Rev 12:7-9 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 7. And there was war in heaven . There was a state of things existing in regard to the woman and the child--the church in the condition in which it would then be--which would be well represented by a war in heaven; that is, by a conflict between the powers of good and evil, of light and darkness. Of course, it is not necessary to under stand this literally , any more than the other symbolical representations in the book. All that is meant is, that a vision passed before the mind of John as if there was a conflict, in regard to the church, between the angels in heaven and Satan. There is a vision of the persecuted church--of the woman fleeing into the desert-- and the course of the narrative is here interrupted by going back ( ) to describe the conflict which led to this result, and the fact that Satan, as it were cast out of heaven, and unable to achieve a victory there, was suffered to vent his malice against the church on earth. The seat of this warfare is said to be heaven. This language sometimes refers to heaven as it appears to us--the sky--the upper regions of the atmosphere, and some have supposed that was the place of the contest. But the language in , ; , would rather lead us to refer it to heaven considered as lying beyond the sky. This accords, too, with other representations in the Bible, where Satan is described as appearing before God, and among the sons of God. Of course, this is not to be understood as a real transaction, but as a symbolical representation of the contest between good and evil-- as if there was a war waged in heaven between Satan and the leader of the heavenly hosts. Michael . There have been very various opinions as to who Michael is. Many Protestant interpreters have supposed that Christ is meant. The reasons usually alleged for this opinion, many of which are very fanciful, may be seen in Hengstenberg, ( Die Offenbarung des heiliges Johannes ,) i. 611-622. The reference to Michael here is probably derived from . In those places he is represented as the guardian angel of the people of God, and it is in this sense, I apprehend, that the passage is to be understood here. There is no evidence in the name itself, or in the circumstances referred to, that Christ is intended; and if he had been, it is inconceivable why he was not referred to by his own name, of by some of the usual appellations which John gives him. Michael, the archangel, is here represented as the guardian of the church, and as contending against Satan for its protection. Compare . This representation accords with the usual statements in the Bible respecting the interposition of the angels in behalf of the church, ( ) and is one which cannot be proved to be unfounded. All the analogies which throw any light on the subject, as well as the uniform statements of the Bible, lead us to suppose that good beings of other worlds feel an interest in the welfare of the redeemed church below. And his angels . The angels under him. Michael is represented as the archangel, and all the statements in the Bible suppose that the heavenly hosts are distributed into different ranks and orders. See Barnes on "Jude 1:9; Eph 1:21" . If Satan is permitted to make war against the church, there is no improbability in supposing that, in those higher regions where the war is carried on, and in those aspects of it which lie beyond the power and the knowledge of man, good angels should be employed to defeat his plans. Fought . . Against the dragon . Against Satan. . And the dragon fought and his angels . That is, the master-spirit-- Satan, and those under him. . Of the nature of this warfare, nothing is definitely stated. Its whole sphere lies beyond mortal vision, and is carried on in a manner of which we can have little conception. What weapons Satan may use to destroy the church, and in what way his efforts may be counteracted by holy angels, are points on which we can have little knowledge. It is sufficient to know that the fact of such a struggle is not improbable, and that Satan is successfully resisted by the leader of the heavenly host.

Revelation of John 12:7-9

Verse 7. And there was war in heaven. There was a state of things existing in regard to the woman and the child--the church in the condition in which it would then be--which would be well represented by a war in heaven; that is, by a conflict between the powers of good and evil, of light and darkness. Of course, it is not necessary to under stand this literally, any more than the other symbolical representations in the book. All that is meant is, that a vision passed before the mind of John as if there was a conflict, in regard to the church, between the angels in heaven and Satan. There is a vision of the persecuted church--of the woman fleeing into the desert-- and the course of the narrative is here interrupted by going back (Rev 12:7-13) to describe the conflict which led to this result, and the fact that Satan, as it were cast out of heaven, and unable to achieve a victory there, was suffered to vent his malice against the church on earth. The seat of this warfare is said to be heaven. This language sometimes refers to heaven as it appears to us--the sky--the upper regions of the atmosphere, and some have supposed that was the place of the contest. But the language in Rev 11:19, 12:1, Rev 11:19; Rev 12:1, would rather lead us to refer it to heaven considered as lying beyond the sky. This accords, too, with other representations in the Bible, where Satan is described as appearing before God, and among the sons of God. Of course, this is not to be understood as a real transaction, but as a symbolical representation of the contest between good and evil--as if there was a war waged in heaven between Satan and the leader of the heavenly hosts.

