DESTRUCTION OF LEVIATHAN If God comes out of His place to punish, in this, He is not seeking the destruction of sinners but of sin. He does not seek getting into a fight with humanity, but with the devil, that ancient twisted serpent, the reptile monster of the sea. He gets into a unique battle through the cross, the sword of Truth, the slayer of evil, and the Grantor of life to His people. 1. The slaying of Leviathan 1. 2. Protection of the beloved vineyard 2-9. 3. Striking the enemy 10-11. 4. God gathers His people 12-13. 1. THE SLAYING OF LEVIATHAN “In that day the Lord with His severe sword, great and strong, will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, and He will slay the reptile that is in the sea.” (Is. 27: 1) Some scholars see in the expression “In that day” a reference to the last day, in which God strikes the devil, His final and devastating strike, through the enjoyment of the Church of the eternal life, and the destruction of the evil one. The followers of the Millennium Kingdom regard it as the day of the Millennium kingdom, in which the authority of the devil will be destroyed. We, on the other hand, see it as the day of the cross, namely the day of redemption, in which the Lord reigned on the cross, and in which: “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us... and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.” (Colossians 2: 14, 15) The spiritual Millennium kingdom began by the crucifixion of the Savior. As I previously said, the tendency of certain exegetes, to apply the prophecies of Isaiah, concerning the Messianic age, to the Millennium kingdom, is a natural fruit of the fact that Christians of the present age are not tasting the power of the cross in their life, are not experiencing the divine authority over the devil and his works, and are not in touch with the victorious inner life, filled with joy and exalted peace. What is that fierce sword by which God punishes Leviathan, but the word of God, the sharp double-edged sword coming out of His mouth (Revelation 1: 16; Hebrew 4: 12)? Through the word we encounter the Lord Christ Himself (the incarnate crucified Word of God), hidden behind the letters and words, Who continuously works for our salvation. And as St. Athanasius the Apostolic says, [The Son of God is living and active, working day after day, for the salvation of all1.] Punishing the serpent with the sword, or slaying the sea monster, means that the incarnate Word of God, our crucified Christ, dwelling in us, is taking over the leadership of the fight, to condemn every evil in us, to destroy every darkness and to establish in us the kingdom of light. The whole world, as we see, brethren, is conquered... not by a military might, but by the ignorance of the cross... When His body was lifted up on the cross spirits submitted to Him2. 1 Incar, of the Word 31. 2 .468- الحب الإلهي، ص 467 St. Augustine The Lord robbed the authorities and rulers, and took them over by His cross. For that the Lord came, to cast them away, to gain back man, His dwelling place and His temple3. St. Macarius the Great In our study on ‘The Holy Spirit, between the New Birth and the Continuous Renewal’ we saw how the office of Baptism, which is actually an enjoyment of dying with the Lord Christ, of being buried with Him, and of the power of His resurrection, is based on two main lines, which are: Enjoyment of the new man, that is according to the image of his Creator, and the destruction of the works of the old man. That is to say, enjoyment of the Lord Christ, and denying the devil with all his energies and works. In the water of Baptism we are united with our Christ, the crucified King, who destroyed Leviathan, the deceiving serpent, the monster dwelling in the water. After bending your knees, you are asked to utter the following words: ‘I deny you Satan’...What happened? What is this sudden strange change? You, who used to tremble in fear, are you rebelling against your master? Are you looking with disgust to his counsel? What brought you to this folly? When did you acquire this boldness? You say, we have now a sword, a strong sword! Whose sword is that? Who is your ally? Tell me! You answer me: We enter in Your service O Christ; That is why we are bold and rebellious, for we have a strong refuge, that makes us higher than the devil. We who used to fear him and tremble before him, do not deny him alone, but together with all his processions. The priests instructed you to proclaim: I deny you O Satan, together with all your works and your processions. Few words, yet very strong! The angels stand by you; and the unseen hosts are rejoicing for your change, receiving your words, to carry them to the Master of all creation, to have them inscribed in the heavenly books4. St. John Chrysostom 2. PROTECTION OF THE BELOVED VINEYARD As God Himself takes over the leadership of the battle He becomes personally involved in it, in order that His beloved vineyard would enjoy His watching over, and caring for it. That is why the prophet says on behalf of God: “In that day, sing to her, a vineyard of red wine! I, the Lord, keep it, I water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I keep it night and day.” (Is. 27: 2 - 5) God Himself is the owner of the vineyard, loves and desires it. He is its vinedresser and guard; caring and watering it every moment with His divine blessings. His eyes on it day and night, will not forsake it, will root out and burn thorns from its midst, will reconcile it with the Father through the cross (Romans. 