DAWN IS COMING
On February 7th, I heard, “Dark Days of Dawn”.
The mysterious way in which God speaks never cease to amaze me.
A few days earlier, I had a dream about a sea creature right before dawn, but scientifically it's actually darkest at midnight, not right before dawn! Nevertheless, I have been seeking The Lord in prayer for clarification and just the other morning, I believe God confirmed that miracles of breakthrough are about to take place right before dawn!
“Dawn is coming!
“Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
and deep darkness the people;
But the Lord will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
The gentiles shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Isaiah 60:1-3
Dawn not only represents a time of day, but it marks a new beginning and pray-fully an encounter with God. Isaiah 48
Can we guess the significance of the sea creature in my dream?
It’s not a people, and it’s not a person. . .it’s a spirit!
Paul refers to this experience as the start of his new life in Christ and at the center was this wonderful experience with Jesus Christ himself. (Acts 9:35, 1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8; Galatians 1:15-16).
If you have been longing to go deeper with the Lord, please read about Paul’s vision; he saw the actual risen Christ (Acts 9:17). Paul acknowledged Jesus as Lord, confessed his own sin, surrendered his life to him, and resolved to obey him. Our True Harpazo [conversion] comes from a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and leads to a new life in relationship with him.
If you feel a nudge right now, then keep reading because you are about to be encouraged by the Holy Spirit! Hallelujah!
I want to also suggest that there could be an unfolding of God's amazing work taking place in the dark as my sea creature was seen leaving the city right before dawn.
Warning -Be careful now because this is not about who you think you are… no, so Stop yourself! This is about who you are in Christ! If we think we are not eligible, then the enemy is lurking and God’s plan or destiny for you is being blocked.
So say this with me, “My true destiny is with Christ! And say it again, “My true destiny is with Christ!”And again until your heart and mind agree with this truth!
I wanna encourage you take a moment in the presence of the Lord to hear what the Holy Spirit may be saying personally to you. This message has come with extreme warfare and I believe the timing of the Lord is perfect! This could be your personal Purim!
For today’s message, let’s assume my sea creature is like the ones Job wrestles with in Chapter 40 and 41 and each monster could only be defeated by God!
Either the Behemoth or the Leviathan indicates a weary battle, but I believe these creature leave our cities by sitting at the foot of Jesus in the presence of The Lord.
There is victory on the horizon and most likely right before dawn or when we least expect it!
Before we get too excited, let’s take a look at why Job wrestled so hard and how we can learn from his battles. We are told Job was upright and blameless man of God who turned from evil.
There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God]. Job 1:1 AMP
However, he was challenged by God to see if he could control the great and powerful creature Behemoth in Chapter Job 40:15.
God did this because in Job’s great suffering, he frequently asked to be allowed to have a trial with God (Job 9:16, 13:3) and had called God’s justice into question (Job 40:8). Can you imagine calling God in question? Well, it’s easier than one thinks because each time we question our circumstances we are questioning God’s judgment.
In Job 41, God continues to challenge Job by getting him to consider his inability to control another giant animal: the terrifying Leviathan. Self-Control seems to be the issue, but let’s take a look at my dream:
MY DREAM
I was standing at the edge of my city looking out at the sea. The sun had not reached the horizon but there was light before dawn. To my right, I see a huge grayish creature resembling an elephant with four short legs, clawed toes, a long neck and an alligator tail. I know this creature as I watched it walked right out of my city, down onto the beach and into the sea. Just as it entered the sea, it paused and then disappeared into the water.
God is strong, and he wants His Remnant strong.
Have I commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."Joshua 1:9
So let’s take everything that God has set out for us; his well-made materials and put them to use. Our first weapon is His Word. We have been told through a previous dream of mine that “we have everything we need” to stand up to these monsters.
This battle is no weekend war that we walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is a war for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against satan and all his principalities.
The sea creature leviathan was created by God on the 5th day of creation along with all the other sea creatures in The Book of Genesis 1:21 and God saw that it was good!
Looking into the world, we are experiencing the most vicious manipulating and controlling tactics of the enemy that we have ever seen. What’s even crazier is the majority of society claims they are Christians. And if this is true, it makes sense that satan is making every possible effort to control the minds, the hearts, and the souls of man in an effort to prevent the return of Christ.
We know the truth, we live in a spiritual world and our life isn’t only flesh and blood, per Ephesians 6:12.
And we are told by Isaiah the Servant of the Lord to listen, are we listening to the Spirit of the Lord?
“Listen now, you who know right from wrong, you who hold my teaching inside you: Pay no attention to insults, and when mocked don’t let it get you down. Those insults and mockeries are moth-eaten from brains that are termite-ridden, But my setting-things-right lasts, my salvation goes on and on and on.”
If we listen and seek the Lord, God will evict our sea creatures also known as the dragon.
“Wake up, wake up, flex your muscles, God!
Wake up as in the old days, in the long ago.
Didn’t you once make mincemeat of Rahab,
dispatch the old chaos-dragon?
And didn’t you once dry up the sea,
the powerful waters of the deep,
And then made the bottom of the ocean a road
for the redeemed to walk across?
In the same way God’s ransomed will come back,
come back to Zion cheering, shouting,
Joy eternal wreathing their heads,
exuberant ecstasies transporting them—
and not a sign of moans or groans.”Isaiah 51:7-12
Isaiah says, the leviathan symbolizes the kings or pharaohs of Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria who oppress God’s people. Crocodiles were plentiful in the Nile River, so the Israelites most likely associated them with Egypt, which enhanced the metaphor of Egypt as a sinister sea monster. We often hear “exiting Egypt” as a metaphor for leaving the world.
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 27:1.
Job gives much insight about the sea creature with hopes of overcoming it. By the way any hope of overcoming the leviathan in our strength is false. Job could not hope to defeat Leviathan; it was simply beyond his power to do so.
His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn. Out of his mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap forth. Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth. (Job 41:18–21)
The leviathan has monstrous qualities and having “terrible teeth” and “rows of scales” that are so “tightly bound” that not even air gets through. The monstrous leviathan as sneezing “flashes of light” and spewing flames out of its mouth. (Job 41:12–21)
The leviathan’s Strength dwells in his neck, and sorrow dances before him and He is king over all the children of pride. I broke down the description of Leviathan – and it appears not only was God indicating to Job of His great might, but how vulnerable Job was to his enemies during Job’s great crisis.
- They are strong (Strength dwells in his neck).
- They are cruel and entertained by sorrow (sorrow dances before him).
- They strongly defended (the folds of his flesh are joined together; they are firm on him and cannot be moved).
- They are unsympathetic and hard of heart (His heart is as hard as stone).
- They cause the mighty to fear (When he raises himself up, the mighty are afraid).
- They cannot be successfully attacked (Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail… he laughs at the threat of javelins).
- They have few vulnerable spots (His undersides are like sharp potsherds).
- They have no worthy adversaries on earth (On earth there is nothing like him).
- They are filled with pride (He is king over all the children of pride).
I also thought the Christian theologians interpretations of leviathan was important to note as the most powerful monster described in the Bible.
This also means that the description of Behemoth in the previous chapter may also be a representation of the strength and seeming confidence that the apparently unassailable Adversary has. “The use of the two names Behemoth and Leviathan is a poetic repetition, just as Psalm 74 refers to the breaking of the heads of the monster (tanninim) and the heads of Leviathan.” (Smick)
“While it is true that Satan is never named outside the Prologue, this does not mean that the Lord never deals with him. He deals with him here in the form of Leviathan, describing him to Job with the same sort of symbolic picture-language He uses in Revelation.” (Mason)
If Job cannot subdue the Leviathan (satan, whom Leviathan represents), how could he ever hope to stand against God who made and masters the leviathan?
Essentially, the point is that the leviathan is impossible to subdue and this sea beast is used as an effective way of setting Job in his proper place before God.
There is the second point to this message: that God Himself was master over Leviathan and “everything under heaven is mine” (Job41:11).
We see the entire picture that God has dominion over all creatures to include the Behemoth and Leviathan that Job and his friends never knew. The Lord is illustrating what he has said in chapter 40:8-14. He is celebrating his moral triumph over the forces of evil. Satan, the Accuser, has been proved wrong and even though Job does not know it!
This is our message today — even in the darkest moments God is still on the Throne working and the dawn is coming, no matter how dark it seems! If you are not convinced, we can look into the Psalms where the leviathan is mentioned as a foil for God’s power.
It was you who split open the sea by your power; you broke the heads of the monster in the waters. It was you who crushed the heads of the leviathan and gave him as food to the creatures of the desert. Psalm 74:13 – 14
Or that the leviathan is God’s creation frolicking in a sea because he was created by God, and the sea is vast enough to contain it!
There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both large and small. There the ships go to and fro, and the leviathan, which you formed, to frolic there. Psalm 104:25-26
So this sea monster’s power compares to God and is used by God, so God decides when the enemy is allowed to steer this creature for His Greater Good!
Just because it's dark outside and you can't see what God is doing, even if it feels like time is up for your miracle-breakthrough: have heart that it is DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN!
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? Mark 4: 39-40
In Job 1:19, we see that a great wind caused the collapse of his son’s house while they were feasting. This was just one of many tragic events that happened to Job, including losing his livestock, his servants, and even his children. This serves as a reminder that we are in constant spiritual warfare and that the enemy will use God’s creation to try and shake our faith.
