Issued: 11/23/21  Revised: 1/14/24

“There is the deep and wide sea, teeming with numberless creatures, living things small and great.  There, the ships pass through; Leviathan, which you created, plays in it.”

Psalms 104:25-26

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

 In our series Genesis 1: The Myth That Never Was, we discussed the significance of the great sea creatures/monsters/dragons created on Fifth Day (Genesis 1:21-23).  Because Biblical scholars believe Genesis to be the Jewish version of middle-eastern creationist tales, they miss Genesis’ double-meaning; and not only that, for lacking the faith that unlocks Father‘s “hidden wisdom”, He has made it impossible for them to comprehend what Genesis is truly about (Job 5:13; Isaiah 5:21, 29:10-14↔1Corinthians 3:19; Romans 1:17; 1Corinthians 1:18-20, 2:10-14).

   We need not despair.  Provided we pray to Father for understanding, the truly faithful will receive the Holy Spirit Who reveals to them the meaning of Father‘s symbolic language (Deuteronomy 29:29; Proverbs 14:6; Jeremiah 33:3; Mark 4:11-12; John 16:13; 1Corinthians 2:10-12; James 1:5-8; 1John 2:27), for “everything is possible for the person who has faith” (Mark 9:23).  But be warned:  Do not consult books, priests, pastors, gurus, influencers, or anyone presuming to be your spiritual teacher, for our only Instructor is not on earth (Matthew 23:8).  Instead, follow Paul’s lead (Galatians 1:12,16-17); and never ever put your trust in men who cannot save either themselves or any mortal being (Psalms 146:3; John 8:36; Galatians 5:1; 2Peter 2:19).

   Armed with that certainty, let us proceed.

The Prophetic Roadmap

   We should all know by now that the Old Testament records past events concerning Israel and prefigures future events concerning Christendom.  We have discussed these things in previous articles and do not need to belabor them here.

 On the main, the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is Scripture’s roadmap from that ruler’s empire to end-times nations (Daniel 2).  The head [gold] was Nebuchadnezzar himself ruling over the Babylonian Empire; the torso with its two arms [silver], the Medo-Persian Empire; the belly and thighs [bronze], the Greek empire represented by Alexander [belly] and his four generals [thighs];¹ the legs [iron] would be Rome; and the feet with its ten toes [mixture of clay—i.e., alliances (2:41-43), and iron—i.e., military might (2:40)], European nations in existence at end-times.  As one goes down from head to toes, the opulence of these empires degrades over time—hence the precious metals devolving into baser elements.   We must not discount the notion that the “iron rod” Jesus will rule the nations with [Psalms 2:9↔Revelation 2:27] is in fact Satan ‘breaking’ nations through his human-ruling cohorts (↔Luke 4:6; John 14:30; 2Corinthians 4:4; 1John 5:19); and most importantly that if Satan = iron = Rome, then Satan and Vatican Rome are thematically linked (Revelation 2:13, 17:9, 18:2). 

   In order for us to get our bearings, Scripture had to differentiate between Jewish-related and Christian-related prophecies; and this was done by linking Jewish prophecy to an unnamed Pharaoh King of Egypt, and Christian prophecy to an unnamed King of Babylon.  An unnamed Pharaoh ruled Egypt prior to the Exodus via which Israel was delivered and taken to Canaan by Moses.² Viewed like this, if the unnamed Pharaoh of prophecy is Satan (Ezekiel 29:3↔Revelation 20:2), the true power behind the throne of the human ruler, it follows that the Egypt of prophecy = nations of antiquity.³  Keep this in mind when we discuss Judaism’s Creatures.

