The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Mighty Angels of Revelation 12 Conquer

MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 12
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

Michael the Archangel

Nathan Jones: Revelation 12 is a very exciting chapter because it tells the tale not about a war on earth, but an actual war in Heaven. God’s own home is at war! Satan’s attempt to overthrow God in His Heaven only happens twice in history. Satan failed to overthrow God in the beginning of human history, and he will fail again at the mid-point of the 7-year Tribulation. Revelation 12:7-9 reveals:

“And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with 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. 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.”

Here we are introduced to Michael, though he’s made his appearance before throughout the Bible. Michael is the Archangel, meaning the head angel. It is believed that there may be a few other Archangels. Satan was originally one of them when he went by Lucifer. Michael now, I guess you can say, took Satan’s job. Michael is now the head angel and he leads his army against Satan and his demonic army. Bear in mind how we read earlier that a third of the angels fell with Satan, but that means two-thirds of the angels continued to be loyal to God and follow Michael. So, the angelic powers of Heaven are always stronger than the forces of Satan.

Vic Batista: That fact should excite us because there is a population of almost six-plus billion people on the earth, and we know that God’s people each has a protecting angel. So, we are talking about billions of angels that are involved in this fight in Heaven, and one-third of them were hurled down to the earth. Yet, the Bible tells us that there are more angels on the side of good than on the Enemy’s side, right?

Nathan Jones: Exactly! Satan is on the losing team, there is no doubt. And really, when you look eternally, just go up as high as you can to the 50,000 foot view and look down at Satan’s power and influence, it covers merely a few thousand years. When you look at time from an eternal perspective, you will see that God rules over the entire universe forever and ever and ever. Satan’s rule over this earth is but a blip in the eternality of God.

Nathan Jones: Satan's rule over this earth is but a blip in the eternality of #God. Click To Tweet

Vic Batista: Absolutely! In this incredible war that brakes out in Heaven, I love what Revelation 12:8 describes, “But they did not prevail. Nor was a place found for them in Heaven any longer.” God’s power is on Michael, and his army defeats Satan’s army.

The Adversary

Vic Batista: In Revelation 12:9 we are given a number of names for Satan. “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.” That Serpent of Old goes by many names.

Nathan Jones: Exactly, there are quite a number of names for Lucifer in the Bible. Obviously Accuser, in other words, Satan accuses believers in Christ all the time. Adversary is another, which is the meaning of Satan, so when you say “Satan” you are also calling him the Adversary. Beelzebub or Belial means “hopeless ruin.” Satan is called Deceiver in Revelation 12, Destroyer in Revelation 9, the Dragon, the Enemy, the Evil One, the God of this World, the Prince of this World. First Peter 5:8 calls Satan the Roaring Lion, Ephesians 6 calls him the Ruler of Darkness, Genesis 3 calls him the Serpent, Matthew 4:3 calls him the Tempter, and John 10:10 calls him the Thief. What I think you’ll find the most relevant is found in Ephesians 6:16 — the Wicked One.

Vic Batista: Satan’s names indicate his patterns, that his goal is to destroy humanity, especially those who trust in God. Someone once shared an acronym with me regarding the Devil. When saying the word Devil: D-Devil, E-Evil, V-Vile, I- Ill, and L- means that he wants to take everyone to Hell. It’s a good way to remember what Satan is all about concerning his ultimate plan to overthrow God and annihilate humanity. But, Jesus Christ has other plans for those who trust in Him that are totally different than Satan’s plans, but only Christ’s plans will prevail.

Nathan Jones: It’s true that Christ wins, but we also have to seriously take the fact that Satan is a real being. Would you believe there was a poll made recently which revealed that 60% of Americans believe that Satan is just a symbol of evil and not a real living being. Some 52% of Christians who say they are born-again deny that Satan ever existed! How can we have the Bible which explains the personage of Satan, and it goes into detail about his character and his thoughts and what he is trying to accomplish, and the very fact that he tried to tempt Jesus Himself, and still believe Satan is just an idea, or a force, or a concept. No, Satan is a real, living, created entity. Just because we haven’t seen Satan in person, though we will one day see him in his defeat, does not mean that Satan is not a real personage.

Later in Revelation 20 at the end of the Tribulation, we’ll witness Jesus’ return in victory. Then Michael will tie up Satan with a great chain and throw him into a deep pit where he’ll fall for a thousand years, that is until Satan is released for just a short time at the end of Jesus’ Millennial Kingdom. Finally Jesus will throw Satan into Hell. Satan’s end is assured. Satan knows it, but he often is self-deluded thinking that maybe, just maybe, he can overpower God, but he never could.

Vic Batista: That’s right, through Christ Christians are overcomers. Verse 11 is fantastic! “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.” These are individuals who are not bowing down to the Enemy. The testimony of Christ is so powerful, right?

Nathan Jones: Exactly! We take for granted the power of Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate power in the universe. We can overcome anything that Satan throws at us by the blood of the Lamb. In other words, Jesus’ victory stands on Jesus’ own power and not by mere mortal strength. Jesus’ victory is His children’s victory as well. The words of the testimony of Jesus Christ is about Him being the Savior of the world.

The “they” is the brethren from verse 10. The strength of believers in Christ is that we are willing to give up our lives if pressured to turn to Satan’s side. The brethren didn’t love their lives more than death, because they knew the real, legitimate power in the universe is Jesus Christ. The real victory over sin and Satan is Jesus’ death on the cross. We are only waiting for Jesus to come back here and claim His throne over the earth.

In the twenty-eighth segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” we’ll watch as a Great Eagle rescues the Woman.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

5 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • I am a 58 year old male who is very interested in Bible Prophecy. I truly believe we are living in the last days. Any e-mails of that nature would be welcome.

    • John, if you would like to sign up for our free e-newsletter and electronic version of the Lamplighter magazine, please go to our main website and under News in the main menu fill out the “E-Newsletter & Lamplighter Magazine”. A short form will ask you a few things, and then you’ll be signed up. Past e-newsletters can be found by clicking News in the main menu.

  • JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THESE MESSAGES I AM READING ON THE BOOK OF REVELATION HAVE REALLY HELPED ME DRAW CLOSER TO GOD EVERY DAY AND I STAY EXCITED THAT EACH DAY COULD BE HIS RETURN AND THAT WE HAVE A GREAT FUTURE TO COME THIS GIVES ME HOPE EVERY DAY.I PRAY FOR ALL OF YOU EVERYDAY BLESSINGS TO ALL OF YOU.

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