Welcome back to our series on Revelation chapter 12, where we finished our study on the scenario of the dragon and the sun-clothed woman. We’re going to now look at the last ten verses, which tell us about a war that breaks out in heaven between the archangel Michael and Satan, the fallen angel. Oh man, this is so interesting. You won’t want to miss this. So… let’s get into this! 

Revelation Chapter 12

Nineth in an Eleven-Part Series
By Karen Thompson

War Breaks Out in Heaven

Rev. 12:7 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.

In verses 7–9, John tells us about another war he saw taking place, but this time it’s not a war that’s happening on earth. This time it’s between the angel, Michael, and the angelic forces with him and Satan (the dragon) and the fallen angelic forces with him. John begins telling us about the war by simply saying, “And there was a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels….” This scenario has been incorrectly interpreted to mean Satan’s rebellion against God, when God kicked Satan and the angels who followed Satan in his rebellion out of heaven.

I believe the word “heaven” in this verse is the reason for the incorrect interpretation. When John said there was a war in heaven, he didn’t mean the war took place in heaven where God abides. The Greek word translated here as heaven is ouranos, and it can mean the “vaulted expanse of the sky; the aerial heavens or sky; the region where the clouds and the tempests gather, where thunder and lightning are produced.” And it can also mean “the region above the sidereal heavens, the seat of order of things eternal and where God dwells and other heavenly beings.”¹ In this case, this war takes place in the space just above the earth in the unseen realm, which many refer to as the heavenlies.

The war John is telling us about is the end, not the beginning, of Satan’s rebellion against God. Again, I remind you that the vision John was seeing is a revelation of things that would happen in the future, the end times. Satan’s rebellion against God and being cast out of heaven happened in the past. So this scenario of a war between Michael and the dragon is a future event. And, again, the other confirmation that this war takes place in the end times is that the dragon is described as having seven heads and ten horns, symbols of the kingdom of Antichrist. 

This war ends Satan’s quest to usurp God’s throne. This is the battle to end all battles. It is the battle in which Satan finally loses his place in the heavenly unseen realm above earth’s atmosphere. Simply put, Satan is unseated. This war takes place when the seventh and final trumpet judgment is sounded. When the angel sounded the seventh trumpet, voices in heaven proclaimed, “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. 11:15) Satan losing his place of authority in the unseen realm over earth is the fulfillment of “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord.” 

Since the fall of Adam and Eve, Satan has been ruling over the kingdom of men through what some call a double-kingdom system with his seat of power located over the earth in the heavenly unseen realm. All this comes to an end with this final battle between Michael and his angels and Satan and his fallen angels.

Michael the Archangel

Now let’s talk about the character of Michael in verses 7–8: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” It says, “Michael and his angels fought….” Who is Michael? The book of Jude calls him an archangel: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil…” (Jude 1:9).

The first time we read about Michael the archangel is in Daniel chapter 10. Daniel had been fasting and praying for a few weeks when an angel appeared before him to give him a message from God. The angel told Daniel the first day he began to pray, God sent him with the answer, but he was delayed by the prince of Persia who had “withstood” him for 21 days. The prince of Persia the angel was referring to was not an earthly prince, but rather he was one of the demonic principalities and powers that rule over the kingdom of men in the unseen realm described to us in Ephesians 6:12.

The angel told Daniel it wasn’t until Michael, “one of the chief princes,” came to help him in his fight with the prince of Persia that he was able to break free and deliver his message to Daniel (Dan. 10:13). In this verse, Michael is called a chief prince, which would be the equivalent of archangel. A prince is someone who is a leader with authority, which means Michael has authority over other angels.

In Daniel chapter 12, we learn something significant about Michael. In the preceding chapter, the angel told Daniel what would happen to the Jewish people at the end of the ages when the little horn would break the covenant and invade Jerusalem. Then chapter 12 picks up by telling us in that time of distress, Michael will come to the aid of the Jewish people: “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” (Dan. 12:1). We are told in Daniel that Michael, called a great prince, will stand up for the Jewish people when they endure their most difficult time in their history. It’s apparent that Michael is the primary archangel assigned to protect and defend the Jewish people. We see the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in these verses telling us that Michael and his angels fought against the dragon.

