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Central America



Map of Central America
[Map from the Perry Castenada Library,
Courtesy The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin]

Central America's name comes from her obvious geographical position between North and South America. She is a relatively narrow strip of land that is home to seven nations between Mexico in the north and Colombia in the south: Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. But let's remove the borders, and take a look at what Central America is shaped like:


Modified map of Central America

Central America is a snake!

Panama represents the head, with jaws open, attacking South America.


Snake swallowing a bird


At the other end, the snake's tail is in the grasp of North America.


Hawk attacking a snake


Let's take a closer look at the snake's head:


Satellite image of Panama
[Image courtesy NASA's Earthobservatory]

This snake even has a pair of fangs in his upper jaw. And near the left one is the Panama Canal:


Panama Canal
[Map from the Perry Castenada Library,
Courtesy The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin]

"The canal runs northwest-southeast from the city of Colon on the Atlantic side to Panama City on the Pacific side" (from NASA's Earthobservatory).

Here's another satellite image of the area:


Panama Canal
[Image courtesy NASA's Earthobservatory]

"Water levels are maintained along its length by three reservoirs, the largest of which is Lake Gatun, visible at the right center of the image. Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914, the canal extends for approximately 50 miles, and is widely considered to be one of the world's great engineering achievements" (from NASA's Earthobservatory).

In other words, the Panama Canal effectively cuts off the snake's upper jaw. That would make it as long as its lower jaw. Here's what his head would look like without most of his upper jaw:


Snake without upper jaw


I believe this snake represents "...that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world..." (Revelation 12:9). But why is Central America shaped like a snake? Because of its position relative to North America, and because of what North America symbolizes, I think it's here to illustrate (in part) Luke 10:

17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, "Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name." 18 And He said unto them, "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven."

Since the snake's jaw has been cut off, it should remind us that Satan has no real power over us unless we allow it. Don't put up with the Serpent.

After learning these things, and doing the study of North America, I found the coat of arms of Mexico very interesting:


Mexico coat of arms

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