More than our eyes can see
Readings: Revelation 12. 7-12
Angels bear a fascination for many in our day. People have statues of them, talk of loved ones becoming them after death, ponder about guardian angels. Angels, it seems, are taken as the safest idea that there might be more to our world than what we can see. That there might be forces and powers and activities happening in a layer of reality which we cannot observe or measure, a spiritual dimension to things. And there seem to be a few different approaches to this idea that there is more to reality than what we can see.
The first is that of the atheist; to scoff at such an idea. All that exists is the observable universe, nothing more. The idea of angels or cosmic powers or the forces of good or evil in any sense other than as observed in people are absurd.
The second is rather the opposite; a fascination, even obsession. Often among those who would describe themselves as spiritual but not religious. This group want to find out as much as they can about this realm, they dabble in it in all sorts of ways, perhaps wanting to exercise some sort of power through it, perhaps wanting to connect with it in some way. Or perhaps it’s a different type of obsession and instead it worries them deeply, the unseen powers of the universe affecting things beyond their control. A cause of anxiety and fear.
The third is the more agnostic approach; it’s there, but it doesn’t really affect my life in any meaningful way. Perhaps they think of loved ones as angels, as being somehow present with them spiritually. But that’s as far as it goes, it’s there, its nice that it is, nothing more.
And even as Christians we fall into these sorts of categories. We can believe in Jesus Christ and in God, but beyond that? Functionally atheist, all that matters is what I can see. Or we can be overly obsessed with spiritual things, or fearful of them. Or we have all this stuff in our metaphysical inventory, but who cares, we have more important things to worry about. Speak of angels and you’ll quickly find out where people are at with the idea of a spiritual reality beyond the physical, whether they’re Christian or not.
The truth is that there is much more to our world than we can see. Unseen forces and powers at work. You might know the story of Elisha in the second book of Kings where he’s surrounded by a great army coming to capture him, and he asks that his servants eyes be opened and around that army, the great angelic armies of heaven. There’s more to our world than what our eyes will show us, to dismiss that I would suggest is foolish. But in acknowledging it we don’t need to seek to control it, or live in fear of it, as our reading from Revelation tells us.
Immediately before our passage the woman, an image of God’s people, has given birth to a Son, that’s Jesus, and before the dragon can devour him he is swept up to heaven to God’s throne. And now, as our passage begins, war comes to heaven. The Archangel Michael appears, leading the armies of heaven. It’s interesting isn’t it. The Messiah, Jesus, has been taken to his throne and yet it is not him who leads the battle here, the authority has been delegated to Michael, and the victory is certain.
Satan and his angels are driven out of heaven. Depicted as a dragon, Satan falls from his place in heaven and cannot return. This is good news.
The name Satan translates as accuser. He is the one who stood in the courts of heaven constantly bringing the sins of the whole world to God, particularly the sins of God’s people. We read of that happening a few times in the Old Testament, most famously in Job. And yet he is no longer there, as Christ ascends to his throne, having dealt with all our sins on the cross, a new dynamic is established. The accuser his cast out, thrown down. No longer can he stand before God reciting our sins. And now instead Jesus is there before God, interceding for us, (to intercede just means to speak on someone else’s behalf), he’s pleading our case by his death for us. Once the law courts of heaven were filled with the accusations of our sins, now they are filled with the deeds of Jesus, the song of his victory over our sin, the taking of our death.
The picture is bigger than we sometimes see it. Yes Jesus has died for our sins, yes he has defeated death and hell. But it’s bigger than that. Now the armies of heaven at Michael’s command fight for us, to protect us, guard us and keep us. As Jesus reigns at God’s right hand the innumerable angelic armies of heaven are arrayed to our defence, our protection.
So the dragon and his angels are cast out and a voice goes up ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah’. The victory is won, God’s saving power, his authority, his Kingdom, and the authority of the Messiah, Jesus, are now in place. The war has been won, Satan has been categorically defeated. This is good news, because just as God has won, so his people have won. As the passage explains, continuing about how we have conquered, but not in our own authority and strength instead through the blood of the Lamb, the death of Jesus. And in our claiming it for ourselves, that’s what’s meant by ‘the word of our testimony’, our witness to the truth of the Gospel and its transforming power in our lives.
And those in heaven are told to rejoice, all who dwell in heaven are to celebrate. And that includes us. John is speaking not of physical realities here, but of spiritual ones. And as Paul reminds us in his letter to the Philippians, our citizenship is in heaven. And so we are to rejoice too because the spiritual reality for us is that we are in heaven, even if physically we are not there yet. We are to rejoice that our accuser has been cast out, that the victory has been won.
And yet, woe to you on earth and the sea, for the devil has gone down to you, furious, and knowing his time is short. Yes the war has been won, but the battles continue. Yes he has ultimately lost, but in the little time remaining he will cause as much damage as he can.
Which means our troubles, the persecution our brothers and sisters face, the evils done in the world, they’re not just the result of human choice and agency, although in many ways they are, there’s a spiritual dimension to them too. As again Paul in Ephesians reminds us ‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’. Our battle isn’t just about what we can see, there’s an unseen dimension to them. And yet it is not just us against some unseen evil, the armies of heaven fight for us, not at our command but on our behalf.
The troubles we face aren’t always just about the physical reality, there can be spiritual dimensions to them too. And often such a thought brings with it fear and anxiety, what are we to do? How are we meant to cope with this? We risk seeing the devil in every traffic jam, every accident, every setback. It can bring paranoia. But it shouldn’t, because we don’t need to fear, nor do we need to preoccupy ourselves with working out whether what we’re facing is a spiritual attack. Instead, as this passage reminds us, we are to rest secure that our citizenship is in heaven, that we have the victory through Christ’s victory on the cross and through our sharing in that through faith and trust. And even should Satan attack us, our troubles arise not because he is too strong, that he might overpower us, but because he is beaten, and this is all he has left.
There is more to this world, this universe, than we can see with our own eyes. We should not dismiss it, we should be aware. But we are not to become overly fascinated by its inner workings nor try to control it. For Christ on our behalf is working all things for our good, directing even the armies of heaven to our defence as he sees fit. Nor do we need to fear this unseen dimension, for if we are in Christ we know his victory, can rejoice even amidst our persecutions and troubles for the war has been won, the battles we face are the death throes of an enemy who has been defeated and knows his time is short. In Jesus we have won, and now await the final victory cry.
So as we await that day, we join our voices with the angel choirs of heaven, in worshipping the one who died for us, who has defeated sin and death and evil for us. So that we can have his Kingdom, share his risen life. For now has come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah.
Amen.