When God created light to pierce the pre-creative darkness, the darkness was described “over the surface of the deep” (תהום tĕhowm). Darkness was linked with the deep. Strong’s translates it “the deep, depths, deep, abyss and sea”. The ancients envisioned the cosmos as three tiered, with the heavens separated from the earth by a firmament and the earth’s foundations set in a subterranean sea (see Figure 1).
In this world-view, the sea was often viewed as the deep, or remnant of the pre-creative chaotic subterranean ocean. In creation, God made light, bounding the darkness to the night, while also bounding the subterranean ocean (the deep) with the land. [1] In the view of the ancients, there was always a risk that this subterranean ocean would break forth from its bounds, spilling onto the land and bringing de-creative chaos to the world.
The Noahic flood is the quintessential example of where the deep, pictured as fountains of the deep, together with the waters of the heavenly ocean combined to wreak de-creative chaos upon the world. The overflow of the deep destroying the land was a fitting judgment upon mankind for their sin of boundary-breaking. In the description of the flood, Genesis 7 specifically employs the deep, the subterranean waters or fountains of the deep to describe the flood:
11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.
Reference to the deep echos back to pre-creative chaos, revealing that God’s judgment upon man was de-creative. Psalm 104 speicifies that while God unleashed the deep upon the world, He was also solidly in control, rebuking and setting new bounds on the watery chaos:
5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. 6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; 8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. 9 You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.
The watery subterranean ocean also became symbolic of the place of the dead, likely through association of the flood and destruction of mankind. Job drew a parallel between the deep, its darkness, its lack of light and the gate of death (Job 38:16-18). It is also seen in Psalms 71:
20 Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. Similar imagery appears in Jonah 2: 5 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.
Perhaps most insightful are references to the deep found in Exodus 15. These occurrences are important as they apply to Yahweh’s creation of Israel. Specifically, the Red Sea is described as the deep:
8 By the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up. The surging waters stood firm like a wall; the deep waters (the deep) congealed in the heart of the sea.
Here we find an unmistakable echo from the Genesis 1 creation-narrative. Just as the land divided the waters from the waters on the third day, the parting of the Red Sea is described using similar imagery. God divided the sea from the sea, creating a land bridge that safely carried the Israelites to the other side. The parting of the sea and its subsequent resumption after Israel’s safe passage, separated the Israelites from the Egyptians, allowing the formation of a new people, recapitulating the separation of the sea (the deep) by land on the third day of creation.
God is the One who has power over the forces of chaos, the Egyptians, who are attempting to thwart His new creation of Israel. His response is to employ nature, specifically the sea, represented as the deep, which He would bound, separating Israel from the Egyptians. When the Egyptians sought to access the land-bridge in pursuit of the Israelites, Yahweh brought another de-creative act, loosing the chaos of the deep, the sea in judgment against the Egyptians. Their destruction in the chaos of the deep ties the deep to death and judgment:
5 The deep waters have covered them; they sank to the depths (the deep) like a stone.
The creative act of separation (and redemption) of Israel became an important theme in later scriptures. It was not only commemorated for Yahweh’s great act of deliverance, but became a prophetic promise of future deliverance for Israel:
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up; he led them through the depths as through a desert. Psalms 106
11 Then his people recalled the days of old, the days of Moses and his people— where is he who brought them through the sea, with the shepherd of his flock? Where is he who set his Holy Spirit among them, 12 who sent his glorious arm of power to be at Moses’ right hand, who divided the waters before them, to gain for himself everlasting renown, 13 who led them through the depths? Isaiah 63
9 Awake, awake! Clothe yourself with strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? 10 Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over? 11 The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 51
In the latter two passages, Isaiah reaches back to the crossing of the Red Sea and God’s victory over Egypt (here figuratively called Rahab), employing it as a model of God’s future deliverance of Israel. Isaiah recapitulates Yahweh’s victory over Egypt to assure Israel that God will again deliver Israel and reestablish her in the land. He will bring a great victory like the one He provided at the Red Sea. Isaiah 26:20-27:1 makes a further echo to Israel’s redemption in Egypt where the forces of chaos are personified using the figure of Leviathan:
20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until his wrath has passed by. 21 See, the Lord is coming out of his dwelling to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The earth will disclose the blood shed on it; the earth will conceal its slain no longer. 1 In that day, the Lord will punish with his sword— his fierce, great and powerful sword— Leviathan the gliding serpent, Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea. Isaiah 26-27
Isaiah’s command to “enter your rooms and shut the doors behind you” recapitulates the Passover, where Israel was to remain within their houses during the night, awaiting the command to exodus Egypt. That Isaiah personifies God’s judgment as a serpent, Leviathan, shows God will loose the forces of pre-creative chaos upon the world in judgment for their sin.
