Leviathan

Description

Leviathan is a biblical creature described particularly in Job 41. Derek Prince interprets it as an image or designation of Satan and draws attention to the chapter's closing words: “He is king over all the sons of pride.” Frank and Ida Mae Hammond and Nelson Schuman also use the category of Leviathan in their teaching on deliverance.

The central theme is pride: difficulty humbling oneself, accepting correction, acknowledging one's own mistake, and submitting to God's order. The Hammonds and later ministries also describe a tendency toward conflict and communication in which words are persistently twisted or received in ways that lead to discord.

Nelson Schuman also attributes specific physical symptoms to Leviathan, including tension in the neck and back, headaches, and sleep problems. These claims belong to his teaching and should not automatically be attributed to Prince or the Hammonds.

Confidence, conflict, or a physical complaint alone does not establish a spiritual source for the problem. The pattern described combines entrenched pride, resistance to truth, and distorted communication, leading to conflicts and an inability to accept correction.

Symptoms / signs

Pride and self-exaltation, rebellion against authority, difficulty accepting admonition, religiosity without humility, fault-finding, the conviction “I am always right; others are to blame,” impatience, a tendency to twist facts, provoking disputes and discord.

Possible roots / causes

Pride, unforgiveness and resentment, a need for control, an entrenched struggle to be right, accepted lies, and wounds that have led to deep distrust of parents, leaders, or other authorities.

Doors / context

Cultivated pride and unforgiveness, conscious resistance to truth, a need for control, occultism or esotericism where these actually occurred, and entrenched patterns of conflict and distorted communication.

Effects

Conflicts and divisions, difficulty accepting correction, isolation, persistent disputes, spiritual coldness, and growing communication problems. Nelson Schuman additionally describes possible physical symptoms; these remain part of his teaching.

Help / what next

Repentance for pride and one's own part in conflicts, forgiveness of those who caused hurt, relinquishing control, accepting truth and correction, and prayer for deliverance. Physical complaints can receive appropriate care alongside this, without diminishing the importance of prayer.

“On earth there is none equal to him; he is made to fear nothing. He is king over all the sons of pride.”
Job 41:25–26. Teaching sources: Derek Prince — Leviathan, Job 41, and pride; Frank and Ida Mae Hammond — the category of Leviathan; Nelson Schuman — teaching on Leviathan, including the physical symptoms attributed to it.