War In Heaven

“And there was war in Heaven:” With these words John the Revelator begins the story of an epic battle between good and evil, replete with angels and dragons. The Enemy of God lost the battle that day, was driven from the high ground, but continues to battle elsewhere. The dragon is a great deceiver. Apparently he has deceived himself and his followers into thinking they might yet win the war, and so he fights on.

“And there was war in Heaven:” This simple sentence has the elements of an oxymoron. Heaven: peace, joy, eternal freedom from sorrow, and everlasting life. War: turmoil, pain, destruction, and death. War, in Heaven?

“And there was war in Heaven:” What a thought. If Heaven itself experienced the ravages of war, what makes us think that we can avoid war here on earth? What makes us think that we can convince the nations of this world to lay down their weapons and establish peace? When the insurrection started did Michael the Archangel piously stand by and say, “Actually, I live in Heaven and do the will of the Father. There is no way that I can take part in this fighting”? Did he say, “Wow, enemies, gotta love 'em”? No. Michael in direct obedience to the Father, rallied his troops, fought a bitter battle, and vanquished the enemy. (If you want to hurt your head, try thinking about this: Did any angels die in the battle? And if they did- what happened to them?)

External wars seem inevitable here on earth. Perhaps we should stop focusing on the external wars and start focusing on the epic battle between good and evil that still rages on. Perhaps we should stop hiding behind religion or ideals and join the battle and fight against the Enemy of God. Perhaps we should quit trying to stop the killing and start living a God conscious life.

The Dragon is still out there. He is after you and your posterity. Are you going to let him win? He wins when we live our lives apart from daily, personal communication with God. He wins when we are so concerned with our own causes, reputations, and religious ideas that we can't even see the people around us. He wins when we pass judgment on sinners because of their sin instead of showing them the truth, love, and mercy of the Saviour. He wins when we begin to think of people as our enemies. He wins when we start to think we can solve our own problems as individuals, as communities, as a nation, and as a society.

Let us bring Michael's battle to earth. Let us surrender to the God of Heaven and declare war on the dragon. And let us take counsel from the Word and the Spirit and fight advisedly. Do not be deceived. Deception is our Enemy's chief weapon. Let the Truth of God's Word cut through the deception of the Enemy.

May you overcome him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of your testimony.

Oh, and did you notice the way peace was restored in Heaven? The good guys won. What a concept: restoring peace by fighting and winning a war.


*Revelation 12:7-11