The Bible contains images of chaos creatures — like leviathan and behemoth — that corrupt, disrupt, and destroy the beauty of God’s creation. God alone can and must do what we feeble and sinful mortals can never do — subdue monstrous evil.

God’s original design was to create a sacred space on earth, a royal sanctuary, a footstool for the Creator's rule, a place to dwell with the mortals sustained by God’s gift of life. Humans would serve as God’s image-bearers, royal priests, “little L lords," to order and fill the earth with knowledge and glory, to roll back the disordered chaos, and to cultivate the earth as the Garden of the LORD, a holy temple where God would dwell with us.

But now the earth is blighted and cursed. Sinful mortals lost access to the Giver of life, Tree of life, and River of life. We are subject to death and decay. The incarnation of God's eternal Son fulfilled God’s promise that the “seed of the woman” would “crush the serpent’s head.” (Genesis 3:15). Advent celebrates God’s Son coming to take on our humanity, become the second Adam, the perfect image of God’s immortal glory. (Hebrews 1:3) He became like his brothers and sisters in every way except our sin. (Hebrews 2:17, 4:15) He came from heaven as our kinsman-redeemer, to purchase our release from all debts, to shed his own blood as God’s Lamb.

After the Father's work of creation and before the Son’s work of redemption, God planted an interim garden spot in the midst of the nations. Israel was redeemed from Egypt, and planted like a vine (Psalm 80:8). But Israel became corrupt — a desolate wasteland (Isaiah 5:1-7). That is why God’s Son is the true Vine (John 15:1-8) in whom we may abide and be fruitful. Jesus entered our world, confronted the evil serpent in the wilderness, and his signs reveal that he came to heal the creation, as “far as the curse is found.”

God’s temple was built by the son of David, Solomon. In the temple was a huge bronze basin (15 ft diameter) known as The Sea, supported by twelve bronze bulls (behemoths?). It held water for ritual washings, but it was probably also a symbol of God’s power. At creation, God had contained the sea, the symbol of chaos. In our chaotic world, God upholds the created order and overrules all the principalities and powers — the forces that threaten God's creation.

In front of the temple’s portico stood two huge pillars (25+ ft high). They were freestanding, named Jakin (establish) and Boaz (strength). The full inscriptions may have read, “the LORD establishes (jakin) your throne," and “in the LORD’s strength [boaz] the king rejoices.” God promised that the royal line of David would be established, forever, by the LORD’s own strength.

As Mary exclaimed after the angel’s Annunciation, her promised son “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David … of his kingdom there will be no end.” (Luke 2:32-33) Everything God has promised, God will surely fulfill, by God's own power.

At Christ’s final Advent, the new creation will fulfill all of these images. New Jerusalem will be a Garden-City. The entire city will be cubic, like the Holy of Holies. (Revelation 21:15-25) The City of God will be a holy sanctuary city for the nations. The Tree of Life will grow on both sides of the River of Life to heal the cosmos (Revelation 22:1-5). Finally, “there will be no sea.” (Revelation 21:1). All sin, death, disease, and chaos monsters will be banished forever!

In these Advent meditations we consider the Bible’s images about the incarnation. An angel of the Lord reassured Joseph that he should marry a scandalously but miraculously pregnant Mary. They should name their child Jesus, because he was the one God promised to deliver his people from their sins (Matthew 1:18-22).

Angels from the realms of glory rarely appear unless God will soon set in motion extraordinary, saving events. But the story of Israel contained images of celestial creatures. Inside the Ark of the Covenant were the tablets of God’s moral Law. The atonement cover over the Law was the Mercy Seat. Blood of sacrificial lambs was sprinkled on this lid — testifying that God would provide atonement for his people’s sins. Wrought into the atonement cover were two cherubim, angels gazing down in wonder at the sacrifice God was prepared make to atone for sinners. As the Apostle Peter would later exclaim, “Even angels long to look into these things!” (1 Peter 1:12) God was prepared to send his one and only Son as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)

Even before Advent on earth in “the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4) there was war in heaven between God and the evil one. We see cosmic and cryptic images in Revelation 12:1-6:

A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant … crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down la third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

Apocalyptic literature often has indecipherable images. But much in this passage is clear. Revelation Chapter 12 is central and pivotal. The red dragon represents the devil, cast down to the earth. The pregnant woman represents God’s chosen people, specifically Mary, in whose womb the Savior was conceived to be born into the world. King Herod was part of the dragon’s plot to kill the newborn Son of David who would rule the nations. It was all predicted: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and … his Anointed (Messiah).” (Psalm 2:2) John's Apocalypse skips over the historical ministry of Jesus to his ascension to God’s throne, on the heavenly Mount Zion.