The Dragon Loses the Battle

Now let’s look at these verses again and this time from the aspect of war: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.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” (Rev. 12:7–9).

John identified the two opposing armies in the battle. There is Michael the archangel with his angels representing the army of God. And then there is the dragon, who is, of course, Satan, with the angels who followed him in his rebellion against God. This is the quintessential battle between good and evil. Verse eight tells us the outcome of the war: Satan “prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.” He prevailed not, meaning Satan lost the battle. Not only did he lose the battle, but he lost the space he and his angels had been occupying since the fall of mankind. They were kicked out of the heavenlies, the atmosphere above the earth. This event is what Jesus was referring to when He said to His disciples, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18 NJKV). And it’s at this time that Satan will lose his title of “the prince of the power of the air.”

At this point, Michael and his angel army take over and occupy the heavenly unseen realm above earth. Verse nine tells us the consequences for the dragon having lost the battle to Michael: “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.” Satan lost his seat of power. Michael has taken over the unseen realm over the kingdom of men. Michael cast Satan and his angels down to earth.

The Names of the Dragon

John confirms the identity of the dragon as that “old serpent,” “Devil,” and “deceiver.” These names tell us a lot about Satan. Let’s look at the name “that old serpent.” The first time we see Satan in the Bible is in the Garden of Eden when he took the form of the serpent and deceived Adam and Eve which resulted in the fall of mankind. The last time he is referenced in the Bible is in Revelation 20:2 when the serpent, who is Satan, was bound for 1,000 years.

In addition to calling him the serpent, John further identified the dragon as the Devil. The Greek word translated as Devil is diabolos and it means to slander, to accuse falsely.² In fact, the very next verse reiterates this theme of the Devil being an accuser when it refers to Satan as “the accuser of the brethren.” The first time we read about Satan actively accusing a believer is in the book of Job. In the first chapter of Job, we see Satan before God’s throne accusing Job, saying that Job only serves God because He had made Job a wealthy man. In that scene, Satan epitomizes the label of “the accuser of the brethren.” We get another picture of Satan as the accuser of the brethren in Zechariah chapter three. The prophet Zechariah had a vision of Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord (which most agree is the preincarnate Christ). In this vision, Satan is standing next to Joshua. Zechariah writes, “and Satan standing at Joshua’s right hand to be his adversary and to accuse him” (Zec. 3:1 Amp.).

John also called the dragon Satan. The Greek word translated as Satan is satanas and it means “adversary,” the adversary of God.³ Satan made himself God’s adversary the moment he made the decision to go forward on his quest to usurp God’s throne, when he made his five “I will” statements: 1) I will ascend into heaven, 2) I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, 3) I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 4) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, 5) I will be like the most High (Isaiah 14:13–14). It was Satan who started this fight with God, and it will be God who ends it.

John finished his description of Satan with the phrase “which deceiveth the whole world.” With regard to mankind, the beginning of Satan’s deceptive behavior was with Adam and Eve, and his deceptive behavior continues to the end. The last time we read about his deceptive behavior is in Revelation chapter 20 when he is released from the pit prison and goes forth to deceive the nations.

Finally, we come to the last part of verse nine: “he was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him.” Ultimately, Satan and his forces lose their place in the heavenly realm over the earth. Unfortunately, they are all cast down to the earth. And that’s when life as everyone knows it becomes “hell on earth.” This is the very thing the angel in Revelation chapter eight was referencing after the fourth trumpet was sounded. John wrote, “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!” (Rev. 8:13). Satan and his angels being cast down to the earth is the third woe.

In the next post, we’ll look at what happens on earth when Satan is cast down upon the earth.

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