5: 1). If the Cross has destroyed the devil and deprived him of his authority over believers, it also presented the following blessings: a. “Sing to her, a vineyard of red wine.” (Is. 27: 2) To whom was this addressed, but to the heavenly hosts, who apprehended the fruits of the cross in the life of the Church, so their lives rejoiced, and praised God, the Savior of mankind for His amazing work in them, turning the earthly into heavenly ones, and lifting the الحب الإلهي، ص 3 .469 4 Cf. Whitacker: Documents of the Baptismal Liturgy, p. 37, 39. Church to where the throne is, to join heaven in its praises and liturgies. It became the vineyard, desired by God its Savior, object of the desire of angels and all the heavenly hosts (Revelation 5: 11 - 14). If praising God is the desire of man’s soul, that is a reaction to God’s love for us, being His desired vineyard, His beloved bride, and His Church in which He desires to dwell. The Psalmist says, “For the Lord has chosen Zion, He has desired it for His habitation. This is my resting place forever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” (Psalm 132: 13, 14) ”This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in. Yes the Lord will dwell in it forever.” (Psalm 68: 16) b. A divine guarding: “I keep it day and night.” (Is. 27: 3) If God sends His angels to protect His people from contemporary dangers He Himself guards them against the deadly strikes of sin. He destroyed the enemy by the cross, not as a historical past event, but as an ongoing and a continuous active divine work. He set His Cross in the midst of His Church to protect her against every strike of the enemy, as long as she is staying in His bosom, and seeking His protection. St. Ephram says, [Glory to you, You who set Your cross a bridge over death, for souls to cross from the dwelling of death to that of life5.] c. A continuous care: “I water it every moment.” (Is 27: 3) He rains on it His free grace, to turn its desert into a divine paradise. That is why it says, “Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its pleasant fruits.” (Song 4: 16) Whatever I carry of the fruits of the Spirit is His work in me, fruit of His continuous care. With what does God water His beloved vineyard? He grants us His Holy Spirit to work in us; grants us His life in us... He gives us Himself! Generous, is He who grants us the most precious of gifts, His very life! St. Clement of Alexandria6 “We know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.” (1 John 4: 13) Outside the Spirit, we are foreigners to God, but with the fellowship of the Spirit, we became close to Divinity. Our presence in the Father is not our own doing, but is the work of the Spirit dwelling in us7. St. Athanasius the Apostolic d. No condemnation: “Fury is not in me.” (Is. 27: 4) Receiving His free gift, and reacting to His grace, it would not fall under divine wrath, but trustingly says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8: 1, 2) Some believe that the word ‘fury,’ should be read here as ‘hemah,’ meaning ‘grapes8.’ As He found no good grapes, but briers and thorns or wild grapes, He set the briers and thorns on fire, to give more chance to better fruit production. e. Burning briers and thorns: “Who would set briers and thorns against Me in battle? I would go through them in battle; I would burn them together.” (Is. 27: 4) He took upon Himself the confrontation of the briers and thorns strangling His beloved vines. As He was crucified He carried them on His head, taking away from us shame and curse, to carry for our sake. And as St. Jacob El-Serougi says, [He carried الحب الإلهي، ص 5 .480 6 Paed. 1:9. 7 Contra Arians 2:42; 3:24. 8 R.E. Clements: The New Century Bible comm.., Isaiah, p. 220. the curse of the earth in that crown put on His head. He carried the whole burden of the world bravely. He became a curse, to let the returning heirs be blessed in Him! By His crown He rooted out the cursed seed of the serpent. By the crown of thorns, He destroyed the crown of the devil, who desired to become a god on all creation! By the crown of thorns, He made a crown for the daughter of the Gentiles, the bride whom He betrothed from among the idols, and wrote on her His name9.] f. Making peace with God: “Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me.” (Is. 27: 5) This is the goal of the work of the cross: Reconciling us to God, “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son” (Romans 5: 10). The Son of God suffered to make of us children of God, while the son of man (we) refuses to suffer for the sake of continuing his adoption to God!10 Martyr Cyprian g. The growth of the (catholic) Church, or the new Israel: In days to come, “Those who come He shall cause to take root in Jacob; Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.” (Is. 27: 6) God probably wanted them not to think of His work with them in terms of the near future, namely, saving them from the Babylonian captivity, but rather to anticipate the distant future when the new Jacob will take root; when the Church of the New Testament, as the New Israel, will be established; that embraced, of the Jews, the disciples, the apostles, and numerous believers, who gave exalted spiritual fruits, that budded and blossomed to fill the world. St. Irenaeus says, [The seeds were sown in the whole world... From that Jerusalem, Christ and the apostles could bring about fruits11.] h. Chastising His children (Is. 27: 7 - 9): Dealing with them as children, and not as enemies, for the sake of their salvation and edification, saying, “Has He struck Israel, as He struck those who struck Him?” (Is. 27: 7) In other words, Has God struck Jacob Israel as He struck those who struck Jacob? When He strikes His people it would be for their edification; while His striking of the enemies, those who struck His people would be to destroy them, as they persist on denying and opposing God. With the same meaning he says, “Has he been slain, according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?” (Is. 27: 7) “In measure, by sending it away, you contended with it. He removes it by His rough wind in the day of the east wind.” (Is. 27: 8) He still contend with her ‘in measure,’ that is to say, allows for affliction, as much she can take, for the sake of chastising her for her sins; even if it seems that He has divorced her and sent her away and delivered her to the rough wind coming from the east; namely to Assyria or Babylon, in the years 722 and 587 B.C. 3. STRIKING THE ENEMY At the same time as God harshly chastised His children, using Assyria and Babylon, as if He has divorced them, He allows the destruction of the evil enemy, turning Babylon, the fortified city into a desolate place, forsaken like wilderness. Some scholars believe that the talk here applies also to Samaria. It became desolate, on account of the spiritual ignorance of her people, who rejected the worship 9 .433- الحب الإلهي، ص 432 الحب الإلهي، ص 10 .366 11 Adv. Haer. 4:4:1. of God and fell into idolatry (Is. 27: 11 -19). 4. GOD GATHERS HIS PEOPLE Some see in this a prophecy about gathering the children of Israel at the end of time, when they receive faith in Christ, while others see in it a portrait of God’s work along the ages, as He brought His people out of the land of Egypt, then saved them from the Babylonian captivity. Or it may, likewise refer to the new Israel, the Church that gathered nations and peoples to enjoy the risen life.
Welcome