War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The Gospels describe the death and resurrection of Jesus with many references to the Jewish scriptures, especially Psalm 22. In their telling, the death of the Messiah also disturbs the universe and arouses dreadful omens: an earthquake, eclipse of the sun, and dead people walking the streets of Jerusalem. These familiar verses and unfamiliar events should persuade the faithful that something spectacular has happened. If the world and its secular authorities saw only the death of a troublesome Jew and, on the third day, a perfectly ordinary first day of the week, they didn’t need to ask, “What just happened?” But, for the Church, that Easter Sunday is fraught with intense meaning, defying simple explanation.
American leaders like to declare war on poverty, war on crime, war on drugs, and war on illiteracy. They use the metaphor of intentional, concerted violence to describe a bureaucratic program that might have some drama but will never be as terrifying as actual warfare.
Inevitably, the inspired Church must also use the metaphor of war to describe what just happened. In its effort to express the wonder, the Book of Revelation invites us to look up at the sky and see angels, demons, and the victory of the righteous. It was, admittedly, a brief struggle; the author could not turn an instantaneous rout into a prolonged saga. The dragon and his angels resisted, and were immediately overwhelmed and expelled from heaven.
Christians often reflect on these hyperbolic descriptions of what happened in Jerusalem two millennia ago, especially with music, paintings, poetry, and cinema. Until recently every generation of English readers studied John Milton’s Paradise Lost as if it were holy writ. His Puritan imagery overwhelms the simpler descriptions of Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 12.
But the metaphor of war is apt not only for its drama. Wars changes everything; new ages begin with the death and rebirth of war. Even for the victors, peace is never like it used to be. Jesus’s sacrifice is like a cosmic war as the Universe is deeply, irrevocably changed. A terrible beauty is born. Because we have heard and believed the Gospel, our life is also fundamentally different from the world around us.
Revelation 12 describes what happened next:
The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,
who is called the Devil and Satan,
who deceived the whole world,
was thrown down to earth,
and its angels were thrown down with it.
The good news, God has fought the battle in the sky and won the victory for us. The bad news, here below we’re still slugging it out. The victory was in heaven; the victory on earth is yet to come. It is certain! But it’s not quite yet.
It is, however, real and complete to believers. Those who have seen the vision walk in the freedom of Jesus’s victory because they do not fear death anymore than he did.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.