. We do well to stay afloat. How then can we overcome this monster and
free ourselves from this embodiment of all our dark confusion and anxiety?
The Lord delivers us by His sword, His word.
From his mouth comes a
sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a
rod of iron … And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet … These
two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. (Revelation
19:15,20)
It is Christ who rescues us from the monsters, no matter
whether they come from our subconscious, the secular system, or false
religions. Truth alone can always set us free.
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