Is Leviathan exaggerated? How does it have “fiery breath?”

It’s interesting that Leviathan, which is actually mentioned six times in the Holy Bible, is described in such vivid detail in the Book of Job (Job 41:1-35). But, Leviathan is also mentioned in the Psalms and in Isaiah. Many Bible scholars have argued over what Leviathan was. Some argue it was a crocodile, some argue that it may have been a type of dinosaur, and others have argued that it was, in fact, some sort of creature that we commonly refer to as a dragon. A dragon?? Is that even possible?

Did dragons exist? Well, hmmm … Satan has been described as “the dragon.” And, in the book of Isaiah, chapter 27, Isaiah declares that the Lord will punish and slay Leviathan. Isaiah calls him the “monster of the sea.” In the King James translation, Leviathan is described as that “crooked serpent” and that “dragon in the sea.”

Dragons, throughout history, have been described as “fire-breathing.” In this case, it may have been true fire or, and here’s where it gets tricky, it may have been a description of the evil speech coming from the mouth of the dragon. Remember, the dragon could be a representation of Satan - and Satan is the Prince of Lies and represents everything bad in this world. So, Leviathan’s “fiery breath” could be the lies, the hate and the anger that Satan spews from his mouth.

It could also, quite literally, be fire. Leviathan could have been a fire-breathing dragon that existed in the sea. We just don’t know for sure. Is the description of Leviathan literal? Is it descriptive? Is it exaggerated? Or is it spot on? Again, we truly don’t know for sure.

I do know one thing, when I get to Heaven I am going to ask Job (who clearly saw Leviathan) what in the world was he describing!

Can Satan kill people?

Wow, that is a very good question and the short answer is yes…BUT only if God allows it. The best example of this can be found in the Old Testament in the Book of Job. God allows all sorts of bad things to happen to Job, including allowing Satan to kill Job’s sons and daughters (Job 1:18-19). But, God does not allow Satan to kill Job (Job 1:12). So, my question was, “Well, why did God allow that?”

I think it is really, really important to remember here that God did not kill anyone. He allowed Satan to kill Job’s family for a divine purpose. Again, we cannot begin to understand how God thinks or what his end result is supposed to be but we do know that God has an unstoppable plan and there are parts of that plan that we, while we are here on earth, may never, ever understand. But, it does serve God’s purpose.

Another very important thing to remember is God’s purpose is always good. God does not do anything out of hate or with evil intentions. We sing a song in church that says that God is good ALL the time, ALL the time, God is good. So, when He allows Satan to kill, God does not have an evil purpose or mean purpose behind it.

I know that is hard to understand. It is for me too. And whenever I’m faced with that question of “why” I always remind myself of Proverbs 3:5-6, which says, “Trust in the Lord, your God, with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

If Satan is evil in Heaven and in the Bible it says there is no sin in Heaven, why did Satan sin then?

WOW!!! That is a very awesome question! And, to be quite honest with you, I don’t know the answer to that question and I don’t think anyone, other than Jesus, really knows. But, here’s what I do know to be true:

God absolutely hates sin. He cannot even be in its presence.
There is no sin in Heaven.
Satan was once God’s most perfect angel named Lucifer and he was cast out of Heaven because he sinned against God.
A third of the angels also sinned and were cast down to Earth with Satan.
Satan is also known as the “accuser of the brethren” because he gets to go to the Throne of God and point out the sinners to God but Jesus protects us by saying, No, Satan, you’re wrong, They are covered by my death.” (Job 1:6-12 and Revelation 12:7-9 tell some of the story!)

So, there are a lot of bible scholars who believe that there are different realms of Heaven and that when Lucifer sinned against God it was in one of the realms of Heaven but not Heaven itself. There are also some Bible scholars that believe the Throne of God isn’t in Heaven but just outside Heaven which would allow Satan to come close to Heaven without being able to get it to Heaven itself.

We have to remember that God is all-knowing, all-powerful and ever-present. He has an unstoppable plan for us and for Satan. Don’t forget…Satan is not God or the opposite of God. He is a created being just like you and me. God created Satan. Satan cannot create life, he is not all-knowing, he is not all-powerful and he cannot be in two places at once. Never, ever think that God and Satan are equal because they are not.

In fact, if God wanted to, He could make Satan disappear with just a thought. But, God has a plan for us all, including Satan, and God’s plan is perfect and unstoppable. We cannot ever imagine or begin to know why God does some of the things he does or allows some of the things he allows. We will never know, until we go to Heaven, why God allowed Satan to sin.

Can Satan create? If so, did he make dinosaurs and were they evil so they could not go on the ark?

