6. DID WAR IN HEAVEN REALLY TAKE PLACE?
I had also asked someone this question before the Almighty God revealed answers to me. The answer I got was from the book of The Prophet Isaiah 14:11-12. It reads thus: Your pomp is brought down to Sheol, and the sound of your stringed instruments; the maggot is spread under you, and worms cover you. How you are fallen from heaven, o Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! (NKJV)
The name Lucifer means morning star which later became synonymous with Satan. Hence son of the morning which is the bright morning star verse 12 is called Lucifer. We know this star as Venus. It was named after Venus the Roman goddess of love which in Greek language is called Aphrodite. As time went on people were heard, to this day, citing Isaiah 14:11-12 that Satan was cast out of heaven and thrown down to earth. They say so referring to these words: “you have fallen from heaven” (GNBTEV). Enoch in his book of questionable authenticity (apocryphal) wrote that Satan revolted against God Almighty in heaven and as a result suffered expulsion together with his demons. People call his expulsion from heaven, “Fall from Grace.”
Anyone can easily be justified in thinking that the verse from Isaiah 14:12 refers to the expulsion of Satan from heaven. But the truth is, here The Prophet is referring to the fall of Babylon, an ancient city which was built in the land nowadays known as Iraq. Babylon was as glamorous as a morning star. There is therefore no similarity whatsoever between Satan and that ancient city of Iraq. Satan is a spiritual being and Babylon was a man made city here on earth.
Someone opened a book of Revelation for me. It was chapter 12:7-8 which reads: Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels; but the dragon was defeated, and he and his angels were not allowed to stay in heaven any longer. (GNB) If we continue with verse 9, it says; The huge dragon was thrown out - that ancient serpent, called the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him. (GNB)
Now let us take a closer look at the book of The Revelation with greater attention to what its verses say concerning this incident. What stands out clearly is that this war takes place after the seventh trumpet has been sounded by the seventh angel. Read Revelation 11:15. So to this day this war has not yet happened. It is predicted to happen after the seventh trumpet has been sounded by the seventh angel. Presently no celestial trumpet has been sounded.
Let us then look at what has been said earlier in the book of Revelation. Rev 1:1 reads; The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John. (NKJV) Here it is clearly stated that Jesus reveals to John things that have not yet happened but that will eventually happen. Let us read Rev1:19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. (NKJV) Rev 4:1 Read the last sentence “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” (NKJV)
The crux of the book of Revelation is about things to come not things that had come to pass. Rev 4:1 and Rev 1:1 concur in stating that John will learn of things that have to come. Rev 1:19 states; ...and the things which will take place after this. (NKJV)
Revelation 5 clearly tells us about what will happen before dooms-day. Rev 5:3 states that no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth would be able to open the scroll, or to read from it. Mind you, this is the scroll of death and destruction to the whole universe. It is not the scroll, as most preachers like to say, which Jesus Christ figuratively volunteered to open, meaning He agreed to be born on earth knowing very well that he would later be crucified. During this time, the prophecy is, it will only be Jesus Christ who will be brave enough to take the scroll of Doomsday, open it and read from it. What will cause Jesus to be so bold?
Jesus Christ will do so confident enough that those who believe in Him who will still be on earth, will not perish but will be translated straight to heaven, as stated in the second letter to the Thessalonians chapter 4:16-17. Rev 5:9-10 gives us a glimpse of how heavenly beings would react to his opening of the scroll; And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” (NKJV) The First Epistle to the Thessalonians 4:17 is more vivid; Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. (NKJV) They say: “… for you were slain…” It is a mystery how some Christian preach that it was the scroll of an agreement he made with God to go down to earth and be slain.
Revelation chapter 6 sums up beautifully what will happen on earth when the Lamb breaks open the seals of the scroll. It says there will be death and destruction on earth. This chapter ends with these words: 17 “For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” And these are the words people who will be left on earth after others have been translated to heaven will be uttering. Rev 7 tells us how angels will get ready for the destruction of the world. It also tells us how 144 000 people from the twelve tribes of Israel will be marked with God Almighty seal on their foreheads as they enter heaven. The book of Revelation states it clearly and in no uncertain terms that the Jews will enter heaven first, with the seal of God Almighty on their foreheads. What then will happen to Christians the world over? Rev 7:13-14 says Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (NKJV)
What will happen when Jesus breaks the seventh seal? The book of Revelation 8:1-2 says: When the Lamb broke open the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets. (GNB) The angels will then begin to blow trumpets one after the other. After each trumpet has been sounded terrible things will happen on earth.
When the seventh angel sounds the trumpet an incident of a woman and the Dragon will come to pass. Thereafter “WAR WILL BREAK OUT IN HEAVEN.” Then Michael and his angels will fight against the dragon. After this war Satan will be driven out of heaven. Frances Jane van Alstyne, born in 1820 and died in 1915, in her hymn Blessed Assurance wrote: O what a foretaste of glory divine. I say: O what a foretaste of things to come. All this attests to the fact that the war in heaven has not yet taken place. It also affirms to the fact that God Almighty is really OMNISCIENT. He knows everything and nothing takes Him by surprise. Enoch wrote fabrication about his version of war in heaven which took God by surprise. To this day not a single angel has sounded a trumpet and none of us has been translated to heaven. It is pitiable that most people believe that once a war took place in heaven. Most Christian preachers preach this heresy. But the truth is, presently and previously, there has never been a war in heaven.
What people have to know about Satan, the loyal spirit of God and God Himself is that God never sends Satan out to tempt anybody. According to the bible God sent Satan to tempt only the most righteous. Only two people are in records as having been so righteous that they qualified to be tempted by that spirit, not just anyone. Both those two people from different places in different times passed their tests in flying colours. The first one is Job and the second one is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. There has never been another person to whom God Almighty has ever sent His loyal spirit, Satan to test. Those who claim to have been tested or tempted by Satan propagate falsehood. The bible has nothing to conceal and leave out to speculation.
People like Adam and Eve: who disobeyed God Almighty, Cain: who killed his brother, Jacob: who stole his brother's birth right, Judah: who impregnated his daughter-in-law, Samson: who deliberately and obstinately fell in love with a gentile woman, King Saul: who out of greed kept the fat cattle and sheep for himself, King David: who out of lechery killed Uriah and took his wife, Absalom: who out of hunger for power fought against his father and being uncouth had sexual intercourse with the wives of his father King David, King Solomon: who on his own volition worshipped idols, King Ahab: who killed Naboth for his vineyard, Judas Iscariot: who betrayed his Lord and Master Jesus Christ; to mention these few people; the bible never mentions that Satan ever tempted them to commit their respective evil deeds. The bible says each and every one of us will be held accountable for our own iniquities. Yet after being caught committing whatever wrong, we boldly and without any reservations blame it all on Satan for having tempted us. Barring the episodes of these two righteous people Job and Jesus, there is not a single line in the bible which says God sends out Satan to tempt people here on earth.
Someone may ask what Jesus Christ meant by these words in His Prayer: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:13 I like this line even more when written like this: Do not bring us to hard testing. (GNB) Yes, it is God Himself who tempts and tests us. Not Satan. There are numerous people in the bible who were tested by God Almighty. Let me mention just a few; Adam and Eve: failed the test. Lot and his family: unfortunately his wife failed the test. The Israelites: occasionally failed the test. Some prophets, King David, King Solomon and other kings of both Kingdoms; Israel and Judah and many people in the bible: failed the test . Abraham, Joseph, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Jesus Christ, Paul and all apostles: all went through rigorous tests from God Almighty and they all passed with flying colours. That is why Paul was heard saying: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2Timothy4:7 (HBNIV)
a) Question: Does God have rivals?
Answer: No. God Almighty does not have rivals. It is only people who have problems of rivals and enemies who in most cases have to contend with and sometimes fight against.
b) Question: Could God Almighty have also created some super spiritual beings to oppose Him?
Answer: No. God Almighty is omniscient, and He never does stupid things.
