The term “Leviathan spirit” refers to a demonic spirit mentioned in the Bible that brings division, pride, and rebellion against God. The name comes from the Hebrew word “livyathan” which means “twisted, coiled.” This spirit is depicted in the Bible as a dangerous sea creature or serpent-like monster that wreaks havoc. Understanding the characteristics and influence of this spirit can help believers recognize and resist it.
The Leviathan in the Bible
There are a few key passages in the Bible that mention Leviathan:
- Job 41: The book of Job describes Leviathan as a fearsome, fire-breathing sea creature with impenetrable scales and terrifying teeth. This depicts the powerful and dangerous nature of the spirit.
- Isaiah 27:1 – In this verse, God declares that He will punish and kill the “twisting serpent” Leviathan.
- Psalm 74:14 – This Psalm praises God for crushing the heads of Leviathan.
- Psalm 104:26 – Here, Leviathan is described as a sea creature that God created to “play” in the sea.
Though it is depicted as an aquatic monster, the Leviathan is generally understood as a symbol of the pride and chaos that this demonic spirit represents.
Characteristics of a Leviathan Spirit
A Leviathan spirit exhibits certain traits and manifestations. Recognizing these can help identify when a person or group may be influenced by one:
- Twisting Truth – Just as a serpent twists and coils, this spirit often twists truths from the Bible to confuse people and lead them astray.
- Pride – The Leviathan spirit fosters pride, vanity and arrogance in individuals or groups under its influence.
- Rebellion – This spirit stirs up rebellion against authority and God. It sows discord and division.
- Control – The Leviathan demands control and dominance over people and situations. It hates relinquishing authority.
- Competition – This spirit drives people to strive against others and fosters a competitive, envious spirit.
- Argumentativeness – The Leviathan spirit promotes arguments, nitpicking, and dissention rather than unity and peace.
- Strongholds – This spirit works to build spiritual strongholds in a person’s mind or group’s midst that are difficult to tear down.
- Occult – This spirit may draw people into occult practices forbidden by God, like divination and sorcery.
Influence in Society and Culture
Throughout history and today, the Leviathan manifests through:
- Government – The spirit of Leviathan operates within corrupt, totalitarian governments.
- False Religions – Cults and false religions are often influenced by its power.
- Business – Corporations can take on this spirit through prideful leaders and cutthroat competition.
- Education – Schools and universities operate under Leviathan when they deceive students and breed rebellion.
- Media – Much mainstream media advances the twisting of truth and breeding of dissent the spirit favors.
- Entertainment – The pride and rejection of morality seen in entertainment often reflects this spirit’s influence.
- Churches – Even churches fall under the sway of Leviathan when they divide into factions or rebel against leadership.
- Families – When pride and rebellion manifest between family members, it can indicate this spirit at work.
These manifestations reveal how far-reaching and influential the Leviathan spirit can be within human institutions.
Overcoming Leviathan in Your Life
If you sense you are under attack from a Leviathan spirit, here are some biblical strategies to overcome it:
- Repent – Renounce any area of pride or rebellion the enemy has used to give this spirit access or influence.
- Submit to God – Humble yourself before the Lord, resisting the spirit’s pressure to exert control or dominance (James 4:7).
- Stand in spiritual authority – As a believer, you have authority to cast out demons in Jesus’ name (Luke 10:19).
- Put on armor of God – Equip yourself daily with truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word of God (Ephesians 6:10-18).
- Renew your mind – Replace deceptive thoughts with God’s truth (Romans 12:2).
- Pray and fast – Seek the Lord in fervent prayer and fasting to break strongholds (Mark 9:29).
- Seek deliverance – Meet with mature believers who can pray deliverance prayers over you.
- Live in community – Avoid isolation as this makes you more vulnerable to enemy attacks.
- Forgive others – Bitterness gives the enemy a foothold. Forgive those who have wronged you.
Walking in humility, truth, and obedience to God provides protection from the twisted deceptions of the Leviathan spirit. We have authority over it in Jesus’ name.
Overcoming Leviathan in Your Church or Group
If you recognize signs of a Leviathan spirit in your church, ministry or other group, here are some tips:
- Pray together for discernment and deliverance.
- Expel pride and cultivate humility within leadership.
- Emphasize sound doctrine to combat twisting of truth.
- Cast out the spirit in Jesus’ name through prayer and fasting.
- Strengthen accountability and checks on leadership.
- Focus on reconciliation rather than factions.
- Cultivate unity in vision, values and culture.
- Address and remove sources of rebellion and offense.
- Guard against control, dominance, and competition between members.
Walking in the truth and love of Christ as a community is the greatest weapon against divisive, deceptive spirits like Leviathan.
Leviathan and the End Times
Some believers see the Leviathan spirit as being associated with the end times Great Tribulation period before Jesus’ second coming. Reasons for this include:
- The serpent-like description of Leviathan aligns with the dragon described in Revelation 12 who wars against God’s people.
- Revelation speaks of a beast rising out of the sea (Revelation 13:1) – Leviathan is associated with the sea.
- Job 41 presents Leviathan as a ferocious creature no one can tame except God – symbolizing a powerful end times influence.
- Leviathan’s pride and rebellion mirror the ultimate pride and rebellion of the Antichrist.
While the book of Revelation does not mention Leviathan specifically, its depiction of emerging beasts and the dragon indicate that the earthly domains this spirit controls will be instrumental in end times deception and evil. As believers, we must be aware of its operations now in order to resist it then.
Key Takeaways
- The Leviathan spirit promotes pride, deception, and rebellion against God.
- It manifests through governments, religions, businesses, media, etc. that exhibit these traits.
- As believers, we can overcome its influence through spiritual authority, prayer, and walking in God’s truth and love.
- Some link this spirit to end times Bible prophecies about emerging beasts and the dragon.
- Recognizing this spirit at work today helps prepare us to resist end times deception.
