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"Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time."
"And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she *was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus."
Beyond the veil of our existence, there is an angelic war that is going on. The scene now shifts to heaven where a tremendous conflict occurs between Michael and his holy angels. We already know who’s going to win. However, if God chose to peel back the veil we would be awe.
So, let begin with verses 7-8, the war in heaven. "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven."
We know that Satan operates on the earth, and around the earth, that's why he is called the prince of the air and in heaven, his demon hordes are called spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies. He is engaging himself in the development of false religion, disguised as an angel of light and espousing his theology on the corrupt governments. Wherever the seeds of the gospel are sown and he comes behind, and attempts to snatch it away. So, as you can see, Satan been very active since his fall trying to thwart the purposes of God.
In both the Old and New Testaments, the archangel Michael is seen as the magnificent champion of God’s covenant people. In fact, in the epistle Jude, God sent Michael because the devil wanted the body of Moses. He disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses. In Daniel 10, for 21 days he withstood a magnificent angel that God sent as a messenger to Daniel until finally Michael was dispatched to free him. So, we see this is not the first time Michael has encountered Satan and his evil forces. It is interesting to note, that Scripture is silent regarding how angels fight. Here, we see God dispatching Michael, once again.
I have been frequently asked, "What triggered Satan’s attack?" We can only speculate, but I believe it well could be the rapture of the church as we pass through the territory of "the prince and the power of the air." I Thessalonians 4 says "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." Perhaps Satan and his demons are aroused enough to try to hinder our trip to heaven. Notice, the archangel shouting at the rapture. I believe he is confronting Satan and his demons as they try to thwart the rapture. And, the warrior Michael comes with his holy hosts in the power of God and makes sure we get where we’re going.
In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel poured out his heart in prayer the first half of the chapter, and God sends an immediate answer. Then, in chapter 10, Daniel is praying again and he’s mourning, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days. Notice that Satan devices a plan to stop this amazing angel who is described as a a very powerful being, who's able to hold this angel. This demon associated with the human system of Persia. While government is ordained by God to control people, you need to understand this, that’s the perfect place for Satan to infiltrate. Michael is not a messenger angel, he's a warrior, always associated with war and conflict, a defender of God’s people.
Up until this point, Michael has respected Satan’s might and dignity as a beautiful creation of God and he was acting in accordance with God’s purposes with Satan. Notice the end of verse seven; "The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven." We are given the details of what the battle was like, but we do know that Michael is again victorious. The end result catapults Satan and all of his hosts out of heaven down to earth.
In verse 9, "And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him." The dragon is called great because he is so formidable. I'd like to draw your attention to the five ways the Lord describes him. is called the great dragon, underscoring the vicious cruelty of this monster. He is described as the serpent of old, identifying him as the serpent in the garden that tempted Adam and Eve. He is described as the devil, that means the slanderer, the maligner, the one who roams about the earth collecting evidence to accuse the saints before God’s bar of justice.
He is described as Satan which is actually a transliteration of the Hebrew word Satan that refers to a super human adversary. And finally, he is described as he who deceives or literally deceives the whole world, convincing people that he represents truth. He is a genius in seducing people to believe what is false is true. He is using every opportunity to deceive so that he can amass this great force against Christ. That’s how the people of the world wind up at Armageddon. His deceptions abound even today.
We're told in verse 10, "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night." This is praise in heaven for triumph. Satan and his demons are all expelled permanently out of heaven and heaven is cleansed, there is praise, one great loud voice. I believe these praises are coming from the saints, because Satan no longer can accuse them before the throne of God, since he's been expelled, he no longer has access.
The phrase "Now the salvation," this is important to understand, because not only does this includes our personal glorification, but also the final lifting of the curse upon all of creation. This is what Paul was describing in Romans chapter 8, verse 19 and following. This is the full, final glorious salvation we’ve been longing for! Notice John says "and the power." That is referring to the infinite, omnipotent, divine power that will accomplish all of this.
That brings us to verses 11 and 12, "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time."
"They overcame him," because of two reasons, the first is "the blood of the Lamb." In I Peter 1, Peter says we have been cleansed "with the precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." The second reason is "because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death." It didn't matter how consumed the world was in both the curse of God and the fury of Satan, they never equivocated. This is how we do battle with Satan, by bearing testimony in your character and conduct to the Word of God. Submit to God. This is the evidence of genuine transformation.
Verse 12 says "For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them." They are rejoicing not only over what happened in heaven, but rejoice over what’s happening on earth. They overcame him because their sins were covered and no accusation would stand. In Romans 3, Paul says that we "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." These are the reasons why none of Satan’s accusations will stand, God now sees us as being clothed in the righteousness of Christ. "Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world."
Look at the end of verse 12, this stands as a warning. "Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time." Three and a half years, that's all the time he's got left. In a state of emotional fury, he makes his last effort against God and His plan, knowing his time is short. Satan will be consumed with great wrath. "Woe to the earth and the sea," because his number one priority will be to prevent the establishment of the kingdom by eliminating the people of promise.
In Closing..
Satan is going to do all he possibly can because he knows his time is short. That’s why Jesus said there’s never been a time in the history of the world like this time, and if the Lord didn’t shorten the days, everybody including the elect would be destroyed. God is faithful to His promises, even with all that Satan can do, he can’t touch us. Therefore, we can rejoice in that wonderful truth.
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen