Covered with the Power of Christ

St. Michael and All Angels Sunday

Revelation 12:7-12

Rev. Steven D. Spencer – Pastor Messiah Lutheran Church, Salem, OR

A roaring lion, round he goes, no halt nor rest he ever knows;

He seeks the Christians to devour and slay them by his dreadful power

But watchful is the angel band that follows Christ on every hand

To guard His people where they go and break the counsel of the Foe.

Those words are from the hymn: Lord God, to Thee We Give all Praise that’s verse is verse 6:

Dear fellow redeemed please listen to the text for our message today from the Book of Revelation chapter 12 verses 7 through 12. 

7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 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. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 "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. 12 "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time." So far the text.

Grace, peace and mercy from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

Angels have always been a popular subject. Whether it’s telling children about God’s angels or pondering the idea of having them for guardians, both Christians and non-Christians alike seem to be interested in these mystifying creatures. Who are they? Do they speak to us? Do they really protect us from danger? Do they appear as Michael Landon and others have portrayed them? Do they come with important messages from God, to get us on a highway to heaven?

This morning we observe the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels, and in doing so, we remember the angelic hosts that we know to be real and powerful according to Scripture itself. A glance at our bulletin covers reminds us that the heavenly hosts are not just the little winged cherubs who play harps and have halos over their heads. The picture on the cover of the bulletin and the text from Revelation 12 paint a picture of angels that are often forgotten among Christians—those angels, as God’s servants, will be the victors in a war—a war that is beyond any conflict that could break out here on earth.

Our text begins with a statement that boggles the mind, There was a war in heaven! A war in heaven! How could that be? Heaven is a place of eternal bliss in the glorious presence of God. It’s a place of peace and everlasting blessedness, how could a war take place there?

War raged in heaven when Satan and his evil angels strived to gain supremacy among the angelic beings. The great dragon, the old serpent, who is Satan the deceiver, was once Lucifer, the great light bearer. He and his demons were good in the beginning. For in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, including all the angels. Scripture declares that the LORD looked upon everything He had created, and declared, it was very good. Thus, all the angels, both the good ones and those who would later rebel, were created sometime during the six days of Creation.

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly when the devil rebelled against God and took a host of angels with him to become demons, but it was definitely early on in history, as he was able to deceive the very first man and woman who were created in God’s own image. The fall of man into sin was preceded by the fall of a certain number of the angels. These minions of Satan are still at work, feverishly trying to impede God’s work. They go to battle, marching in a campaign of lies, deceit, and death, led by their champion, who is the father of all lies.

We don’t talk much about this in our day, and there could be a number of reasons why. The Bible tells about the nature of evil and its source, but there are still unanswered questions. Questions we can’t answer. Such as: “Why did God allow sin into the world?” “Why did God create Lucifer knowing that he would spoil all of Creation?” When we can’t answer a question, we tend to avoid such topics altogether. In our day the thought of a devil and a place of hell, even when they are clearly taught by Scripture, is viewed by some, those who even consider themselves to be Christians, as less important or even fictional. Even some well meaning Lutheran pastors will point to the devil and hell as simply as an allegory.

Putting it plainly, we don’t talk very much about the work of Satan and his demons, at least not as much as earlier Christians did. Anyone in our day who has read Luther might think that the man was obsessed with the devil and possession by demons. He talked constantly about them in his sermons, lectures, and writings. This has led some to believe that Luther was just another man of his medieval era; when people feared evil spirits and devils, the stuff of fairy tales. But the Reformer was merely looking at the world as it is according to God’s Word and not man’s knowledge. He had a much better grasp that the devil is real and a force to be reckoned with. Let’s not forget that the Bible calls him the prince of this world!

But once again, we’re faced in our text from Revelation with a war in heaven—a war involving Michael the archangel, as well as the heavenly host of angels: Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

In interpreting the book of Revelation, it is of utmost necessity that one recognize that we are dealing with apocalyptic literature. John is telling us about visions he has received from the Lord. We are not talking about plain historical narrative; rather, the events portrayed in this book are highly symbolic. John saw these things happen, but they are not literal events we will witness. Rather, they symbolize the events that occur here in this world. For example, we don’t see an actual dragon in the sky as John did, but we know that the dragon is the devil that is at work in this world with all of his demons.

