The War in Heaven is a mythic conflict between supernatural forces in traditional Christian cosmology, attested in the Book of Revelation alongside proposed parallels in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is described as the result of Satan, who is often identified as the angel Lucifer, rebelling against God and leading to a war between his followers and those still loyal to God, led by the Archangel Michael. Within the New Testament, the War in Heaven provides basis for the concept of the fallen angels and for Satan's banishment to Hell. The War is frequently featured in works of Christian art, such as John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, which describes it as occurring over the course of three days as a result of God the Father announcing Jesus Christ as his Son.
Revelation 12:7–10
The War in Heaven is attested to only in the Book of Revelation:
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Interpretations The Christian tradition has stories about angelic beings cast down from heaven by God, often presenting the punishment as inflicted in particular on Satan. As a result of linking this motif with the cited passage of the Book of Revelation, the casting of Satan down from heaven, which other versions of the motif present as an action of God himself, has become attributed to the archangel Michael at the conclusion of a war between two groups of angels, of whom (because of the mention of the dragon's tail casting a third of the stars of heaven to the earth) one third are supposed to have been on the side of Satan, in spite of the fact that the casting down of the stars (Revelation 12:4) is recounted as occurring before the start of the "war in heaven" (Revelation 12:7).. Commentators have attributed Satan's rebellion to a number of motives, all of which stem from his great pride. These motives include:
a refusal to bow down to mankind on the occasion of the creation of man—as in the Armenian, Georgian, and Latin versions of the Life of Adam and Eve. Islamic tradition holds a similar view: Iblis refuses to bow down to Adam. the culmination of a gradual distancing from God through rebellion (an idea of Origen of Alexandria). a declaration by God that all were to be subject to his Son, the Messiah (as in Milton's Paradise Lost). Jonathan Edwards states in his sermon Wisdom Displayed in Salvation:
Satan and his angels rebelled against God in heaven, and proudly presumed to try their strength with his. And when God, by his almighty power, overcame the strength of Satan, and sent him like lightning from heaven to hell with all his army; Satan still hoped to get the victory by subtlety[.] In the Catholic Encyclopedia (1911) article "St. Michael the Archangel", Frederick Holweck wrote: "St. John speaks of the great conflict at the end of time, which reflects also the battle in heaven at the beginning of time." He added that Michael's name "was the war-cry of the good angels in the battle fought in heaven against the enemy and his followers". Several modern Bible-commentators view the "war in heaven" in Revelation 12:7–13 as an eschatological vision of the end of time or as a reference to spiritual warfare within the church, rather than (as in Milton's Paradise Lost) "the story of the origin of Satan/Lucifer as an angel who rebelled against God in primeval times." Some commentators have seen the war in heaven as "not literal" but symbolic of events on earth.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teaches that Revelation 12 concerns an actual event in the pre-mortal existence of man. The Book of Moses, included in the LDS standard works canon, references the war in heaven and Satan's origin as a fallen angel of light. The concept of a war in heaven at the end of time became an addendum to the story of Satan's fall at the genesis of time—a narrative which included Satan and a third of all of heaven's angels. Evidence for this interpretation comes from the phrase "the devil and his angels"; this specific phrasing became paramount to the reinforcement of the notion that people associated angels with the devil preceding the writing of Revelation. The LDS Church believes that the war in heaven started in the premortal existence when Heavenly Father (Elohim) created the Plan of salvation to enable humanity to become like him. Jesus Christ as per the plan was the Savior and those who followed the plan would come to Earth to experience mortality and progress toward eternal life. Lucifer, another spirit son of God, rebelled against the plan's reliance on agency and proposed an altered plan that negated agency. Thus he became Satan, and he and his followers were cast out of heaven. This denied them participating in God's plan, the privileges of receiving a physical body, and experiencing mortality.
Seventh-day Adventists In Seventh-day Adventist theology, the Great Controversy theme refers to the cosmic battle between Jesus Christ and Satan, also played out on earth. One of the 28 fundamental beliefs (the eighth, the 'Great Controversy') of Seventh-day Adventists states:
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
