Babylon is destroyed (Revelations 17-18)

An angel comes and celebrates that Babylon is destroyed.  Another voice calls from heaven for the people to come out of Babylon.

This is a strange analogy.  I am not entirely sure what is going on here.

Taken literally, the destruction of Babylon happened centuries before the life of Christ.  Likewise, the return from the exile of Babylon happened centuries.

However, Revelations 17:5 links Babylon with the great beast emerging from the sea.  So, we can contextually infer that the angel is celebrating the destruction of the beast of chapter 17 and the sea beast took on a role analogous to that of Babylon.

Beyond that, I think it is hard to say what is going on without adding our own thoughts into the text.  From my own speculation, since I think the sea beast represents human governments at war with Christianity, chapter 18 celebrates a time when that will no longer happen.

The two beasts (Revelation 13)

My cliff notes summary of my interpretation:  various governments of the world will wage war against Christianity.  That is it.

I am very tempted to leave it at.  But let's expound for the sake of argument.

John sees two beasts.  The first is a seven-headed leopard creature with 10 horns, 10 crowns, and emerges from the sea.  It is also made up of parts of various animals.  

The second beast has a number, 666.  This beast is working in tandem with the first beast mad has the authority to make everyone with this number.  The effect of marking this number is that people cannot buy and sell without the authority of the beast.

Taken together, this just sounds like the Roman empire.  The various parts of the body with 10 horns and 10 crowns coming together to form one body sound like an empire.  This thing comes of the ocean.  The closest ocean to John would be the Mediterranean Sea, but that might add details to the vision that are not specified in the Bible.  But anyway, the Roman Empire straddled the Mediterranean Sea.

Similarly, the number 666 comes out to Nero, who was Emperor of Rome.  I do not know the specifics, but in the original Greek, letters and numbers are somehow interchangeable.  If one adds up the number of the letters for Nero, it comes out to 666.

This would also correspond to what the "mark of the beast" is actually doing.  People cannot buy and sell without the beast's authority.  Governments regulate trade and commerce.  That is all the 666 on people is doing.

Taken with the rest of the allegorical message of Revelations, it just means that the governments of the world will wage war with Christianity throughout history.  We can look back and see that pattern beginning with the Roman Empire.  Modern equivalents would include Soviet-Sino communism and many Muslim (Sharia) governments.  

Likewise, governments change.  A few centuries after John wrote Revelations, the Roman Emperor became Christian.

Another thing, the beast might be the New Testament version of the Leviathan from Job.  The Leviathan was multi-headed and lived in the ocean, although it is usually depicted as a serpent.  Here in Revelations, we again see a multi-headed sea creature, but this one is mostly depicted as a chimera of terrestrial mammals.

If we go down that analogy, then the near-fatal wounding of one of the heads of beast in Revelations could be a reference to how God could "hook" the Leviathan by its mouth.

Isaiah 27

God will defeat and slay the Leviathan and God will gather up the scattered peope of Jacob. This is another indication that the Leviathan is a spiritual creature and not a physical one. Also, given the parallel of these chapters to Revelations and 2 Thessalonians, I also think the Leviathan is the multi-headed sea creature discussed in Revelations.

Psalm 104

This psalm emphasizes God as creator. It has an interesting discussion of many aspects of creation. According to this psalm:

1. the seas have a marked line that they cannot cross. I wonder how literal we should interpret this. Although the general coastal boundaries have roughly been the same for human existence, there are exceptions. Volcanic islands are currently being formed and land is being subsumed under water.

2. the sun knows when to go down. This might indicate that this psalm is metaphorical as it is the rotation of the earth that makes the sun "go down".

3. God created the Leviathan to frolic in the oceans. If the Leviathan is a fallen angel/ demonic entity, this would indicate that God gave it authority of the oceans.

Behemoth and Leviathan (Job 40-41)

God then asks Job about two creatures that God made, the behemoth and the leviathan. What are these creatures? Are they real? Natural, spiritual? Extinct or extant? Are the descriptions metaphorical? My personal bias is that they are spiritual creatures because. I'll explain why. I'll admit this whole area is pretty cloudy.

