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Commentary on Revelation 12 verses 1–11
Here we see that early prophecy eminently fulfilled in which God said he would put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, Gen 3:15. You will observe,
I. The attempts of Satan and his agents to prevent the increase of the church, by devouring her offspring as soon as it was born; of this we have a very lively description in the most proper images.
1.We see how the church is represented in this vision. (1.) As a woman, the weaker part of the world, but the spouse of Christ, and the mother of the saints. (2.) As clothed with the sun, the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Having put on Christ, who is the Sun of righteousness, she, by her relation to Christ, is invested with honourable rights and privileges, and shines in his rays. (3.) As having the moon under her feet (that is, the world); she stands upon it, but lives above it; her heart and hope are not set upon sublunary things, but on the things that are in heaven, where her head is. (4.) As having on her head a crown of twelve stars, that is, the doctrine of the gospel preached by the twelve apostles, which is a crown of glory to all true believers. (5.) As in travail, crying out, and pained to be delivered. She was pregnant, and now in pain to bring forth a holy progeny to Christ, desirous that what was begun in the conviction of sinners might end in their conversion, that when the children were brought to the birth there might be strength to bring forth, and that she might see of the travail of her soul.
2.How the grand enemy of the church is represented. (1.) As a great red dragon - a dragon for strength and terror - a red dragon for fierceness and cruelty. (2.) As having seven heads, that is, placed on seven hills, as Rome was; and therefore it is probable that pagan Rome is here meant. (3.) As having ten horns, divided into ten provinces, as the Roman empire was by Augustus Caesar. (4.) As having seven crowns upon his head, which is afterwards expounded to be seven kings, Rev 17:10. (5.) As drawing with his tail a third part of the stars in heaven, and casting them down to the earth, turning the ministers and professors of the Christian religion out of their places and privileges and making them as weak and useless as he could. (6.) As standing before the woman, to devour her child as soon as it should be born, very vigilant to crush the Christian religion in its birth and entirely to prevent the growth and continuance of it in the world.
II. The unsuccessfulness of these attempts against the church; for, 1. She was safely delivered of a man-child (Rev 12:5), by which some understand Christ, others Constantine, but others, with greater propriety, a race of true believers, strong and united, resembling Christ, and designed, under him, to rule the nations with a rod of iron; that is, to judge the world by their doctrine and lives now, and as assessors with Christ at the great day. 2. Care was taken of this child: it was caught up to God, and to his throne; that is, taken into his special, powerful, and immediate protection. The Christian religion has been from its infancy the special care of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. 3. Care was taken of the mother as well as of the child, Rev 12:6. She fled into the wilderness, a place prepared both for her safety and her sustenance. The church was in an obscure state, dispersed; and this proved her security, through the care of divine Providence. This her obscure and private state was for a limited time, not to continue always.
III. The attempts of the dragon not only proved unsuccessful against the church, but fatal to his own interests; for, upon his endeavour to devour the man-child, he engaged all the powers of heaven against him (Rev 12:7): There was war in heaven. Heaven will espouse the quarrel of the church. Here observe,
1.The seat of this war - in heaven, in the church, which is the kingdom of heaven on earth, under the care of heaven and in the same interest.
2.The parties - Michael and his angels on one side, and the dragon and his angels on the other: Christ, the great Angel of the covenant, and his faithful followers; and Satan and all his instruments. This latter party would be much superior in number and outward strength to the other; but the strength of the church lies in having the Lord Jesus for the captain of their salvation.
3.The success of the battle: The dragon and his angels fought and prevailed not; there was a great struggle on both sides, but the victory fell to Christ and his church, and the dragon and his angels were not only conquered, but cast out; the pagan idolatry, which was a worshipping of devils, was extirpated out of the empire in the time of Constantine.
4.The triumphant song that was composed and used on this occasion, Rev 12:10, Rev 12:11. Here observe, (1.) How the conqueror is adored: Now have come salvation, strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. Now God has shown himself to be a mighty God; now Christ has shown himself to be a strong and mighty Saviour; his own arm has brought salvation, and now his kingdom will be greatly enlarged and established. The salvation and strength of the church are all to be ascribed to the king and head of the church. (2.) How the conquered enemy is described. [1.] By his malice; he was the accuser of the brethren, and accused them before their God night and day; he appeared before God as an adversary to the church, continually bringing in indictments and accusations against them, whether true or false; thus he accused Job, and thus he accused Joshua the high priest, Zac 3:1. Though he hates the presence of God, yet he is willing to appear there to accuse the people of God. Let us therefore take heed that we give him no cause of accusation against us; and that, when we have sinned, we presently go in before the Lord, and accuse and condemn ourselves, and commit our cause to Christ as our Advocate. [2.] By his disappointment and defeat: he and all his accusations are cast out, the indictments quashed, and the accuser turned out of the court with just indignation. (3.) How the victory was gained. The servants of God overcame Satan, [1.] By the blood of the Lamb, as the meritorious cause. Christ by dying destroyed him that hath the power of death, that is, the devil. [2.] By the word of their testimony, as the great instrument of war, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, - by a resolute powerful preaching of the everlasting gospel, which is mighty, through God, to pull down strongholds, - and by their courage and patience in sufferings; they loved not their lives unto the death, when the love of life stood in competition with their loyalty to Christ; they loved not their lives so well but they could give them up to death, could lay them down in Christ's cause; their love to their own lives was overcome by stronger affections of another nature; and this their courage and zeal helped to confound their enemies, to convince many of the spectators, to confirm the souls of the faithful, and so contributed greatly to this victory.
And the great and glorious angel Michael is he who has authority over this people, and governs them; for this is he who gave them the law into the hearts of believers.
"There was a battle in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon warred, and his angels, and they prevailed not; nor was their place found any more in heaven. And that great dragon was cast forth, that old serpent: he was cast forth into the earth." This is the beginning of Antichrist yet previously Elias must prophesy, and there must be times of peace. And afterwards, when the three years and six months are completed in the preaching of Elias, he also must be cast down from heaven, where up till that time he had had the power of ascending; and all the apostate angels, as well as Antichrist, must be roused up from hell. Paul the apostle says: "Except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin shall appear, the son of perdition; and the adversary who exalted himself above all which is called God, or which is worshipped."
Are you acquainted with the noble task of holy virginity? Do you know how, like a man, to enter "lawfully" upon this contest and "strive," [2 Timothy 2:5] that, in the might of the Holy Spirit, you choose this for yourself, that you may be crowned with a crown of light, and that they may lead you about in triumph through "the Jerusalem above"? [Galatians 4:26] If so be, then, that you long for all these things, conquer the body; conquer the appetites of the flesh; conquer the world in the Spirit of God; conquer these vain things of time, which pass away and grow old, and decay, and come to an end; conquer the dragon; [Revelation 12:7] conquer the lion; [1 Peter 5:8] conquer the serpent; [2 Corinthians 11:3] conquer Satan — through Jesus Christ, who does strengthen you by the hearing of His words and the divine Eucharist. "Take up your cross and follow" [Matthew 16:24] Him who makes you clean, Jesus Christ your Lord.
We must not think that the devil and his angels dared to fight in heaven, since he could not even tempt Job without God’s permission. Rather by “heaven” he quite manifestly indicates the church, where each one of the faithful constantly contends against spiritual evils. Therefore the apostle says, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers and against the world rulers of this present darkness.” And so he says here that Michael with his angels fights against the devil, because by praying according to the will of God for the church in this world and by granting her his aid, he is properly understood to be fighting for her. And so the apostle says, “Are not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” Indeed, the name of Michael himself is interpreted to mean “the helper of God,” and so this work is properly assigned to him. Also Daniel said that in the last distress [Michael] would come for the succor of the church: “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who stands for the children of your people. And there shall be a time such as has never been since the nations first began to be. And in that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.” The angels are said to be his by a certain manner of speaking, such as we read, “For their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.” And so it speaks of those who by believing began to be citizens in Christ and thus are his angels, because they are regarded as protected by one guardian king and as made glad by one life-giving spirit. … The devil and his angels are not only those who are similar to him in nature and will. They are also as men, who after being caught in his traps, became pursuers of such things. Indeed, because of the qualities of his will it is said about the devil, “An evil man has done this,” and about Judas, “[One of you] is a devil.” The devil is said to express himself by way of a twofold body. When he is conquered, he is said to be thrown out by those who have renounced him and have received faith in Christ and so no longer do his errors. Rather, in them “love [remains] from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith.” Or, since the church is already separated from any admixture of evil and is glorified by the future blessedness, no place is given to the devil and to his angels to seduce the evil or to tempt the good. The psalm refers to him and says, “I passed by, and lo! he was not; and I sought him, but his place was not found.”
