And there was a great battle in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon, and the dragon fought, and his angels.
και εγενετο πολεμος εν τω ουρανω ο μιχαηλ και οι αγγελοι αυτου πολεμησαι μετα του δρακοντος και ο δρακων επολεμησεν και οι αγγελοι αυτου
10 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Yet first Elijah must pray, and peace will come. After three years and six months, when Elijah's prayer is completed, the antichrist will be cast down from heaven. Until this day he has had the power of exaltation there, as have all the apostate angels. The Apostle Paul also says that the antichrist rises from the nether world: "until the man of sin comes, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above everything called God or worshipped" (2 Thess 2:3-4).
This may be referred both to the first casting down of the devil from the angelic rank because of pride and envy, and to his defeat by the Cross of Christ. Then, according to the Lord’s word, the prince of this world was judged and deprived of his former dominion (Jn 12:31).
The Archangel Michael and the angels, not tolerating his pride and vainglory, first justly expelled him from their company. Ezekiel confirms this, saying that he was cast down by the cherubim from the midst of the fiery stones (Ezek 28:16). I think this means from the midst of the angelic ranks, because of his iniquities and unrighteousness.
At the coming of Christ, the angels subject to him, after Christ’s temptation, again loathed him as a dishonored slave. Yet let it be known that after the creation of the sensible world, as the holy fathers think, he was cast down because of envy and pride. Still, as the Apostle says, the former authority of the air was entrusted to him (Eph 6:12).
Thus Papias says: “Some of them, that is, of the former angels, were permitted to possess and govern the ordering of the earth, and were entrusted with ruling well.” But, he says further, “it happened that they brought their rank to nothing.”
The heavenly spirits are also called by particular names, so that words may indicate what they are able to accomplish in deed. In that holy city, full of perfect knowledge in the vision of Almighty God, proper names are not given because their persons could not be known without names. Rather, when they come to us for some ministry, they bear among us names according to their ministries.
For Michael means “Who is like God,” Gabriel means “the strength of God,” and Raphael means “the healing of God.” Whenever something wondrous in power is manifested, Michael is sent. From the event itself and from the name, it is made understood that no one can do what God is mighty to accomplish.
Therefore that ancient enemy, who through pride wished to be like God, said: “I will ascend into heaven; above the stars of heaven I will set my throne. I will sit on a high mountain, on the lofty mountains toward the north. I will ascend above the clouds; I will be like the Most High” (Isa 14:13).
At the end of the world, when he is to perish at the last judgment and be deprived of his strength, he will wage war with Michael the Archangel. As John says: “Michael and His Angels made war with the serpent.” Thus he who through pride exalted himself to likeness with God will be taught by Michael before his destruction that no one may dare in pride to rise up to likeness with God.
The vision, intending to tell us of the events connected with the antichrist, implies an earlier beginning, which has already been mentioned in part. For Satan’s fall from heaven is the earlier beginning. The Lord also spoke of this: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Lk 10:18).
Why then does John say, “And there was war in heaven”? Holy Scripture says that Satan did not bow before God. That is, he raised a strong and unbending neck against Him and committed apostasy. God, Who is good and humble by nature, endured him.
But the angels of God, unable to bear the insolence of their ruler, removed him from dwelling with them. Therefore it is said here that Michael, one of the great leaders among the angels, fought with Satan and his companions. And Satan did not withstand the contest with him.
One should not think that the devil and his angels dared to wage war in heaven, since without God’s permission the devil could not even tempt Job. Here Primasius follows Tyconius. Rather, he quite clearly called the Church “heaven,” where each of the faithful continually fights against spiritual vices.
Therefore the Apostle says: “Our warfare is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age” (Eph 6:12). John says that Michael and his angels fight with the devil because, if this passage is rightly understood, by the will of God he fights for her, praying for the pilgrim Church and bringing her help.
As the Apostle says: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb 1:4). The very name Michael is translated as “help of God,” and accordingly this work is assigned particularly to him.
Daniel also said that in the days of the final trials Michael will come to the aid of the Church: “At that time Michael shall arise, the great prince who stands for the sons of thy people. There shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there were men until that time. But at that time all of thy people who are found written in the book shall be saved” (Dan 12:1).