This war that arose in heaven between good and evil isn’t an earthly conflict between nations. It’s not a battle in the Middle East between the country Israel and those who seek her demise. No. This war that John writes about is the war of words that Satan has perpetrated against men since the fall into sin. For Satan is the great accuser, he is the one who accuses us of our sin and iniquity before God in heaven. Think back to the book of Job, where Satan approaches God and attempts to demonstrate that he can make this upstanding man curse the Lord. It’s like a courtroom setting, with the devil standing before the judge as a prosecutor attempting to condemn mankind before the judgment seat of God. This is what Satan the deceiver had been doing from the start. And do you know what, dear friends? He may attempt to lie and deceive you and me, but when he makes accusations against us before our Lord, he is not lying. We are guilty as charged. For the Scriptures declare that all have sinned, and that there is none who are righteous no not one (Romans 3:10).

Satan has stood before the judgment bench and attempted to get a guilty verdict so that he might pull God’s people down into the pit with him. And he doesn’t need to fabricate or manufacture evidence. He accuses us of our wantonness and uncleanness. He yells at the top of his voice about our ungodliness and failure to keep God’s Commands. The evils that proceed from our sinful hearts: our anger, our lust, our covetousness, our grumbling and gossip, our indifference toward God’s gifts of mercy, our dishonor of authority; these are the things Satan wants to be admitted in court as evidence that we deserve sentence of eternal prison in hell. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!

Such a war of words between the deceiver and God’s heavenly angels is a shock and awe campaign to which every human military endeavor has paled in comparison. For while Satan might lie to us, we cannot say that he lies about us! He might deceive men on earth, but he cannot pull the wool over the eyes of the Almighty God. And he doesn’t have to. For we are guilty, we are all sinners in need of forgiveness.

But as you heard in our text, Satan doesn’t prevail in this war of words. For Michael and all Angels triumphed over him on account of the Lamb. The devil may have won battles in the court of God’s justice, but has already lost the war. He has been thrown out of heaven and cast down to earth. When we read Revelation, we sometimes forget that not everything in it has to do with the future and end times. Much of it depicts what had already occurred at the time it was revealed to the Apostle John.

So, when Satan was cast out of heaven he could no longer stand before God and plead his case for control over the souls of men? Listen to verses 10 and 11 once again. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.  "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.

The accuser has been thrown out of heaven because of the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Christ Jesus our Lord. Salvation has come to us; it‘s not something we hope for in the future. When Jesus died and the blood of the Lamb was shed on the cross, when He rose again and returned to His Father in heaven, there was no longer any place for Satan and his demons. They were thrown down to the earth. And this isn’t something that happened over time, Jesus said in Luke 10:18: That He was watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning.  His fate was sealed immediately. He can no longer accuse you and me before God in heaven, for he no longer has access to the heavenly courts.

St. Michael and all the angels are victorious in their fight against Satan and his minions. Yet they triumphed over him not on account of their own might, but because God himself sent his only Son to atone for the sins of the world. Your Lord Jesus Christ crushed the serpent’s head, as God had promised all the way back in Genesis, in the Garden of Eden. The power of sin, death, and the devil has been destroyed, for Christ Jesus has defeated their master, the devil.

As sinners, you will still be accused of sin. But the Lamb whose blood was shed is subject to no accusation, for He is the Lamb without blemish. Christ Jesus lived on this earth without sin and with perfect obedience to the Commandments of God. He is our substitute, for He not only lived the holy and blameless life that we cannot, He also died in our place. For the wages of sin is death yet He died even though He was sinless. He died for your sins. He shed His precious blood so that you would be forgiven. He was the perfect Lamb who was sacrificed for you and for the whole world. Satan’s accusations are no longer admissible, for all of your sins and all of your guilt are covered in the blood of Jesus. For you are covered in the power of the blood, the power of Christ.

Therefore rejoice, for salvation has come. Give thanks to God for His messengers, who brought good tidings of great joy and who serve their Lord in perfect holiness, seeking our benefit and protection. But above all, rejoice in knowing that all your sins are forgiven, and that your name is written in the book of eternal life, written by the blood of Jesus. In Jesus name, amen and amen

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus now and forever. AMEN