 In contrast Christian prophecies involve the King of Babylon, and this is incontrovertibly clear in Isaiah 14:4-20.  Other pointers include 1Peter 5:13 and Revelation 17:5, 18:2; most particularly Revelation 16:13-14, which portrays the fulfillment of Jeremiah 51:44:  “I’ll punish Bel [Baal, “lord”] in Babylon, and I’ll make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth. The nations will no longer stream [note the water imagery] to him. Even the wall of Babylon will fall.”  By the logic explained above, if the unnamed King of Babylon in Isaiah 14 is Satan, then the Babylon of prophecy stands for his domain; and since Satan currently rules over the world (John 14:30; 2Corinthians 4:4; 1John 5:19), then the Babylon of prophecy = modern-day nations.  Keep this in mind when we discuss Christendom’s Creatures.

   Why is Babylon, and not Egypt, such an apt epithet for the modern world?  Because Judaism was a regional religion but Christianity was conceived to become a global one (Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:8).  In Paul’s discussions about the voiding of the Mosaic Covenant and Jesus as High Priest (Galatians 3:6-18; Hebrews 7:18-28, 8:1-6), access to Father relocated from Jerusalem-centered worship to a spiritual realm accessible by prayer to all human beings worldwide (Hebrews 10:19-22).  Jesus’ pre-condition to the end of the world was that “this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all nations” (Matthew 24:14); and modern technology—the Internet, social media, YouTube, magazines and any means of communication—has largely accomplished that.

   Why was this necessary?  Because no sin can be attributed if Father’s laws remain unknown (Romans 5:13); but once people are given this knowledge, they are liable for judgment (John 15:22; Romans 3:20).  Salvation then is predicated on submission to or rejection of these laws; and preaching is the device by which men are given the opportunity to choose (Ezekiel 3:17-21).  Though this is ancillary to the present discussion, it bears repeating:  Preaching the Gospel is a duty imposed on the faithful (1Corinthians 9:16).  Our active participation is demanded (Proverbs 10:5; Matthew 25:24-28)—or else!

   Since Satan never misses an opportunity, he also has relied on technology to sow and disseminate confusion, divisiveness, denominational dogmas, spurious gospels, conspiracy theories and godless empiricism.  And this brings us back to Babylon, the original place where men challenging Heaven’s sovereignty could not reach any consensus (Genesis 11:7-9).⁴  Is not today’s world like yesteryear’s Babylon?  Men cannot agree on anything, be it climate change, politics, vaccines, humanitarian causes, or what have you; and like Babel’s Tower, all human endeavors to replace Father with science/technology will fail.  This is the exact historical loop Solomon foretold would befall us (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).  

   As we attempt to explain Scripture’s ‘creatures,’ they will be associated with the nation—Israel or Christendom—most impacted by them.  Focusing on the regional angle, Israel’s will involve land and river creatures; global Christendom’s creatures will emerge out of the sea of humanity, embodying those nations that played a role in the dissemination of Christianity worldwide.

   But our discussion must begin with Satan himself.

The Cherub Creature

   The most evident prophetic teachings about Satan occur under the guise of worldly rulers, for Father Himself has given Satan a restricted stewardship over all forms of government past and present (Isaiah 22:15-24; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Daniel 5:21: Luke 4:6; Romans 13:1-2).  Whether through Pharaoh, the King of Assyria, the King of Babylon, or the King of Tyre, we are told a lot there is to know about—and what to expect from—Satan.  However Father has chosen to reveal these things while mixing them with specifics about the historical rulers of those empires; hence the Babel of opinions about who in particular is being referenced in various Scriptures.  For lack of a better word, we will use ‘hodgepodge‘ to categorize prophecies that are applicable to Satan as well as to his angelic/human cohorts.

   Most notable is Ezekiel’s unnamed “King of Tyre” (Ezekiel 28:12-14), portrayed as a Cherub, part of the angelic host created by Yahweh Son.  Once again let us remember that upon being called into being by Father (Genesis 1:3↔John 1:7-10, 8;13; Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14), Yahweh Son, was given plenipotentiary powers to undertake the rest of and rule over Creation (Psalms 2:7; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 1:2-3).  It then follows that just as Jesus is Christ and Satan anti-Christ, Jesus was “Light” and Satan was “Darkness.”  Genesis 1 underscores this enmity [↔2Corinthians 6:14-15) by deeming as “good” everything else created in Genesis except Darkness (Genesis 1:4,10,12,18,21,25,31).

