Rev 12:7-9 – Part 1 – There Was War In Heaven
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Rev 12:7-9 – Part 1 – There Was War In Heaven
[Study Aired Dec 13, 2024]
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
Rev 12:8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Introduction
Spiritual warfare is a way of life which has been being waged and lived out in the lives of the Lord’s elect since His death and resurrection. This 12th chapter is, by design, placed between the introduction of the seventh trumpet in chapter 11 and the pouring out of the seven vials, which are that seventh trumpet in chapter 16.
Rev 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev 16:1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
So war in heaven is not a one-time experience which is all done and over with in just a few days, weeks, months or years. The “war in the heavens” has been being waged in the lives of the Lord’s Christ for the past 2000+ years.
Here is Paul discussing the war we all wage against the great red dragon in every generation since Christ:
2Co 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; )
2Co 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
“Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” reveals that this is a life long struggle against the “principalities and powers in the heavens”.
Eph 6:12 (ALT) Because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of the wickedness in the heavenlies [or heavenly realms].
Eph 6:12 (BBE) For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against authorities and powers, against the world-rulers of this dark night, against the spirits of evil in the heavens.
Eph 6:12 (CEV) We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world.
We will be fighting this war in the heavens of our hearts and minds as long as we live in these “earthen vessels”. This ‘war’ is a struggle against all the lies of the rulers, and authorities, in the heavens of our hearts and minds. It is a war against the devil, and his angels in our heavens, until the day we die. That is why the seventh trumpet, which this chapter along with the next three chapters is preparing us to hear and receive, is introduced to us in this manner:
Rev 10:7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.
Rev 10:8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.
Rev 10:9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.
Rev 10:10 And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
Rev 10:11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.
It is “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel” that we are given the eyes that see and the ears that hear the words of this “little book”. The words of this “little book” are the doctrines and weapons with which we will win this war in the heavens of our hearts and minds. The words of this little book are the doctrines which are subscribed to by the “little flock”, who have been given the kingdom that was given to Christ. It was the kingdom of heaven.
Where is that kingdom?
Luk 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
Matthew uses the phrase “the kingdom of heaven” while Luke uses “the kingdom of God”. The kingdom of heaven is the kingdom of God and both “[are] within you”.
Mat 11:11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Luk 7:28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
Whether we call it the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God, that kingdom is within us, and it has been given to us by the Father.
Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
This is where the war in heaven is being waged, and it is not against flesh and blood. Flesh and blood are subject to the powers of the heavenly spiritual realm. The war taking place in our heavens is against the powers in the heavens where the dragon and his messengers are warring against Michael and his angels:
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Yes, this verse in 1Pe 5:8 calls the devil our adversary, but we are all still His children, “of our Father the devil… the children of disobedience… walking according to the prince of the power of the air” long before we become children of God, simply because we must “live by every word…”
Mat 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
It is we who are all “murderers from the beginning” and are first “children of disobedience… children of wrath, even as others”, meaning “others” may never in this age be given the grace we are given to wage this war in heaven.
Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
So all of the lying doctrines of Babylon notwithstanding, the scriptures teach that we are all first “shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin”, and are “by nature children of wrath” who have all in time past walked in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind of the natural man.
Psa 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Flesh is “by nature… shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin”. All doctrines that say otherwise are but a part of the adversary’s “war in the heavens”. The Lord has given our flesh as food for the adversary:
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
Rom 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Is flesh itself sin? Besides Rom 7:18, what else do the scriptures teach about our flesh? Is all flesh really just “by nature… corruptible”? Are we really all “by nature children of wrath”? Here is what we are told:
1Co 15:47 The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
1Co 15:48 As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
1Co 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1Co 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
So all of the doctrines of Babylon, warring to the contrary against The Truth, the fact is that “the first man Adam” was not created as a perfected man. He was rather deliberately and by design created “corruptible… incapable of inheriting the kingdom of God and marred in the hand of the Potter Himself” (Jer 18:4), and this was all done for the express purpose of causing us all to participate in a war in which “the first man, Adam”, was predestined to be destroyed and replaced by a completely new and different man, who the scriptures call “the last Adam”.
1Co 15:44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45 And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
1Co 15:46 Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
So Adam and Eve were “sown a natural body… of the earth, earthy… incapable of inheriting the kingdom of God… marred in the hand of the Potter… corruption”, for the purpose of fighting a war which would culminate in being “buried with Christ by baptism into death, and raised in newness of life”.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
“Made it again” is in the Hebrew Qal stem, and should read ‘Is making it again’, because mankind is incomplete and is in the process of being completed.
Rom 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Rom 6:4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
This seventh verse of Rev 12 is a theme of our entire walk in Christ. “The sword will never depart from our house” because that sword is God’s Word, and “the sword will never depart from your house” are words which we are, were and will be living, simply because Christ and His words are that sword which words tell us, “we all had our conversation in times past” “despising” God and His Word. Christ is that Word, and He did not come to send peace, but a sword. That is what “there was war in heaven” means. When His Words come into our heavens, this “war in the heavens” begins in earnest.
