We’ve traced Leviathan’s rise—how power concentrates, how liberty recedes, and how citizens surrender responsibility for the comfort of government control. But now comes the hardest truth: it won’t go away.
No election will end it. No party will reverse it. No budget committee will dismantle it.
Christians must come to terms with this: you cannot slay what God permits, but you must tame what man misuses.
The Myth of Final Reform
Each generation imagines itself the one that will fix government.
- Progressives believe more policies and programs will improve it.
- Libertarians think deregulation will shrink it.
- Conservatives long to restore a past version of it.
But none of these slay Leviathan. At best, they slow it. At worst, they feed it.
Why? Because Leviathan is not simply a broken system—it is a reflection of broken people. It’s not a glitch in the code. It is a byproduct of sin + power + fear. As long as man seeks security without God, Leviathan will rise.
We must abandon the illusion of total political victory.
Why Slaying Isn’t an Option
Government is not inherently evil. Romans 13 describes it as a servant of God, ordained to restrain evil and reward good. But like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a terrible master.
- When confined, it brings order.
- When unbound, it consumes.
The problem isn’t government’s existence—it’s its expansion into every part of life.
We must reject two extremes:
- Anarchism, which demands a world without rulers.
- Statism, which exalts government to the place of God.
The biblical vision is one of limited government under God’s higher law. That’s why slaying isn’t the goal. Taming is.
Why Leviathan Endures
Saint Augustine, in The City of God, reminds us that government exists not because man is noble, but because he isn’t. As long as sin remains, so will coercion. A virtuous people can live with little oversight. A corrupt people cannot.
That’s why Leviathan grows—not just from the ambition of rulers, but from the failure of citizens.
When people refuse to govern themselves, they demand someone else govern them. And that someone is rarely kind.
Leviathan is not only a beast—it’s a mirror.
It reflects the moral decay of the people it rules.
How Tyranny Creeps
Tyranny rarely marches in with banners.
First, it protects you.
Then, it guides you.
Eventually, it owns you.
Modern signs of creeping Leviathan include:
- Bureaucratic bloat: Rules from agencies no one elected.
- Economic dependence: Citizens trained to expect subsidies.
- Cultural pacification: Schools and media normalize statism.
- Legal redefinition: Justice no longer reflects natural law.
And often, the Church?
Silent. Compliant. Occasionally complicit.
The Need for Moral Fences
Taming Leviathan starts with reestablishing boundaries.
Scripture teaches sphere sovereignty: distinct roles for family, church, and state.
- The father, not the bureaucrat, raises children.
- The pastor, not the politician, shepherds souls.
- The community, not the federal agency, solves local needs.
When the state trespasses into these areas, it violates God’s design and weakens society.
How to Tame Leviathan
Slaying fails. So taming must begin—not in Congress, but in the moral imagination of the people.
Taming Leviathan means:
- Resisting statism: Government is not your god. And no earthly authority outranks the Word of God.
- Reviving courage: Raising people with steel in their spine and Christ in their heart.
Consider These:
- The Hebrew midwives disobeyed Pharaoh.
- Daniel prayed despite a royal decree.
- The apostles preached when forbidden.
- The Reformers resisted Rome and crown.
- The Founders crafted law to restrain rulers, not just citizens.
None of them overthrew Leviathan. But all tamed it.
What Taming Requires
1. Reviving the Forgotten Offices
Scripture does not only speak of kings and magistrates. It speaks of prophets, elders, and watchmen—non-state roles that carry moral weight. Their job is not to rule, but to remind rulers of their limits and to call people back to righteousness.
In ancient Israel, prophets like Nathan rebuked kings. In early America, pulpits thundered with sermons about liberty, justice, and government overreach. These voices kept the State in check—not with power, but with truth.
But today, most pulpits are quiet. And when they do speak, they often echo the slogans of the age rather than the Word of God.
Taming Leviathan means reviving these offices. We need churches that disciple the morally courageous. We need writers, pastors, and lay leaders who confront power with conviction, not comfort. We need Christians who are willing to speak when it costs them something.
2. Re-establishing Jurisdiction
The State must be told what it may not do.
- Education is for families and communities.
- Health decisions belong to individuals, not regulators.
- Morality is defined by God, not law.
3. Praying—and Preparing—for What May Come
Leviathan may not shrink in your lifetime. It may grow before it retreats.
Until then, do your part. Pray, prophesy, and prepare.
Prepare your household. Teach your children history, Scripture, and resilience. Help them understand the cost of freedom and the responsibility it demands.
Prepare your church. Preach with clarity. Train members to think theologically about law, justice, and citizenship.
And most importantly, pray—not merely as ritual, but as warfare. Leviathan is not only a political force—it is a manifestation of the spiritual. It thrives where fear replaces faith, where lies are tolerated, and where truth is silenced.
The Church’s Task in an Untamable World
The Church must prophetically warn.
- When the State calls evil good, the Church must say no.
- When the State invades the family, the Church must guard it.
- When the State punishes righteousness, the Church must stand.
We are not citizens of Leviathan. We are citizens of Christ.
His Word is our law. His Spirit is our strength. His Kingdom is our hope.
So tame the beast. Tie it with truth. Keep it from the holy places.
And when it rages, stand.