Michael. There have been very various opinions as to who Michael is. Many Protestant interpreters have supposed that Christ is meant. The reasons usually alleged for this opinion, many of which are very fanciful, may be seen in Hengstenberg, (Die Offenbarung des heiliges Johannes,) i. 611-622. The reference to Michael here is probably derived from Dan 10:13, 12:1. In those places he is represented as the guardian angel of the people of God, and it is in this sense, I apprehend, that the passage is to be understood here. There is no evidence in the name itself, or in the circumstances referred to, that Christ is intended; and if he had been, it is inconceivable why he was not referred to by his own name, of by some of the usual appellations which John gives him. Michael, the archangel, is here represented as the guardian of the church, and as contending against Satan for its protection. Compare Dan 10:13. This representation accords with the usual statements in the Bible respecting the interposition of the angels in behalf of the church, (Heb 1:14) and is one which cannot be proved to be unfounded. All the analogies which throw any light on the subject, as well as the uniform statements of the Bible, lead us to suppose that good beings of other worlds feel an interest in the welfare of the redeemed church below.

And his angels. The angels under him. Michael is represented as the archangel, and all the statements in the Bible suppose that the heavenly hosts are distributed into different ranks and orders. See Barnes on "Jude 1:9; Eph 1:21". If Satan is permitted to make war against the church, there is no improbability in supposing that, in those higher regions where the war is carried on, and in those aspects of it which lie beyond the power and the knowledge of man, good angels should be employed to defeat his plans.

Fought. Jude 1:9.

Against the dragon. Against Satan. Rev 12:3.

And the dragon fought and his angels. That is, the master-spirit-- Satan, and those under him. Mt 4:1. Of the nature of this warfare, nothing is definitely stated. Its whole sphere lies beyond mortal vision, and is carried on in a manner of which we can have little conception. What weapons Satan may use to destroy the church, and in what way his efforts may be counteracted by holy angels, are points on which we can have little knowledge. It is sufficient to know that the fact of such a struggle is not improbable, and that Satan is successfully resisted by the leader of the heavenly host. Verse 8. And prevailed not. Satan and his angels failed in their purpose.

Neither was their place found any more in heaven. They were cast out, and were seen there no more. The idea is, that they were defeated and driven away, though for a time they were suffered to carry on the warfare elsewhere. Verse 9. And the great dragon was cast out. Rev 12:3. That there may be an allusion in the language here to what actually occurred in some far-distant period of the past, when Satan was ejected from heaven, there can be no reason to doubt. Our Saviour seems to refer to such an event in the language which he uses when he says, (Lk 10:18,) "I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven;" and Jude, perhaps, (Jude 6) may refer to the same event. All that we know on the subject leads us to suppose that at some time there was a revolt among the angels, and that the rebellious part were cast out of heaven, for an allusion to this is not unfrequent in the Scriptures. Still the event here referred to is a symbolical representation of what would occur at a later period, when the church would be about to spread and be triumphant, and when Satan would wage a deadly war against it. That opposition would be as if he made war on Michael the archangel, and the heavenly hosts, and his failure would be as great as if he were vanquished and cast out of heaven.

That old serpent. This doubtless refers to the serpent that deceived Eve, (Gen 3:1-11, Rev 20:2; compare Barnes on "2Co 11:3") and this passage may be adduced as a proof that the real tempter of Eve was the devil, who assumed the form of a serpent. The word old here refers to the fact that his appearance on earth was at an early stage of the world's history, and that he had long been employed in the work which is here attributed to him--that of opposing the church.

Called the Devil. To whom the name Devil is given. That is, this is the same being that is elsewhere and commonly known by that name. See Barnes on "Mt 4:1".

And Satan. Another name given to the same being; a name, like the other, designed to refer to something in his character. See it explained in Barnes on "Job 1:6".

Which deceiveth the whole world. Whose character is that of a deceiver; whose agency extends over all the earth. See Barnes on "Joh 8:44; 1Jo 5:19".

He was east out into the earth. That is, he was not suffered to pursue his designs in heaven, but was cast down to the earth, where he is permitted for a time to carry on his warfare against the church. According to the interpretation proposed above, this refers to the period when there were indications that God was about to set up his kingdom on the earth. The language, however, is such as would be used on the supposition that there had been, at some period, a rebellion in heaven, and that Satan and his followers had been cast out to return there no more. It is difficult to explain this language except on that supposition; and such a supposition is, in itself, no more improbable than the apostasy and rebellion of man.

And his angels were cast out with him. They shared the lot of their leader. As applicable to the state of things to which this refers, the meaning is, that all were overthrown; that no enemy of the church would remain unsubdued; that the victory would be final and complete. As applicable to the event from which the language is supposed to have been derived--the revolt in heaven--the meaning is, that the followers in the revolt shared the lot of the leader, and that all who rebelled were ejected from heaven. The first and the only revolt in heaven was quelled; and the result furnished to the universe an impressive proof that none who rebelled there would be forgiven--that apostasy so near the throne could not be pardoned.

(a) "serpent" Gen 3:1,4 (b) "Devil" Jn 8:44 (c) "Satan" Zech 3:1