   Ezekiel further states that this “guardian Cherub” had been in Eden amongst the angelic host [“fiery stones”↔Psalms 104:4] in Father’s “holy mountain.” It was there that he campaigned for supporters and was successful (Ezekiel 28:18), conscripting at least a third of the angelic host [↔Revelation 12:4,9].  Earlier, in Ezekiel 17:3-10, Satan’s winged attributes had been confirmed.⁵  The first eagle in this parable is Yahweh Son, whose multi-colored feathers link him to his personal sign, the rainbow (Genesis 9:12-13↔Revelation 10:1), and to Joseph’s coat, an earlier symbol whose synergy with Pharaoh replicated the one between Father and Son (Genesis 37:3, 41:40-41,43-44). The second eagle is Satan [no colored wings], to whom the “vine” reached out instead of its original planter.  We know who the “vine” represents, do we not?  “For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden in which he delights. He looked for justice, but saw only bloodshed; He searched for righteousness, but heard only an outcry” (Isaiah 5:7)!  In a nutshell, the overriding message of Scripture:  Judeo-Christians have perennially and consistently turned away from Father to embrace Satan (Isaiah 10:20, 28:15).

 Isaiah portrays Satan as the unnamed King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:4-20).  Since we will be parsing these verses as we go along, suffice it to say here that the statue in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Daniel 2) is the perfect metaphor for the relationship between Satan and all governments:  They are all part of his “body” in the same way that all the faithful are members of Jesus’ body (Ephesians 5:30). This notion will be further developed in Part V(b).

   Isaiah 19:4 further tells us what humanity can expect from this unnamed Pharaoh:  “’I will hand the Egyptians over to the power of a cruel master, and a fierce king will rule over them,’ declares Yahweh of hosts.”  Which not only characterizes the ruling style of the unnamed King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:16-17,20), but lets us know that Yahweh Son, the pre-existent Jesus, has always been Satan’s ‘controller’ (Hebrews 1:5-14; 1Peter 3:22; Revelation 1:18, 9:1,11).

   In Exodus, while Moses dialogued with an unnamed Pharaoh sitting on the throne, the demand to free the Jews came from Yahweh Son through Moses but was intended for the real power behind the unnamed Pharaoh:  Satan.  This is the explanation often missed when adversely reacting to verses like Exodus 4:21: “I [Yahweh] will harden [Pharaoh’s] heart and he will not let the people go.”  What was the point of leaving up to Pharaoh a choice he could not make if Yahweh was forcing him to refuse?  Like Solomon said, “Who can straighten what God has bent” (Ecclesiastes 7:13)?  But Yahweh Son could allow Satan to influence an idolatrous Pharaoh; while at the same time giving Pharaoh the chance to act according to the dictates of his free will (Luke 6:45).

 Pharaoh’s reasons for refusing may have ranged from economic considerations [Jews were cheap labor] to saving face [challenge to his authority], reasons that have been stock and parcel of human history. But the gist of the matter is that Pharaoh’s and Satan’s hearts were in sync; and because of that Satan’s will found expression through Pharaoh. Satan may prod but not override individual free will [the lesson implicit in Job 1 and 2]; and although he must be restrained because no human power can prevail against him (1Corinthians 10:13), men can prevail over him by resisting their evil instincts (James 1:13-14, 4:7). 

On Prophetic Nomenclature

   From a geographical standpoint nations can be identified by their major rivers:  If we say the Thames, England comes to mind; if the Seine, France; if the Volga, Russia; if the Nile, Egypt: if the Ganges, India; and so on.  By this token each river is emblematic of its respective population, which is the approach Scripture uses in Revelation 17:15:  “The waters you saw, on which the Harlot is sitting, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.”  Let us never forget that Father ordered nature in such a way that it mirrors some human reality; thus just as all rivers flow towards the sea, the sea becomes the prophetic symbol for humanity at large.

