The War in Heaven

Revelation chapter 12. We are in it. We're in the thick of it. Last week we got through the first six verses and this week we should make it through verses seven through 12. We'll see how far we get.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

I don't have my trusty tablet with me tonight. I charged it all day and right before service I checked it and it had 11% which would probably not get me through.

So I'm going to have my notes here and I hope you don't mind me reading off some of them. But we are in Revelation 12 and this is going to describe the war in heaven.

This is a topic that I think most people are familiar with. It's a section of Scripture I think most people are familiar with. And it's going to talk about this war that happens when Satan leads rebellious angels in a war against God.

And like I said last week, unsurprisingly, this is a section of Scripture that not everybody agrees on. It's hard to find that in Revelation. It's hard to come to a point in Revelation where most people agree on what is being said here.

So there are primarily two views about this section of Scripture. Some people believe that this war took place sometime prior to Genesis 3. That's the first view that this war happened in heaven sometime before the fall in Genesis 3.

The other view which is held by the majority of scholars today believes that the war actually took place during the earthly ministry of Jesus and it ended with his death, resurrection, and ascension.

So let me just say a few things on this as we jump into this because I know that not everybody in here always agrees on everything that we read and interpret.

So let's just get a few things out of the way. First, the Bible never explicitly mentions when this war took place. So we should not therefore be dogmatic. Everybody tracking? Yeah? Okay?

It's perfectly within orthodoxy to believe that this war happened sometime before the fall. Your orthodox if you believe that.

It's also perfectly orthodox to believe that this war happened during the earthly ministry of Jesus. Your orthodox if you believe that. You're not going to be accused of heresy.

In fact, this means that you should not condemn people who disagree with your view on this section of Scripture. We all good on that? Yeah?

And I'll just say it like this and this applies not just to this section of Revelation but a lot of things in the Bible. You should be able to worship joyfully with people who disagree with you.

We agree on the essentials. We show grace in the non-essentials. Right? Yeah? So we all agree on Jesus. He is the one way of salvation. You cannot be saved apart from Jesus Christ. We're all good on that? Yeah?

Okay? That's the essential. There are other things that are non-essential. This falls into that. You should be able to worship joyfully with those who disagree with you.

The second thing that I would mention here at the start is that the point of this passage is not about when this war took place. It's about the outcome of the war.

Namely, the victory of Christ, the defeat of Satan, and the confidence of believers. That's the point of the passage. The whole point is not about when did this war take place. It's about what happens as a result of this war.

So we're all good. We're tracking. Yeah? Let's dive in. Look at the first couple verses with me. Revelation chapter 12 verses 7 through 12. Revelation 12, 7 through 12.

Revelation 12:7–12

The Bible says, Now, war arose in heaven. Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated.

And there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down. That ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.

He was thrown down to earth and his angels were thrown down with him. And 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 brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony.

For they love not their lives, even unto death. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them. But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short.

Alright, so as we're studying this passage together, what I want to do is I want to first cover both views. Remember, one view says this war happened sometime before Genesis 3. The other view says this war happened sometime during Jesus' earthly ministry.

So let's consider that first view that the war took place prior to Genesis 3. The main reason, I think, that people hold to this particular view is because it makes sense of Genesis 3, right?

It makes sense that if Satan is going to be in the garden in Genesis chapter 3 and he's going to tempt Adam and Eve into sin, it means that he's obviously not aligned with God at that point, correct?

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

And so it would make sense then for us to believe that this war happened prior to Genesis 3. That would lead to Satan being in the garden and able to tempt Adam and Eve.

However, the question that we're considering here this evening is not when did Satan fall and rebel? The question is when did the war take place? Do you see the difference there?

I think sometimes these two things get equated. The question is not when did Satan fall? The question is when did the war take place?

And the two do not have to happen at the same time. All Christians believe that Satan rebelled against God and was fallen prior to tempt and Adam and Eve.

We all agree on that. In order to tempt them into sin, he must have already rebelled in some capacity against God, otherwise he wouldn't be leading people into sin.

All Christians agree on that. However, that does not mean that the war must have taken place at that same time.

It is entirely possible that Satan rebelled and was a fallen angel without him also leading an army against God in a war at that same time.

