War in the Heavenly Places

Text: Luke 10:17-20; Dan. 10:10-14, 12:1-3; Rev. 12:7-12

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

            There’s something in the air these last few years. And while it always takes some time and distance to fully evaluate shifts in culture, I think that it’s safe to say that we’re bearing witness to a very noticeable rise in an obsession with the supernatural. All you have to do is drive down any street in Elmhurst—or nearly any other town in America—and notice that the sheer number of Halloween decorations has skyrocketed, and they go up earlier and earlier every year, staying in our public eye for longer than anyone can remember them being there previously. And not only the number, but the subjects being depicted, the darkness of them, and the graphic detail with which so many are portrayed. Not only that, but there are also now countless shows on TV purporting to be about hauntings and the like. Interest in things that have a vaguely spiritual sense has increased, with the sale of all sorts of paraphernalia that promise to have real effects on a person’s energy, or awareness, or soul, or body, or all of the above. It would seem that people are rediscovering the fact that there’s more to the world—indeed, more to the entire cosmos—than can be understood by the tools of cold, brittle rationalism and the calculated answers that always seem to be a bit too easy. I’d wager that everyone here has some event in their own life that defies a simplistic explanation appealing only to what can be seen, observed, measured, and weighed.

            Of course, for those of us with the eyes of faith opened by their Lord, this is no surprise. With the Word descending from heaven to tell us what’s going on behind the scenes of the visible world, we have the great privilege of seeing deeper into the nature of reality. You confess it every week when you say together that you believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. You hold the belief in the unseen, yet very real, presence of Christ’s body and blood in His Holy Supper. You believe in the Holy Spirit, given in one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins, even though you haven’t seen Him with your physical eyes.

            So on this day, the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, we rejoice that we have been given that glimpse behind the veil. We join the prophet Daniel, who is told that the geopolitical events of his time, the war with Persia, was not just some chain reaction of various mortal rulers’ political decisions. There was more to it. “The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days,” Daniel is told by the man with eyes like flaming torches, arms and legs of gleaming bronze, and a voice like the sound of a multitude, “but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia.” The empire of Persia had its guardians—powerful, unseen rulers with an especially powerful one over them—and these guardians made war against the mighty Son of Man. But the man of light, dressed in linen, was served by Michael, the great angel, and those dark spiritual forces that reigned in Persia were overthrown. The spiritual forces of heaven and hell themselves were involved in this clash of worldly empires. And as terrifying as it was to behold, Daniel was given a look at what was happening at the deepest levels of reality. Even the New Testament confirms this, when St. Paul tells the believers in Ephesus, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

            St. John saw this war between heaven and hell in stark and vivid colors, as the great red dragon that had tried to kill the Son of Man made war against the heavenly places; Michael and the angels of God fighting the dragon and his fallen angels. No place was found for them in heaven and they were cast down to the earth. And in a song of warning, the loud voice from heaven warned the world, “Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows his time is short!” And with that, the dragon went to make war against the children of God. And who, believing the words of the prophets, Apostles, and Christ Himself, who can deny that our human history has been influenced, and is indeed an integral part of, the war between heaven and hell, light and dark, good and evil, God and the ancient lying demon, Satan? And you are part of that war. In point of fact, you are the one they’re fighting over.

            Jesus doesn’t let His disciples forget this. When they set out to do as He tells them to do and preach that the kingdom of God is advancing into enemy territory, they return with reports of victory: “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name! Evil is losing ground!” But Jesus reminds them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” They, and the ones they have been preaching to about the kingdom God, are the prize that the Lord of hosts and the dragon are seeking to claim.

            It’s at this point that humans have a track record of getting lost in the weeds. We can gain an unhealthy obsession with the dark—either forming a fixation with the macabre, seeing demons under every dark rock; or trying sorcery; or even worshiping demons pretending to be gods in the form of idols. Or we mortals develop an unhealthy obsession with angels, focusing more on them than the God they serve, or praying to them, or trying to learn things about them that aren’t taught to us in Scripture. So the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels helps to set us straight on what exactly is going on in the battle between heaven and hell.

            First and foremost, we learn that the war is already won. Satan has already been cast down like lightning. The heavenly voice announces that the dragon has already lost and his time is short. Jesus has already defeated him and all his demons with His death and resurrection. Satan has already lost. It’s done. It’s sealed. But in his rage, he’ll seek to destroy as much as he can as he’s going down. So he’ll lash out against the Church, he’ll seek to rule the governments of the world, he’ll trick people into thinking that evil is good, or at least acceptable, or that he’s not real. And he’ll personally target believers.

            This means we need to be on guard. We need to evaluate everything by what God has said is good—not by what some worldly force or group or party or ruler or even the majority says is good. Anything else is an arrow from the old evil foe, aimed at our faith. Because it’s your faith—trusting what your God has said—that’s most important. It’s your lifeline to your Savior and your source of truth and life, so that’s what he’ll target.

            That may frighten us, as much as, or even more than, ghoulish Halloween decorations or silly nonsense broadcast over the airwaves or streamed into our devices. But always remember, the war is already won in Christ. The Truth has already taken on human flesh and walked this world. What is good has been recorded by the Holy Spirit into God’s eternal, unchanging Word. And further, God sends His angels, like Michael, like the ones assigned to protect you, and these angels guardians are stronger than the devil and his fallen angels. The Lord sends His Word to cast down Satan like lightning when he gets a little too high. He casts down the serpent’s lies by preaching the Lord’s truth. He muzzles the dragon by opening your mouth to receive His Sacrament. He shields you from the attacks of the evil foe by wrapping you in your Baptism, armor for your body and soul.

            The Lord has sent His angels to protect you. That’s their job. It’s what they love to do. They rejoice to throw Jesus’ victory back into the face of the dragon, to send him back to his shameful retreat. And in the end, it’s Jesus victory over sin, death, and hell that you can rejoice in too, as you join angels and archangels and all the company of heaven to laud and magnify God’s glorious name, today and forever. In the name of Jesus, the Triumphant. Amen.