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1. War in Heaven. The battle against satan. Who won? (Part 1)

2. Who is satan? Was he created? Why does he exist? (Part 2)

3. Was satan cast down from heaven before the provocation and rebellion of Adam and Eve? (Part 3)

4. Was he cast down in connection with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ? (Part 4)

5. Will he be cast down only during the final period of human rule? (Part 5)

1. War in Heaven. The battle against satan. Who won?

The Bible portrays satan as God’s adversary, a deceiver of mankind, an accuser of God’s servants, a liar, an instigator of wars, and the author of all evil.

What information do we have regarding satan’s activities?

In the Book of Job, he appears before God and accuses Job. In the Book of Zechariah, he stands beside the high priest Joshua to accuse him. Meanwhile, in the Book of Revelation, we read of a war in heaven, following which satan is cast down to earth and loses his place in heaven.

This raises an important question: When does this event take place?

Was satan cast down from heaven:

▪ before the provocation and rebellion of Adam and Eve,

▪ in connection with the death, resurrection, and exaltation of Christ,

▪ or will he be cast down only during the final period of human rule?

What do we know for sure?

Satan is cast down to the earth. He loses his place in heaven. He knows that he has little time left. He begins a fierce persecution of God’s servants.

Let us look at the verses.

1.1 – War in Heaven

„And war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon also fought, and his angels with him. But they did not prevail, and no place was found for them in heaven anymore” — Revelation 12:7–8.

And now, let us present the same verse translated more precisely:

„And war broke out (began, came into existence) in heaven. Michael and his angels fought (fought a battle, engaged in combat) against the dragon. The dragon also fought (put up resistance, fought a battle), and his angels with him. But they did not prevail (they did not prevail, they did not prove stronger), and no place (of space, of place of stay) was found for them in heaven” — Revelation 12:7–8.

John sees a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fight against the dragon and his angels. The dragon loses: „No place was found for them in heaven anymore.” Satan and his angels not only lose the battle but also lose their place in heaven.

1.2 – Satan is cast down to earth

“And the great dragon was hurled down—the ancient serpent called the devil and satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth. He was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.” — Revelation 12:9.

The same verse translated more precisely:

„And the great dragon was cast down (knocked down, thrown)—that ancient (old, ancient, existing since ancient times) serpent called the devil (slanderer) and satan (opponent), who deceives (misleads, deceives) the whole inhabited earth. He was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.” — Revelation 12:9.

The text specifies the direction of the fall very precisely: „to the earth.” This is not merely a symbol of a loss of significance or a weakening of his power.

Satan is cast out of heaven and thrown down to earth. His angels are cast down along with him. From that moment on, there is no longer any place for them in heaven. This is significant because earlier passages of the Bible depict satan as an accuser of humanity who can appear before God.

After the event described in Revelation 12, he loses this access.

„And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: 'Now have come the salvation and the power and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accused them before our God day and night'” — Revelation 12:10.

This confirms earlier verses from Job and Zechariah. Satan appears as an accuser before God, and after the war in heaven, he is removed from that position.

1.3 – Satan knows he has little time left.

“Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has little time” — Revelation 12:12.

The same verse translated more precisely:

„Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell (are staying) in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil (slanderer) has come down to you, having great wrath (rage, irascibility), knowing that he has but a short (little) time (of a designated period, of a specific time)” — Revelation 12:12.

Satan is thrown to the earth and knows that he has: “little time left.”
The Greek expression is:

▪ ὀλίγον καιρόν — oligon kairon.

▪ ὀλίγος — oligos, Strong G3641: small, slight, short,

▪ καιρός — kairos, Strong G2540: appointed time, specific period, opportune moment.

It is not, therefore, a matter of an indefinite, very long period. Satan knows that after being cast down to the earth, he has only a short, appointed time to act.

That is why he is filled with great wrath.

There also appear periods such as:

• 1,260 days — Revelation 12:6,

• a time, times, and half a time — Revelation 12:14,

• 42 months — Revelation 13:5.

Since being cast out of heaven, satan has unleashed fierce persecution against the woman—who in Revelation 12 represents God’s people—and subsequently directs his wrath against the rest of her offspring, who keep God’s commandments and hold fast to the testimony of the Lord Yeshu.(Jesus is a false name).

This is important for our topic.

After being cast down to the earth, satan does not embark on a long, peaceful period of activity. On the contrary. He knows he has little time left, so he acts with great wrath.

The sequence of events is therefore as follows:

▪ satan is cast down from heaven,

▪ he loses his place in heaven,

▪ he is cast down together with his angels,

▪ he knows that he has little time left,

▪ he begins a fierce persecution of God’s servants.

The words „he has little time” are precisely one of the most important arguments in determining when satan is cast down to earth.

If his overthrow occurs at the end of the current human reign, then everything falls into place very naturally: satan is overthrown, knows his time is running out, and begins his final, very intense period of activity.

If, however, he was overthrown almost two thousand years ago, then it becomes necessary to explain why Revelation calls such a long period „little time.”

On the other hand, we have a very compelling counterargument.

A few verses earlier, John speaks of a woman who:

“She gave birth to a Son, a male child, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her Child was snatched away to God and to His throne” — Revelation 12:5.

This Son is the Lord Yeshu.

The verse thus speaks of the birth of the Savior and of His being taken up to God and to His throne.

Then, just a few verses later, we read:

“And war broke out in heaven” — Revelation 12:7.

If we read these events as a simple sequence, we get the following picture:

▪ a woman gives birth to the Lord Yeshu,

▪ the Lord Yeshu is taken up to God and to His throne,

▪ then war breaks out in heaven,

▪ Satan is cast down to earth.

This is one of the strongest arguments suggesting that satan’s casting down could have occurred after the death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Lord Yeshu, rather than only during the final phase of the current age.

The challenge, however, is that the Book of Revelation does not always recount events in a simple, linear chronology. Therefore, we must determine whether a long interval might exist between the snatching of the Son to God in verse five and the war in heaven in verse seven.

And this is precisely where two very strong arguments stand in opposition to each other:

„she gave birth to a Son, and the child was snatched up to God and to His throne”—points to events associated with the first century.

On the other hand:

„satan knows that he has little time”—fits very well with the brief period immediately preceding the end.

We will discuss all of this in subsequent articles—specifically, when satan was cast down to earth. We will also explore who satan is, whether he was created, and what role he actually plays…