The War Is Won; the War Goes On

St. Michael and All Angels

September 29, 2013

Revelation 12:7-12

The War Is Won; the War Goes On

In the name of Jesus.

I.

They accompanied the Lord when He told Abraham that he would have a son in his old age.

They rescued Lot from the wicked men of Sodom.

Jacob dreamed about them on the stairway to heaven.

And this is just a small glimpse of the work of the angels among God's people on earth.

The angels are busy. Jesus sends them to deliver messages. And He sends them out to fight.

Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him. (Revelation 12:7-9)

II.

This was war, but it's difficult for flesh-and-bone creatures to understand how a war is fought between spiritual beings. How can angels fight? We don't get the details; the tactics aren't explained. But we do know the winning strategy.

The eternal Son of God must die. And die He did.

The angels that had proclaimed the coming down of the Incarnate Son of God to Bethlehem saw Him die.

The angel that warned Joseph to flee to Egpyt with Mary and Jesus saw Him die.

The angels that ministered to Jesus after being tempted by the Snake in the wilderness saw Him die. (Matthew 4)

The angel that ministered to Him in Gethsemane's garden saw Him die. (Luke 22)

And then . . .

They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but He has been resurrected! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’? (Luke 24:3-7)

The angels rejoiced in His resurrection and were delighted to be first to proclaim that His death had destroyed Death itself! And by destroying Death, the Devil has lost his most trusted ally. Jesus has won the war. And He sent Michael, His trusted ally, His archangel, to hurl Satan and his demons down to earth.

III.

And here they still are. The Devil is mortally wounded. He has lost. But precisely because of his defeat, he is dangerous. St. Peter said,

Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

But Christ is more dangerous. As you pray in the morning and find refuge in your Baptism, you are smashing the Devil's lies with the faithful daily confession of who we are and who our Savior is. “I am a poor miserable sinner; and because I am, Christ is mine, and He washes me and feeds”—this is the bloodied Word that conquers Satan again and again and again.

They conquered him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony,

for they did not love their lives

in the face of death.

(Revelation 12:11)

IV.

There are good angels and there are bad angels. They are at war, even though Satan has already lost. But we still pray, “And lead us not into temptation,” which means that,

God tempts no one. But we pray that He would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us nor seduce us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice. Though we are attacked by these things, we pray that still we may finally overcome them and gain the victory. (Small Catechism, Lord's Prayer)

And every day, the angels can pause from their war and rejoice that God's kingdom has come to another precious soul, both within the church and without.

“What woman who has 10 silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her women friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10)

In the name of the Father

and of the † Son

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.