However, we must not miss that Job remains in his faith and continues to trust God’s plans.
Despite everything that happened to him, he still recognized God as sovereign and worthy of praise. God’s word caused his trial and the same word ended it. God is just as involved in our daily trials as he was in the creation of the world. One word from God can bring us down, but, bless His Name and another can raise us up.
This is what spiritual warfare truly looks like – having unshakable faith and trust in God despite the chaos surrounding us.
Job’s story also teaches us that even amid trials, we can still hear and receive encouragement from God. This is referenced in Job 38:1-2 where God spoke to Job out of a storm.
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?”Job 38:1-2
Also, I did not feel any danger towards this creature in my dream. In fact it was like watching a harmless, but enormous sea turtle returning to the sea. God has decided how long we have to live and given us work to do. We are immortal until God’s appointed time arrives. Job 14:5
“Since his days are determined, and the number of his months is with you, and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass, look away from him and leave him alone, that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.” Job 14:5-6
Our enemy would like us to believe that this creature works for him and will destroy us, but we know the truth - God is in control!
We can’t be living in the world, we are to live on this earth like strangers and foreigners, because we are to look for a city that cannot be seen. “Jerusalem the Holy City” is the desire of our hearts. We do not have a permanent home in this world. This is what it means to walk by faith and to live like pilgrims; where there are no opportunities to return to sin are very slim and we can continue to walk with God by the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are to remember how God’s fruit of love, peace, joy etc within each of us is to be revealed even among non-believers. This dragon shall not surface because we seek the holy city.
Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goes smoke, as out of a seething pot or caldron. Job 41:
Job goes on to tell us nothing in our lives can handle the wake the leviathan makes because it’s a destroyer.
On a personal level, the leviathan can symbolize any number of beasts or challenges that we face in our life. These challenges include repeated negative cycles and beliefs about ourselves that are hard to break on our own for example addiction, abuse, cruelty, unhealthy relationships, or unhealthy behavior. The leviathan symbolizes control and wants to be the master of your life.
On a world point of view the leviathan symbolizes abuse of power, authoritarianism, anarchy, and willful ignorance. I believe this sea creature leviathan has been challenging all of us to seek the power of God to destroy this spirit working in our society and culture.
The only way it can be destroyed is by the power of God which is the most powerful force in the Universe - LOVE ❤️! We know this comes in the form of humility and love in the face of God!
This is still our blessed hope for today! We are called to walk in the light, just as He Himself is in the light (1 John 1:7), living with every area of our lives exposed to God.
The land of Zebulun [glorious dwelling place] and the land of Naphtali [my struggles], the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. MATTHEW 4:12-19
As I was studying for this post, I was led to read the work of Thomas Hobbes of 1651. He was one of the first philosophers and compared the leviathan way back in the 1600’s to man’s desire to “control” his circumstances. Hobbes says one can only overcome it by submitting to a sovereign power.
Leviathan is the mortal governor of mankind, who is given great power by God and who is to be called King of the Proud. “There is nothing on earth to be compared with him. He is made so as not to be afraid. He seeth every high thing below him, and is king of all the children of pride.” Spoken by Author Thomas Hobbes.
So we can be sure that if we live according to our flesh this spirit short circuits every aspect of God in our lives. If you want to read his work, you can also use this link via Gutenberg titled, “Leviathan or the Matter Forme, & Power of a Common-Wealth Ecclesiastical and Civil.
On a final note, we cannot join in the mistaken idea that because Jesus went to the Cross, we will never have to - -that’s so far from the truth. Jesus went to the Cross in order that we might go with him and live the Resurrection of the Cross.
It's the Cross that sets us free from our self-centered lives and breaks this damnable barrier within us that insists we live to please ourselves. It's the Cross that puts that to death. This is liberty!
And by accepting that, by passing through that, by renouncing this right to self, we experience with him the Cross. But when we come to the Cross, what lies beyond it . . . is always Resurrection.
You can't have Pentecost without Calvary.
You can't have the glory of a Resurrection morn without the darkness of a crucifixion. But when we accept death to our own plans, our own programs, our own lives, our own ego, then beyond lies rest, and power, and the Lost Secret of Humanity — a restored humanity which we'll share with God in His Glory. When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we be with Him in Glory!
Let’s pray:
Father, teach me to accept the principle of the Cross and what Jesus endured on my behalf. Help me to stop pushing away your hand that leads me into experiences that spell death to me. Teach me to accept them, and thus to know the joy of a life lived in fellowship with the Risen Lord, Jesus the Christ, Thank you Father,Amen.
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