Revelation 12:7-12 (NKJV) And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 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! 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.”
V7 “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought…” Michael is one of the archangels. In the Bible, he is found in Daniel 10:13, Daniel 10:21, Daniel 11:1, Daniel 12:1, Jude 1:9, and here. Those holy angels (loyal to God) are led by General Michael and fight the dragon (the devil) and his angels. Michael had God’s commission. God’s commission comes with everything one needs to be successful. We can learn from this, too; when we are commissioned by God to do something, we must go, for He has given us the tools (via the grace of the Holy Spirit) to be successful.
V8 “…but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer.” God’s angel army under General Michael wins decisively. So great is the victory that they are banned from anything in heaven.
V9 “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.” Finally, the devil has no more access to God to accuse the brethren (verse 10).
V10 “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.” Truly, the victory is great. All God’s angels and human believers rejoice. All glory goes to God for His great deliverance (salvation), the showing of His might, strength, authority, and ability of the Lord Jesus in wisdom, love, and holiness. Compare Zechariah 3:1 and Job 1:6-12.
V11 “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.” Believers are overcomers, too, for we believed in Jesus alone for salvation, forgiveness, justification, sanctification, and glorification. Compare John 16:33. Compare Hebrews 10:3 with Hebrews 9:12-14.
V12 “Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! 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.” A command and inauguration of praise to God to destroy evil. The defeated devil is angry with more than wrath. He is angry with great wrath.
We learn:
- God is always the victor.
- God is always glorious in His battles.
- God allows us to be overcomers.