Spiritual Warfare
Text: Luke 10:17-20; Rev. 12:7-12; Daniel 10:10–14, 12:1–3
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
It’s not often that we think of God as warlike, but it’s days like the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels that we’re reminded that this is one of the ways that Scripture speaks of Him. In our own very creature comfort focused culture and era, we might find it much more natural to think of God as a doting grandfather or someone who is always and only meek and mild. But this is not the way that He has shown Himself all the time. No, on days like today, we hear from those parts of the Bible that tell us of the warrior side of our God, the times that He is exactly what Moses called Him in the song of victory by the shores of the Red Sea, after the Lord had single-handedly defeated the armies of Pharaoh: “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.”
The reality that we are often oblivious to, in a time and place that has not known war in generations, is that we are in the grips of spiritual warfare. In the reading for our feast day today, we heard about the war that arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon and his angels. We heard the woe spoken to the earth and sea because the dragon and his demonic hosts were thrown down to this sphere, with all his great wrath and short time to work destruction as he now wages war against the Church and those who have been baptized into her as the children of God. We heard about the Lord was at war against the prince of Persia, who resisted for a time, but then came the great archangel Michael, who has his charge to protect God’s people, to put down that resistance. We heard from the prophet Daniel how at the end there will be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation, but that through the deliverance of God, His people will be rescued.
And indeed, there are many who feel the pressure of threats, even now. There are those who fear that the children of God are at war; or worse, there are those who are actually wanting the fight. But it has always been this way. In every age, there are those who are convinced that this is finally that last time of trouble, that last battle, that final showdown, and that finally, they will be victorious. Perhaps it’s just the way that our mortal minds think—not being able to see all of time in a glance, always thinking that our own tiny sliver of history is the most important, or the most significant, or totally unique. But our fight is not against flesh and blood. The spiritual warfare that the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels reminds us of is not against mere mortals or human thoughts, opinions, or ideologies. Our struggle is much larger. The spiritual battle we find ourselves in when the curtain is pulled back is against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Look at the way it’s presented in our Scripture readings this morning: The battles are fought between the Son of Man and the hidden spiritual rulers manipulating the workings of this world. It’s between Michael and all God’s angels against the dragon and his angels. It’s God and the devil. It’s light against dark, good against evil, holiness against unholiness. And where are we in these readings? Where do we see ourselves in this cosmic war? Look closely—Daniel is not on the battlefield; he only has the event recounted to him in the vision. John does not take up a fiery sword against the dragon; he is only given to witness it and write it down. And even Jesus, when He sends out the 72 in our Gospel reading, warns His disciples to not rejoice that the spirits have been subject to them when they speak Jesus’ words. Our role is that of the delivered. You are the one that these cosmic forces are fighting over. You are the prize. So Jesus tells you, “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
It is always the temptation of a believer to think that now, because they’ve been saved, that they have some added warrior duty placed upon them. So headstrong Christians have sought to root out every source of evil they can. History is littered with it: witch hunts, inquisitions, personally or corporately cutting off those who are deemed to be on the other side, online wars of words that are more focused on winning the argument than gaining a brother or sister in the faith. Overly confident believers have been puffed up with knowledge that does not edify; what might be truth but is not built up in love, mercy, or forgiveness; and they have found themselves trapped in a snare of the devil. You are not called to be a solo warrior or a wandering knight, striking down evil with your righteousness. You are not called to go into one-on-one battle with the devil or any of his minions. In fact, that would be just what he wants. He’s fought many men stronger than any of us, and he has beaten them.
No, rejoice not in making war against the devil and the forces of evil. Rejoice that the victory has already been won by Jesus. Rejoice that when Jesus cried out, “It is finished” from the cross, that it really is finished. The war has been won. That’s why the dragon’s time is short. That’s why he lashes out in desperate rage. The words Jesus has given to His messengers to speak, “The kingdom of God has come to you,” His words are the reason that Satan fell like lightning—because Jesus has taken back His creation from the destruction that hell and evil want to consume it with. But the dragon is fallen. He’s defeated. There is no place left for him at any height. One little word can fell him, and so it does: “Jesus.”
You are the prize that Jesus has fought for and won. You are the treasure that He was willing to die on the battlefield of Calvary for. And He has won you. Now that you are in His kingdom and all the company of heaven surrounds you, angels and archangels included, you do have a role. But it’s not as a warrior, striding out onto the field. It’s not to ride within the bound and chained dragon’s circle of attack. Your job is to be a watchman. And what does a watchman do? He watches. He minds the small portion of the horizon that he’s been given to watch—and that’s your vocation, the calling that God has given you to tend—and when the watchman sees trouble coming, he calls out. You call out. You pray to the Champion, who holds the field forever. You cry out to the Lord, the man of war, to rush out and do battle, to hold the victory He’s already won, to drive back those forces that would threaten you.
That’s exactly what He does. He sends His angels to fight for you, as we celebrate today. He Himself steps in and defends you. And when you are wounded by the slings and arrows of the enemy, He provides for your healing, your forgiveness, your strengthening through the medicine of His body and blood, so that you can call out to Him again. Spiritual warfare, especially as we learn about it on St. Michael and All Angels is all about faith—your trust in the Savior who won you. It’s all about His glory as the God who delivers you. It’s all about Jesus and His cross, and what that has won for the world. In the name of Jesus, who fights for us. Amen.
