Revelation 12:7-8 - Exposition

And there was war in heaven . The passage Revelation 12:7-13 is an interruption of the narrative of the persecution of the woman by Satan. It is caused, apparently, by a desire to account in some degree for the relentless hostility of the devil towards God and his Church. Two explanations of the passage may be referred to.

(a) It accounts for the insertion of the passage (see above).

(b) The war is directly between the devil and Michael, not between the devil and Christ, as at the Incarnation and Resurrection.

(c) Jude 1:8 and Jude 1:9 seem to require a more literal interpretation than that which makes them refer to the effects of Christ's resurrection.

(d) It was not at the period of the Incarnation that the scene of Satan's opposition was transferred to the earth, as described in Jude 1:12 .

(e) The song of the heavenly voice may be intended to end with the word Christ ( Jude 1:10 ), and the following passages may be the words of the writer of the Apocalypse, and may refer to the earthly martyrs (see on Jude 1:10 ).

(f) This attempt of the devil in heaven may be alluded to in John 1:5 , "The darkness overcame it not" (see also John 12:35 ).

(a) Michael is the type of mankind, which in the Person of Jesus Christ vanquishes the devil.

(b) Subsequent to the Resurrection Satan is no more allowed to accuse men before God in heaven, as he has done previously (see Job 1:1-22 .; 2; Zechariah 3:1 ; 1 Kings 22:19-22 ); he is thus the accuser cast down ( John 1:10 ), and his place is no more found in heaven ( John 1:8 ).

(c) The earth and sea represent the worldly and tumultuous nations. Perhaps the strongest argument in favour of the second view is found in Luke 10:18 and John 12:31 . Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; Michael and his angels [ going forth] to war with the dragon (Revised Version). Alford explains the infinitive phrase as compounded of the genitive τοῦ and depending upon ἐγένετο . Michael ( לאֵך־יםָ ) signifies, "Who is like to God?" We may compare this with the cry of the worldly in Revelation 13:4 , "Who is like unto the beast?" In Daniel, Michael is the prince who stands up for the people of Israel ( Daniel 12:1-13 . l; Daniel 10:13 , Daniel 10:21 ). Michael, "the archangel," is alluded to in Jud Daniel 1:9 as the great opposer of Satan. St. John, perhaps borrowing the name from Daniel, puts forward Michael as the chief of those who remained faithful to the cause of God in the rebellion of Satan and his angels. The angels of the dragon are the stars of verse 4, which he drew with him to the earth, and possibly the reference to this event in verse 4 gives rise to the account in verses 7-13. Some commentators interpret the war here described as that between the Church and the world. Michael is thus made to be symbolical of Christ, and some have no difficulty in indicating a particular man (such as Licinius) as the antitype of the dragon. And the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. The Greek is stronger, not even their place, etc. οὐδέ is read in א , A, B, C, Andreas, Arethas; οὔτε is found in P, 1, 17, and others. So complete was the defeat of Satan that he was no longer permitted to remain in heaven in any capacity.