One of the problems with Satan is that a lot of what we think we know about him is popular mythology – meaning that we get our ideas from stories and history and traditions that are not in the Bible. That Satan is a mean dude in a red suit with a pitchfork is a good example of a description of Satan that is not in the Bible. Another idea – a surprising one - is that Satan is in hell. The Bible states that he roams earth looking for someone to destroy (Job 1:6-7; 1 Peter 5:8). The point I am making is that we want to use only the Bible to understand Satan.

One of the clearest statements about Satan is Revelation 12:9, which states that “this great dragon – the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world – was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.” There are a lot of other passages in the New Testament that also describe Satan as humanity’s deceiver, adversary and challenger. 1 Peter 5:8 makes it clear that Satan wants to destroy us and Matthew 4:1-11 is a great example which shows that not even Jesus was free of his challenges.

To answer your question directly as it refers to dinosaurs, Satan is not the Creator, God is. God is the Creator of everything, of all matter and energy and space and time and life, and everything in creation that God called first “good” and later “very good.” This includes dinosaurs! God created dinosaurs and they were good.

The reason they did not make it onto the ark was probably because they were already extinct, not because they were evil.

Why does God, when things are bad and you ask Him to make them better, make them worse instead?

This is such a great question, and there are some difficult issues here. I’ll do my best to answer you. If you have more questions, or if we need to dig in deeper, then just ask some more, OK?

Here’s what the Bible says –

First, God hears you and answers your prayers! Check out Isaiah 65:24! God says He will answer your prayers before you even get through praying! Not all prayers have the same “yes” answer. God is totally wise, and He knows exactly what is best for you. Its important that you pray according to God’s will, and you can find that in the Bible. Sometimes He says, “Not yet.” Whether your answer is yes, no , or not yet, He hears you.

Also check out Deuteronomy 4:5-8; Job 22:27; and Psalms 28:6 and 91:15.

You’re saying that God makes things worse when you ask Him to make things better. We already know that He hears you. So now the question is: why is He making it worse? And that’s a tough question.

We have to accept – even if we can’t understand – that God is not intentionally harming us. He is not making it worse for you because you asked Him to make it better!

Let me chat about God’s love for us for a second. He loves us with an unconditional love – that means that no matter what you’ve done or not done – He loves you. The Bible speaks of God’s love for us in many places, so we know it is real. (check out Psalm 136!)

Also check out John 14:21; Romans 5:5; 1 John 4:10, 16.

Not only does He love us, but He promises to love us forever!


So why are things still worse, right?

It is absolutely not because of anything that you are doing right or wrong, OK? The reality is that bad things happen to good people. The reality is that we will get hurt, we will suffer, we will have pain and heartache. Its not because we’re bad, or not praying enough, or sinning too much, or anything at all like that. And God is not getting even with us, or doing mean and hurtful things to us. He is not “making things worse.”

What the Bible clearly does not promise is that just because you love God, obey His commands, and follow Him, that you are always going to be happy and have a pain-free life. If we read the whole Bible – not just the warm, fuzzy parts – then we see that lots of people who love God still experience pain (like Job, and how about all of the disciples?!)

What we do know is that in times of trouble, God can be your strength.

If you think you are being short-changed, take it up with God. Go ahead and let Him know you are angry. Its OK to feel like life’s not fair. Its OK to go to God with all of your feelings about it. He can handle it.

But then let Him calm your heart! He’ll always listen, and He is with you. Psalm 9:9 is a good reminder!

I hope my answer helps you understand God a little bit better. Know and trust that He loves you even when times are really difficult and painful.

How do you know God’s real?

I know God is real because I see his hand in creation. When I look in amazement at the stars and the universe, when I realize that cabbages and kangaroos exist on the same planet, when I see a child being born, and when I try to understand how unbelievably complex living creatures are – then I know God is real.

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

I know God is real because I see his hand in history. I have studied history, and especially the Bible and the history of the Bible, and I am amazed at the generations and generations of people – for thousands of years – who have worshiped God and followed his commands, who have grappled with the same questions and issues and challenges that you and I grapple with today, and who have written down so many of their experiences in the pages of history.

Job 19:25 I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. (Job lived somewhere between 1400 and 700 BC, a very long ago! He is an awesome example of a man who trusted God when all was well and who continued to do so when everything went wrong.)

I know God is real because I see him working in the lives of people. I know (because of history) that he has worked in the lives of millions of people, and I also know that he has been at work in my own life, and the lives of people with whom I hang out every day – and that includes TRACK kids! The stories I have are just awesome!

Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
and John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—

I hope my answer helps give you some extra confidence that God is real. He is very real, and even better – he loves you, and he wants you to know him. Now that’s cool!