In this Isaianic text, Leviathan also appears to represent the spirit of Egypt, those opposed to God’s people, recapitulating the serpent in the Fall narrative of Genesis 3. Isaiah follows this judgment with an assurance that Yahweh will make Israel fruitful, guarding her and keeping her from harm (Isaiah 27:2-3). He thus predicts Israel’s future exodus as a recapitulation of their Egyptian exodus, personifying Israel’s enemy as Leviathan, a monster from the sea, a synonym for Rahab.
These scriptures show how Yahweh will again subdue the forces of chaos, destroying Israel’s enemies in the watery depths. Once again, He will give Israel safe passage from the land of exile back to the land of promise. A future exodus would be coming, reminding Israel that God’s purposes are not merely redemptive but include their creation and establishment as a nation and priesthood. As God had victory over the forces of chaos at the creation of the world and also at the creation of Israel, He will continue to fight for Israel and will establish His order over her and the world. [2]
Importantly, Isaiah’s prophetic promise of Israel’s future exodus and her miraculous deliverance are then serve as a model recapitulated in New Testament prophecies. Similarly, New Testament prophecies build upon the personified “monsters” introduced by Isaiah. The implications are significant and provide clarity to scriptures that have often been poorly understood or largely misinterpreted. With the creation-recapitulation pattern established and armed with an understanding of the scriptural pattern of recapitulation, we are now prepared to discuss the implications of the deep.
New Testament Implications of the Deep
The theme of God’s maintenance of order in creation is introduced early in the creation account, recapitulated in Israel’s redemption from Egypt and subsequently by the exilic prophets. These later exilic passages anticipated an unleashing of the powers of chaos as part of a great apocalypse preceding the appearing of the Messiah. Such beliefs were consistent with the idea the Messiah’s coming would bring an entirely new creation. Von Rad, in explaining the ancient view of the universe and the deep, noted Israel’s expectation of a future final unleashing of these chaotic forces:
The universe was pictured as having three storeys (Exodus 20:4; Psalm 115:15-17). Heaven was regarded as something stable, as a gigantic vault, forming an arch above the earth with the waters of the firmament standing over it (Genesis 1:7; Psalm 148:4-6). The earth was conceived as a disc “founded upon pillars” above the waters of chaos underneath (Psalms 104:5, 24:2). These waters of chaos provide the earth with springs and brooks (Proverbs 8:28 [27]; but just as on one occasion they swelled up and almost destroyed creation (Genesis 7:11), so there is the possibility of the same thing happening again. Indeed, Israel seems to have expected a final insurrection of these uncreated powers against Jahweh (Psalm 46:4[3]). It was a world under threat in which her history took place. [3]
The theme that God holds back the waters above the firmament and those of the great deep sets the stage for the first of two universal judgments on sin using the imagery of chaos loosed upon the world as a result of mankind’s sin and violent misbehaviors. The imagery not only carries forward to the flood narrative, but is seen applied to a future apocalypse – the second universal judgment on mankind – a judgment by fire. In these passages, the powers of chaos are personified as Rahab or Leviathan:
Chaos imagery figures prominently in apocalyptic literature, as illustrated by a passage from “the little apocalypse of Isaiah” (Isaiah 24-27) that echoes ancient Canaanite (Ugaritic) mythopoeic language: “On that day the Lord with his cruel and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea” (Isaiah 27:1, NRSV). [4]
While neither Rahab or Leviathan are explicitly mentioned in New Testament prophecies, there is strong reason to believe that allusion is made to these personified forces of chaos. That belief is based in language associated with a Ugaritic chaos monster known as lôtân of Text 67:1:1-3, 27-30:
When thou smitest Lotan [ = Leviathan] the evil dragon, Even destroyest the crooked dragon, The mighty one of the seven heads . . . [5]
While the Old Testament does not reveal the number of heads of Leviathan, Psalm 74:13-14 reveals that Leviathan had multiple heads, consistent with this description of lôtân. Further, F.F. Bruce highlighted the exactness in expressions from the Ugarit in support of the thesis that Leviathan is lôtân, arguing that lôtân is not only Leviathan of the Old Testament, but also the seven-headed beast of Revelation 13: [6]
It is noteworthy, however, that the double description of Leviathan as “the fleeing serpent . . . the twisting serpent” is paralleled exactly in the Ugaritic text where Môt (“death”) tells Baal that he will overcome him
Though thou didst smite Lôtân the fleeing serpent, Didst destroy the twisting serpent, The accursed one of seven heads.
