“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, ESV)
Isaiah, in this verse, uses an interesting metaphor. Here he states that in “that day,” the Lord will “punish Leviathan.” Leviathan was a mythological, dragon like deity with seven heads, which dwelt in the sea. Ugaritic literature portrays this creature as an enemy of order in creation. Isaiah’s reference to Leviathan does not mean that he believes in myths. Rather, he uses the myth to present a point. Leviathan represents an enemy of God. In “that day,” God will destroy His enemies.
In the Book of Revelation, we see several references to the enemy of God. First, we see that the Lord cast down the “ancient serpent, who is called the devil” (Revelation 12:9). Later, at the beginning of the millennium, we see that the Lord has an angel seize “the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan,” and bind and cast the serpent, that is Satan, into the pit for a thousand years (Revelation 20:2). Finally, we see that the Lord releases Satan from the prison and after a time of deceiving the nations, has the devil thrown into “the lake of fire and sulfur,” along with the “beast and the false prophet” (Revelation 20:7-10).
The point for us to remember is that, as believers, we do have a real adversary, the devil. Peter says that he “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He opposes God, the people of God, the institutions of God, and the works of God. Paul indicates that we are in war with the devil and the spiritual forces aligned with him (Ephesians 6:11-12). Engaging in this spiritual battle is a strenuous and uncomfortable exercise. Yet it is something that is part of the Christian life and we must continuously strive by God’s grace in it.
The good news that Isaiah presents, and that John parallels in the Book of Revelation, is that God has already written the devil’s final chapter. It is a firm conclusion. He is a defeated foe. While we may grow weary at times in the battle against evil today, the time is coming when God will destroy his and our enemies. On “that day,” we will never need to struggle against these spiritual forces of evil again. Today, we should rejoice because our victory is guaranteed.
Renewing the Heart 