Everyone wishes for peace on earth. However, if you looked through history you might have a hard time finding even one year in which there was no war at all! Maybe there are some that exist, but it would not be very common. We know that unfortunately armed conflict happens all the time.
But war in heaven? War in the presence of God? Spiritual warfare made its way even into the gathering of God’s messengers, the angels. It appears in Revelation 12:7-12. Satan wished to reassert his right to be in heaven and accuse God’s people of sin. Even though we are not able to see this happen, the Scriptures give us at least one case . . . . where the devil accused an Old Testament priest before the Lord: Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him (Zechariah 3:1). He tries to do the same against all of us. The devil is called the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night (Revelation 7:10).
8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down (Revelation 7:8-9). Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection and then ascension to heaven kicked Satan out of God’s presence for good, and his accusations have no power. God commissioned Michael, presented as the leader of the angelic army, and all the good angels, to carry out the expulsion of the evil ones.
For the time being Satan has only been thrown down. He has not met his final judgment. He still goes around trying to convince us all of what he was unable to convince God – that we cannot stand in the presence of a holy God. Don’t believe that for a minute! Even though our sins trouble us, God does not hold them against for the sake of Christ in whom we put our trust.
What a relief when a war is over and peace reigns again! That goes for human battles, but so much more so for the war in heaven. Celebrate with the hosts of heaven: Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah (Revelation 7:10).