The Old Testament records establish the many-headed nature of Leviathan, but do not give the exact number of his heads; this the Ugaritic text does, and incidentally supplies a background for the seven-headed dragon of the New Testament Apocalypse and the still later Odes of Solomon. [7]
If correct, there is a direct tie between the Genesis 1 creation-narrative with its chaos imagery and the closing book of the canon, whose subject is similarly (new) creation. There are further links to the creation of Israel, specifically related to her miraculous separation through the parted sea, in which the forces of watery deep provided escape and life for God’s people while bringing judgment and death upon the enemies of God who sought to inflict chaos upon God’s people. That this incident in Israel’s history is later referred to using personified chaos monsters (Psalms 74:13-14 and Isaiah 51:9) justifies John’s reinterpretation of the great opposition to the final creation of God’s people (and redemption of all creation) to precede the Lord’s Parousia.
The implication of John’s vision is that God’s people should expect severe persecution and a worldwide attempt at destruction and chaos in opposition to the coming of God’s kingdom. [8] The opposition will be unparalleled in the earth’s history as the forces of Satan seek to oppose the creation of the kingdom by introducing widespread chaos. The chaos will not only include persecution and martyrdom of God’s people, but likely unleash spiritual chaos of sin and false teaching that leads many astray to their destruction.
It provides some additional insights about a most peculiar figure, a key to John’s Revelation. We can now confidently say that this figure represents the personification of all opposition to God’s emergent new creation. It is a figure that is Satanic in its origins but is manifested in our world through the kingdoms of this world. [9] It is an anti-creative force whose mission is de-creation and destruction of God’s new creation in Christ (the new heaven and new earth). It is noteworthy that this beast is described in Revelation 17 as coming from the abyss:
3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.
7 Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.
That the beast comes out of the Abyss is significant as the LXX consistently translates the Hebrew tĕhowm with the Greek ἄβυσσος abyssos, our English word abyss. John has made a second link to the Genesis 1 creation-narrative with the introduction of the abyss. This seven-headed beast (dragon) has its origin in the Abyss, the deep. He comes from the pre-creative subterranean ocean of chaos that opposes God’s order. His opposition is seen in Revelation 11 where we are told that the beast from the abyss will kill God’s two witnesses:
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them.
That this “beast” comes “from the abyss” denotes that this beast brings chaos (including spiritual chaos). One should thus view the death of the two witnesses as bringing great spiritual chaos and great spiritual darkness. The martyrdom of the two witnesses seem to represent the witness of Christ, the light of the world (see Deuteronomy 19:15 for the testimony of two witnesses). Revelation 13 shows that this same beast emerges from “the sea” (θάλασσα, thalassa), suggestive John uses “the sea” and the abyss interchangeably: [10]
1 And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name.
That Leviathan was described as a sea monster (Job 41:1-10) provides a further connection, indicative that God’s people will not only face a dangerous, destructive foe, but it also flags a second exodus (after the model of the Egyptian exodus) described in Isaiah 51 and 63. John envisions once again, the powers of Satan together with the powers of this world, openly opposing God’s coming kingdom and His people, seeking to destroy them.
As in the days of Moses, we can expect that God will deliver His people, taking them on an exodus, separating His people from the forces of darkness, bringing life and deliverance to them while punishing the dark powers intent on destroying God’s new creation and people. Just as God defeated the powers of chaos at the creation of the world and subsequently at the creation of His people, He will defeat His ultimate rival the dragon and his demonic seven-headed chaos monster Leviathan.
