Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he 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. (Revelation 12:7-9 ESV).
The second question is who fights this war? Let’s be clear that this is not God vs Satan! This is not Jesus vs Satan. That would be like George Foreman in his prime versus a high school featherweight. This is an angelic war with Michael and his angels in one corner, and Satan and his fallen angels in the other. So let’s explore what we can learn about these two.
First, let’s look at “the Dragon” (Satan). The imagery of a dragon speaks of a fierce and powerful being, known for its ability to attack, harm and destroy. He is also linked to the serpent in the garden of Eden where Satan entered into the serpent. The serpent was sly, cunning, and deceptive. The serpent put deceptive questions into the minds of Adam and Eve. saying ‘Did God really say…’ Satan, in the form of the serpent, loves to mix truth and error in a poisonous cocktail. The last days before the return of Jesus Christ will see Satan’s attack in both the form of the dragon and the serpent. But it predominantly starts with the serpent. It starts with deception. He is also the “accuser.” The title “Devil” is from the Greek diabolos, which has the meaning of “defaming or “slandering.” He is the master accuser of the brethren. He is also called Satan. The word Satan means “adversary” and reminds us that whatever form Satan takes, whether it is as a dragon or an angel of light, he is still and will always be, the adversary. He has different tactics and forms, but his goal remains the same.
We should also look at the angel Michael. On God’s side we have the angel Michael who is mentioned in only five verses in the Bible. These tell us that Michael is one of the chief princes in the angelic realm (Daniel 10:13). The first mention of Michael is to do with warfare. And what we will find is that every mention of Michael in the Bible is in relation to conflict and warfare. Michael was required to come to help the angel Gabriel bring his message to Daniel because Gabriel had been opposed by other powerful fallen angels. Michael is also Israel’s protector (Daniel 10:21). Speaking to the Jewish prophet Daniel, Michael is called “your prince”. We also see that Michael will take his stand against the enemy in the tribulation period (Daniel 12:1). Michael is also an archangel and has fought with Satan before (Judges 1:9). He is also the “chief, highest leader of the angels”. He is the only angel with this title in scripture. Finally, at just the right time Michael will battle Satan again, driving Satan and all the other demons out of heaven once and for all. Hallelujah!