Job 41:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Yet, there are those who, adhering to the words of the prophets and the commandments of the Gospel, understand that the wonders he performs are illusions and recognize the genuine punishments to which his trickery misleads them. For these individuals, Leviathan does not allure them with feigned piety; rather, he presents a different form of deceit. Among them are those who, despite their awareness of the truth, cherish the comforts of this life; he enlightens their minds with the knowledge of impending judgments, suggesting that the severity and duration of their impending sentences can be eased. Once he has ensnared them subtly in this manner, he eagerly leads them into worldly pleasures. He shall honor the abyss as representative of age, for the term ‘abyss’ often symbolizes immutable or unfathomable judgments, as indicated by the Psalmist: "Thy chastisement is a deep abyss" (Psalms 35:7). Yet, old age sometimes denotes the looming end, as the apostle states, "That which is decaying and growing old is near destruction" (Heb. 8:13). This Leviathan therefore reveres the abyss as old age, because he instills in the hearts of the rejected the notion that their imminent punishment may not last forever. He who honors the abyss as old age believes that the decree laid down by Heaven could one day conclude. This ancient deceiver thus illuminates the minds of his followers – that is, the minds of the wicked – with the false belief that the future penalties will be confined, so to speak, to a transient duration. This tactic serves to allow them to pursue their transgressions unrestrained by admonition, blinding them to the need to end their sinful behaviors, under the illusion that the consequences of their sins will eventually cease. Even now, some neglect to curtail their misdeeds out of the belief that future repercussions will, at some point, be lifted. Our response to them remains straightforward: if the penalties for the unreceptive will eventually cease, then likewise the joy of the blessed must also one day diminish. Yet the Truth declares through His voice, "These shall go away into everlasting torment, but the righteous into everlasting life" (Matthew 25:46). Therefore, the absence of truth in His threats implies there is also a lack of truth in His promises. They argue that God threatened sinners with eternal punishment merely to deter them from wrongdoing, suggesting these threats are illusory and will not culminate in real suffering. To this, we reply emphatically: if He issued false threats to lead the wayward from sin, then He must have also given false promises to inspire virtue. Who can withstand such irrational conclusions, which claim that the punishments of the condemned will cease, and therefore, the rewards for the elect will also conclude? Who can endure the folly of those who seek to convince others that the eternal consequences foretold by Truth regarding fire are false while simultaneously declaring God’s merciful nature, shamefully deeming His words as untrue? They assert that guilt with an end ought not to merit everlasting punishment. Indeed, God is just, and one who does not persist in sin indefinitely should not face everlasting torment. Our response is immediate: their assertion holds validity only if the Supreme Judge, upon His return, evaluates not the hearts of individuals, but merely their deeds. The sins of the wicked indeed have a limit, as their lives themselves are finite. Yet, they desire to live forever, clinging to life solely to continue their sinfulness. More eager to indulge in iniquity than to cherish life, they yearn for immortality on earth so they may perpetuate their wickedness. Consequently, it is just that those who lack effort in this life to free themselves from sin will never escape punishment. The wicked will find no conclusion to their penalties, for they have wished to indulge in sin eternally. They further argue that it is unjust for a master to inflict suffering on a servant, for the purpose should be a restoration of behavior. But what purpose serves the eternal punishment of the wicked condemned to hellfire? And since a Merciful and Omnipotent God does not anticipate delight in the anguish of sinners, why would the damned be subjected to suffering that offers no atonement? We respond, affirming that although God does not take pleasure in the pain of the suffering, His justice necessitates the punishment of the unrighteous. Their own transgressions inflict eternal torment upon the sinners, and yet they do burn for a noble cause: it is so that all the faithful may eternally witness in God the joy that is theirs and the afflictions from which, through His grace, they have been spared. The more they perceive the eternal consequences of transgressions from which His aid has exempted them, the greater their understanding of how indebted they are to Divine Mercy. Some might say, "Where is their holiness if they do not intercede for their enemies in torment, despite the command to pray for one’s enemies?" (Matthew 5:44). Our reply is prompt: they indeed pray for their adversaries when they have the opportunity to guide them toward genuine repentance and keep them steadfast in such a transformation. How can we intercede for our enemies except as the apostle indicates, that God may grant them the heart to repent and deliver them from the snares of the devil, who has taken captive their will? (2 Tim. 2:25-26). What prayers can be offered for those who have lost the capacity to turn from unrighteousness in favor of righteousness? The absence of intercession for those condemned to eternal fire parallels how prayers are not extended to the devil or his angels, who are eternally damned. This explains why the virtuous do not pray for the deceased who were wicked and disbelieving; they do not wish the merit of their prayers to serve as judgment upon them before the Righteous Judge, especially for those already condemned to eternal suffering. If they currently refrain from praying for the unrighteous who have died and are damned, while still enduring their own tribulations in anticipation of judgment, how much more stringent will their stance become against the wicked when they themselves, stripped of all sin, are more aligned with righteousness? They will be intolerant of anything that contradicts the strictness of this internal law. Thus, after addressing these considerations regarding the followers of Origen, we return to the exposition that we had previously strayed from. Once the gracious Lord has exposed the treacherous actions of Leviathan, openly detailing the ruthless afflictions he imposes on the elect and the deceptions he sows in the hearts of the rejected, the enormity of his might is immediately underscored.