The War in Heaven
Revelation 12:7-8, “7Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels. 8And the dragon lost the battle and was forced out of heaven. 9This great dragon--the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world--was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.”
There has been a war in heaven since the fall of Satan (Isaiah 14:2-14; Ezek 28:11-18). Though at the present Satan has access to God’s throne in heaven (vs.10; Job 1,2), Satan’s domain is the earth and the air around the earth. This is why the Word describes him as the “god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4) and that “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2) and his demon hosts as “spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12). Satan and his minions have actively opposed both the holy angels and God’s people since his fall. In the Old Testament demons sought to hinder the ministry of the holy angles to Israel (Daniel 10:12-13). In the present Satan prowls around like a lion (1st Peter 5:8), opposing the spread of the Gospel (Matthew 13:19,37-39; Acts 13:10), oppressing individuals (Luke 13:10-16; Acts 10:38), and uses sin to disrupt and pollute the church (Acts 5:1-11). Believers are to be wary of his schemes (2 Cor 2:11), give him no opportunity (Eph 4:27), and resist him (James 4:17).
The future conflict with involve Daniel and the dragon which we have identified clearly as Satan. The grammar structure here points to the fact that Satan will start the battle. The Word does not reveal how angles fight nor would we be able to comprehend such a battle. Henry Morris in The Revelation Record points out, “With what weapons and by what tactics this heavenly warfare will be waged is beyond our understanding. Angels cannot be injured or slain with earthly weapons, and such physical forces as we know about are not able to move spiritual beings. But these beings do operate in a physical universe, so there must exist powerful physic-spiritual energies of which we yet can have only vague intimations, energies which can propel angelic bodies at superluminary velocities through space and which can move mountains and change planetary orbits. It is with such energies and powers that this heavenly battle will be waged and the spectators in heaven (including John) will watch in awe. When Michael finally prevails, and Satan is forced forever out of the heavens, a tremendous cry of thanksgiving will resound through the heavens.” This event could be sparked by the Rapture of the church and Satan getting in the way of the raptured believers passing through their realm, the prince of the power of the air and his demon hosts will try to hinder their passage. That may trigger the battle with Michael and the angels.
Michael is always seen as the defender of God’s people against satanic destruction. In Daniel 10 the inspired prophet give and Old Testament example of him in action. A holy angel, dispatched with an answer to Daniel’s answer to prayer (Daniel 10:12), was delayed for three weeks by a powerful demon who was in control of the Persian Empire (Daniel 10:13; vs.20). It was not until “Michael one of the chief princes came to help” him (v.13) that he was able to prevail. Daniel 12:1 also speaks of Michael’s defense of God’s people. The New Testament also speaks of Michael as the defender of God’s people. Jude 9 describes his conflict with Satan over the body of Moses which was after Moses death (Deut 34:5-6). Michael contested Satan for possession of Moses’ body, which Satan apparently wanted to use for some pernicious purpose. In the Lord’s power, Michael and thus Moses was buried in the valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but no ma knows his burial place to this day (Deut 34:6). Significantly though Jude 9 describes Michael as an archangel which the only reference to this is in 1st Thess 4:6 in relation to Jesus. It is possible that the archangel in that passage is Michael and that he is shouting as he confronts Satan’s attempt to interfere with the Rapture.
The reference to the dragon and his angels would strengthen this position since the demon hosts are under Satan’s command- a principle stated by Jesus in Matthew 24:51. Every inch of heaven will be scoured to throw down Satan’s forces. There will no longer be a place for Satan in heaven anymore after his battle with Michael and the dark hosts of darkness so complete will be this victory. The heaven’s cleansing is the earth’s pollution however as Satan’s full fury explodes on humanity when he is cast down to earth (12:12). We are not really sure at what point during the Tribulation these angels and Satan will be thrown out other than the fact that they will. All that it says in vs.12 again is that the time of Satan is short. This would seem to mean that they would only them be in the last three and a half years of the Tribulation to operate which would be in support of the whole of the argument thus in relation to the Tribulation. This position is strengthened by the fact that they will not arrive in earth earlier than that are only clearly present during the three and a half years, the Great Tribulation (9:1). During this time period Satan’s full wrath will be aimed at anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and even more so against Israel.
Revelation 12:9, “9This great dragon--the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world--was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.”
Diablos (Devil) means slander, defamer, or false accuser-a fitting word for Satan, the ultimate false accuser (vs.10). He accuses men to God as we have thus discussed, God to me and men to other men. Satan is a malicious prosecutor of God’s people, constantly trying to arraign them before the bar of God’s holy justice. Part of the prowling around which 1st Peter 5:8 says more than likely includes looking for believers who are struggling in there walks so that they may be accused them before God’s throne. But the glorious truth is that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) because “if anyone sins we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Chris the righteous (1 John 2:1). Romans 8:31-34 points out the impossibility of Satan destroying the bonds that those who are in Christ posses, “31What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?33Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. 34Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us.” Satan was the most glorious created being the (star of the morning Isa 14:12), is now and forever branded the adversary. He demanded to be God(Isaiah 14:14) to ascend to that position which only God can have. He deceitfully led Eve into sin by manipulating her to distrust the nature, character and Word of God (Genes 3:2-5).
Deceives translates the present participle of the verb planao (to lead astray, “to mislead”, or “to deceive”). The use of the present tense indicates that this is Satan’s habitual, continual activity, as he constantly accuses believers, so also he deceives the whole world. Through Satan’s agent here on earth the False Prophet (the associate of the Antichrist), Satan will deceive those who dwell on earth (13:14). Deceitful demons under Satan’s control will gather the world’s armies for the Battle of Armageddon (16:14; 19:19). Satan will also use Babylon the great end time commercial empire, to deceive the unbelieving world (18:23). Satan will also be actively involved in deception as well. At the end of the Tribulation Satan will be thrown down into the abyss for a thousand years “so that he will not deceive the nations any longer” (20:3). Satan will be released for a brief time during the end of the Millennium but will then be thrown into the lake of fire with the others who have opposed Christ the Antichrist, the False Prophet and the beast (20:10; Matthew 25:41).
Satan and his angels then will be thrown down with him after his final expulsion from heaven. The arrival of the excommunicated demon host and their evil commander at that on earth will add immeasurable to the horror of the Tribulation. They will join the innumerable demons already roaming the earth, the lately arrived demons belched forth from the abyss (9:1-3) and the two hundred million formerly bound demons (9:13-16) to create an unimaginable holocaust of evil).
Revelation 12:10-12, “10Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has happened at last--the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth--the one who accused our brothers and sisters[1] before our God day and night. 11And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die. 12Rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the Devil has come down to you in great anger, and he knows that he has little time."
The defeat of Satan and his demon hosts and the cleansing of their foul presence from heaven will trigger an outburst of praise there. Such sudden outbursts frequently punctuate the prophetic narrative of Revelation (4:8-11; 5:9-10; 11-14; 7:9-12; 11:15-18; 15:3-4; 19:1-8). The Bible describes angles as believers fellow servant (19:10; 22:8-9), but never as their brethren. These worshipers then are most likely the redeemed glorified saints in heaven.
Salvation here is to be understood in its broadest sense. It encompasses not only the redemption of individual believers, but also the deliverance of all creation from the ravages of sins’ curse and the power of Satan (Romans 8:19-22). Power speaks of God’s omnipotence His triumphant, sovereign power that crushes all opposition and will establish his kingdom (11:15). The rule of Christ is by authority from God (Psalm 2:8, Matthew 28:18; John 17:2). Certainly then the establishing of the kingdom and the rule of Christ that, though yet future, they are spoken of in the past tense. The heavenly worshipers rejoice that the first step, Satan’s defeat and the final ejection from heaven, ha already taken place. They know that, having been expelled from heaven to earth, he will shortly be cast from the earth into the abyss (20:1-3), and then from the abyss into his ultimate destination-the lake of fire (20:10). This even then will cause the kingdom of God to be established as a result of Satan being expulsed from heaven. So the saints praise that the For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth--the one who accused our brothers and sisters[1] before our God day and night. As redeemed and glorified individuals there was nothing Satan could legitimately accuse them of. Still it must have grieved them that their suffering brethren on earth were subject to the devil’s slanderous accusations. Satan’s defeat will put an end to those relentless accusations (Job 1:1; 2:5; Zech 3:1; 1 Peter 5:8). The worshippers in heaven then gave praise because those believers on earth who overcame Satan. Satan will no doubt unleash his full fury upon God’s people here on earth (12:6;13-17). There too, however they will suffer defeat. John here sees the victory as already won and spoke as if it has already occurred and the notes that the believers alive on earth overcame Satan. Though it is yet to happen, but the Apostle Paul instructed us on how to overcome Satan in 2nd Cor 10:3-5, “3We are human, but we don’t wage war with human plans and methods. 4We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds. 5With these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps people from knowing God. With these weapons we conquer their rebellious ideas, and we teach them to obey Christ.” 1 John 44But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.” It is only through God’s power that any believer can defeat Satan. Accordingly the believers on earth overcame because of the Blood of the Lamb. Like those already in heaven they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14). 1 Peter 118For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. 19He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.” These suffering believers knew well the forgives that Paul wrote of in Romans 4:7-8, “Romans 47"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight.8 Yes, what joy for those whose sin is no longer counted against them by the Lord." There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) applied to them, which was understood to be by the power of living free in Christ in other words.
No accusation against the suffering saints of the Great Tribulation will stand just as no accusation against any believer in any age will stand, because the Lamb’s blood was shed for all their sins. The first and most important key to defeating Satan assaults is to take the helmet of salvation (Eph 6:17; 1 Thess 5:8). The unshakable foundation of all spiritual victory is Christ’s purchase of redemption at Calvary. A second way these tribulations saints overcome Satan’s assaults was through the word of their testimony. In other words they were living representations of what they believed, they suffered because they knew that being faithful was what mattered the most. The suffering Tribulations saints paid the ultimate price for their faithfulness to their loyalty to Christ. They knew that all martyrdom could do to them was usher them into the eternal bliss of Christ’s presence (Phil 1:21; 23; Matthew 10:38-39; Acts 20:24; Romans 8:38-39). Because their faith was genuine it only justified and sanctified them but also enabled them to persevered all the way to glorification. A sure mark of true believers is that they will continue until death in their faith (1 John 2:19).
This then points to them end of Satan’s reign. Thunder (wrath) refers to a violent outburst of rage. The word depicts a turbulent, emotional fury rather than a rational anger. John Phillips wrote, “Satan is now like a caged lion, enraged beyond words by the limitations placed upon his freedom. He picks up himself from the dusts of the earth shakes his fist at the sky and glares around choking with fury for ways to vent his anger and fury upon humankind.” Satan’s time is only short for the remainder of the Tribulation-for his final assault on God’s people. His actual time will be three and a half years of the reign of the Antichrist (13:5), whom Satan places in power immediately after being cast down from heaven. It is the same period referred to in 12:6,14. It is a short time because Jesus Christ will return to establish His earthly millennial kingdom. No matter how sick this situation looks God is in control. Satan will rage against them but believers can take comfort in knowing that his ultimate defeat is certain. In the words of Martin Luther, “The Prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him; His rage we can endure; for lo, his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him.”
We will now turn our attention to the War on Earth
Pastor David