Michael indeed means "Who is like God." And whenever something of wondrous power is accomplished, Michael is said to be sent, so that from the act itself and the name it may be understood that no one can do what God is able to do. Hence that ancient enemy, who through pride desired to be like God, saying: "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of heaven, I will sit on the mountain of the covenant, on the sides of the north, I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the Most High," when at the end of the world he is left to his own power to be destroyed by the final punishment, is said to be about to fight with the archangel Michael, as it is said through John: "There was a battle with the archangel Michael," so that he who proudly raised himself to the likeness of God, slain by Michael, might learn that no one rises to the likeness of God through pride.
These words can refer to the first fall of the devil from his angelic rank because of his pride and envy, or it can refer to his destruction through the cross of the Lord, when, as the Lord says, “the ruler of this world is judged,” cast out of his ancient tyranny. It is probable that the holy angels, together with their chief leader, Michael, could not tolerate the pride of the devil and previously threw him out of any association they had with him, since they found in him a lack of righteousness. As Ezekiel says, he was cast out by the cherubim “from the midst of the stones of fire,” that is, as I think, from the angelic ranks. When Christ came, they served him after the temptation, since the slave, although dishonored, was once more being loathsome. We should note that, as the fathers thought, after the creation of the physical world, [the devil] was thrown down because of his arrogance and envy, although he had at first been entrusted as the prince of the air, as the apostle says. Papias also speaks of this passage: “To some of them, clearly the holy angels of that time, he gave dominion over the arrangement of the earth, and he commissioned them to exercise their dominion well.” And then he says, “But it happened that their arrangement came to nothing.”
And there was a great battle in heaven. Michael and his angels, etc. Heaven signifies the Church, in which he says Michael and his angels fight against the devil, because according to God's will, they struggle by praying for the pilgrim Church and providing help. Daniel also said that Michael would come to the Church's aid in the final and most severe tribulation, wherefore some believe the Antichrist will be killed by him. His angels are said to be his, as our angels are ours. The Lord says: Their angels always see the face of my Father (Matthew XVIII), meaning those whose citizens they are.
And the dragon fought, and his angels. The angels of Satan are not only those who are like him in nature and will but also humans ensnared by their traps.
And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels. Let the faithful's hearts not believe that this battle happened when the old enemy fell from heaven with his followers because of his pride; but it should be believed without any doubt that it has been on-going since the beginning of the Christian faith and will last until the end of this life, because it is demonstrated that the dragon, that is the Devil, has been fighting back and offering opposition in heaven, that is in the Church (whence it is proclaimed by the apostle's voice, Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against the spirits of wickedness in the high places) [Eph. 6:12] ever since the beginning. Now if we are fighting, why is it said, contradictorily with this idea, that Michael is fighting? With regards to this, one should know that it is shown in numerous other passages too that the struggle against the Devil belongs both to us and to angels; for while Peter said, Whom resist ye, strong in faith, [1 Pet. 5:9] and James, Resist the devil, and he will fly from you, [James 4:7] yet David declares that this same thing is done by angels, saying, The angel of the Lord shall encamp round about them that fear him: and shall deliver them. [Ps. 33:8] By these examples it is shown that neither do we fight without the angels' fighting, nor do the angels without our fighting. Some angels are said to be Michael's not because, as the perfidy of some heretics would have it, he created them, but because he received them from God as a help, or because it is believed that they are soldiers under one king and from one city, in the same way as the angels who are demonstrated to belong to the dragon and to do his will are called the dragon's angels — and bad men are included in their number, just as we are included in the number of the good angels.
Just as in a recapitulation of the aforementioned principle, it conceives an earlier principle, which was partly mentioned before, concerning the vision that is about to relate to us the events regarding the Antichrist; for the first principle among them is the fall of Satan from heaven. About this, the Lord also says, "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning." (Luke 18:10)
What then he says, And there was war in heaven? The divine Scripture states that Satan rebelled against God, that is, he was stubborn and proud enough to raise his neck defiantly, and to contemplate apostasy. But God, being naturally good and patient, endured him; however, the divine angels, not bearing the arrogance of their master, expelled him from their company.