Do we see how that's possible? One does not necessitate the other.

And so many angels rebelled with Satan at that time. And we read in Jude chapter one verse six,

and the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority but left their proper dwelling,

he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.

Now, I believe that this speaks of angels rebelling against God and joining Satan pre-Genesis three.

We know that fallen angels were present throughout the Old Testament. You can see evidence of that in the Old Testament.

However, again, the question that we're considering is not when did Satan rebel and when was he fallen?

The question is when did the war in heaven take place?

And so this view says that it took place before Genesis three, and that makes sense of Genesis three because he ends up tempting Adam and Eve into sin.

However, I believe that a war in heaven during the earthly ministry of Jesus not only makes the most sense of Revelation chapter 12,

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

but I also think it makes the most sense of scripture.

And so when we're interpreting a passage like this, remember that scripture interprets scripture, right?

We have to let the Bible speak for itself.

And when we're considering a passage like Revelation chapter 12, it's important to look at all of scripture and see how it sheds light on this passage.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

And so I just want to put a number of things before you to show you why I believe this war took place during the earthly ministry of Jesus.

So first, consider the fact that in verse number eight, the Bible says that the result of Satan's defeat is that there was no longer any place for him in heaven.

Did y'all notice that in verse eight?

It says that Satan and all those that rebelled with Satan and waged this war against God in heaven.

Once they were defeated, the Bible says there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

It means that heaven was barred for them.

They were no longer allowed entrance into heaven because before this, what Satan did is Satan used to go to the throne of God and accuse God's people to God's face.

This is what he did.

The Bible says that he is the accuser.

And so Satan would go before God and he would be throwing out all these accusations against God's people, calling on God to do something about this.

But once he's defeated, he loses his right to come to heaven and appear before God at his throne to accuse God's people.

And since this is the case, if it happened prior to Genesis three, then here's my question.

How do we make sense of which book of the Bible?

Job.

That's the big issue, right?

Because what do we read in Job chapter one?

The Bible says that the sons of God, who were the angels, and Satan used to go back and forth between earth and heaven.

And what did Satan do when he got to the throne of God?

He started accusing Job.

He started questioning him.

He started calling God out and saying, hey, the only reason that Job loves you is because you bless him.

But if you were to take stuff away from him, then he would curse you.

That's an accusation against Job and his character.

He's saying, Job only loves you because you're good to him.

But if bad things started happening to him, he wouldn't love you anymore.

But if there was no longer any place for them, then it means that Satan should have never been allowed in heaven.

He would have not had the ability to come before the throne of God.

I think that is a big marker in the case for this happened during Jesus' earthly ministry.

The second thing I want you to consider is the fact that five times in the verses we just read,

the Bible says that Satan was thrown down or that he came down to earth.

And the question is, well, when did this happen?

Well, according to Jesus in Luke chapter 10, you remember that chapter?

Luke 10 · chapter mention

Jesus sends out 72 disciples and then the 72 disciples, they come back and in Luke 10, 17 through 18,

the Bible says the 72 returned with joy saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.

And he said to them, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

So in Jesus' own judgment, the way that he saw it was the news of his redeeming work brought an end to Satan's accusations in heaven

and the victory of Christ on earth resulted in the defeat of Satan in heaven.

Furthermore, Jesus says again in John 12, 31, now is the judgment of this world.

Now will the ruler of this world be cast out?

The same phrase that's used in Revelation chapter 12 to describe what God did to Satan as a result of his defeat.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

God cast him out of heaven, he threw him down, and Satan has come down to the earth now.

So Jesus foresaw his death being the final blow to Satan's rebellion.

No longer would Satan be able to accuse God's people to his face because Jesus was set to atone for all their sins

and make his accusations null and void.

And here's something I want you to really pay attention to in Revelation chapter 12.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

It's really interesting how the war in heaven is a reflection of what Jesus is doing on earth.

It's actually a mirror image of each other if you pay attention to it.

As Jesus preached the gospel and healed people and cast out demons, and as people began to follow him on earth in heaven,

Michael and the angels started winning the war against Satan and all those who rebelled with him.

And so Jesus accomplished the victory on earth and God sends Michael to secure or to enforce that victory in heaven.

So that's another mark in the column.

