“War in Heaven”

If you’ve been around the Adventist Church for a while, you’ve probably heard Revelation 12:7-9. The King James Version’s vivid prose renders it as follows:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

So astonishing is this text that the questions it raises fairly explode in our minds. How can there be anything resembling “war” in the hallowed confines of heaven? Is it remotely conceivable what such a conflict looked like—tanks and bombs? Nuclear subs in the sea of glass? Angels darting across streets of gold, machine guns blazing? And perhaps most important, if war can intrude even on heaven, what does this mean for those of us on earth?

A Different Kind of War

Many cultures around the world have sayings that reflect heaven being a terminally peaceful and joyous place. A good vacation to the beach or a beautiful national park is “like heaven on earth.” A good meal shared with those we love is “a slice of paradise”—something one would presumably not say if the meal were accompanied by gunfire. Heaven in the common understanding is thus decidedly free from conflict . . . and yet the Bible is clear: There really was “war” in heaven.

We, of course, do not know what this kind of warfare looked like. Surely it did not involve conventional weapons, as do wars here on earth. Some have speculated that physical force was nonetheless involved (i.e., angels physically wrestling with one another, as the Angel wrestled with Jacob in Genesis 32). This is possible; Satan is not above choosing combat over diplomacy. But even if physical force were used, we can be sure supernatural force was also in play—a mode of combat beyond our understanding that must have been intense, fierce, and (at least as far as the desires of Satan and his angels were concerned) intended to be devastating and final.

A full understanding of how such a thing could happen on heaven’s hallowed grounds may have to wait till the millennium. But even now we can be sure of at least one thing: Heaven is a real place where real decisions with real consequences are made. A place of joy and peace and sanctuary? Yes, nearly always! But this is not to be confused with the kind of heaven represented by plastic cherubim on a Christmas tree or the tired trope of eternal but boring strolls across overmanicured lawns. Heaven is instead the nerve center of the universe, the seat of all wisdom, courage, and righteousness—and, when necessary, war. Until Satan and evil are extinguished, we can trust that heaven will not shy away from any threat Satan brings—even if that means open conflict on its own turf.

The “When” of the War

Many Bible readers, including Adventists, immediately assume that the war referenced in Revelation 12 occurred ages ago, prior to the creation of the world. A careful reading of the text, however, reveals a deeper answer.

Understanding Satan’s unhinged attack on heaven as following the cross rather than preceding it by eons sheds brighter light on Satan’s character. He is incorrigible. His agenda is utterly self-serving and destructive.

It is true that John, the human author of Revelation, is likely in part referring to that pre-earth war in heaven that led to Lucifer’s becoming Satan, and “a third” of the angels (verse 4) becoming his followers, etc. But the decidedly stronger reference in Revelation 12:7-9 is to an intense and particular phase of this war fought sometime after the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. After these three history-altering events, Satan knew he had lost. He knew that Jesus had successfully paid the price for humanity’s sins, for God the Father had accepted Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf (see Revelation 4 and 5). Now all humanity who were willing could become members of God’s kingdom. To say that this profoundly enraged Satan is a gross understatement. In his anger he and his angels ascended to heaven and attempted to take back the kingdom by force—and again, they did this sometime after Christ ascended to heaven.

Verses 13 and 14 help make this clear:

“Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”

Combined with the wider context of chapter 12, these two verses give us key information as to the timing of this conflict. The war in heaven in verses 7-9 ends with Satan being “hurled to the earth.” Verses 13 and 14 then reveal that it is “whenhe [Satan] saw that he had been cast to the earth” that he persecutes the woman, the Christian church, who has already “given birth” to Jesus, the same Jesus who has already been “snatched up [that is, ascended back] to God” (verse 5, NIV). This clearly places the war in question sometime after A.D. 31. The woman then flees to the “wilderness” to be taken care of for “a time and times and half a time,” or 1,260 years, a time period that began in A.D. 538. Thus, it is sometime after the ascension of Jesus in A.D. 31 and before A.D. 538 that Satan wages war in heaven as described in verses 7-9, and is subsequently defeated and cast down to this earth.

Why It Matters

Correctly understanding the timing of the war revealed in Revelation 12:7-9 is important for at least three reasons:

First, Adventists are to be “people of the Book.” We are to take the Bible as it reads, and avoid reading into it our own preconceived notions, particularly (as I have heard done multiple times) when those notions are based on a misapplication of the Spirit of Prophecy.

Second, understanding Satan’s unhinged attack on heaven as following the cross rather than preceding it by eons sheds brighter light on Satan’s character. He is incorrigible. His agenda is utterly self-serving and destructive. After the greatest expression of love ever offered—Jesus dying on the cross—Satan ambushes the holiest of grounds to exact revenge, precisely for showing that love! Such murderous post-cross chicanery makes clear that if the devil cannot have you on his side, he’d just as soon kill you. Remember that the next time he tempts you to sin.

Third, the timing of the war in heaven in Revelation 12 is further affirmation that the cross of Christ did precisely what it was intended to do. God’s victory over evil is now guaranteed and progressing! Satan’s theater of conflict is shrinking, not growing. No longer can Satan take the battle to the universe’s headquarters, for heaven and the unfallen worlds have seen enough of his dealings to ban him from doing so ever again! Day after day, battle after battle, Satan is on the retreat. True, earth is still suffering. We are still Satan’s battlefield. But we can rejoice in knowing that this planet is his final battlefield. There will be no more conquest after this! The decisive post-ascension victory over Satan in heaven is a vivid guarantee that he will be utterly defeated on earth as well.