Heaven's War Brought to Earth

Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ (Revelation 12:10). Amen.

He was a Christian apologist – a defender of the Christian faith through discourse and debate. He hadn't always been a strong proponent of Christ. But then he encountered a Christian who challenged his philosophies and encouraged him to the deeper calling of the higher religious authority of Jesus Christ. This became this young man's turning point.

That interaction ignited a new passion within him. He dedicated his life to teaching and defending the Christian faith in the public square. He welcomed debates. He debated life issues and the sexual deviancy of the culture by always pointing to Jesus Christ – his morals, virtues, and salvation. For this debate, his voice was silenced. He met his death with a blow to the neck by his enemies.

This was the life and death of Justin Martyr, an early Christian apologist, who was martyred for his faith by being beheaded in the second century AD.

God's people have been murdered for their faith almost from the beginning. Abel was killed by his brother because of Cain's jealousy. The infant boys in Jerusalem were slaughtered by King Herod's soldiers because of their proximity to the Christ child. Stephen was stoned to death and became the first martyr of the Christian Church because he boldly and bluntly preached Jesus to Christ's enemies.

It has been said that the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Christian Church. When Christians are persecuted, the Church propagates. When Christians suffer, the Church spreads. When Christians are imprisoned, the Church becomes impassioned. When Christians are martyred, the Church matures and multiplies. The blood of Christians is shed because we Christians are in a war.

This is a war that has been raging since the beginning of time. It's a war that continues to this day. It's a war that will continue until Judgment Day. You feel the wounds. You bear the scars.

The war began in heaven. St. John writes: "There was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down-- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him" (Revelation 12:7-9).

The Lord kicked Satan out of heaven. God called upon St. Michael and his fellow angels to be his enforcers. The devil became a trespasser on God's property, and the holy angels were the military force who made sure he left. Satan is pictured as a huge, red, seven-headed dragon, the ancient serpent from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:1). The dragon and his angelic allies did not want to go quietly. It became necessary to boot them out by force. So, there was war in heaven, a titanic struggle between the hosts of heaven and the hosts of hell. Jesus witnessed their ultimate demise with his crucifixion and resurrection, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" (Luke 10:18).

The great news for us is that St. Michael and his angelic army are more powerful than Satan and his angelic allies. The bad news for us is that this spiritual war in the heavenly realms has been brought to earth. "He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. ...Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short" (Revelation 12:9, 12).

There is an ongoing war in our society. It is a culture war for the hearts and minds – and souls – of our young people. We are in a war against those who want to destroy the Christian faith, those who are acting in allegiance with the Father of Lies.

Satan is filled with furious rage against God. He knows he has a limited time before Judgment Day ends all his wicked activity forever. So, he is busy, attacking ferociously like a dragon. One goal of Satan is to silence Christians, Christian churches, and Christian pastors. How does he do this?

You've probably been told that churches and pastors should not engage in discussing anything political. So, what does Satan do? Everything that used to be moral is now political. Everything that used to be spiritual is now social. Everything that used to be theological is now cultural. Transgenderism, gay marriage, abortion, justice, race, male and female relations, etc. Today, those are all political issues. But they are cultural issues, first. Before that, they are moral issues. And moral issues mean they are ultimately theological issues. Therefore, we need to speak to them to apply God's powerful and eternal Word to solving these issues.

People – especially young people – are looking for answers. Specifically answers on social, cultural, and political issues. What happens if pastors and churches are not giving them the biblical answers to their cultural questions? They'll seek their answers elsewhere. From another church. From another pastor. From secular society – which is where Satan reigns as the Prince of this World.

We – pastors, churches, people – need to be willing to discuss social, cultural, and even political issues. This is how we bring Jesus and his Word into the discussion. This is how we introduce and engage people with our Lord and Savior. We can tell them he is the One who lived perfectly in their place to exchange his righteousness for their unrighteous living with sexual sins, mistreatment of the opposite sex, having an abortion, and so on. We can tell them that Jesus rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated on his glorious throne ruling all things for the good of his people. He is in control amid injustice, racism, political upheaval, mass shootings, and assassinations. We preach that Christ is the glorious King of Kings who always defeats the lowly Prince of this World.