Job 40-41 Behemoth and Leviathan

Let's start with the descriptions:

Behemoth (40:15-24)

Attributes of an extant natural creature: eats grass, powerful muscles, tail as strong as cedar, stands in water, lives in the Jordan river

Based on this, one might conclude it is a hippo or elephant. One might say that it is a dinosaur but it seems to be an extant creature as the language is in the present tense.

Metaphorical description/ attributes of a super-creature: these if taken literally, are not any creature in the natural world:

Bones of bronze, limbs of iron (not "as iron") - this creature is made of metal

Only God can threaten it - every animal on earth can be hunted by humans, even in Job's day

Cannot be caught or harnessed (ring through the nose)

The behemoth is nebulous and if one allows for some metaphorical license, it could reasonably be an elephant. However, the Leviathan is much harder to identify in the natural world. Both of these creatures are explained together, so I think they should be grouped together.

Leviathan (41:1-34)

Physical attributes:

Enormous strength, limbs, graceful form

Powerful jaws

Terrible teeth

Scales arranged in rows of a shield

Based on this, it would seem like a crocodile.

However, the metaphorical attributes seem to undercut the crocodile theory. I think the metaphorical attributes should not be dismissed too easily as they are central to the dialogue. It is these that actually make the creature impressive.

1. God asks Job if he or others can do these things. If it were a physical creatures, then the answer would be "yes, God. I can."

Catch it with a hook

Put a spike through its jaw

Make it a pet like a bird (probably not a crocodile, but at least can be captured alive)

Sell or buy it in shops

Hurt or hunt it with spears

2. Other super-creature attributes

Cannot be caught

Lightning, fire, and smoke come from mouth and nostrils

Flesh cannot be penetrated

Cannot be stopped by clubs, a sword, arrow, javelin, or any weapon made of iron or bronze

Also, the book of Psalms (74:14) says this creature has multiple heads.

Finally, I think these creatures must be considered in the overall point of Job. Yes, chapters 38-39 contain a litany of the natural world to showcase the power and majesty of God. But what began Job? What was the rest of the book about? Job 1-2 were dialogues in the spiritual world and Job 3-37 were back and forth arguments about why bad things happen and God's majesty.

Here, I think these chapters return to the questions posed in the rest of the book. God's demonstrating that there are spiritual forces, good and evil, that are far more complicated than Job can understand, nor hope to control on his own. However, God can subdue them. Just as God can limit Satan, God can harness and control these other spiritual creatures as well.

So, why do bad things happen? Because these things are running amuck, which ties us back to the very beginning of Job.

Job 3

Job finally speaks. He curses the day he was born and wishes he had never been born at all. His perspective on death is that it would be peaceful rest, something far different than the sorrow his life has become.

He mentions Leviathan in v. 8. He wishes those who could awaken Leviathan curse the day he was born.

Psalms 50, 73-74

Psalm 50 - this was written by Asaph and is very different than any other psalm thus far. After an intro, the psalm is written from God's perspective. God has no need of bulls, but rather wants thankfulness and the fulfillment of vows. Then in the days of trouble, God will come.

Psalm 73 - another psalm by Asaph. This is more similar to the many of the ones by David in that it contrasts wickedness from God. Asaph outlines the importance of having God to be the center, despite that "my flesh and my heart may fail".

Psalm 74 - this is also written by Asaph. Here, Asaph calls for intervention from God against the wicked. It reminds me of the psalms of David in which it sounds like David's enemies have run amuck in Israel. Asaph calls on God and reminds God that God is creator of all the universe and hence, how foolish it is to mock God.

It also mentions by name the "Leviathan". We'll see a lot more about the Leviathan in Job, but verse 14 gives a clue the Leviathan is not a literal, tangible creature - the Leviathan has multiple heads. There is a debate whether the Leviathan is a physical creature and some people suggest that it is a crocodile. There is a similar debate about the other creature mentioned in Job, the Behemoth, for instance if it was a dinosaur or hippopotamus. If all you read was Job, then that idea would have more traction. But if the Leviathan has multiple heads, then i don't think so. Personally, I think the Leviathan is a spiritual creature and actually has a probable new testament reference as the multi-headed dragon that appears from the ocean in Revelation.

But more on that when I get to Job.