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INJ
Revelation 12:7-12
War is Heaven
Divine Service
St Michael and All Angels | October 1st, 2006
Dear Saints,
You've all heard the saying, “War is Hell.” It is attributed to the Civil War General Sherman. "I am sick and tired of war. Its glory is all moonshine. It is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood, for vengeance, for desolation. War is hell." I suspect that this is true, that is is hard to imagine the horrors of war, but the Epistle text before us today on St Michael and All Angel's Day is about a heavenly war, and this war is heavenly is two ways: first, it is a war in heaven, and second, this war gives the gift of heaven.
This text is full of comfort, the comfort of the war of the Lamb and the dragon, the war of heaven.
“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought.”
Michael the archangel and his angels fighting against the devil and his angels. Why? What caused this war to break out? For that we have to look back a few verses. Here's Revelation 12:1-6:
1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
This woman is a picture of Israel, surrounded as she is by the signs in Joseph's dream, the twelve stars and the sun and moon. And see, Israel is symbolized as a pregnant woman, waiting for the child to be born. As soon as God promised a child to Eve in the garden the history of Israel has been in expectation, waiting for the birth of the Messiah. But the faithful in Israel are not the only ones waiting...
3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.
This is a terrible vision, but the whole cruel history of Israel can be understood and the cruel intentions of this dragon. But the intentions of the dragon are thwarted...
5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
The Child escapes, and there in just a few verses we have the birth, life, death, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus. “Her child was snatched up to God and to His throne.” The woman (now a symbol of the church) goes to her place in the wilderness, and the Child is at the right had of the Father, and that's why the war breaks out in heaven, Jesus gets there, and not just any Jesus, the crucified Jesus, the Lamb who had been slain.
Like the old western movies where the sheriff walks into town and calls out the bad guy, “This town's not big enough for the two of us.” So it is in heaven when Jesus comes there with His atoning blood. Now there is no room for the devil in heaven.
Remember how it was in the Old Testament, how, in the first chapter of Job, the Lord summons all the angels to his throne, and the devil is there with them. Or in Zecheriah 3, how the devil stands before the throne of God to accuse Joshua. “Satan” is a Hebrew word meaning “Accuser,” and under the law this is his office, to stand before God day and night and speak to the Father of our sins, to accuse us of unrighteousness.
This is truly a terrifying picture because we are guilt and unrighteous and unclean. When the devil stands before God accusing us he does not need to lie in order to kill and destroy us. This is where the devil does his damage.
But look at the vision given to St John. Jesus, the slain Lamb, marches into heaven, ad then Michael and his angels rise up against the devil. “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.” [12:7,8] The devil no longer stands before God accusing us. He is defeated. Listen to how the vision continues:
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them!”
See how wonderful the text, and to hear this word: accused. Past tense. Used to accuse, but no longer, that is stopped, silenced, there was no room for him in heaven any longer. It's as if the flood of Jesus blood which takes away the sin of the world comes like a tidal wave and carries the devil out of the presence of the Father.
And in his place we have Jesus, at the right hand of God the Father, not as an accuser, but as our Advocate and Intercessor, praying for us, not against us, speaking on our behalf. Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of God and the power of Christ have come, come into their place for us, and there is no more accusation, no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We have passed from death to life. All sin is forgiven. Holiness and righteousness are won for us, and our devil is defeated.
“For this reason the Son of God was manifest, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” [1 John 3:8] And destroy them he has. They fought, and the devil did not prevail. They lost the war, and we won, we won heaven.
But what is the devil left to do? There is no room for him in heaven. He has lost his voice, and con no longer accuse us before the Father, so he brings our sins to us, accusing us and speaking to us of our sins. He says this to us after we have sinned: “How could you do that? You are a Christian, and here you go, sinning like that. Jesus will never forgive you that.” So the texts ends: “Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.” [12:12b]
He knows his time is short. The devil accuses us and pushes us toward despair and unbelief. But all of this is his lies. Dear saints, your Jesus, even at this very moment, stands before the Father pleading your case, pleading His blood, pleading His innocent suffering and death in you place, and the Father hears the prays of the Son, and He looks upon you with compassion and grace and mercy, he puts away your sins. The devil is still overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, even the Gospel of the forgiveness of all sins.
There is no room in heaven for the devil, but there is room for you. Jesus has promised is, that He has gone to make a place for us, by His death, by His blood, by the ministrations of the angels, by the war in heaven, by the forgiveness of all of our sins heaven is open and spacious to us, to you.
War is heaven, at least this war, the war of the Lamb and the dragon, it is our heaven and life and salvation. So we sing our praises to the Lord Jesus, the Lamb who was slain for us,
Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom
And strength and honor and glory and blessings! [Rev 5:12]
Blessings and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And unto the Lamb, forever and ever! [Rev 5:13] Amen!
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO