I want to begin this morning by reminding you of five things from Revelation 12:1-6. First, we discovered that God and Satan have been in great conflict since the beginning of Earth’s creation. Then, we discovered that ever since Satan’s original fall from heaven he has had one agenda – destroy mankind, which is why he tempted Adam and Eve. We also discovered that in order to destroy humanity Satan, throughout the Old Testament, viciously attacked the nation of Israel in an attempt to stop the birth of Jesus, who God sent into the world to save humanity; if he could stop the birth of Christ, he could succeed in his plan, but he failed. Then, we discovered that Satan tried to kill Jesus by inciting Herod in Matthew 2; but he failed again. Next we discovered Satan incited Judas to betray Jesus in order to have Jesus crucified, but again he failed, because death has no hold on Christ. And again, we discovered at the center of this great war between God and Satan is humanity; while Satan’s plan was to destroy humanity, God’s plan was to save humanity through His only begotten Son.
Technically speaking, John’s vision in Revelation 12 occurs in two parts. The first part are verses 1-6 and the second are verses 7-17. They tell us the conflict between God and Satan over humanity isn’t over. They speak about a great conflict that is going to take place in heaven. Then, they speak about the outcome of that conflict and the effect that conflict will have on planet earth. But, I will be unable to cover all those verses in this blog; thus, we will focus on verses 7-9 only. This focuses mostly on the conflict to come, which is why the title of this is – The War That Is To Come.
We begin in verse 7 reading that “war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back.”
Here we see something that many of us think could not happen in heaven – war. By definition war is a conflict carried out between nations. War can also be a conflict that arises between two parties within the same nation. War is bloodshed. War is combat. War is fighting. War is hostility and strife and struggle and enmity between two opposing forces.
Who are the two opposing forces fighting in heaven? John tells us that those two opposing forces are angelic. We have Satan and his army fighting against Michael, who is a warrior archangel, and his army. So, what this tells us is that this war is an angelic war. Essentially, a war between good and evil. But how does war happen in heaven? How can Satan wage war with Michael and his angels, if he has been cast out?
I want you to understand that this war is not taking place in the part of heaven where the throne of God is.
In 2 Corinthians 12:2, we are told that there are actually three heavens that exist. The third heaven, or highest heaven, is where God dwells; that is the heaven Satan was banned from originally at the beginning of our planet’s creation. The second heaven, or middle heaven, is the universe or outer space. And the first heaven that exists, is our earthly atmosphere; the sky. This war is taking place in the second heaven, not the third heaven where God dwells.
Also, many people are under the assumption that when Satan was originally cast out of heaven that he was eternally locked away in hell without freedom to move and without access to heaven, that’s not true.
While Satan was banned from the third heaven for attempting to take over the throne of God (Isaiah 14), he was not banned from the first or second heavens, and we know this to be factual for three reasons. First, we know he is not banned from the first heaven (atmospheric heaven), because in Genesis 3 we read that he tempted Adam and Eve. In Job, he tested Job. In Matthew 4 he tempted Jesus. So the fact that we see his activity on the earth tells us he has freedom to move, under the sovereignty of God, on the earth, which is within the first heaven.
Secondly, we know he is not banned from the second heaven (the universe), because in the book of Job we see in chapters 1 and 2 Satan presenting himself before God with many other angels, to give an account of his activities on the earth. We see this again in Zechariah 3, when Satan is in heaven standing before God, to accuse the high priest Joshua. We see this now, when Satan is waging war against the armies of heaven. All this happened in the second heaven.
The last reason we know Satan is not locked away in hell right now is because of Revelation 20:7-10. It’s not until after the millennium, which comes after the tribulation, that we read about Satan being thrown into the lake fire where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Thus, it’s not till after the millennium, that Satan will be banned from heaven and earth altogether. So what war is this? Is this the same war that resulted in Satan’s original fall or is it a record of some other war?
This is a record of a different war.
Isaiah 14 records another war that took place in the third heaven and I would say the first war. In that war, Satan, by his free will, became full of pride and attempted to take over the throne of God, along with a third of heaven’s angels who followed him. At that time he, along with a third of heaven’s angels, were cast out of the third heaven and into the second heaven and first heaven, which is why Paul refers to Satan as “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2). As it stands now (present day), from the second and first heaven, Satan and his demonic army can and are still opposing the work of God. That means this war that John is referring to is altogether different. So then, when does this war occur?
The war that John is referring to occurs mid-way of the tribulation period and sparks the beginning of the great tribulation.
There are some who believe that this war took place at Jesus’ resurrection. Some believe this war took place at Jesus’ ascension. And they believe that because of Revelation 12:5, because verse 5 refers to Jesus’ ascension.
I believe neither of those are correct, and I think the key to understanding this, for me at least, is in verse 6. John writes, “the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.” The key here is the “1,260 days.” That is a reference to the last three-and-a-half years of the tribulation, which is the last half of the tribulation, which is also called The Great Tribulation. And that’s why I believe this war will take place at the mid-way point of the tribulation period.
To further this point, I want to read how the NLT puts verses 6 and 7: “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place to care for her for 1,260 days. Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels.” Notice the word “then”. That word is small but grammatically important. The word “then” means at that time; immediately; soon after; next in order of time; at the same time. This, to me, explains the order of events. What this is saying is that once Israel has fled into the wilderness at that time or soon after, this war will take place in the second heaven.
More specifically, this war takes place when the Antichrist breaks his covenant of peace with Israel in an attempt to destroy Israel.
According to Daniel chapter 9, some time during the first half of the tribulation the Antichrist will make a covenant of peace with Israel. But during the last half of the tribulation, the Antichrist, who will become Satan incarnate, will end this treaty. When that happens, Satan will furiously attack Israel and invade Jerusalem. When he does, those Jews who have survived the tribulation up to this point will flee “into the wilderness” to the “place prepared by God” and “be nourished for 1,260 days”.
By the way, according to Isaiah 16:1-5 and Daniel 11:36-38, this place in the wilderness that has been prepared by God is a place referred to as Petra, which lies in modern day Jordan, which is just south of the Dead Sea, and in King David’s day was known as an indestructible rock. Today Petra is one of the seven wonders of the world. But one day, after the Rapture, during the last half of the Tribulation, Petra will no longer be just a wonder of the world nor will it be just a tourist attraction. It will be a place of shelter and refuge and protection. It will be the place, prepared for Israel by God, to protect the people of God from the wrath of Satan.
The point I am making is this: when the Antichrist breaks his covenant of peace with Israel mid-way through the tribulation, invades Jerusalem, and Israel has fled to Petra, that’s when this war in heaven takes place. To say it simply, the war John is referring to here has yet to happen. It’s different from the one Isaiah refers to in Isaiah 14, as I understand this. So, this is a war to come, not a war that has happened. What’s the result of this war?
John tells us in verses 8 and 9 that Satan “was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world – he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.”
When the Antichrist, who is Satan incarnate, breaks this covenant of peace with Israel and invades Jerusalem at the mid-way point of the Tribulation, there will be war in the second heaven, and in the end Satan and his army will be defeated once again. As a result there will be no place for him and his army in the second heaven any longer. At that point Satan will be forced out of the realm of the second heaven and will no longer be permitted into that realm, and he will be forced to retreat to the first heaven, which is the atmospheric heaven; which means Satan, under the sovereignty of God, will still be allowed to roam free on the earth for the last half of the tribulation.
As we close, let me say, when Satan is banned from the second heaven, or middle heaven, it is not without consequence. This casting out of the second heaven will have consequences for those remaining on the earth. We’ll look into those consequences next time.