But then the third thing that I want you to consider is verse 10.

Pay attention to verse 10.

The Bible says, and I heard a loud voice in heaven saying now, so pause real quick.

Now this is right after the defeat of Satan and all those rebellious angels.

So the war has ended at this point.

And after the war has ended, this voice in heaven says, 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 brothers has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before God.

So as I said, this is at the end of the war.

The statement that we're hearing here from the voice in heaven makes hardly any sense if this war took place prior to Genesis three.

Because at that time you could not say that salvation or the kingdom of God or the authority of Christ had come at that point.

In Jesus' first sermon in Matthew chapter four, his very first sermon, Jesus said, repent for what?

The kingdom of God is at hand.

That was when Jesus was inaugurating the kingdom into this world.

And then notice too that Jesus' authority in heaven and earth comes after his resurrection.

We remember the first verse of the Great Commission in Matthew 28, 18.

The Bible says, and Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

When did this happen?

After the resurrection, right?

Jesus has already resurrected and after his resurrection is when he says, because of this resurrection, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

So his authority comes after the resurrection, not prior to Genesis chapter three.

The fourth thing I want you to consider is verse 13.

Look at verse 13 with me.

The Bible says, and when the dragon's soul that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

Everybody tracking there?

After he had been thrown down, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.

So last week in our first study of Revelation chapter 12, we said that the woman was all of God's people throughout all time.

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

And that the child who was born was who?

Jesus.

Yeah, it's the Sunday school answer guys.

Jesus, just say it when you don't know the answer.

That's always right.

So Jesus is the child who was born.

So here's my question.

If Satan pursued the woman who had given birth to Jesus, how would that make sense prior to Genesis chapter three?

Jesus had not been born on earth at that point.

He was existing because he has always existed.

He is eternal, but his birth was promised in Genesis three 15.

But how could Satan pursue the woman who had given birth to Jesus if she had not given birth to Jesus at that point?

It wouldn't make sense in that context.

One final thing I want you to consider on this topic is I want you to consider how the people, how God's people are called to fight against Satan.

In verse 11, pay attention to verse 11 very quickly.

It says, and they have conquered him being Satan the accuser.

They have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony for they love not their lives even unto death.

All of them did.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, and we'll actually get to that in a minute, Doug.

But notice this, the way that God's people overcome the accuser is by what?

The blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.

If this happened prior to Genesis three, then this verse would not be true until Jesus' ascension.

Because you couldn't overcome him by the blood of the lamb or the word of their testimony.

Jesus had not lived his earthly life, died, resurrected and ascended back to the Father in heaven.

And so that would be absolutely impossible prior to Genesis three.

So for all these reasons, I believe that this war that took place in heaven makes the most sense, not only in the context of Revelation chapter 12,

Revelation 12 · chapter mention

but in the context of all of Scripture when you read it together, that this war took place during the earthly ministry of Jesus.

And with his death and resurrection and ascension came the victory in heaven and Satan was cast down to the earth where he has been ever since,

because he has been barred from heaven and is no longer allowed to go to the throne of God and accuse God's people to God's face.

We see here that again, I don't want to get hung up on this, but the point is not when did the war happen?

The point is what happened as a result of the war?

And there are some wonderful truths for God's people in this passage.

And the first thing I want to just point out to you is that we overcome the accusations of the accuser by the blood of the lamb.

And that's not just something that's written in Scripture to just be there for a verse for you to quote or put on a coffee mug.

That's something for you to internalize and actually utilize in your day to day life, because I think we all know what it's like to face accusations.

I think we know what it's like to face accusations of our own conscious and also of even the accuser.

I think everybody in here can relate to this where you have had the enemy remind you of sins from your past.

Anybody relate to that? Okay, good for you for showing your hands.

But yeah, me too happens all the time, right?

Where Christ has saved you and He's made you this new creation and done this great work in you, but the enemy loves to come and say,

yeah, but do you remember when you did this?

Do you remember when you were like this?

Do you remember what you used to love and how you used to talk to people and treat people?

The accuser still loves to accuse us.

And all of his accusations used to be based on the law.

He would go before the throne of God and he would shout at God and he would say,

do you see how your people fall short?

This is what you've said in your law.

This is what you've demanded.

