Revelation 12:7-9 – Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon.

Revelation 12:7-9 – 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.

Here we see that “that ancient serpent,” an obvious allusion to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, is known as the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He is known in prophecy as the dragon. At one time he was in heaven but got into a cosmic conflict with Michael in heaven. Michael is a well known alternative name for Jesus, the Son of God, when He is in the context of a commander of armies. It is his military name.

In this heavenly war, Michael was victorious, and Satan was tossed out to the earth. Jesus told His followers, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Of course, He saw it; He was the one to throw Satan out. Everything in the Bible should be understood in light of this warfare. The books of Daniel and Revelation are dedicated to the subject. Every other book in the Bible is better understood with a proper understanding of the spiritual warfare context.

Now what were the issues of this war that developed in, of all places, heaven? The Bible does not give all the details of the origins of the heavenly conflict, but we are provided a glimpse into the situation in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV) – How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

Most commentators agree that Lucifer is a name referring to Satan before he was cast down to the Earth. Although a created being himself, Lucifer desired to be like God. He apparently campaigned for greater status, taking for himself the prerogatives of God. He was able to convince a large number of angels to follow his twisted thinking. Again, in Ezekiel, we see that Lucifer, “an anointed guardian cherub” (Ezekiel 28:14), became proud and desired to be like God. When his misrepresentations about God were unmasked in heaven, he was cast down to Earth.

Ezekiel 28:15, 17 – You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. Here we see that “that ancient serpent,” an obvious allusion to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, is known as the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He is known in prophecy as the dragon. At one time he was in heaven but got into a cosmic conflict with Michael in heaven. Michael is a well known alternative name for Jesus, the Son of God, when He is in the context of a commander of armies. It is his military name.

In this heavenly war, Michael was victorious, and Satan was tossed out to the earth. Jesus told His followers, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Of course, He saw it; He was the one to throw Satan out. Everything in the Bible should be understood in light of this warfare. The books of Daniel and Revelation are dedicated to the subject. Every other book in the Bible is better understood with a proper understanding of the spiritual warfare context.

Now what were the issues of this war that developed in, of all places, heaven? The Bible does not give all the details of the origins of the heavenly conflict, but we are provided a glimpse into the situation in the book of Isaiah.

Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV) – How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

Most commentators agree that Lucifer is a name referring to Satan before he was cast down to the Earth. Although a created being himself, Lucifer desired to be like God. He apparently campaigned for greater status, taking for himself the prerogatives of God. He was able to convince a large number of angels to follow his twisted thinking. Again, in Ezekiel, we see that Lucifer, “an anointed guardian cherub” (Ezekiel 28:14), became proud and desired to be like God. When his misrepresentations about God were unmasked in heaven, he was cast down to Earth.

Ezekiel 28:15, 17 – You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. . . . Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground.

We have answered the questions at the end of the previous discussion except the last one. “How is it that evil appears in God’s perfect universe?” When sin originated in heaven and then on Earth, God could not just eliminate the cancer. The Bible is plain that God gave His creatures free will. Instantly destroying sinners would have invalidated His free-will design, and it might have validated some of Lucifer’s misrepresentations. Therefore, God’s plan needed to fully reveal the rottenness of sin to the extent that his created beings would forever turn from it and serve Him with love of their own free will. Therefore, Satan was provided a forum to work out the principles of his kingdom – in heaven and in Earth. God did not just turn over humanity to Satan. He provided a test - a very trivial test. Can humans obey God because they love Him, not fully understanding all the implications of God’s requirements.

One day the demonstration will have been completed. God sent His Son to reveal the true character of the Father. A people will be gathered from the Earth, some living and some raised from the dead, who have learned to love God and to keep His commandments. Empowered by God’s Spirit, they have learned to reject the tendency to evil that was made a part of our DNA in Eden.

The wonderful thing for us is that the plan of salvation was laid before God said, “Let there be light.” The Bible refers to “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8, NKJV). It says that Jesus was “foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you” (1 Peter 1:20). He always wanted us to fellowship with Him, even as He knew we would rebel.

Ephesians 1:4 – he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground.

We have answered the questions at the end of the previous discussion except the last one. “How is it that evil appears in God’s perfect universe?” When sin originated in heaven and then on Earth, God could not just eliminate the cancer. The Bible is plain that God gave His creatures free will. Instantly destroying sinners would have invalidated His free-will design, and it might have validated some of Lucifer’s misrepresentations. Therefore, God’s plan needed to fully reveal the rottenness of sin to the extent that his created beings would forever turn from it and serve Him with love of their own free will. Therefore, Satan was provided a forum to work out the principles of his kingdom – in heaven and in Earth. God did not just turn over humanity to Satan. He provided a test - a very trivial test. Can humans obey God because they love Him, not fully understanding all the implications of God’s requirements.

One day the demonstration will have been completed. God sent His Son to reveal the true character of the Father. A people will be gathered from the Earth, some living and some raised from the dead, who have learned to love God and to keep His commandments. Empowered by God’s Spirit, they have learned to reject the tendency to evil that was made a part of our DNA in Eden.

The wonderful thing for us is that the plan of salvation was laid before God said, “Let there be light.” The Bible refers to “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8, NKJV). It says that Jesus was “foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you” (1 Peter 1:20). He always wanted us to fellowship with Him, even as He knew we would rebel.

Ephesians 1:4 – he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him