Morning Bible Study: Revelation 12:7-11

7  Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. 

8  And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. 

9  This great dragon-the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world-was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. 

10  Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has come at last- salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth- the one who accuses them before our God day and night. 

11  And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die." NLT

Commentary

(the following commentary is from www.easyenglish.bible/bible-commentary/revelation-lbw.htm)

"Verses 7-8 There was a war in heaven. Satan (the dragon) and his angels were on the one side. Michael and his angels were on the other side.

Satan used to be an angel. He had tried to be equal with God. But Satan failed and so he had to leave heaven. He took with him those angels who had supported him. But, Satan was still able to go in and out of heaven. So, this event is his final battle in heaven.

Michael is one of the chief angels of God. Michael fought against Satan and defeated him. Satan and his forces failed in the fight. They could not stay in heaven and they had to leave.

Verse 9 The dragon means Satan. He is the devil. He was also the snake that caused people to sin (Genesis 3:1-7).

Michael threw Satan and his angels out of heaven. He threw them down to the earth.

Verse 10 John saw Satan and his angels fall from heaven. Then John heard a loud voice in heaven. The voice said that now God would rescue his people. God will use his power and his kingdom will come. Jesus Christ will soon rule the earth. He will rule on this earth for a thousand years (chapter 20).

Now Satan could not go to God in heaven. From the start, he had been there day and night.

All the time he accused God’s people of sin. But now the Lord threw him out of heaven.

Verse 11 The defeat of Satan was not merely the work of angels. Jesus died and he rose again from death. This is how Jesus defeated Satan.

Those who believed in Jesus Christ overcame Satan. The blood of the Lamb had removed all their sins. So, Satan had no reason to continue to accuse them. They spoke the truth about God and Satan had no answer to it. They were willing to die if necessary and they were not afraid of death.

Those who believe in Jesus Christ share in his success. What Jesus achieved, he did for God’s people. This is the defeat of Satan."