. . . Was it not you who cut Rahab to pieces, who pierced that monster through? Was it not you who dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep, who made a road in the depths of the sea so that the redeemed might cross over? Isaiah 51:9
Let us study about the monster and Rahab which God cut to pieces in the past and will cut to pieces in the last days, too.
“Rahab,” which appears in Isaiah 51:9, is not Rahab (רחב) the prostitute who hid the two spies sent by Joshua to look over the land of Canaan.
“Rahab” (רהב) is a Hebrew named sea monster of an ancient myth, and it is said that Rahab was surrendered by gods. The origin of this name comes from a Hebrew word “Rah’-hab” (רהב), with a meaning of “blusterer, storm and arrogance.” The sea monster “Rahab” symbolizes Egypt which caught the Israelites as slaves and was punished through the ten plagues.
When the kingdom of Judah was intimidated by Assyria, the Jews relied on Egypt, not on God. At that time God said:
“. . . to Egypt, whose help is utterly useless. Therefore I call her Rahab the Do-Nothing.” Isa 30:7
The monster in the words, “who pierced that monster through,” refers to a Hebrew word “Tanin” that is translated as a “serpent, dragon and monster.”
God made the Egyptians tremble and release the Israelites by sending them ten plagues, and buried the Egyptian soldiers in the Red Sea when they entered the Sea to chase the Israelites. The prophet Isaiah described these as God cut Rahab into pieces. In the context, God compared the Egyptian ruler Pharaoh’s being surrendered to the monster’s being pierced.
Ultimately, Rahab and the monster represent the same thing. Primarily, Rahab or the monster represents Egypt and its ruler. During the Babylonian Captivity, it symbolized the Babylonian king. Secondly, it represents Satan who is the king of this sinful world. The great creature of the sea, which God created on the 5th day (Ge 1:21), is also a translation of Tanin [monster, beast]. So the beast, which comes out of sea at the prophetical period of the 5th day, gets power from the dragon and rules the churches for 1,260 years.
The monster, the beast coming from the sea, or the dragon represents the ruler of this world [sea], the devil. So the books of Daniel and Revelation tell that the beast who speaks against God comes out of the sea. It is Elohim God who will bring judgment to the devil [the temporary owner of this world] and throw him into the lake of fire—who will cut Rahab to pieces and pierce that monster through. Elohim God will appear in the last days to give us salvation. Let us sing praise and give thanks to Elohim God the Savior of this age, who will bring judgment to the devil throw him into the lake of fire and lead us to the kingdom of heaven.