War In Heaven
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Revelation 12: 7.
BY H. M. RIGGLE.
THROUGHOUT the Book of Revelations there are three Antichrist religions spoken of. These are: The Pagan, symbolized by a “dragon;” the Papal, symbolized by a “beast;” and the Protestant, symbolized by “an image” or the “false prophet.” These have always been antagonistic to the true church of God.
“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven.”— Revelation 12: 1. “And there was war in heaven.” — Verse 7. By turning to Revelation 4: 1,2, you will observe that John, “in the Spirit,” was caught up into heaven, and was shown things that were to transpire upon the earth. While there he saw in symbols what would be on earth in reality. Among the wonders he saw was “a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.”— Verses 3, 4. This dragon represents Rome under the Pagan religion. The seven heads represent the seven supreme forms of government which the Roman Empire had. They were the regal power, the dictatorship, the decemvirate, the consular, the triumvirate, the imperial, and the patriciate. The ten horns of the dragon represent the ten divided kingdoms which grew out of the Roman Empire. The tail of the dragon signifies the latter end of his reign. The casting down of the stars doubtless refers to the thousands of bright luminaries who were martyred during the reign of Paganism. “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceived the whole world: . . . and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down. . . . and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”— Verses 7 to 11.
WHO IS MICHAEL?
“Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the Devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”— Jude 19. Jude calls him the archangel; chief or head of the angelic host. This is true of Christ. See Hebrews 1: 3 to 6; 1st Peter 3: 22. He further states that Michael, when contending with the Devil, said, “The Lord rebuke thee.” This contention is recorded in Zechariah 3: 1, 2. We will give it as recorded in the Septuagint Version. “And the Lord showed me Jesus the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and the Devil stood on his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said to the Devil, The Lord rebuke thee, O Devil.” This is clear; Michael is Jesus the Lord. Daniel calls Michael “the great prince which standeth for the children of the people.” Daniel 12: 1. Hear the fulfillment of this. “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Acts 5: 30, 31. Further proof is not necessary. Michael is the Lord Jesus Christ. As before observed, the Dragon represents Paganism, or Rome under the Pagan religion.
Now if by the dragon he meant Beelzebub himself; then we are necessarily led to the conclusion that the great apostate spirit is a monster, having seven heads and ten horns, and also that he has a tail, with which he drags after him a third part of the stars of heaven. God never created such an angel, nor can it be proved that Satan now has such an appearance. The appellations Old serpent, Devil, and Satan must therefore be understood figuratively. Paganism is called the Devil, because its religion is purely of devilish origin. Read 1st Corinthians 10: 20, 21. It is called Satan, which is a Hebrew word signifying and adversary, from its great opposition to, and persecution of the Christian church. It is also called that old serpent which deceiveth the whole world, from its subtlety against the Christians, and its causing the whole Roman world, as far as was in its power, to embrace the absurdities of Paganism. At the ushering in of the gospel dispensation Paganism was the universal religion. Even the Jews as a nation had accepted it; forsaking the God of their fathers, they were worshiping idols. Rome held universal sway.
Paganism held the highest position on earth when Christ appeared to save the world. But he who is called Michael, because he is like God, he and his angels [messengers; holy ministry], waged war against the dragon in his high places. Being victorious, he proved to the world that Paganism had no right to such an high seat: Therefore Christ cast him down, and set his kingdom up instead. It is said that “the dragon fought [opposed Christianity] and his angels [Pagan adherents, messengers, or advocates], and prevailed not [were not able to conquer that kingdom which "broke in pieces" and "consumed" all others]; neither was their place found in heaven [Paganism no longer held the highest throne of honor]: and the great dragon was cast out [Christianity prevailed]. . . . And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ.” This represents the glorious triumphs of the gospel over heathen darkness in the beginning of the Christian era, the victory Christianity obtained over paganism, a song of triumph of the church of God over heathen idolatry. “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb; . . . and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Here is given the reason why the followers of Christ prevailed at this time against all their adversaries. It is because they fought against the dragon in the armor of God. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by proclaiming salvation to sinners through Christ crucified, and by their continual intercession at the throne of grace for the conversion of the heathen world. All this they did at the peril of their lives.
It is further said that when the dragon saw he was cast down, “He persecuted the woman”; pure church.— Verse 13. This refers to the Pagan persecution which terminated near the close of the third century. When Rome saw her religion crumbling and falling before the increasing light of the gospel which was rapidly filling the earth, she tried to save herself by slaughtering the Christians; but this only increased the work of God, and watch-fires were kindled in every land. The then known world was being rapidly girded with salvation, which caused heathen Rome to finally totter and fall. The conflict took place here on earth in the beginning of the Christian era. John saw it in symbol while he was “in the Spirit” in heaven. The foregoing has no reference to the fall of Beelzebub, as many suppose. For a more explicit explanation of this chapter see our forthcoming book on “The Kingdom of God.”
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