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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comRobertson Word Pictures - Revelation 12:7 - 12:7
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
There was war in heaven (egeneto polemos en tōi ouranōi). “There came to be war in heaven” (egeneto, not ēn). “Another tableau, not a sēmeion (Rev 12:1, Rev 12:3), but consequent upon the two sēmeia which precede it. The birth and rapture of the Woman’s Son issue in a war which invades the epourania” (Swete). The reference is not to the original rebellion of Satan, as Andreas held. As the coming of Christ brought on fresh manifestations of diabolic power (Mar 1:13; Luk 22:3, Luk 22:31; Joh 12:31; Joh 14:30; Joh 16:11), just so Christ’s return to heaven is pictured as being the occasion of renewed attacks there. We are not to visualize it too literally, but certainly modern airplanes help us to grasp the notion of battles in the sky even more than the phalanxes of storm-clouds (Swete). John even describes this last conflict as in heaven itself. Cf. Luk 10:18; 1Ki 22:1.; Job 1; Job 2:1-13; Zec 3:1.
Michael and his angels (ho Michaēl kai hoi aggeloi autou). The nominative here may be in apposition with polemos, but it is an abnormal construction with no verb, though egeneto (arose) can be understood as repeated. Michael is the champion of the Jewish people (Dan 10:13, Dan 10:21; Dan 12:1) and is called the archangel in Jud 1:9.
Going forth to war (tou polemēsai). This genitive articular infinitive is another grammatical problem in this sentence. If egeneto (arose) is repeated as above, then we have the infinitive for purpose, a common enough idiom. Otherwise it is anomalous, not even like Act 10:25.
With the dragon (meta tou drakontos). On the use of meta with polemeō see Rev 2:16; Rev 13:4; Rev 17:14 (nowhere else in N.T.). The devil has angels under his command (Mat 25:41) and preachers also (2Co 11:14.).
Warred (epolemēsen). Constative aorist active indicative of polemeō, picturing the whole battle in one glimpse.