Satan desires for Christians to be silent on cultural, moral, and political issues. Then the only ones talking are him and his minions. Christ desires for Christians to speak on cultural, moral, and political issues. Then we unleash the power of the Holy Spirit in the words that come from our mouths into the ears and hearts of those who are trapped by the lies of the Father of Lies.

The so-called "Christian" culture of the past fifty years was a delusion of Satan to create a merely superficial, Sunday morning faith. That faith won't hold up in the Last Judgment, nor will it hold up in our modern culture. Christianity cannot be something we engage only on Sunday mornings. Our Christian faith must permeate everything we think, say, and do at home, work, school, athletic field, political rhetoric, etc. Christianity is not a club we belong to or a job we go to. Christ living in our hearts and reigning in our lives is our very core as Christians.

Christians are often on the defensive in this cultural and spiritual war. Look at who we are going against! A dragon! A demonic horde! Enemies who want us canceled, imprisoned, and killed. Of course, we're afraid and on the defensive!

Yet, what does Jesus promise? He says that the gates of hell cannot stand against his Church (Matthew 16:18). This is a clear statement of fact, a declaration of spiritual reality. It is a call for Christians to be confident in the clear Word of God, and to apply this Word in our lives even as we declare its truth to a culture that purposely ignores it. We often see that those who hate Christ are more outspoken than those who love Christ. We have fought this spiritual war poorly. We've been lackadaisical, indifferent, apathetic – even pathetic – in this war. We've laid down our weapons, silenced our mouths, and shut our Bibles.

Fellow soldiers of the cross, we need to go on the offensive again. Not with the physical weapons of modern warfare, but with the ancient and time-tested weapons of the gospel. St. Paul gives us our marching orders: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to take a stand on the evil day and, after you have done everything, to stand. Stand, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness fastened in place, and with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace tied to your feet like sandals. At all times hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. Also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:10-17).

Christians are called to speak up in the public square and on social media platforms about good and godly things. We received this directive from St. Paul: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things" (Philippians 4:8,9). We think about these things to protect them – and speak about these things to project them.

The Devil is the Ruler of this World (John 12:31). But we must go on the offensive to break Satan's stranglehold on our culture. Jesus wants to use his Word to bring freedom for those enslaved in sin, and hope for those deluded by temptation. It is not our goal to change the culture, but to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified into the culture.

The devil hates order. That's why Satan attacks marriage, family, and life. He fosters confusion. That's why he makes people imagine there are dozens of genders. He loves chaos. That's why he creates violence in our cities. He champions death. That's why his sacrament is the murder of the unborn. The devil's goal is to hate, kill, and destroy.

Speaking the truth in love is a form of spiritual warfare. All lies come from the Father of Lies. All truth comes from Jesus Christ who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Preaching truth isn't about siding with a political party. It's about proclaiming God's design, God's justice, and God's grace into every area of life. When we do this boldly, but with love, the gospel shines brighter. We remind people that Christ is not only Savior of their souls, but also the Lord over all creation. Satan wants silence, but Jesus commands proclamation. That means speaking truth, with grace, into every sphere – personal, cultural, and yes, even political, so that hearts are transformed and God is glorified.

We have been equipped and sent by the Lord. We don't rejoice that we can trample on snakes or scorpions. We rejoice that Christ has already won the eternal victory. He saw Satan fall like lightening from the sky. He has granted us his victory by writing our names in the Book of Life through our Baptism and conversion.

Now, as his baptized and equipped soldiers, we don't wait. We don't sit still. We don't remain silent. We fight. Not with fists, but on our knees. We pray for Jesus' kingdom to come and Satan's kingdom to be defeated. We pray for God's will to be done and Satan's will to be broken. We pray for God to deliver us from the Evil One. Demonic shrieks, screams, and shouts cannot drown out our prayers. "The Lord is far away from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous" (Proverbs 15:29).

God has promised that St. Michael and his angelic army are fighting for us in the spiritual realms. All the plans of the Evil One will ultimately fail. We may be canceled, but more importantly, Christ has canceled our sins. We may be imprisoned, but more importantly, we have found freedom in Christ's forgiveness. We may be martyred, but more importantly, we will have gained our ultimate victory of being with Christ Jesus. The Word of Christ still drives out demons, and his Church will prevail against the gates of hell. The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Christian Church. Amen.

They conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony (Revelation 12:11). Amen.