There is a further implication in John’s recapitulation of Leviathan. The chaos power Leviathan, the beast from the sea, is strongly associated with Babylon as seen in Revelation 17 where the harlot Babylon is found riding the beast. In what appears to be an act of talion, Babylon is violently destroyed, in apparent recompense for the violence she brought against the saints (cf. the Noahic covenant prohibition on blood violence, Genesis 9). The judgment imagery found in Revelation 18 fittingly ties back to the sea, the source of this beast:
21 Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, never to be found again
Babylon is destroyed in the watery chaos it sought to bring upon the earth and the Lord’s Saints. Revelation brings our studies full circle. The final conflict with the forces of darkness and chaos unfold in Revelation in contrast to the initial conflict with these same forces in Genesis 1. What begins as a conflict at the creation of the world ends with a similar conflict at Christ’s Parousia. There is added mention of the Abyss in Revelation 9, denoted as φρέατος τῆς ἀβύσσου, the shaft of the abyss:
1 The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 2 When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 3 And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth.
The opening of the abyss darkening the sun suggests de-creation, an effort to thwart God’s new creation, likely through the spread of spiritual darkness. The abyss is the same place mentioned by the legion of demons when they begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss (Luke 8:31). It suggests “the deep” was also the haunt and place of demons, if not also a place of judgment upon them. [11] Von Rad, in discussing the conflict between God and the forces of darkness notes God’s conquest over these forces and banishment to the deep:
Elsewhere, when Israel spoke of Jahweh’s creation of the world, there lay to her hand a concept which was obviously more popular, namely that of a dramatic struggle of Jahweh with the powers of Chaos. In this concept a new element is presupposed – a blatant enmity of Chaos towards God. Psalms 46:3 and 89:9 speak of Chaos’ inordinate pride (גאוה, גאות). But Jahweh rebuked Chaos (Psalm 104:7), he smote it terribly (Psalm 74:13f.), and forced these powers to go down underneath the earth, so that they now sleep in the depths of Creation: they could possibly be re-awakened (Job 3:8), but God has set a guard over them (Job 7:12). [12]
The “guard” that God has set over them seems to be removed by the star (a common symbol of angelic power) with the key that opens the abyss. What emerges from the shaft of the Abyss are composite creatures that look like locusts but also have the appearance of horses, with teeth of lions, women’s hair and human faces. The emergence of these composite beasts signals the loosing of the demonic forces of darkness and chaos as part of the apocalyptic insurrection Israel expected. [13] It is unclear however, if the beast from the abyss is released with these other demonic creatures or subsequently. [14] At the very least, we can say that a full scale chaotic assault ensues but limited to five months. [15]
Revelation 20:1-3 also references the Abyss, where an angel with the key to the Abyss holds a great chain. He seized the dragon, Satan, and bound him in the Abyss for one thousand years, after which he would be released “for a short time” to lead an insurrection against “the camp of God’s people”. But he will be defeated by God and thrown into the Lake of Fire, where the beast and false prophet are thrown.
This passage is most challenging and lacks scholarly consensus. Though a full analysis goes beyond our purposes, we can conclude that John sees the deep, the Abyss, as a source of demonic opposition to God’s new creation. Where God bounded and separated the chaotic subterranean ocean to create an orderly physical cosmos, in the new creation, He will similarly place bounds and constraints on the chaos powers intent on opposing Him in order that His new creation can be realized and provide spiritual order before a final ultimate destruction.
We can also conclude that behind those people and kingdoms that openly oppose God’s people and kingdom are powerful demonic forces that cannot be restrained or bounded apart from the power of God and testimony. Despite their evil intent to wreak havoc on God’s kingdom and His people, we can take heart, knowing that God will defeat these powers as he did the powers of chaos at the first creation. We can also conclude that He will save His people from the destruction and full-scale assaults of the enemy just as He did with His people in Egypt. The powers of evil will be destroyed and God’s kingdom brought to consummation. Revelation fittingly ends with the permanent destruction of “the sea” and the darkness associated with it:
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. Revelation 21 (Emphasis mine)
Here we again see a surprising and ironic conclusion. God’s creative-redemptive program does not bound the powers of darkness and chaos, but eliminates them. In the new heaven and new earth, the very symbols of opposition and demonic revolt are eliminated (see Figure 1). That there is no longer a sea (Abyss), nor darkness over it, shows that at the completion of God’s redemptive plan, His elect will be safe from the dark powers of chaos for eternity, living in peaceful bliss with God and His Christ.
It is an amazing story. The end chiastically counterbalances the beginning. The same chaos forces that were subdued at the start of creation recur and are subdued in the new creation. In the first creation, the chaos powers are subdued with darkness is bounded by light (the day) and the the deep bounded by the land. In the new creation, there is no more sea, the abyss has been permanently vanquished and darkness completely banished.
