And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon – REVELATION 12, 7-9
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
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.
War in Heaven
Revelation 12:7–12 (NKJV)
After the account of the attack of the dragon on the child born to the expectant woman, John here moves to a recount of the war that broke out in heaven.
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 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.
Revelation 12:7-9
In this account, John observes warfare breaking out in heaven between Michael and his army of angels and the dragon. The dragon brought his best, along with his fallen angels, but the dragon did not prevail. The angelic army prevailed, and the dragon was cast out of heaven to the earth. This dragon is definitively identified as the angel who opposed the Lord, presuming to be equal with Him. He is called the serpent, the Devil, Satan, and this passage leaves no doubt about his fate. He is cast out of heaven, and no place was found for him to return. This deceiver of the whole world, along with his angelic sympathizers, were thrown out of heaven, and began to torment the earth.
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. 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. 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.”
Revelation 12:10-12
After the completion of Michael’s angelic army’s victory over the dragon, a loud voice spoke in heaven, saying that salvation, strength, and power through the kingdom of God has come to the earth. This was accomplished by the fact that the accuser of the brethren, Satan, accusing them all day long before God, has been cast down from heaven. Either those accused or those who fought against Satan overcame him through their faith in the blood of the Lamb and by their powerful testimonies. They believed in the face of death, willing to die for their faith, yet overcame and did not die. The call comes forth (in celebration of their victory) to rejoice in the heavens. However, the inhabitants of the earth and the sea are warned that Satan is coming down to them, having great wrath for his ouster from heaven, and knowing he has a short time to take as many souls to hell as possible. This is the situation in which we still find ourselves today, tempted, tested, and tried by the acts of Satan on the earth. He accuses us on earth, without the access to heaven. However, we today can also overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. Plead the blood, and declare the wonderful works of God and Satan will be defeated. This is the power of the believer. This is the victory of the child of God.
The War in Heaven, also known as the Holy War and the Great War, was an event that took place four thousand years before the Common Era, marking the departure of man and woman from Eden, as well as the fall of Lucifer.
Edward D. Andrews & The Top Six
Commentaries on Revelation 12:7-9
Revelation 12:7-9 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
Michael the Archangel
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels made war with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels waged war, 8 but they were not strong enough, nor was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Edward D. Andrews,
First, I would agree more with Kendell H. Easley than the other commentators. If you want complete insights into The Time of the End – 33 A.D. to the Great Tribulation to Armageddon, see my book linked below, THE REVELATION OF DANIEL CHAPTERS 11-12: The Time of the End and Beyond.
Daniel 12:1 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
12 “Now at that time [at Armageddon] Michael [the archangel, the most powerful angel], the great prince who stands up for the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress [the great tribulation] such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
At the time of Daniel, “Michael may be the guardian angel of Israel” or (Anders) “Michael who leads and protects Israel” (Walvoord) would be correct but being that, as Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you [Israel] and given to a nation [Israel of God, Christianity] (Gal. 6:15-16), producing the fruit of it.” (Matt 21:45) He later went on to say of Israel, “‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Look, your house [being the chosen people] is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matt 23:37-39) The latter words mean that the Jews were no longer God’s chosen people and that the Israel of God, Christianity was replacing them, of any of the Jewish people wanted to be one of God’s people again, they needed to accept Jesus Christ and convert from the Jewish religion to Christianity, ‘coming in the name of Christ.’ So, I would agree in a limited way with Anders and Walvoord that Michael served as a protection for Israel, yet it was ancient Israel, but he now serves as a protection for the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), true Christianity. He is not a guardian angel of individual persons, but he assigns angels to prevent rebel angels from slaughtering true Christians.
Jude 1:9-10 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a judgment against him in abusive terms, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” 10 But these men speak evil of the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are corrupting themselves.[1] (See Deut. 34:5-6)
David Walls and Max Anders write, “In an interesting peek behind the historical curtain that we do not get in the Old Testament, we learn that Michael was sent to bury the body of Moses when he died atop Mount Nebo (Deut. 34). According to Jewish tradition (supported by this passage), the devil argued with him about it, apparently claiming for himself the right to dispose of Moses’ body. (For Jewish sources, see Bauckham, WBC 50, 65–76.) Michael, powerful as he was, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against the devil but said instead, The Lord rebuke you!”[2]
Revelation 12:7 Updated American Standard Version (UASV)
7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels made war with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels waged war,
The heavenly sky-drama marches ahead. The woman and her child fade out. Michael and his angels fade in; so do the angels of the dragon. John sees a great sky battle, a war in heaven. Try and picture this like a Star Wars kind of space battle. This portrays in symbols the truth of Ephesians is 6:12: ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’ Many Bible students have puzzled over why Christ is not portrayed as the leader of the good angels. Michael has a secure place in Scripture as the only named archangel, “ruler of angels,” which is undoubtedly his role here (Jude 9). Christ as the supreme heavenly warrior is revealed only in chapter 19. As the fourth character in the drama, Michael has a bit part. This is the only verse in all of Revelation in which he appears.”[3] With all due respect to Kendell H. Easley, who says, “Michael has a bit part,” you need not talk despairingly, “bit part,” about Michael the archangel to prop up Jesus Christ, as Michael is only one of two angels mentioned in the Bible and he is the head, the chief, the principal angel over all other angels and has been serving Christ as a protector of his people since the rebels in the Garden of Eden were expelled.
And there will be a time of distress [the great tribulation] such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time – Jesus Christ, using Michael the archangel to lead the army of angels to execute and bring an end to Satan’s wicked age over imperfect humans during the “great tribulation.” – Matthew 24:21; Jeremiah 25:33; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8; Revelation 7:14; 16:14, 16.
