Charles Ellicott Commentary Revelation 12:7

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels [going forth] to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels;" — Revelation 12:7 (ASV)

THE WAR IN HEAVEN.

And there was war... — The translation is, And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels. This is one of those passages that has always been regarded as more or less perplexing. It has provided material for many poetic fancies and has been the occasion of much speculative interpretation. We will fail to catch the spirit of its meaning if we insist on detaching the passage from its context, especially since the structure of the chapter seems to give an express warning against doing so.

The narrative of the woman’s flight into the wilderness is suspended so that this passage can be inserted. Could we have a clearer indication of the sacred writer’s eagerness to connect this war in heaven with the birth and ascension of the man-child? The man-child is born—born a conqueror.

The dragon is his enemy, and the enemy’s powers are not confined to the material and historical world; he is a power in the spiritual world. But the man-child is to be a complete conqueror. His ascension into heaven is the announcement that there, in the very highest place, He is acknowledged as victor. His victory is won over the power of the dragon, the old serpent, whose head is now bruised. Jesus Christ said, “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.”

“Now is the judgment of this world; now is the prince of this world cast out. And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.” Do we need more? There is mystery—unexplained mystery, perhaps—about this war in heaven, but there need be no mystery about the general occasion to which it refers.

It is the overthrow of the evil one by Christ: the death-blow given by the Lord of Life to him who had the power of death. It is the victory of Bethlehem, Calvary, and Olivet that is commemorated, and its effects are seen to transcend the realm of visible things. But why are Michael and his angels introduced here? This may be one of those unexplained mysteries mentioned earlier.

Some, indeed, think that this Michael is a designation of our Lord Himself, and of Him alone. However, a consideration of the other passages where Michael is mentioned (notably, Daniel 10:13, where Michael is called “one of the chief princes”) makes this limited meaning doubtful and almost suggests conflict among the spiritual hierarchies.

It may, however, be the case that the name Michael—which means “who is like unto God”—is a general name applied to anyone who, for the moment, represents God’s cause in the great conflict against evil. It may thus not belong to any single angelic being but be a kind of type-name used for the champion and prince of God’s people, and so employed in this passage to denote Him who is the Captain of our salvation.