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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Revelation 12:7 - 12:10
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev_12:7-10 a
7And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
Rev_12:7 "there was war in heaven"
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▣ "Michael" There are only two named angels in the Bible (i.e., Michael, Gabriel). This angel is named as the angel of the nation of Israel in Dan_10:13; Dan_10:21; Dan_12:1. He is called an archangel in Jud_1:9. His name means "who is like God." Some see this as another name for Christ, but this seems to be going too far. God is not threatened by the rebellion of the evil one. The Bible is not a dualism, like Persian Zoroastrianism. God defeats the evil one by the use of an angel (although in reality it was the redemptive work of Christ).
In legal metaphor, Michael is the defense attorney, while Satan acts as the prosecution attorney and YHWH is the Judge! Michael wins the case through
1. the sacrificial death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ (cf. Rev_12:16)
2. the faithful witness of the church (cf. Rev_12:11 b)
3. the perseverance of the church (cf. Rev_12:11 c)
▣ "the dragon and his angels waged war" Exactly who Satan's angels are is hard to describe biblically. Many see them as demonic (cf. Mat_25:41; Eph_6:10 ff). But there is always the nagging question of the angels in Tartarus (cf. 2Pe_2:4), and the angels mentioned in Rev_9:14, who are obviously controlled by God but are apparently evil angels. Much of the conflict in the angelic world is simply unexplained (cf. Daniel 10).
There is also an ongoing discussion related to the relationship between the fallen angels of the OT and the demons of the NT. The Bible is silent on this subject. Interbiblical apocalyptic literature (specifically I Enoch) asserts that the half-angel, half- human offspring of Gen_6:1-4 are NT demons seeking human bodies to re-inhabit. This is just speculation, but it does reveal what some of the first century Jews thought about this subject.
The aorist infinitive does not seem to fit this context. It is possibly a Semitism and might be translated "had to fight" (cf. The Expositor's Bible commentary, vol. 12, "Revelation" by Alan Johnson, p. 519, footnote #7. This is one of my favorite commentators on Revelation).
Rev_12:8 This is the first in a series of encouraging words to a persecuted Church. Rev_12:8; Rev_12:11; Rev_12:14 give great comfort to the people of God who were undergoing persecution in the first century and in every century. Satan has already been defeated twice: once in his attempt to kill the Child (cf. Rev_12:4) and now in his attempt to storm the throne of God (cf. Rev_12:7-9); he will also be defeated in his attempt to wipe out the people of God on earth.
▣ "there was no longer a place found for them in heaven" This implies that Satan has been in heaven for some time (cf. Job 1-2; Zechariah 3; and 1Ki_22:21). Notice the plural pronoun, which implies other angels in league with Satan.
Rev_12:9 "the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan" Here and Rev_20:2 (cf. The Wisdom of Solomon Rev_2:24), are the only places where Satan is explicitly identified with the serpent of Genesis 3 and implicitly in 2Co_11:3. The term "devil" is the Greek term for "slanderer," while the term "Satan" is the Hebrew word for "adversary" (cf. 2Sa_19:22; 1Ki_11:14). They both emphasize the function of the evil one as the accuser of the brethren (cf. Rev_12:10). The term "Satan" in the OT (see Special Topic at Rev_12:3) is not usually a proper noun, but it is in three specific occurrences: (1) Job 1-2; (2) Zec_3:1-3; and (3) 1Ch_21:1. For "was thrown down" see full note at Rev_12:4; Rev_12:7.
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▣ "who deceives the whole world" This describes the mission of the evil one. As the gospel is universal (cf. Mat_28:18-20; Luk_24:47; Act_1:8), so too the antigospel! The best book that I have read on the development of Satan in the Bible, from servant to enemy, is A. B. Davidson's A Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 300-306. Satan's mission is described in 2Co_4:4; 1Pe_5:8; Rev_13:14; Rev_19:20; Rev_20:3; Rev_20:8; Rev_20:10; 2Jn_1:7. It is hard to conceive of Satan as a servant of God but compare 2Sa_24:1 with 1Ch_21:1.
▣ "he was thrown down to the earth" The term "thrown down" is used several times in this context: twice in Rev_12:9; in Rev_12:10, and Rev_12:13. It is also used in Rev_19:20; Rev_20:3; Rev_20:10; Rev_20:14-15 and is possibly an allusion to Isa_14:12 or Luk_10:18; and possibly Joh_12:31.
The earth becomes the realm of Satan's activities. See fuller notes on Satan's fall at Rev_12:4; Rev_12:7.