They have not done a single thing that you have required of them.

They have continually gone astray.

If you were good, if you were just, you must condemn them and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.

But now, and that's the good news, some of the sweetest words in Scripture and Ephesians 2,

but God, since he sent his son to die for us and paid the penalty for our sins,

the father prosecuted the son to the fullest extent of the law,

so that we who were covered by his blood could be set free and cleansed,

so that even though Satan is on earth now, you know he still loves to shout at heaven,

loves to shout at God, and the beauty of what this passage is telling us

is that all of the accusations that he still throws heavenward, they no longer apply to us at all.

The case has been closed.

It's if you imagine a courtroom and the judge has just pronounced the final verdict and said,

the case closed and the prosecuting attorney keeps trying to argue and fuss and rave and shout,

and the judge says, the case is done. It's over.

My verdict has been issued and I'm not going to go back on it.

And that's the good news for us. Do you see how good that is?

It means that no matter how many times Satan accuses you,

no matter what sins he likes to bring up or how many times from your past he likes to draw your attention to,

none of it matters to God anymore.

The Bible says in Hebrews that God remembers our sins no longer.

That's not to say that he literally forgot them. God doesn't forget anything.

It means he chooses not to remember them.

He knows what we've done, but because of Christ, he chooses not to remember those things.

And so he says to the accuser, that case has been closed.

They have been set free. They are covered by the blood of my own son.

And that is good news for us.

I just want you to understand what a comfort that is, especially in our moments of weakness.

When our faith is weak and our standing before God,

I want you to understand it's still secure because our standing is not based on the strength of our faith.

Thank the Lord, but our standing is based on the sufficiency of the sacrifice.

Now, is that not good news for you this evening?

That your standing before God has nothing to do with the strength or the clarity of your own faith.

That's good for me because I have weak moments.

I have moments when I'm barely making it and my faith is weak and I am just crumbling

and I'm reminded that my faith, my standing before God, it is not based on how strong my faith is

or how clear my faith is in a moment.

It is based on the sufficiency of Christ.

I like the way D.A. Carson, one of my favorite theologians,

he has a great way of explaining this.

This is totally his, so I'm just going to read it to you.

I'm just going to read it verbatim because it's too good not to.

He said, picture two Jews by the name of Smith and Brown.

Really Jewish names, but Smith and Brown.

And he said, the day before the first Passover there in Egypt,

they're having a little discussion in the land of Goshen and Smith says to Brown,

boy, are you a little nervous about what's going to happen tonight?

Brown says, well, God told us what to do through His servant Moses.

You don't have to be nervous.

Haven't you slaughtered the lamb and dobbed the two doorposts with blood?

Haven't you put the blood on the lentil?

Haven't you done that?

You're already in your pack to go.

You're going to eat your whole Passover meal with your family?

The other one replies, well, of course I've done that.

I'm not stupid, but it's still pretty scary when you think of all the things that have happened around here recently.

All the plagues, the flies and the river turning to blood, he said it's pretty awful.

And now there's this threat of the firstborn being killed and you know it's all right for you because you've got three sons,

but I've only got one and I love my Charlie.

And the angel of death is going to be passing through here tonight.

He says, I know what God says.

I put the blood there, but it's pretty scary.

I'll be glad when this night is over.

And the other one responds, bring it on.

I trust in the promises of God.

So that night, the angel of death swept through the land.

Which one lost his son?

Neither.

Because death doesn't pass over them on the ground or the intensity or the clarity of the faith that is exercised.

But on the ground of the blood of the lamb, that is what silences the accuser.

He says the blood silences the accuser of the brothers as he accuses us before God.

He silences our consciences when he accuses us directly.

How many times do we ride in agony asking if God can ever love us enough?

If God can never care for us enough when we have done such stupid, rebellious, sinful things after being a Christian for even 40 years.

And he says, what are you going to say?

Oh God, I tried hard.

You know, I did my best.

It was a bad moment.

No.

He says, I have no other argument.

I need no other plea.

It is enough that Jesus died and that he died for me.

It's not the intensity of our faith, but the object of our faith that saves.

And that's a good word for us tonight.

Is it not?

I mean, that is perfect for Revelation 12.

That is something I hope that you will take with you and that you will internalize and that you will rejoice in.

