Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” (Revelation 12:7-12 NIV)
There’s a battle going on for your soul. Do you realize that? Sometimes you think you’re not important. Sometimes you think nobody cares about you. That couldn’t be further from the truth! You are so special that you’re wanted by the most powerful beings in the universe. To Jesus, you are so precious. Jesus wants you in heaven with him! But the devil wants you just as much. Not because he loves you. Misery loves company. The devil wants you to suffer in hell with him! There’s a battle for your soul. Jesus vs. the devil. They both want you with them forever.
In most of the Bible, we see how that battle played out here on earth. God created perfect people in his image. But the devil came as a snake and tempted Adam and Eve to sin. So God promised a Savior—the Messiah—who would pay for sin and save us. But the devil filled the world with idols and lies and false teachings. So Jesus finally came and lived a perfect life and died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead. But the devil persecuted Jesus’ followers. Back and forth and back and forth. The battle for your soul. Jesus came to earth to fight the battle for us!
But only part of the battle was actually fought on earth. Every once in a while, the Bible gives us a glimpse of the big picture, especially in the book of Revelation. Did you hear how our lesson started? “Then war broke out in heaven.” That sounds wrong, doesn’t it? Heaven is a beautiful, perfect place where everything is wonderful. Except, “war broke out in heaven.” The battle for your soul didn’t just take place on earth. There was a war in heaven! Who was fighting? “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.”
Who are these guys? Let’s start with Michael. Did you know that in the Bible only two angels are given names? One is this Michael. Can you think of whom the other is? Gabriel. Remember him? Gabriel got to tell Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus. Those are the only two angels with names: Michael and Gabriel. Now, there’s a whole lot we don’t understand about angels, but the Bible tells us that Michael is the “archangel” (Jude 9)—the head angel. Out of all God’s angels, Michael is the “great prince who protects God’s people” (Daniel 12:1). Here’s one side of the war in heaven: The great archangel Michael leads the angels of God into battle.
Against the great dragon. The book of Revelation calls the devil a “dragon.” But not a little red cartoon dragon with a pitchfork. It says he’s a terrifying dragon with seven heads and ten horns and a tail that sweeps stars out of the sky! The devil is the great serpent who led Adam and Eve to sin. He is Satan, the “accuser,” who leads the demons. There’s a lot we don’t understand about the devil too. But the Bible tells us that the devil is a powerful angel who rebelled against God soon after God created the world. He continues to war against God’s people. Can you imagine this battle? Michael vs. the great dragon. No sci-fi movie has anything on the war in heaven.
When? That’s the big question. At first, we might think this war is describing when the devil rebelled against God after creation. But that’s not true. Right before our lesson, we hear about a woman who gave birth to a child who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” The dragon tried to devour the child, but he wasn’t able to, and that child was taken up to heaven. Who’s that child? Jesus! This war in heaven took place as Jesus was living and dying and rising here on earth. That’s why in our gospel lesson, Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightening.” (Luke 10:18). As Jesus was saving us on earth, there was war in heaven. Make sense?
No. No it doesn’t make sense. Why would the devil be in heaven? The devil’s supposed to be in hell. Why would he be in heaven? Well, do you know what Satan did in heaven? I told you what “Satan” means. Remember? “Accuser.” That’s what the devil was doing in heaven: Accusing. Accusing people of sin. That’s what the devil’s always doing. He’s “the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night.” Two times in the Old Testament, we hear how the devil went to heaven to accuse believers of sin: Job and Joshua the priest. “God, look what he did. God, look what she did. You can’t forgive that, can you?” The accuser.
Isn’t that terrifying? The devil doesn’t know everything. Only God does. But between him and his demons, the devil knows a lot about you. What can he accuse you of? “God, she pretends to be so kind, but have you heard what she says on the phone with her friends? She’s a sinner!” “God, he looks good on Sunday morning, but did you see him last Friday night? He’s a sinner!” “God, she tells everyone she’s a Christian, but do you know what she does in secret, when no one’s watching? She’s a sinner!” That’s what Satan does. Satan accuses God’s people night and day. Isn’t that terrifying? Because he’s right. Isn’t he? He’s right about you. He’s right about me. You’re a sinner. I’m a sinner. Where should sinners go? Hell. There’s a battle for your soul.
Ancient Christians especially thought about that battle at this time of year. Did you know what huge change took place on September 22nd? The darkness overcame the light. We don’t notice anymore. There is light all the time. You just flip the switch. Nightlights and headlights and street lights. But ancient Christians noticed. Starting on September 22nd, there is more darkness than light each day. That change led ancient Christians to think about light and darkness and the battle that rages around us every single day. As the shadows grew and the days got shorter, they thought about angels and demons and Michael and the great dragon and the war in heaven itself.
So who won? “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.” Who won? Michael did. Satan is not stronger than Michael. The demons are not stronger than the angels. They lost their place in heaven for good. They were hurled down to earth. There was war in heaven, and Michael won.
Then a voice shouted: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.” Who’s the Messiah? Jesus! The Savior. He’s who really won. “For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” The devil can’t accuse anymore. “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Here’s the result of the war in heaven: Jesus the Messiah has come, the devil has been thrown down, and God’s people have triumphed over the accuser by the blood of the Lamb!
So here’s what that means: The devil can’t accuse you anymore. When Jesus died on the cross, his blood washed away every sin. Before Jesus’ death for us, the devil held out hope. He would go to God and said, “Look at their sins. You better send those people to hell!” But now that Jesus has suffered and died for you, the devil can’t accuse you anymore. That shameful thing you did in secret? Forgiven! Those angry words you wish you could take back? Forgiven! Those years that you lived without God? Forgiven! In fact, when the devil accuses you of your sins, you can say to the devil: “Devil, if you have a problem with my sins, you have to take it up with Jesus. Because I don’t those sins anymore. Jesus took them away. I am forgiven. I am saved!”
I told you that twice in the Old Testament, the devil went to heaven to accuse God’s people. One of those people was a high priest named Joshua. Have you heard his story? Joshua was standing before the LORD, with Satan at his side to accuse him, because he was wearing filthy clothes. But before Satan could open his mouth, God sent an angel to take off Joshua’s filthy clothes and give him new clothes. God said, “See, I have taken away your sin” (Zechariah 3:4). Then God promised: “I will remove the sin of this land in a single day” (Zechariah 3:9). That’s what Jesus has done for you. In your baptism, Jesus took off your filthy clothes and covered you with his forgiveness. Before the devil can open his mouth to accuse, Jesus says, “I already took their sin away in a single day!” When Jesus died on the cross, he won forgiveness for us once and for all.
And note how angels were active throughout Jesus’ struggle: Angels gave Jesus food after Satan tempted him in the desert. Angels strengthened Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before his death. Angels announced Jesus’s resurrection to his disciples on Easter. Angels threw the devil and his demons out of heaven the moment that Christ’s victory was done. All for you. All for your soul. Because Jesus loves you so much. And the angels do too. “There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents!” (Luke 15:10). Jesus won for us!
But the devil’s not done. Listen to how our lesson ends: “Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” There is joy in heaven, but there is still woe on earth. Because the devil is furious, and he knows he’s running out of time. Satan can’t accuse you anymore. You’re forgiven! So he tries to pull you away from Jesus. Watch out! He whispers, “You’re too busy, right? You don’t need God, right?” He “leads the whole world astray.” So don’t let your guard down. There’s still a great dragon coming after your soul!
But know that you’re not alone. Ever! An army surrounds you: Michael and his angels. They’re like God’s special forces. “He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12). When sickness, accidents, and war strike you—both physical and spiritual—remember that God’s angels surround you. They are not little Precious Moments figurines. They are the army of God. When you face death, remember that angels are waiting to carry you home to Jesus’ side in heaven. You have triumphed over the devil “by the blood of the Lamb.”
You know what that gives you? Confidence. Fearlessness. Faith. Like when the army of Aram attacked the prophet Elisha. One prophet vs. an entire army. When Elisha’s servant saw that army, he panicked! “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). Elisha smiled: “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them…. Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17). The days are getting darker, but the darkness can’t win. God and his angels are still undefeated. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them!”
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