The angels are called his angels according to a certain manner of speech which we find elsewhere: “For their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father Who is in heaven” (Mt 18:10). “Their” means those who through faith have begun to be citizens in Christ. So here also they are “his angels,” because they are understood to be under the protection of one Head and endowed with one Life-giving Spirit. Caesarius plainly identifies Michael with Christ: “Understand Michael as Christ, and his angels as the saints” (PL 25, 2334).
The devil and his angels should be understood not only as those like him in nature and will, but also as men caught in their snares and made such companions of the devil. Because of the properties of the will, it is said of the devil, “An enemy man has done this” (Mt 13:28), and of Judas, “One of you is a devil” (Jn 6:70).
The devil is certainly so called because of the twofold composition of his army. Having been defeated, as it says, he was torn away by those who, after rejecting him and receiving faith in Christ, no longer repeated his errors. In them there is unshaken love “from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5).
Or, since the Church has already been separated from every admixture of evil and glorified by future blessedness, no place remains for the devil and his angels to seduce the evil and tempt the good. Therefore the Psalm, indicating the devil, says: “I passed by, and behold, he was not; I sought him, and his place was not found” (cf. Ps 36:36).
According to the meaning of the word, Michael is an Angel possessing extraordinary and incomparable spiritual power. In the prophet Daniel he is also the protector of the Jewish people (Dan 10:13, 21; Dan 12:1). In the Revelation of St. John the Theologian he is the protector of Christians and the overthrower of the dragon with his angels: “There was war in heaven; Michael and his Angels fought against the dragon, and the great dragon, the ancient serpent, called the devil and Satan, was cast down to the earth with his angels.”
Then, in his malice, he began to harm the Church of Christ and continues to wage war against the saints (Rev 12:1-17). Yet for the consolation of believers, Revelation shows that this primordial struggle against the enemy of our salvation will end in the complete victory of the Lamb (Rev 19:1-21; 20:1-15). It also shows that in the struggle with the serpent we have higher defenders and protectors, headed by the holy Archangel Michael.
The veneration of the holy Archangel Michael in the Orthodox Church goes back to the most ancient times.
The Savior appeared in the world to save from death, to enter into battle with the enemy of life, and to destroy his works. Through His whole life, His preaching of repentance, and His self-denial unto death, Christ destroyed the devil's snares. When the Savior's battle with the spirit of malice was taking place on earth, a battle also had to be taking place in the spiritual world between the radiant angels and the spirits of darkness. The latter were defeated by the former. This thought is confirmed by Christ's own words: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Lk 10:18).
The Archstrategos Michael withstood the rebellious Satan, who had voluntarily become the parent and chief of evil.
“Michael and his angels made war against the serpent.” As in the Old Testament the Archangel Michael appears as the protector of the Jews (Dan 12:1), so in the New he appears as the defender of Christians.
The struggle with the serpent is the primordial struggle which he has waged with him from the beginning of the world, and which has already ended in the victory of Jesus Christ. The devil, who until now extended his power even over God’s elect and, so to speak, over heaven itself, has now lost this power and been cast down from on high. Only the earth and those devoted to earthly calculations remained in his possession.
Some find the historical place of this struggle in the persecution by the last pagan emperors: Maximinus, Severus, Maxentius, and Licinius. With the end of this persecution, the Church, in the person of Constantine the Great, definitively triumphed over paganism. The time of Maximinus’s persecution, 308-311, is also defined as three and a half years. Others see this struggle in Nero’s persecution.
Under the image of this warfare, the seer depicts the triumph and victory of the Christian religion over paganism. While the devil and his demons stirred up and armed the pagans with all their strength for the struggle against the Church of Christ, the Archangel Michael, with the host of his angelic fellow-strugglers, defended the Lord’s Church against pagan malice and fanaticism.
The consequence was that the Christian religion prevailed, the pagan deities were overthrown, and Satan with his demons was cast down from heaven to earth. This means that they ceased to be served in temples as gods, and that men ceased to worship personified human passions and lusts.
All this appeared to the heavenly powers, after the glorified God-man had ascended into heaven, as an event already accomplished in deed. Therefore heaven resounded with victorious cries.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 25 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS