The War in Heaven Pt I
The poet John Milton in his epic story of the fall of man, describes the war in heaven. In the following brief stanza, he describes Lucifer being cast out of heaven.
Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was whose guile,
Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived
The mother of mankind, what time his pride
Had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host
Of rebel Angels, by whose aid, aspiring
To set himself in glory above his peers,
He trusted to have equalled the Most High,
If he opposed, and with ambitious aim
Against the throne and monarchy of God,
Raised impious war in Heaven and battle proud,
With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power
Hurled headlong flaming from th’ ethereal sky,
With hideous ruin and combustion, down
To bottomless perdition, there to dwell
In adamantine chains and penal fire,
Who durst defy th’ Omnipotent to arms.
John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I
What Handle did For Christ in the music of The Messiah, Milton did for Lucifer in the poetry of Paradise Lost. Milton put wings to his words and sent them flying into immortality. Of course, both drew their inspiration from the prophets of the Holy Bible. Without the Holy Bible, there would be no Messiah and no Paradise Lost.
Few verses of scripture are more enigmatic than Revelation 12: 7-9:
“7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 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.” (Revelation 12:7-9)
Many questions are raised:
1. Why was there war in heaven?
2. How was it fought?
3. Where was it fought?
4. Who is Michael?
5. Who were the angels who followed Michael?
6. Who is Lucifer?
7. Who were the angels that followed Lucifer?
8. Why does it matter?
9. Where was Christ during the war in heaven?
10. Why didn’t he lead the fight in the battle?
11. How does that impact life on earth?
12. Why does the war in heaven matter to us?
It is critical that we understand the answers to all three questions because when we do come to an understanding of the war in heaven, many things begin to fall into place.
Let’s tackle the third question first: Where is Christ? Why didn’t Christ lead the battle?
If we simply consider who Christ was before he came to earth, we can easily discern that Christ was not visible at the forefront of the battle against Lucifer. Even before coming to earth, Christ was the Son of God, the Almighty creator of earth and man, the Great I Am. He was given all the power of the Father by the Father. He was omnipotent and omniscient and had no equal but the Father. If Lucifer had confronted Christ directly, there would have been no war in heaven. Lucifer would have been swatted like an irritating gnat. Lucifer would have simply been thrown out of heaven at the instant of the rebellion, and the idiots who followed him would have been thrown out with him. He would have been the mouse that roared. It would be a guppy confronting a great white shark.
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