   When talking about Judaism, we must differentiate between the Biblical version—from Exodus to Jesus—and its modern-day upgrade, Rabbinical Judaism, which is entirely man-fashioned and irrelevant in God’s plan of redemption.  Biblical Judaism had its allotted time to reconcile with Father but failed; Christians are now at the bat but striking out right and left:  There is no one in Judeo-Christianity ever exempt from wrongdoing (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:10-18).  Still, in comparison with Christians, Old Testament Jews did not engage in world conquests/genocides; to this day, though unforgivably harsher to Palestinians on account of a few bad actors in their midst, Jewish goals are about preserving their traditions and protecting—sometimes forcibly annexing—lands they can call their own.

 In order to prefigure these dichotomies, Genesis 1 followed a contrived, chronological pattern that did not correspond with the evolution of the natural world as men interpret it.  On the shadow side, nations that beset Israel [dry land emerging from the sea] and plant-life [spreading laterally over terrains] were “created” on Third Day (Genesis 1:9-13; Isaiah 5:7 / 10:17-19,33-34 / 61:3; Ezekiel 15:1-6 / 31:3-6; Mark 8:24; Luke 23:31; Romans 11:16-24).  Fifth Day sea creatures [shadow] reference those species we are familiar with:  whales, orcas, sharks, and assorted sea-life;⁶ while on the substance side, they symbolize those monstrous creatures emerging out humanity in latter days (Daniel 7:2-3; Revelation 13:1), which are emblematic of tribes coalescing into nations despoiling the earth and warring against Father’s “saints” (Daniel 7:21; Revelation 13:7). Please note in Daniel 7:9-14, though not in their proper chronology, Jesus’ second coming, Judgment Day and Father‘s Kingdom are intimated—times corresponding with the smashed feet of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue when all human rule will be suppressed (Daniel 3:43-44).

   As discussed in Genesis 1: The Myth that Never Was, Fifth Day encompassed the historical period during which Christianity—or the mess men have made out of it—propagated throughout the world; and, as we shall discuss below, extends to end-times.  In these contexts, Jews are to Third Day “plants” what Christians are to Fifth Day “wild beasts.”  The latter, not the regional Jews, are the global predators roaming the earth since Christianity became corrupted.

Judaism’s Creatures

 Scripture teaches us about Satan not only under the guise of earthly rulers but also in terms of “land and sea” creatures.  Whereas the latter are symbolic of satanic forces deployed against Christianity and so play a role in Daniel’s and Revelation’s prophecies regarding future events, land creatures symbolize Israel’s enemies from earlier historical periods.  Israel’s invaders came by land; and no matter how far-reaching their empires, they were empires sharing a common ethnicity [Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece] rather than the disparate tribes which became European nations. Consequently, Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel rely on terrestrial rather than aquatic flora/fauna to convey their messages. 

   One graphic illustration involving plant life occurs in Ezekiel 31.  Who is being addressed?  Satan as the unnamed Pharaoh, King of Egypt [↔Ezekiel 29:3; Revelation 20:2).  To whom is he being compared?  The Assyrian Empire:  a “cedar of Lebanon” towering over all other trees in the field [Middle East?], under whose shadow lived all great nations [↔Isaiah 10:5-6,12-19,24,33-34].  Abruptly the narrative incorporates Satan, the true power behind Assyria:  “The cedars [other angels] in God’s garden [Eden] could not compare to…its [Satan’s] beauty [↔Ezekiel 28:12-13]…so that all the trees of Eden, that were in the garden of God, envied it [↔Job 4:18]…Because of its towering height, with its summit reaching into the clouds [his heart became haughty [↔Isaiah 14:13-14], [therefore] I will even deliver him into the hand of the mighty one of the nations [Jesus, the “axe” wielder↔Isaiah 10:15; Matthew 28:18; Revelation 12:5], [who will deal with that tree as his wickedness deserves].”