The Great Christ Comet is an intriguing, well-researched, but debated book. Author Colin R. Nicholl finds an astronomical basis for this thesis: the cosmic nativity scene in John's vision is what the Magi actually observed from the East. A great comet appeared in the constellation Virgo (the virgin), with a meteor shower emanating from the constellation Scorpio (the dragon).

Did Mesopotamian astrologers connect their celestial observations to the warning of Balaam, learned from the Jewish Diaspora in Babylon? “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth … and one from Jacob shall exercise dominion.” (Numbers 24:17,19) Did a comet’s tail appear to rise out of Israel to guide the Magi to Palestine? Ancient astrology and modern science alike change and are fallible. The Magi had to consult Scripture (Micah 5:2) to find the Christ child at Bethlehem.

The Bible’s Advent images are bizarre, strange, and yet true. From the first promise of a Savior (Genesis 3:15) to Balaam’s warning, all of the images, prophecies, and promises are fulfilled by Jesus, the Seed of the woman, who crushes the head of the serpent. Advent is more than images of a crèche, a Nativity scene. Advent is God’s cosmic victory over all his and our enemies.

During Advent season, we await the second coming of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This year, we also anticipate a transfer of the USA’s executive authority. November was noisy and chaotic. These December days seem quiet … before what?

Do we long for God's Lion-Lamb, or for a Leviathan? As we hope that God’s kingdom will come on earth as in heaven, let's consider the inherent dangers that lurk in all authoritarian governments — whether on the left or the right side of the political spectrum.

The Bible sometimes represents powerful, uncontrollable forces in the world as monstrous, primeval beasts. Behemoth and Leviathan are chaos-creatures made by God, and controllable only by God. (Job 40:15–16, 41:1, Isaiah 27:1). Behemoth is a land-monster that lurks in an invisible desert. Leviathan is a sea-monster that dwells in the abyss. This pair is so powerful that only the sovereign God can overrule and subdue them to his own purposes.

Chaos creatures disrupt and bring disorder. Nebuchadnezzar’s vainglory and hubris made him a beast (Daniel 4:28-37). The Apocalypse (final revealing) unmasks the Dragon seeking to devour the promised seed of the woman (Revelation 12:1-6). The cosmic battle is seen in King Herod’s murderous rage over a newborn king at Bethlehem. One of the Dragon's beasts (Revelation 13:11) is a counterfeit of God’s Lamb, part of an unholy trinity (666) of the Dragon and its two beastly demonic agents (Revelation 13:1ff, 11ff).

Worldly rebellion against God becomes visible in evil empires, even those supported by idolatrous worship. For example, the cult that deified Caesar “Augustus” (majestic one). A sermon by Dr. Kevin DeYoung offers a detailed explanation of how evil can pervert the state and true worship.

In history, bestial images can represent authoritarian governments. The dragon symbolized strong, centralized rule in imperial China. In Leviathan (1651), 17th-century political philosopher Thomas Hobbes advocated for authoritarian rule as necessary to maintain social order. In his later book, Behemoth (1668), he draws lessons from England’s civil war, and charged the English Long Parliament with an abuse of political power.

The Apostle Peter urged early Christians, who had no vote, to honor and to submit to Caesar (1 Peter 2:13,17) even when persecuted. And the Apostle Paul commanded Christians to submit to Rome's government and taxes (Romans 13:1-7). The Behemoths and Leviathans are chaos monsters — but they are still creatures. Romans 13 is often cited as God's approval of the powers that be (depending on your political leanings). But, any government can become a chaos-creature controllable only by God's sovereignty. As noted by 19th century British politician Lord Acton, "power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

The Apostle John’s vision in Revelation unmasks the beastly brutality, cruelty, and chaotic nature of corrupt human rule. Christians are called to both endurance and wisdom (Revelation 13:10,18,17:9) whenever faced with a corrupt state supported by an idolatrous cult. Followers of the Lamb of God must continue to live and love as citizens of God’s Kingdom, only confessing Jesus Christ, and not Caesar, as their Lord.

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20)

This Advent, let us long for the second coming of our Lamb-Lion King Jesus. The second coming of any president cannot save us, even if the state is endorsed by a corrupted religious cult. God calls followers of the Lamb to flee idolatry, to never marvel at beasts, to exercise wise discernment, and to faithfully endure.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!