2Sa 12:10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
We have all “taken the wife of Uriah”, because we have all despised Christ and His words. “The sword will never depart from our house”, and when that sword comes into our lives, then our enemies will also become “they of [our] own household” (Mat 10:36).
2Sa 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
Christ came into this world to judge this world. In doing that He tells us that He “came to send a sword, and to make our foes “they of our own house.” But Christ will “begin the judgment” of this world within His elect “first”. He is now, right this very moment, judging us for despising Him and committing adultery against Him.
1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?Joh 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment am I come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Mat 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Mat 10:36 And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
“A man’s foes shall be they of his own household”. Again, what did Nathan tell King David?
2Sa 12:11 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
Like the woman at the well, we have all had many husbands, and we have all despised our own Lord, who should be our one and only husband who we are to honor and obey.
Joh 4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
Joh 4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
Joh 4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
Five, as we have already seen, always infers a work of grace and faith.
https://www.iswasandwillbe.com/numbers_five/
Having five husbands is an essential part of this spiritual warfare, which is also referred to as “chastening grace” (Tit 2:11-23 and Heb 12:6). This “war in heaven” must of necessity be taking place before we can be brought to surrender to our Lord, as both King David and as this Samaritan woman both did.
2Sa 12:13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
Joh 4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Joh 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the [inward, spiritual, Rom 2:28-29] Jews.
Joh 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
Joh 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Joh 4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
Joh 4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.
Joh 4:27 And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her?
Joh 4:28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
Joh 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
“I that speak unto thee… am the Messiah… which is called Christ”. Christ is His Word, and when He finally does “speak to us”, then Jesus Christ becomes those in whom His Word rules.
Act 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
Here is Christ in Joh 4 telling this Samaritan woman that true worshipers will not worship at physical Jerusalem, but will worship in spirit and in Truth. Here is Christ in Act 22 telling all Israel, through the apostle Paul, that you and I are Jesus of Nazareth. Until we are given this spiritual knowledge, the spiritual battle hasn’t even begun in our heavens, and we are still spiritually “at rest” in Babylon.
Dan 4:4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my palace [in Babylon]:
Dan 4:5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
You and I are Nebuchadnezzar, and there is no “war in heaven” until we are in some way “made afraid” and are spiritually “troubled”. No one goes to battle who is not apprehensive of losing his life in that war (Mat 10:39).
Here is what “made afraid and troubled” means. Here are those who are called to “come out of” Babylon, and to follow Christ in “this present time” (Rom 8:18):
1Sa 22:2 And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him [King David]; and he became a captain over them: and there were with him about four hundred men.
A captain leads his soldiers into battle, and Christ, our captain, like King David, is familiar with our distress, debts and being discontented.
Heb 2:10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
Those who are “at rest”, and are not “suffering”, are certainly not at war.
Who Is Michael?
“Michael and his angels fought…” Is Michael just another name for Christ, or are there various captains of the hosts of heaven, spiritual hosts which are just as real as the physical hosts of the armies of this earthly realm? Here is what we are told of how we are to understand the invisible spiritual realm.
Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
This “war in heaven” is an invisible world that is “clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made”. The armies of the nations of this world, have over them captains of their hosts, and there are spiritual principalities and authorities, and captains over the armies in the heavens of our hearts and minds. The scriptures refer to us as “soldier[s] of Jesus Christ”:
2Ti2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
2Ti2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Michael is mentioned four times in scripture. Let’s look at those four sections of God’s Word and see if we can learn something about the battle which is taking place in the heavens within us.
Dan 10:5 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
Dan 10:6 His body also [was] like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
Dan 10:7 And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.
Dan 10:8 Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength.
Dan 10:9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground.
Dan 10:10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and [upon] the palms of my hands.
Dan 10:11 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling.
Dan 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
Dan 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Dan 10:14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.
We know from our study of Revelation one, that Christ is the man who is described in the first verses of this section of scripture. It is Christ who was being withstood by “the prince of Persia” for three weeks before “Michael, one of the chief princes” comes to help Christ. But there is more to learn about the invisible realm of the spirit and “one of its chief princes [named] Michael”.
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
So “Michael, one of the chief princes” comes to help Christ against the prince of Persia, in Dan 10, and here in Dan 12 Michael is referred to as “the great prince who stands for the children of your people”. What else can we learn about this “prince which stands for the children of thy people”?
Jud 1:9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
Here Jude tells us that Michael is an “archangel” who uses the authority of the name of his captain, Christ, to rebuke the devil.
Finally we come to today’s verse in Rev 12:7, where Michael is once again “standing for the children of thy people at the time of the end”, just as Daniel had prophesied Michael would do. So Rev 12:7 is the end time fulfillment of Dan 12:1.
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Rev 12:7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels
But Christ told Daniel that Michael was just “one of the chief princes”. Is Michael the only angel whose name we are given? No, he is not. Another angel who is sent to reveal God’s will is named Gabriel.
We will pause our study at this point and learn about the function of another archangel named Gabriel in our next study. We will contrast Gabriel’s function as an archangel with the function of Michael, “the prince of thy people” who stands up for and fights for the Lord’s people:
Dan 10:13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Dan 10:21 But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
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