Relevance for Christians Today
Ethical Lessons
The symbolism is striking, pointing to fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. In the new creation, there is no longer any death or separation from God. All of creation permanently resides in the glory of God’s presence and never again will there be a threat that chaos will break loose.
It is a powerful word of encouragement to Christians who must face tribulation and testing in this life. There is an end coming and those who overcome, will be preserved. There is a paradisal place reserved for those who hold to the faith. Christians need not worry about their children, family or friends. No matter what chaos will come, God’s promise to keep His people is seen fulfilled in John’s vision.
Eschatological Lessons
It is not simply that some Christians will face tribulation. Rather, all Christians should expect tribulation. Opposition has is seen in biblical narratives from the beginning. It will continue until the end. Critically, it appears to crescendo as the end of the age approaches, and conquers the saints bringing great spiritual darkness and chaos to the world. Without the church as the light of God’s word, the world is lost.
With such terrible times coming for the church, knowing that God will triumph and we will be vindicated should encourage Christians given the difficult choice. But no one should be deceived. As the end of the age approaches, spiritual chaos will be unleashed as never before. That the beast’s origin is the deep, intimates his purpose to bring death – both physical and spiritual. For the deep was historically the place of the dead.
But Scripture assures a paradisal place for those who overcome. It is not a place like the first creation where chaos is bounded, but where chaos is eliminated and all darkness is banished (see Figure 2).
Forward to The First Day – Creation of Light from Darkness
Back to Creation: a Picture of Redemption
[1] There was a further bound upon the heavenly “ocean” which was the firmament. That the ancients referred to the “windows of heaven” (Genesis 7:11; 8:2; Malachi 3:10) provides a simple explanation for rainfall and dew falling from heaven to earth.
[2] We are aware that there are substantial writings highlighting the uniqueness of Genesis 1 when compared with pagan mythologies which seem to highlight the battle between the gods to defeat chaos and pave the way for life on earth. These mythologies were deeply engrained in antiquity, often re-enacted annually by kings in order to assure another year of productive harvests and another year of victory over the powers of chaos. Genesis seems to deliberately avoid these references, preferring to note first that God by the power of His word restrained the forces of chaos and second that the “sea monsters” are His creation and thus subject to His power. There is no hint of an annual festival to re-actualize the creation of the earth, rather a commemoration of God’s salvific acts in history in establishing and saving His people. This salvific act was viewed as an act of creation, the creation of God’s people. It wholly sets apart Israel’s festivities of commemoration from pagan festivals in that Israel celebrated her redemptive creation. The celebrations of the pagan nations were focused upon the re-creation of nature seen in spring. Nevertheless, later scriptures celebrate God’s victory over the forces of chaos, personifying these chaos powers as Leviathan, Rahab, the beast from the land and the beast from the sea. Interestingly, at the end of the age with the destruction of Babylon, Scripture twice refers to a sword proceeding from Jesus’ mouth (Revelation 19:15, 21) to destroy His enemies, most notably Babylon and the nations who attempt to wreak chaos on God’s people through rebellion against God. This “sword” appears to be the word of God, again restraining chaos by restraining the dragon and destroying the beast from the sea and the beast from the earth in the lake of fire. Thus, God’s word has sufficient power to restrain, overcome and defeat chaos in the end-times much as He did through His word in the Genesis 1 creation-narrative. This again puts Jewish creation emphasis not upon nature but upon the creation of God’s people and their ultimate victory over God’s foes. In creation, chaos is symbolic of rebellion against God. Just as God brought order out of chaos, His representative and delegate in charge of the earth must “image” God by bringing order from chaos. This is done through obedience to God’s word and through the exercise of the spoken word. Brown notes in Proverbs two types of sins that bring chaos: violence and strange relationships – “strange” describing forbidden sexual relations (cf. Brown, William P., The Ethos of the Cosmos, The Genesis of Moral Imagination in the Bible, Grand Rapids MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1999, p. 286). These types of sins break down family and community structures bringing chaos. The powerful spirit behind these types of sins may in part explain their personification. For our current purposes, until God’s final defeat of the powers of chaos, believers must “image” God by behaving in ways that restrain chaos and bring order to His cosmos and community, though compliance with God’s covenantal law that can often be a struggle. Believers should also note how the ancients equated God’s creative order with God’s righteousness and justice. This may explain why Job, in failing to understand his sufferings, demands complete destruction of the cosmos (Job 3:1-9). How could there be order in the cosmos with the injustice Job felt he was suffering?