The Pentateuch as well as all the books of the prophets says nothing about the existence of other super spiritual beings and their rivalry against God. In these books God Almighty is without opposition. God Almighty is seen in the first parts of the book of Genesis being in close contact with His creation particularly Adam and Eve. After Adam and Eve had eaten fruit of the tree of the knowledge, God is said to have cursed and driven them all out of The Garden of Eden. He also commented saying: “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil.” Genesis 3:22
That is the last time God Almighty is ever heard communicating with Adam and Eve. Lord God Almighty is reported to have had walks with Enoch for three hundred years before taking him with Him to heaven. Read Genesis 5:22. There is no conversation that was ever recorded between Enoch and God Almighty in all those years. The second man who finds favour with God Almighty for being just and perfect in his generation is Noah. Noah is also reported to have walked with God Almighty just like Enoch. Read Genesis 6:8-9. God Almighty is heard talking to Noah, instructing him to build an ark for He would destroy all in the face of the earth in a flood. Noah never raises any objections but starts without delay to build the ark.
I am sure you know almost all of the following incidents. The destruction of two evil cities by God. Abraham sends away Ishmael following his wife's evil thoughts. Rebekah causes Jacob to steal Isaac's blessings pretending to be Esau to his blind father. Joseph is sold by his brothers, and eventually finds himself in Egypt where he becomes a prominent person. Moses kills an Egyptian. People of Israel seeing Moses not coming back from the mountain where he has gone to, under God's instructions, on their own they start to worship an idol, a bullock, Aaron has fashioned out of their jewelry. We also find David taking Bathsheba the wife of Uriah after Joab has been instructed by David to put Uriah in the forefront where the battle is the hottest so he could be killed, and Uriah is killed. We find kings of Israel sinning against God Almighty by worshipping other gods, the idols. In all these events, there is no mention of any influence from the devil. Yet since the beginning of Christianity to this day, most people are busy getting convinced that the devil has all along been deceiving people into sinning against God Almighty from the days of Adam and Eve to this day.
When the devil is mentioned in the bible he is in heaven with all other heavenly beings and talking amicably with God. He is very much loyal with unquestionable and unequivocal obedience to Him. Read 1 Kings 22:20-22. Whatever Satan does, he does it with a full permission from the Almighty God.
We also find him in the book of Job. Read Job 1:6-21 as well as Job 2:1-13. Job 1:6 reads like this: “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them.” (NKJV) Read more on this story under the topic False Priests and Pastors and their Characteristics chapter 16 under 16.10.
In the book of the prophet Zechariah 3: 1-9 we also find Satan with God Almighty as well as His angels in heaven holding a discussion. The Lord God Almighty wants to cleanse Joshua of his iniquities yet Satan is very much opposed to that. Zechariah 3:2 reads: And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” (NKJV) (Referring to Joshua the priest.) Zechariah3:3 reads: Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. (NKJV) Zechariah 3:4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” (NKJV) We do not hear any more objections from Satan but he just keeps quiet.
The only records we have from the bible of a rebellious Satan are in the New Testament in the book of The Revelation written by the blind John. Revelation 12:7-9.
12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 12:8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. (NKJV)
12:9 The huge dragon was thrown out – that ancient serpent, called the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him. (Holy Bible Good News Edition)
After reading these verses, one can quickly be convinced that there was once really a war in heaven and Satan was defeated. Yet the truth is there has never been any war in heaven for John in the first chapter of his book clearly states that he writes about things that have not yet taken place. Good News Bible in its introduction states that The Revelation to John was written at a time when Christians were being persecuted because of their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord. Saint John was exiled in the isle of Patmos by Domitian who ruled the Roman Empire those days and the Book of Revelation was written in 97 A.D.
If John is not referring to things yet to come, does it then mean that the war in heaven; Michael together with his angels fighting against Satan and his angels; took place at a time when Christians were being persecuted for their faith? No! It does not mean that. All John writes about are things that have yet to happen. Many believe the book of Revelation has hidden meaning in it. Jesus Himself once spoke in tongues no one could understand, on the cross, causing some to think He was calling upon Eli but when it has been interpreted its full meaning was known. In Babylon the writing on the wall was later interpreted by Daniel. Why is this book of Revelation so unique as not to have its hidden meaning made known to us in the bible? Is there really any hidden meaning in the book of revelation? As far as I know there is nothing that is hidden in the bible. Even the most shameful sin committed by very much prominent people is written down as it is in the bible. Why the book of Revelation then so unique as to have some hidden meanings in it?
