Leviathan.. Bible Symbol of lucifer/Satan, the Left-Hand cherub, the crooked serpent?

"In that day the LORD
with his sore and great and strong sword

shall punish leviathan
the piercing serpent,

even leviathan
that crooked serpent;

and he shall slay the dragon ....."[Isaiah 27]

"Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
.....
Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?"

- [Note: Satan asks God if he can tempt e.g. Job]

"Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
........
Behold, the hope of him is in vain: shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?

None is so fierce that dare stir him up: who then is able to stand before me?
Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him? whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.

I will not conceal his parts, nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
........
His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.
One is so near to another, that no air can come between them."

- [air represents the spirit, indeed they are the same word in e.g. Greek]

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

- Satan is the source of 'fire', represneting trial, tribulation, temptation]

".....His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: ........

.......Upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear.
He beholdeth all high things:

he is a king over all the children of pride." [Job 41 ]

"Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness."[Psa 74:14 ]

Psa 104:26 ......there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.

I am not certain if the character (excuse the word usage) Satan in Job is the same as Lucifer, aka the serpent aka the devil.

I think Leviathan is a dragon, who still exists but is elusive.

And he isnt a crocodile; crocs ont have smoke coming out of their nostrils, and certainly do not "regard spears as straw".

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You might check the book of Enoch for more on this.

Enoch 60:7-8
And on that day were two monsters parted, a female monster named Leviathan, to dwell in the abysses of the ocean over the fountains of the waters. But the male is named Behemoth, who occupied with his breast a waste wilderness named Duidain, on the east of the garden where the elect and righteous dwell

This is a pretty interesting subject, which I somehow got into just today. There is an obvious contrast between the two in Job. I find this reference to Behemoth quite profound:

Job 40
15 Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.
16 Lo now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly.
17 He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
18 His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron.
19 He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him.

Chief or firstfruits or beginning, just as Christ:

1 Corinthians 15
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.

Christ is also the beginning, the firstborn:

Colossians 1
18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

John 1
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.


The contrast could be representative of the Christ and antichrist roles.

The reference in Enoch also points to the sharp contrast between these two creatures:

1 Enoch 60
7 And on that day were two monsters parted, a female monster named Leviathan, to dwell in the
8 abysses of the ocean over the fountains of the waters. But the male is named Behemoth, who occupied with his breast a waste wilderness named Duidain, on the east of the garden where the elect and righteous dwell, where my grandfather was taken up, the seventh from Adam, the first
9 man whom the Lord of Spirits created.

The interesting thing about the reference in Enoch is that behemoth dwells with the elect, whereas Leviathan is given the oceans. 2 Esdras further confirms this separation:

2 Esdras 6
49 "Then thou didst keep in existence two living creatures; the name of one thou didst call Behemoth and the name of the other Leviathan.
50 And thou didst separate one from the other, for the seventh part where the water had been gathered together could not hold them both.
51 And thou didst give Behemoth one of the parts which had been dried up on the third day, to live in it, where there are a thousand mountains;
52 but to Leviathan thou didst give the seventh part, the watery part; and thou hast kept them to be eaten by whom thou wilt, and when thou wilt.


The reference to eating them also makes sense in the case of Christ:

John 6
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.

John 6
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Matthew 4
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Not so sure about Leviathan, but:

Psalm 74
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.

Proverbs 4
17 For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence.

Hosea 10
13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Leviathan also is king over all the children of pride:

Job 41
34 He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.

But they are both too powerful for man:

Job 40
23 Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
24 He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.

Job 41
1 Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?
2 Canst thou put an hook into his nose? or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
3 Will he make many supplications unto thee? will he speak soft words unto thee?
4 Will he make a covenant with thee? wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?


I'd be interested to see what others thoughts are on these two animals...

What version of the Bible are Enoch and Esdras in ? I have the KJV w/Apocrypha, but those books are not a part of that....

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Enoch is Old Testament Pseudepigrapha:

http://wesley.nnu.edu/noncanon/pseudepigrapha.htm

Esdras is Old Testament Apocrypha:

http://wesley.nnu.edu/noncanon/apocrypha.htm

I've for awhile now believed that Job 41 is talking about Satan.

Here's a verse that pretty much cliched it for me. It's the last one in the chapter.
Job 41:34, He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all children of pride
Now ask yourself, who is the prince of the air that beholdeth all high things? and who is the king of all the children of pride? Could it be Satannnn? Wasn't Satan refered to in the NT as the father of these children?

Quite simply the way Leviathan is discribed in Job 41 one has to come to the conclusion that there has never been a creature like that to ever walk the earth.
Job 41:19, Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out.
This has got to be metaphorical. The author is talking about a dragon. Who in the Bible is sometimes refered to as a dragon?
Revelation 12:9, And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.


Neph

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God didn't send His Son to pay for the forgiveness of your sin, and then decide He is going to require you to make installment payments. He only requires you to believe that the FULL PAYMENT was done, over 2000 yr. ago..........then you'll stop trying to make the installments on something you could never pay for anyway. The Good News is that you are debt free!

Look out brother!!
Personally I love "The Book of Enoch" but it rubs some folks the wrong way. You know being "uncannonized" and all.

BTW Ever read the Apocalypse of Paul?

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ydouxist,

I've read the Apocalypse of Paul. Stopped about 75% of the way through cuz it was all just a bit much. Then finally picked it up again a while latter and was pretty suprised at the ending!

Would you say reading uncannonized text is helpful of harmful?
Personally, I believe they shed some light on some gray areas.
Such as fallen angels being different beings than evil spirits, Paradise, eternal
rewards/judgements. Some others are just plain bizzare.
I don't however quote from them as I do cannonized text.

Gotta love that Wesley nnu site.

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