   Now follows a sample of prophetic ‘hodgepodge.’  “On the mountains and in all the valleys his branches [his human minions] are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the watercourses [rivers = nations↔Revelation 17:1,15] of the land…All the birds in the sky will live among its ruins, and the wild animals will forage among its branches [↔Isaiah 18:4-6]…I made the nations shake at the sound of its fall, when I threw it down to Sheol, along with those who descend to the pit [↔Isaiah 14:5-10].  Then all the trees of Eden, the choicest and the best of Lebanon…were comforted in the earth below.  They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword [the word of God↔Ephesians 6:17]; yes, those who were his arm [enabled, aided and abetted Satan] that lived under his shadow in the midst of the nations… You will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth [the pit of darkness where fallen angels are imprisoned↔Jude 1:6; 2Peter 2:4; Revelation 9:1-2,11, 12:8-9, 20:3]; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword! This is what will happen to Pharaoh and all his hordes.'”

   When it relates to Nebuchadnezzar, who invaded Israel by land, the plant-life imagery is much the same as Assyria’s:  Nebuchadnezzar was the tree reaching up to heaven, towering over all others, under whose foliage “the beasts of the field found shade…the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and every creature [fed] from it” (Daniel 4:10-12).  But unlike Ezekiel’s unnamed Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream outlines a temporary punishment for his vain pride, losing his sanity until restored “seven times [?]” afterwards.  And unlike the unnamed Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar does not go down to Sheol or lie amongst the uncircumcised dead; on the contrary, his kingdom is preserved and his majesty restituted (Daniel 4:23-26,34,36).  Of note is the imagery used in Daniel 4:33:  “His hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.”  Coincidence that he is likened to an eagle as Satan was in Ezekiel 17:7?

   Going back to Job 40:15-19, we encounter Satan’s terrestrial avatar:  Behemoth.  “See now, Behemoth, which I [Yahweh Son] made as well as you [Job].  He eats grass as an ox [grass = human souls?]…what strength there is in his body, and what power there is in his muscles [↔Job 41;23]!  His tail stands up like a cedar, and the muscles in his legs are strong.  His bones are as strong as bronze, and his legs are like iron bars [as in Nebuchadnezzar’s statue].  It ranks first [Darkness] among the works of God [Yahweh Son proxy Creator]; the One who made it [ultimately, Father↔Isaiah 54:16] has furnished it with a [homicidal] sword.”  Verse 19 in particular tells us that Satan is the Behemoth who wields the killing sword given to him by Father (Exodus 12:23; 2Samuel 24:16; Jeremiah 47:6; Ezekiel 21:11-15, 30:24-25; Revelation 6:8).

   If we then go to Daniel 8, we encounter other land “beasts” that played significant roles in Israel’s history:  One symbolizing the Medo-Persian Empire [the two-horned ram (Daniel 8:3-4); and the other Greece [the one-horned, male goat (Daniel 8:5-7].  Daniel 8:21 definitely identifies Alexander as the great horn of the “Greek” male goat; but the two Medo-Persian horns are up for grabs.  If we assume them to have been the most notable rulers of an empire composed mostly of Persian stock—hence the ram’s body, the logical choices would be Cyrus II [originally king of the Medes and founder of the first Persian Empire] and Darius I, both of whom play prominent roles in the Old Testament.⁷

   Alexander died suddenly at age 32:  He is the “broken horn” of Daniel 8:8.  After 40 years of internecine conflict among members of his family and four leading generals, his empire was ultimately divided into four kingdoms flung across all cardinal points.  Note that the principal rulers of these four “kingdoms” are no longer represented by beasts, but by horns emerging from a common body, suggesting a shared ethnicity.  Be that as it may, it is at this point that “horns” become symbols for power-wielding rulers.  As per Daniel 8:8, the four horns breaking off Alexander’s were Cassander [Macedonia, most of Greece and parts of Thrace]; Lysimachus [after vanquishing Antigonus, Lydia, Ionia, Phrygia and parts of modern-day Turkey]; Ptolemy [Egypt and neighboring regions]; and Seleucus [present-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and parts of Central Asia, which after his death in 281 BC became the Seleucid Empire].  These were overran by the Roman Empire, the “little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land [Israel]” (Daniel 8:9).