Most biblical scholars say the meaning in the book of Revelation is shrouded so as to be understood by Christians who were persecuted by the Romans especially during the times of Nero (37-68 AD) in Rome. This poses no controversy for it goes without saying that Domitian was continuing with what was started by Nero, which is brutal persecution of Christians. John then was encouraging them not to despair for Rome, which he referred to as Babylon, would soon be destroyed. We still have Rome. The irony is in it is the Vatican City. Therefore which Rome (Babylon) then did John refer to? This hidden meaning then lends itself to a lot of speculation and guesswork to those trying to interpret it. This hidden meaning in the book of Revelation is more or less the same as that of Satan. All over the bible, from the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation; Satan is speculated to be hidden in almost all books. Those who say this about Satan have found him in a form of a snake in the Garden of Eden. They find him in the form of Pharaoh of the Egyptians. They find him in a form of Delilah in the story of Samson and so on and so forth. These people have succeeded in making people the world over fully understand the existence of Satan and his demons. Most people would question the existence of God Almighty but a few doubt the existence of Satan. They claim it to have been revealed to them that Satan is represented in all books of the bible. It is pitiable that what has never existed is accepted as existing and what existed and still exist and will always exists, take pains for people to accept it. The truth is Satan in the Old Testament is found busy in action in the book of 1Kings 22:21-22; 2Chroniclers18:20-21 ( the repeat of the same story), the book of Job and the book of the prophet Zechariah.
In the book of the 1st Chronicles 21:1 and 2nd Samuel 24:1 two verses tell us identically the same incident but involving two different ethereal beings.
A. 2Samuel 24:1 reads: Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
B. 1Chronicles 21:1 reads: Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. (NKJV)
Reader's Digest Great People of Faith and Wisdom states clearly that these are two versions. The version found in 2Samuel 24 was written before the Babylonian captivity whereas the version in 1Chronicles 21 is post-exilic. It also states that “Babylonian captivity, which began in 586 B.C, brought the Jews into contact with Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism believed in two super spiritual beings, Ahura-Mazda, the Supreme God of Light and Truth and Angra Mainyu which is Satan.
In the New Testament Satan and his demons are mentioned now and then, yet there is no mention of him being equal to God Almighty. In Matthew 4, the Spirit which is not specifically described is seen leading Jesus Christ into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Jesus could not yield to those temptations. Surely this is something more like what Job went through but with Jesus it lasts only an hour or two. In both instances God Almighty is allowing the devil to tempt them. In both instances Satan is defeated.
In Matthew 12:24 we hear the Pharisees accusing Jesus of casting out demons using powers he receives from Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons. These Pharisees are obviously knowledgeable when it comes to demonology and the hierarchy thereof. I then quickly took my father's Dictionary of the Bible to find out who Beelzebub really was. The dictionary states that Beelzebub was nothing more than a Philistine god named Beelzebub which was worshipped at Ekron whose name was later pronounced as Baalzebub which then denoted him the prince of devils.
Jesus makes a parable in which the devil is found busy doing something. Read Matthew 13:39 “The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of age, and the reapers are the angels.” (NKJV) Jesus now teaches us that Satan is busy sowing evil among the people. But this is only a parable not something that really happed. Jesus understood Satan in the same way as the dictionary states, that the word Satan is Hebrew and means “adversary”. He also says it Himself that it is the enemy he talks about which in Hebrew language is Satan, Hasatan. In Hebrew language whatever opposes or is a foe is referred to as Hasatan. Satan to them is not a super celestial being but figuratively means an adversary.
Conclusion
Did it ever occur that there was once a war of some kind in heaven among the angels?
The answer is an emphatic No! The Almighty God's WILL is always done in heaven. The literature with gods and goddesses that fought one another or of gods and goddesses that were in contention against one another is that of Ancient Greek, Indian, as well as Arabic mythology. The influence of this literature got into Judaic religion and later was passed on to Christianity through the writings especially of Enoch. The consequence thereof is people getting either directly or indirectly dualistic or pluralistic in the way they worship God. Some also get themselves confused as which is which, who is who, where is who and what is who?