It is now said that Michael, one of the great archangels among the angels, fought against Satan and those under him.
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SUMMARY
Revelation 12:7 unveils a dramatic, pivotal cosmic conflict in the heavenly realm, depicting a direct confrontation between the archangel Michael and his angelic forces against the malevolent dragon and his demonic retinue. This verse initiates a profound spiritual narrative, illustrating the unseen warfare that undergirds the apocalyptic visions of John, setting the stage for the dragon's ultimate expulsion from heaven and foreshadowing God's decisive victory over evil.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Revelation 12:7 is rich in Apocalyptic Imagery, a hallmark of the book, presenting a vision of cosmic conflict that transcends human experience and is revealed through symbolic language. The Symbolism is profound: "heaven" represents a spiritual dimension, not necessarily God's ultimate dwelling but a realm where spiritual powers contend. "Michael" symbolizes divine power and protection, embodying God's active intervention against evil. The "dragon" is a potent symbol for Satan, the ancient adversary, connecting him to the serpent of Eden and representing the ultimate source of evil and rebellion. The "war" itself is symbolic of the ongoing spiritual struggle between good and evil, God's kingdom and Satan's domain. The verse also employs Personification, as the dragon is depicted actively "fighting," imbuing this spiritual entity with agency and malicious intent, making the conflict tangible despite its unseen nature.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The cosmic war in heaven depicted in Revelation 12:7 is a profound theological statement about the nature of evil and God's sovereignty. It reveals that the ultimate source of opposition to God and His people is not merely human, but a powerful, supernatural entity—Satan, the dragon—who wages war against divine order. This conflict, however, is not one of equals; it is a rebellion against the Creator by a created being. The presence of Michael, God's archangel, signifies that God is actively engaged in this spiritual battle through His divine agents, ensuring that evil will not prevail. This passage reassures believers that even in the face of overwhelming evil, God's power is supreme, and His champions are formidable, leading to the inevitable defeat of the adversary.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Revelation 12:7 serves as a powerful reminder that our earthly struggles often have a deeper, unseen spiritual dimension. It challenges believers to recognize that evil is not merely a human construct but is orchestrated by a formidable, malevolent spiritual entity—the dragon, Satan—who actively opposes God and His people. This understanding should not lead to fear, but to vigilance and a renewed reliance on God's power. Just as Michael and his angels fought and prevailed in heaven, so too does God empower believers to stand firm in their faith, knowing that they are part of a greater spiritual army fighting under the banner of the ultimate Victor. This verse calls us to put on the full armor of God, to pray earnestly, and to resist the schemes of the devil, trusting that the same God who triumphed in heaven will ultimately triumph on earth and in our lives.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who is Michael, and what is his significance in this cosmic battle?
Answer: Michael (G3413, Michaḗl) is identified as an archangel, a chief prince among God's angelic host. His name, meaning "Who is like God?", underscores his unique position and authority as a divine champion. In Revelation 12:7, Michael is portrayed as the leader of God's angels in direct combat against the dragon (Satan) and his forces. His significance lies in his role as God's primary warrior against evil, a protector of God's people (as seen in Daniel 10:13 and Daniel 12:1), and a testament to God's active engagement in the spiritual realm. His victory over the dragon in heaven foreshadows the ultimate triumph of God's kingdom over all evil.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Revelation 12:7, depicting the war in heaven, finds its ultimate Christ-centered fulfillment in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. While Michael's victory over the dragon in heaven is significant, it is merely a precursor and a reflection of the decisive triumph achieved by the Lamb of God. The ancient prophecy in Genesis 3:15, foretelling the crushing of the serpent's head by the seed of the woman, finds its complete realization in Christ's death and resurrection. On the cross, Jesus disarmed the principalities and powers, triumphing over them (as declared in Colossians 2:15). He became flesh and blood precisely "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). The heavenly war in Revelation 12:7, leading to the dragon's expulsion from heaven, is a symbolic representation of the spiritual authority and power that Satan lost through Christ's finished work. The dragon's rage on earth, described in subsequent verses, is the desperate act of a defeated foe, whose ultimate doom is sealed and will be fully realized when he is cast into the lake of fire forever (Revelation 20:10). Thus, Michael's victory points to and is empowered by the greater, definitive victory of Christ, who is the true King and Conqueror.