   As in Ezekiel 31, the narrative abruptly shifts to another “prophetic hodgepodge” involving Satan, Imperial Rome and the Roman Catholic Church:  “And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground [↔Revelation 12:3-4,9, remembering that “stars” are symbols for angels (Matthew 2:2,9-10; Revelation 1:20, 9:1,11)], and trampled upon them.  Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host [Jesus]; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering [Mosaic sacrifices annulled by Jesus’ crucifixion], and the place of his sanctuary [the Jerusalem Temple destroyed by Rome in 70 AD? / Jesus’ Church?] was cast down.  And the host [Father’s “saints”] was given over to it together with the continual burnt offering through transgression [persecutions and martyrdom by way of sanctifying the Church—i.e., God’s discipline/baptism by fire↔Isaiah 48:10; Jeremiah 30:11; Micah 7:9; Zechariah 13:9; Luke 3:16; Hebrews 12:5-8)]; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered” (Daniel 8:10-12).

   We will return to these when discussing the ‘Chimera-like’ Creature in Part V(b).

River Creatures

   Satan’s watery domains include rivers.  While some of Ezekiel 29:2-21’s verses are particular to Nebuchadnezzar [identified by name in 29:18-21], those pertaining to the unnamed Pharaoh reference Satan himself.  “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh King of Egypt and prophesy concerning him, and concerning Egypt.  Speak and say, ‘Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lies in the midst of his rivers [nations↔Revelation 17:15]…I will put hooks in your jaws [what no man can do↔Job 41:1], and I will make the fish of your rivers [his human minions↔Matthew 4:19] stick to your scales; and I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers, with all the fish of your rivers which stick to your scales.  I’ll cast you forth into the wilderness, you and all the fish of your rivers. You’ll fall on the open field. You won’t be brought together, nor gathered [↔Jeremiah 25:33]. I have given you for food to the animals of the earth and to the birds of the sky’” [↔Revelation 19:17-18].

   Ezekiel 32:2,5-6 continues in the same vein.  “Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt, and tell him, ‘You were likened to a young lion [Amos 3:12; 2Timothy 4:17; 1Peter 5:8] of the nations: yet you are as a monster in the seas; and you did break forth with your rivers, and troubled the waters [the nations] with your feet, and fouled their rivers [the “residue” in Daniel 7:7]… I will spread out My [fishing] net on you with an assembly of many peoples [Jesus’ appointed “fishermen”↔Matthew 4:19]; and they shall bring you up in My net [triumph over him].  I will leave you on the land, I will cast you forth on the open field, and will cause all the birds of the sky to settle on you, and I will satisfy the animals of the whole earth with you.  And I shall cast your flesh on the mountains and the valleys will be filled with your worms [↔Isaiah 14:11].  I will also water with your blood the land in which you swim [the world↔Revelation 16:3-6], even to the mountains; and the watercourses shall be full of you.’”

   Where have we heard similar things before?  In Jeremiah 25:33: “The slain of Yahweh shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.”  In Isaiah 14:11,19-20: “Maggots [from the rotting corpses surrounding Satan]  are spread out under you, and worms cover you…But you are cast away from your tomb like an abominable branch, clothed with the slain [i.e., covered with their maggots], who are thrust through with the sword [“killed” by the sword of the Holy Spirit, the word of God (Ephesians 6:17)], who go down to the stones of the pit; like a dead body trodden under foot.  You will not join them in burial [↔Revelation 20:2-3], because you have destroyed your land. You have killed your people.”  And in Revelation 19:17-18: “Then I saw an angel standing in the sun. He cried out in a loud voice to all the birds flying overhead, ‘Come!  Gather for the great supper of God that you may eat flesh of kings, and flesh of chiefs of thousands, and flesh of strong men, and flesh of horses, and of those sitting on them, and the flesh of all—freemen and servants—both small and great.’”

