THE WAR IN HEAVEN

In the next section (12:7-12) John described a war in heaven that again had its basis in a pagan myth which found its way into Jewish literature of the period between the Old and New Testaments (1 & 2 Enoch; Life of Adam and Eve). The archangel Michael and an army of angels fought Satan, the dragon, and his angels. Satan and company suffered defeat and were thrown down to earth. A dramatic bronze statue depicting this myth can be seen on the front wall of Coventry Cathedral in the UK.

But that doesn’t end the story. John heard a voice from heaven announcing that the hour of God’s victory had arrived, at least in the heavenly realm of God. In fact, Michael’s victory in heaven was the spiritual and symbolic counterpart of Jesus’ victory on the Cross on earth.

Several terms in this passage speak of different roles Satan has in the Bible: the Devil, deceiver, accuser. The passage also described Satan as a heavenly figure. In Job 1:6ff, Satan appeared as God’s adversary, the Hebrew meaning of the name. In Zechariah 3:1ff, Satan accused Jerusalem of unacceptable moral and religious practices symbolized as filthy clothes.

In the New Testament letters of 1 Peter 5:8, Jude 9 and 1 Timothy 3:6, Satan appeared as a prosecutor. In some cases, Michael confronts Satan as he would a respected barrister before a law court. Although John saw the conflict with Satan in military terms, it was essentially a legal battle which ended with one of lawyers disbarred.

By describing Satan’s defeat in this way, John warned his people that while their martyrdom still lay ahead, their salvation could be treated as a fait accompli already achieved by Christ on the Cross. The power, guilt and effects of sin had been overcome by God’s forgiving love in Christ.