War in Heaven

St. Michael and All Angels| Revelation 12:7-12| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| September 28, 2025

Epistle: Revelation 12:7-12

7Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8but he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9And 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 the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10And 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. 11And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12Therefore, 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!”

War broke out in heaven! What does this mean? St. John tells us that Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. Angels are spirits. They have no bodies. They were created by God during creation week, but much mystery surrounds their creation. They are powerful and wise. Psalm 103 calls them mighty ones who obey God’s Word. There are different types of angels, some called archangels, others cherubim, and certain fiery angels are called seraphim. The Apostle to the Hebrews calls them all ministering spirits, who are sent for the sake of those who will inherit salvation (Hebrews 1:14). Angels are not cute little babies with wings that play harps in the clouds, but they are mighty soldiers of the heavenly armies. Michael is their leader. Martin Luther and most early Lutherans thought that Michael was no created angel, but Christ Himself. Which makes sense, as Christ is frequently called the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament and in Joshua 5, Christ calls Himself the Commander of the Lord’s Armies.

In the beginning, all angels were good. However, one angel exulted himself and was cast down from heaven (Isaiah 14:12; Luke 10:18) along with very many other wicked angels who serve him (Rev. 12:4), whom we call devils or demons. That rebellious angel is called Lucifer (light-bearer), because he disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is called the great dragon and the ancient serpent, because he possessed a serpent in the garden of Eden and tempted our first parents into sin. Therefore, he is also named Satan which means adversary, because it is his constant goal to destroy God’s kingdom and to lead God’s children to damnation. That is why he is also called the tempter (Matthew 4:3), and why Jesus teaches us to pray, “deliver us from the Evil One” in the Lord’s prayer. Yet, perhaps the best name for the chief fallen angel is the devil, which means accuser or slanderer.

Devil is such a good description of Satan, because it describes his warfare in heaven. If Satan was casted out of heaven when he rebelled, how is it that he is making war in heaven? It means that Satan and his fellow devils have approached God’s judgment throne to accuse us before God. God cast Satan out of heaven for exulting himself, so Satan goes down to earth to tempt the crown of God’s creation into sin. And he succeeds. Not only does he lead Adam and Eve into sin, and thus causes all humanity to inherit original sin, which is spiritual death and the natural inclination to sin, but Satan and his demons busy themselves nudging and luring people into more and more depraved sins, murder, adultery, theft, pride, and idolatry.

Yet, Satan is not content with that. He then marches back up to God’s throne with his host of devils, and he accuses us before God! “You know those people you love so much? Well, they hate you! They do whatever I say! They break all your commandments. You know the crown of Your creation, which You made in Your image? They don’t resemble you at all. Rather, they resemble me. They are not children of heaven, but children of hell. And You must cast them into hell, because You are a just God and they deserve it!” So, does Satan taunt God before His throne, accusing us of our sins, insisting that God must cast us into hell, must deliver us over to Satan, because a just God cannot let sinners into heaven.

Yet, Satan was thrown down and all his angels with him! How did St. Michael and the angels cast Satan and his angels out of heaven? What does it mean that Satan is cast down from heaven? It means that Satan and his demons were cast down from God’s throne of grace. God’s judgment throne became a throne of grace, because God’s Son became a man, Christ Jesus. He took on our human flesh, and in human flesh, He lived perfectly under the law and fulfilled it. Then, Christ, being perfect man and perfect God, took upon Himself all our sins and suffered and died for them. What the world saw was a bloodied man nailed to wood. Yet, before God’s throne, the sacrifice to end all sacrifices paid the debt of all mankind. This is why St. John says that He is the propitiation for our sins and not for our sins only, but for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2). This is why St. Paul writes that all are justified by God’s grace as a gift through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received through faith (Romans 3:23-25) What does propitiation mean? It means that Satan’s accusations are silenced. God has accepted Jesus’ payment for our sins. Satan can no longer accuse us before God’s judgment throne. God’s judgment throne has been made into a throne of grace by the blood of Christ, and so Satan has been cast away from God’s throne of grace. That is what it means that Satan is cast down from heaven.

This is why the voice in heaven cries, “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.” What are the earth and sea? The earth and sea are outside of the presence of God’s throne of grace. And so, Satan’s task as he rants and raves in his great wrath on earth and in the sea, is to prevent as many as he possibly can from approaching God’s throne of grace. Satan has been cast out, so that we may be brought in. Satan’s goal is to keep us from entering in.