That it is not the intensity or the clarity of your faith.

It is Jesus alone that saves.

The second thing I want you to take away from this passage is that Christians conquer not just by the blood of the Lamb, but by the word of their testimony.

I mean, you can think about it like this, right?

Satan is embarrassed that he's been defeated.

He is absolutely embarrassed that he's been defeated and he won't word of his defeat to remain as quiet as possible.

But when Christians go around proclaiming the victory of Christ and the forgiveness that is in Christ, Satan's power is greatly diminished in this world.

We are proclaiming that Satan has been defeated and that Christ is victorious and the world needs to know this.

And this impacts people more than you might actually understand, because you might have some friends and unbelieving family members who are burdened by sin.

And their minds have been darkened by the ruler of this world.

And they think that they have no hope, they think that their life is doomed, and that it's always going to be this way.

And do you know how powerful it is for you to come along and say, yeah, but let me tell you what God has done in my life.

Let me tell you where I was just 10, 15 years ago.

And let me tell you about the work that God has done in my life and all the work I've seen him do and all the transformation he's brought about my life.

I'm a totally different person. I'm not who I used to be. And it is because of Jesus.

Do you know the power of your testimony and how powerful it can be in the lives of people who are struggling?

People who think that they could never change or that God could never love them.

I mean, I've seen it personally with Brian Huffstetler. I have seen it.

I mean, he is one who absolutely felt like God could never love him.

He had done too much that was too wrong. He was unforgivable.

And now look out. I mean, he's a great man of God.

He is a pillar of faith. He does good works for the kingdom.

And I have seen him go into prisons and I have been right next to him when he is witness to people and he has told them, brother, I was right where you were.

I was behind those bars.

But look at what Jesus has done in my life.

I've seen that give people hope.

And so don't discount the story that God has given you.

It can be a powerful witness in people's lives.

And that's how we overcome the accuser is by not just with the blood of Christ, but sharing the testimony of the work that God has done in our lives.

And the third and final thing I want you to take away from this passage is that Jesus gives us the power to endure suffering

and even embrace death itself.

Look again, if you would to verse 11.

It says of God's people that they loved not their lives, even to the point of death.

And I think about the great martyrs from Christian history.

I mentioned some of them recently in a sermon I preached.

You think of so many people who have died for their faith in Jesus.

You think of Polycarp who was burned at the stake for refusing to deny Christ.

You look at John Elliot who was willing to be killed by cannibals just for the chance to tell other people about Jesus for the first time.

People like John Husby and burned alive at the stake.

People like Saint Andrew.

I mean I think of people who even risked their lives and put their lives on the line for Christ.

Think about John G Patton who went to the New Hebrides and people warned him, you're going to be eaten by the cannibals.

The whole island was filled with cannibals.

If a foreigner came to that island they killed you and they ate you.

And people warned him, you will be eaten by the cannibals.

And he said, I'm either going to be eaten by worms or I'll be eaten by cannibals.

But I have to go.

How do people have that kind of faith?

How can someone be at the point where they are saying I am willing to die a gruesome death for the sake of Jesus Christ

and making sure that the word of the gospel goes forward?

It is by knowing for a fact that your trust is in the one who has died and come back to life.

Who holds the keys to death in Hades.

Who lives today and promises his people life beyond the grave.

When you begin to think about it like that then death can't even hurt us.

It's just a blink on our way to eternity with God.

God's people love not their lives even to the point of death.

It means for Christians today that we are going to suffer in this life.

Some of us will suffer physically.

Some of us will suffer intellectually and we'll be mocked for our faith.

Some of us will suffer emotionally and have to endure great pain and loss in this life.

Some of us may even be killed for our faith.

And yet the person whose faith is anchored in Christ alone can say even so it is well with my soul.

It's not because we're strong but it's because our faith is in the one who holds all things in his hands.

And he has promised good for his people.

That's why this passage is so comforting because it tells us that Satan is a real enemy.

And he is really here on earth and he is angry because the Bible says here he knows his time is short.

He is raging against God and his people.

And yet even in the face of the greatest enemy God's people have ever known, Christians are unfazed

because Christ has won the victory for us and we get to share in that victory.

Gene McKinney, how about a word of wisdom?