   What do these prophecies prefigure?  The Millennium of Rest following Judgment Day, after Jesus has taken the redeemed up to Heaven and Satan is left chained upon a dead world.  The corpses about him are the dead unrighteous rejected by Jesus on Judgment Day, who will come alive during the second resurrection and be led by Satan against the Holy City, whereupon God will exact His long-promised—and only—act of vengeance:  The fire from Heaven at Armageddon (Deuteronomy 32:35; Revelation 20:2-10).

Sea Creatures

   In Job 41:1-10, 12-34, we are told of Leviathan’s daunting features, Leviathan being Behemoth’s aquatic counterpart.  This is no run-of-the-mill sea creature.  As it did with Behemoth, Scripture is using rather poetic language to convey Satan’s formidable might and destructive capabilities.  But if we pay attention to verses 3-4, 9, 25, and especially 33-34, we note human-like traits characteristic of Satan.  No covenants can be struck with him (v. 4):  He will con people and betray them when no longer of use to him [↔Luke 22:3; John 13:2; Matthew 27:3-4].  Those who put their faith in him (v. 9) will find it avails naught when conflicting with Father’s plans (Isaiah 28:15,18-19, 30:15-17).  Satan is Father’s “homicidal sword,” and once He allows its wielding, Satan will use it indiscriminately to strike against righteous and unrighteous alike (Ezekiel 21:3-4, 10-15).

   The nations of the world, no matter how powerful, have endured Satan’s genocidal wrath (25); and they will collectively rejoice when he is brought down and can no longer strike at them (Isaiah 14:6-8).  There will be those who suffering Satan’s torments will submit to the “purification” intimated in the second part of verse 25.  What purifies hearts?  Father’s disciplinary actions (Psalms 39:11; Proverbs 20:30; Isaiah 48:10), the reason behind the Great Tribulation as a last resort to save people who must be forced to turn to Him, not out of choice but out of sheer desperation, in order to be spared (2Chronicles 15:2-6; Jeremiah 29:12-14; Hosea 5:15, 6:1; Luke 14:23; Revelation 7:9-14).

   But Job 41:33-34 give the show away:  “There’s nothing like him on earth; he was created without the ability to fear.  He looks down on everything that is high; he rules over all that are proud.”  Behaviors are restrained by fear of formidable opponents, but only Satan dared challenge Father’s sovereignty (Isaiah 14:13-14); only Satan will disdain His wrath until the bitter end (Revelation 20:7-10); and Satan personally possessed Judas in order to strike back at the Son who had controlled him in the past and would do so again after his resurrection (Exodus 12:23; 2Samuel 24:16; Job 1:12, 2:6; Matthew 28:18; Revelation 1:18).

   Isaiah 27:1 zeroes in on Satan’s end:  “In that day, Yahweh with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan, the fleeing serpent, and Leviathan the twisted serpent; and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea.”  These nouns, serpent and dragon, are what Scripture uses to identify Satan (Ezekiel 29:3; Revelation 20:2).  Leviathan, after all, is a transliterated Hebrew word meaning “twisted” or “coiled.”  Pristine water could not be any clearer than this.

   There is a final verse in Job that warrants our attention:  “Who dares to open his mouth, since it is ringed with his terrible teeth” (Job 41:14).  This leads us to Daniel 7:7:  “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet: and it was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.” From here we are directed forward to the beast of Revelation 13:1, whose power comes from the dragon—Satan (Ezekiel 29:3; Revelation 20:2).  It is thus obvious that sea creatures are symbolic representations of Satan and future nations empowered by him.

Partial conclusions

   To this day, Judaism cannot grasp that the Yahweh Son proxy God who interacted with them in the Old Testament incarnated as the Jesus they rejected in life (2Corinthians 3:15-16). Sad for them; but what is Christendom’s excuse for the tsunamis of blood they have swamped the world with while preaching Jesus?  As Christian evangelization spread over the globe, it annihilated entire civilizations and subjugated peoples with a vindictiveness and gusto that must have made Satan proud to call them children.  And what if Father’s “saints” were mowed down in the process?

    No matter, because—as we shall see—all is dared in search of trove and war.

¹ The “four horns” in Daniel 8:8-9,22; namely, Seleucus, Ptolemy, Cassander and Antigonous. These four went to war amongst themselves and staked their claims on Alexander’s broken empire. Their territories were in time overran by Rome, the “little horn, whose power extended toward the south [Egypt] and the [Middle] east and toward the Promised Land [Israel]” (Daniel 8:9). Please note how Daniel 8:22-25 bridges the gap from the end of these dynasties to Imperial Rome, then to papal Rome and all the way to Revelation 18:2-10.

² Moses was an early symbol for Jesus both as mediator between Yahweh and Israel and as Lawgiver/Judge.  The Exodus was shadow to the substance of Judeo-Christian deliverance at end times, when Jesus will lead the redeemed from earth to Heaven.  Thus there is a symbolic correspondence between the Red Sea and the chasm that separates the world from heavenly realms (Genesis 1:6-7; Luke 16-26).

³ As attested to in Isaiah 10:5,12,20,23-25,27 / 14:4-6 / 19:4 / 22:15-21/ Ezekiel 28:12-19 / 29:3.

⁴ Was not the Tower of Babel an attempt to seek independence from the Scriptural Tower (Psalms 61:3; Proverbs 18:10) by consolidating human power rivalling His own (Genesis 11:4)? Which has always been Satan’s goal (Isaiah 14:13-14).

⁵ Cherubim are winged creatures (Exodus 25:18-20; 2Samuel 22:11; 1Kings 6:23-27; Ezekiel 1:6-11).

⁶ Excluding Jonah’s “fish” which was created in his lifetime for the express purpose of teaching him Yahweh’s will could not be circumvented.  If Jonah was in the belly of this creature for three days and nights, obviously its digestive system was not the norm; and since Jonah is not portrayed as wearing diving gear, he was able to breathe therein (Johan 1:2-17, 2:1-10).  Though for some this may sound like a whale of a tale, Jonah’s ‘impromptu’ fish was not Pinocchio’s whale.

⁷ Cyrus appears in 2Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4, 5:13, 6:3-12; Isaiah 45:1; Daniel 6:28.  Darius I is mentioned in Ezra 5:5-7; Daniel 6:1,25-27, 11:1; Haggai 1:1, and Zechariah 1:1,7.

   Please note that these monarchs are mentioned in connection with Jesus’ most important task:  Building Father‘s Temple.  Whereas in Jesus this refers to his body, the Church, wherein Father resides (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 2:9), Cyrus and Darius played crucial roles in the rebuilding of the earthly Jerusalem and its Second Temple.  This is why Zerubabbel, Judah’s governor [Jesus’ tribe↔Hebrews 7:14], was Yahweh Son‘s “signet ring” commissioned to start this work (Haggai 2:23).

   A simple extrapolation teaches us that Zerubabbel’s prefigures Jesus’ own work—at a spiritual level—as builder of Father’s human-bricked Temple (Ephesians 2:20-22; Hebrews 3:6; 1Peter 2:5). Though now in inaccessible light in heavenly regions (1Timothy 6:16), Father will live eternally amongst men in the Heavenly Jerusalem which has no Temple (Revelation 21:2-3,22). And just as Zerubabbel laid the stone foundations for the Second Temple, so did Jesus lay the human-bricked foundations for Father‘s everlasting abode; which is the reason why the names of Jesus’ Twelve Apostles are inscribed on the foundations of the Heavenly City (Revelation 21:14).