As we have seen in Scripture, Satan uses many means to carry out evil on the earth and sea. Wars, pestilence, famine. He uses flesh and blood to destroy flesh and blood: fornication, adultery, abortion, pornography, war. Yet, St. Paul tells us that we wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) While Satan will manipulate flesh and blood, his battlefield is not with flesh and blood. Rather, Satan’s weapon is his word, his lies and accusations. That is what it means that he fights in the heavenly places. Yes, these lies will lead to murder, sexual immorality, and horrors beyond your imagination, but his warfare remains ultimately in word. Because Satan’s end goal is not bloodshed or the destruction of the flesh, but the eternal captivity of your soul in hell!

And so, Satan lies. Why do people sin? Because they believe Satan’s lies. Why do they view pornography or have sex outside of marriage? Because they believe Satan’s lie that these things are harmless. Why do people slander others and condemn them in their hearts? Because they believe Satan’s slander and think they are qualified to judge. Why do people hate and murder, because they believe Satan’s lies! Why do people refuse to repent of their sins? They believe Satan’s lies that their sin is not sin. And why do people despair? Why do they think that they do not belong in church, that God does not love them, that the Gospel is not for them? Because they believe Satan’s lies.

Satan accuses us of sin. And he lies when he accuses us of sin, because he denies the blood of Jesus that has washed away our sins. He does all he can to make us ignore Jesus’ blood, so that we do not trust in Him for salvation. Rather, he disguises himself as an angel of light and virtue, telling us to trust in good works to be saved. What could possibly be wrong with good works? And so, people follow Satan thinking they are following an angel of light. They follow Satan away from God’s throne of grace, away from Jesus’ shed blood, which washes away all sins, away from a clean conscience and eternal life, as they seek to establish their own righteousness by the law (Romans 10:3).

And so, how do you overcome Satan’s lies and approach God’s throne of grace? How do you cast Satan and his demons away from you? Our text tells us, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” (Rev. 12:11) As Satan fights against us with false words, so we defeat him with true words. The blood of the Lamb is the blood of Christ Jesus, which is given to us in no other way than through the good message of Jesus Christ. Jesus’ blood is given to us through words! The Word of Baptism, which washes you in Jesus’ blood, buries you with Christ into death and raises you again to live with Him, clothed in His righteousness. Jesus’ blood is given to you in the Absolution, when the blood of Christ which washes away all sins is applied to you when your sins are forgiven. Jesus’ blood is literally given to us in Holy Communion, when we eat the very body and blood of Christ which was given up on the cross and rose from the dead, and now sits on God’s throne of grace. The preaching of the Gospel is a showering of the blood of the Lamb, which drives devils away and draws sinners to God’s throne of grace.

And we carry this blood of Christ with us when we carry God’s Word in our heart. By the word of their testimony, which they loved more than life, the saints conquer demons wherever they go. This is why we not only should go to church to hear the Gospel and receive the Sacrament, and not only should be have daily devotions, meditation and praying God’s Word, but we should have the words of Christ on our hearts and in our mouths at all times, singing and praising God, confessing Him to one another, and consoling one another with the message of His blood. That is how we wage spiritual warfare. That is how we put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-20). Through faith in the words of Christ, we put on the whole armor of God, and by speaking His Word, we wield the sword of the Spirit, which has power to vanquish any foe.

When we neglect Jesus’ Word, by not listening to it, by not meditating on it, by not praying according to it, by not confessing it, then we leave the presence of God’s throne of grace and we enter the earth and sea where Satan is waring in his great wrath. Then we are completely unequipped to battle Satan and his demonic hoards. Then we forsake the protection of the angels, who know no greater power than the Word of God.

Yet, when we cling to Jesus’ Word and trust in the blood of Christ, when we gladly hear it, believe it, pray according to it, and confess it, then God sends His angels to lift us up, lest we strike our feet against stones (Psalm 91:11), then we walk with a host of angels, who fight for us all the way, then Satan flees from you as you resist him with the testimony of Jesus blood. Then we approach the throne of God’s grace, which is sprinkled with the blood of Christ, where Satan may not enter and where his voice will not be heard. May we daily and always approach God’s throne of grace by clinging to the message of Jesus’ blood shed for us, so that we may share in the victory of St. Michael and His angels over Satan and his angels. And through the testimony of the cross, may we always trample Satan under our feet. Amen.