Revelation 12:7-12

War in heaven

Read….

Rev. 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,

Pray

Introduction

√ War

WWI was supposed to be…

“The war to end all wars”

…and birthed the League of Nations which was supposed to usher in peaceful dialogue between potential combatants.

WWII followed and took the lives of 54 million people! The UN was born of that awful conflict and was hailed as the foundation of an new era of peace.

Since the end of WWII we the world has experienced one conflict after another.

The question every generation asks is…

“When will war cease!?”

The answer…

“When the Prince of Peace returns to this earth!”

Until that day we remain under the sway of Satan and the hate that breeds war.

√ Sign of the last war

In our study this morning we peer with John into the future and see a war in heaven that signals the beginning of the war that will…

“End all wars”

…war in heaven!

War in heaven (vs. 7-9)

Rev 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,

Rev 12:8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.

Rev 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

√ War in heaven!

The massive conflicts which John has thus far described in the Revelation have been played out on the earth.

The 4 horseman

The army from the pit

The army from the East

But now we have described war in heaven - the very dwelling place of God.

So then we understand that this war John describes takes place in the Spirit realm - unseen by human eyes…

…yet, that has great impact upon the people of the world during the time of the Tribulation.

√ The combatants in this war are...

Michael and his angels

Satan and his angels

1) Michael - a new character in our study - who is he?

The Bible tells us that he is...

An archangel

Jud 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, "The Lord rebuke you!"

"arch" = "principality"

So it appears that there are ranks within the angelic host - with the rank of archangel being the highest, or most powerful (as seen in Daniel 10:13).

Michael is the only angel specifically called an "archangel" though many believe that Gabriel and Lucifer are also of that rank.

First mention - Daniel 10:13 - where's he's called "a chief prince"

Significantly mentioned in Daniel's vision of the End Times...

Dan 12:1 "At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book.

Daniel's vision is a direct parallel to Rev. 12:7 - that is Michael is said to come out fighting during the Tribulation period on behalf of Israel.

2) "and his angels" these would be the holy angels of God who follow Michael into warfare.

In the other corner is...

"the dragon and his angels..,"

3) The dragon - we identified him last week as the devil. But here we're given more information concerning his nature and character.

Vs. 9 being very significant as his chief titles are given.

Rev 12:9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Great dragon - describing his character (a devouring beast) as well as the nation in the Last Days through which he will work.

Serpent of old - a reference back to the Garden of Eden where Satan is first introduced to the human race. Reminds us of two things…

He works through subtle deceit to rob God's children of their blessings.

He's been Mankind's enemy since the beginning of human history.

Devil - the Greek "diabolos" from the verb "diaballo" which means to defame of slander.

Satan - the Hebrew for "adversary" - that is he opposes God and God's servants and all that is good and righteous.

We’re told that Satan…

“deceives the whole world." – Vs. 9

Satan is the source of rumor, lies and slander against individual servants of God and also the Church.

We're told that Satan has an army made up of...

4) "his angels" - these are the angels who sided with Satan in his rebellion against God.

They gave up their glorious work as ministers of God and are now employed as demons who work against God and His children.

√ The place of warfare - we're told in vs. 7 that the war takes place in heaven!

It may seem strange that Satan has access to heaven yet that is precisely what we are told in Job chapter 1.

Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them.

The understanding is that Satan has had access to God's throne since the beginning of his creation to this present time to accuse God's servants.

However, there is a day coming when Satan and his angels will be cast out of heaven and find themselves limited in their operation to planet earth – note the next verse in our text.

Victory over the devil (vs. 10-12)

Rev 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.

Rev 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

Rev 12:12 "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

√ Victory over the devil

As John watches the battle in heaven and sees Satan and his angels cast from heaven to earth a voice breaks through the noise of the combat declaring God's victory.

The source of the voice is not given - may be one of the elders, or one of the 7 angels or even the Lord Himself?

Of greater interest to us, and importance, is the content of the message. We’re told that with the casting of Satan & his angels to the earth that God has triumphed over the Devil…

Good over Evil

Righteousness over Wickedness

Light over Darkness

…and the final conflict that will usher in eternal peace is under way.

Ap. That my friends is a message we need to hear today! Just read the newspapers, or listen to your radio or TV and you'll find yourself almost in a panic as it seems that evil is gaining ground over good everyday.

Ex. Nuclear arms proliferation in Iran and North Korea. The menace of Islamic terrorism, the sword rattling of China against the USA, etc.

Yet, here in Revelation 12 we are given this hope - that God will be victorious and that Evil will not win!

We need that hope to continue to stand up for what is right in these Last Days as the opposition grows to Truth grows stronger.

√ The message proclaimed

"Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come,"

Salvation - speaking not specifically only of the washing away of our sins, but of God's completed plan of Salvation.

God's ultimate plan for the defeat of Satan involves more than just the salvation of individual man.

It includes the...

Destruction of ALL EVIL

Death

Sickness

Sin

Corruption

Aging

The establishment of God's Kingdom on earth is quite literally the creation of an Eden-like world in the Millennial Kingdom!

Paul speaks of it in...

Rom 8:19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

Rom 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;

Rom 8:21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

The prophet Isaiah describes this coming Kingdom this way…

Isa 11:6 "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

Isa 11:7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

Isa 11:8 The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den.

Isa 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

So, what John hears is the heavenly proclamation that Satan's ousting from heaven represents tangible evidence that God's plan is coming to completion!

Ap. That kingdom is promised to all His servants - make that World your home!

√ Note the weapons of God's servants in vs. 11

Rev 12:11 "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

These are three weapons which Satan cannot withstand!

The blood of the Lamb - we're reminded that the accusations of Satan against us are made null and void by the power of Jesus' blood!

It's become somewhat unpopular in the modern Church to speak of "the blood".

Yet we must never stop speaking of it's power because that is where our victory over Satan is found!

The Word of their testimony - that is, the lie of Satan is defeated by the Truth spoken by God's servants as they faithfully proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

It has become unpopular in our so-called “seeker” Church culture to speak the Truth.

Yet, the sinner will never find freedom from his/her sin unless we speak the Truth and call sin for what it is!

Did not love their lives unto death - a reminder that the foundation of a fruitful life for Christ is found not in seeking to serve one self, but in following the example of Jesus by denying ourselves.

Jesus taught....

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

Mat 16:25 "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

Ap. A strong rebuke to the popular theologies of today which focus our attention on ourselves.

"Take care of yourself before you can take care of others. Learn to love yourself before you can love others."

May I say that if you chose to follow these modern day principles you'll find that you will spend your whole life learning to love yourself and never get there!

Ap. If you desire victory in your life then apply these same weapons in your life.

√ A final warning

Rev 12:12 "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time."

While those who inhabit heaven rejoice - those on earth receive a warning.

The devil's coming to town and he's ticked!

At this point he's like a Kamikaze...

He knows he's beat

He knows his days are numbered

He knows his future - the Pit followed by the Lake

...so he takes to the earth with the attitude that he's gonna take as many lives with him as possible with the focus of his hate on the Jews.

Ex. The most dangerous animal is a wounded animal!

Close

√ War in heaven

There is a war coming that will end all wars. Until that day Christians are called to employ the weapons that God has given us to fight against the devil…

The blood of the Lamb

The testimony of truth

Denying ourselves

May the Lord come quickly and put an end to war!