[3] Von Rad, Gerhard, Old Testament Theology, Volume 1, The Theology of Israel’s Historical Traditions, Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc, New York, 1962, p. 152
[4] Anderson, B.W., From Creation to New Creation, Minneapolis, Fortress Press,1994, p. 35. One can also see the development of the dragon, the antitype of the serpent in the garden, as the final manifestation of evil.
[5] Walke, Bruce k., Creation and Chaos, An Exegetical and Theological Study of biblical Cosmogony,Portland OR, Western conservative Baptist Seminary, 1974, p. 12
[6] The conception of this seven-headed chaos monster is quite old. His ferocity and indefeatable nature are emphasized in Job 41:1-10, one of the oldest books of the canon. Walke notes, “ We may note that the earliest known record of a mythological monster with seven heads is found on a Mesopotamian seal cylinder from Tell Asmar, dating from the Akkad Dynasty (about the twenty fourth century B.C.).” Walke, Bruce k., Creation and Chaos, An Exegetical and Theological Study of biblical Cosmogony, Portland OR, Western conservative Baptist Seminary, 1974, p. 12. That it was found on a Mesopotamian seal is also interesting given the strong association John makes between the harlot Babylon and this seven-headed monster (the harlot riding the beast). It appears quite possible that this seven-headed chaos monster was widely known throughout the Near East dating to great antiquity. If so, such imagery would be appropriate to John’s audience.
[7] Bruce, F.F., This is That, The New Testament Development of Some Old Testament Themes, UK, The Paternoster Press, 1968, p. 43-44. Bruce here quotes Text 67:1 :1-3 regarding Lôtân.
[8] It can be tempting to view this opposition as coming at the close of our age however, if we typologically apply the concept of pre-creative chaos consistent with the first creation, we should expect that the opposition and spread of chaos will start very early in the cycle of the new creation. Since chaos and darkness were the starting point of creation, we would expect that in the new creation, spiritual darkness and spiritual chaos would be rampant with opposition to the new creation beginning with Christ’s first appearing. We believe this view is consistent with the New Testament accounts of Jesus’ time on earth. There was an outpouring of significant demonic activity and opposition to Christ that is indicative of a spiritual outpouring of chaos at the beginning of the new creation in Christ. Similarly, John envisions a war in heaven after Christ’s ascension in which Satan and his forces then attempt to bring the chaos of persecution to God’s people (Revelation 12).
[9] That it manifests intself through the kingdoms of this world is evident from John’s testimony that the seven heads are seven hills (symbolically Rome) and the ten horns are ten kings in league with “Rome” (Revelation 17:8-12).
[10] This is justifiable given that the sea was often thought of as the remnant of the primodial ocean of chaos that was bounded and dividied by the land during creation.
[11] Note also Babylon, so closely associated with the beast from the abyss was described as the haunt of demons (Revelation 18:2).
[12] Gerhard Von Rad, Old Testament Theology, Volume 1, The Theology of Israel’s Historical Traditions, Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc, New York, 1962, p. 150
[13] To ancient Semites, composite beasts, having the features of multiple different species were often symbolic of demons. Budge, Amulets and Talismans, New York NY, First Carol Publishing, 1968, p. 4.
[14] As the release of these beasts torments the kingdom of the Antichrist, it seems likely that they are released separately from the beast that martyrs the two witnesses as the release of these demonic forces seems to serve Yahweh’s purposes, not those of the beast. While darkness emerges from the Abyss, it may well be that this darkness is limited to the kingdom of the beast and not inclusive of the saints, much as in the Egyptian plagues there was darkness over Pharaoh’s kingdom but not over the Israelites. If John intends the darkness to symbolize spiritual blindness, which seems likely, then one would expect the darkness would not apply to God’s saints.
[15] Note how the opening of the Abyss, together with Satan’s forces being thrown down to the earth from heaven, follows the flood model where the windows of heaven were opened and also the fountains of the deep. In both cases, the separating boundaries are breached and chaos follows. In Noah’s day, it was the chaos of a flood of water. In the last days, it is a flood of demonic activity directed against God’s creation from above and below.