Revelation 12:7 - 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.”

John is still seeing a vision on the isle of Patmos. This written in a symbolic language, but all of the symbols which are inspired by God stand for facts and truths.

This war with Satan is not the first war with Satan. But it is in the future from when John saw it. The conflicts in the past are mentioned in the scriptures by Christ and Paul. Jesus said he saw him fall from heaven. (Luke 10:18) Paul tells us that pride was the cause of his first conflict with (1 Timothy 3:6) Since his first defeat by the forces of good, the devil, Satan has been a bitter enemy of God, heaven, and all of what is good and righteous, he never misses an opportunity to inflict evil over good. This time he sees the expectant mother, the church, ready to deliver the male child, the bible, he is determined to start another war over it.

We are not told how Satan comes to be in the presence of angels, but we know he has been in the past. (Job 1:6 and Job 2:1) But as Jesus said he saw him fall, was not this occasion. In this occasion, the angels credit the blood of the lamb as giving them the victory over Satan and his angels (Revelation 12:11) and in Luke, Jesus had not yet given his blood in sacrifice.

This is one more attempt by Satan to destroy the Lord's plan for a religion free of entanglements of the world's cruel and oppressive power, and free of wicked men's selfish ambition.

It is fitting the angel Michael leads the fight against Satan and his angels in this instance because of what the scriptures tell us about Michael. He is called one of the chief princes in Daniel 10:13 and he is the prince who stands for the children of God's people. Daniel 12:1.

Michael and his force of angels defeated Satan and his forces, not only defeated them but drove them from heaven forever.

Satan and his forces were cast out of heaven, down to the earth. Satan is called the old serpent because of his use of the serpent in the Garden to deceive Eve. (Genesis 3:1 – 4) They were cast out of heaven to practice their craft of deceit on mankind. Not all of mankind is deceived but all deception comes from Satan. (2 Peter 2:4)(Jude 6) (Matthew 25:41)

The righteous in heaven were overjoyed by the defeat of Satan. Their loud voice is saying that the kingdom has been given another victory through the power of Christ.

“Accuser of our brethren” seems to be a daily occurrence so it must refer to the general opposition Satan wages against Christ and His faithful servants.

“They” refers to “our brethren” in verse 10, Michaels angels, who overcome Satan in the conflict fought in heaven. These angels are always ready to join in any battle with the forces of evil. (Hebrews 1:14) “Angels are ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.” The power of the blood brought them the courage to fight Satan, they peristed in defending the gospel of Jesus and it put Satan to flight. (James 4:7) “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

“they did not love their lives to the death.” Their faith in the Master's cause was so great that even the fear of death could not deter them in their fight against evil. (Matthew 10:28) An army with so great of zeal to fight cannot be overcome by anything Satan brings against them.

While the victory is great news and something for all of us to rejoice over. However Satan may have lost this conflict, but he has not been eliminated or banished yet to the lake of fire. He is still in existence and abides on earth with a fierce hatred for God and all that God stands for. We are living on this earth, the home of Satan, and we are subject to his attacks. So it is a sorrow for us that he is free on earth to persecute and create battles for us to fight.

The devil is here among us, with a great hatred for the faithful, it is the last fight that Satan has because when it is over, he is destined for the lake of fire with his angels, and will never be released from there, not even temporarily