War broke out in heaven;
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
We are in a battle but our warfare is not against flesh and blood (see Ephesians 6:12). Yet it is somehow nevertheless our struggle. We have weapons mighty through God for the tearing down of enemy strongholds (see Second Corinthians 10:4).
Even though it is our battle, we can't win it apart from the grace of the one who is alone victorious.
They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
The battle belongs to the LORD. He uses each one of us in the fight. He does not just win it through us, but also, and especially, through the angels.
Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.
The dragon and its angels fought back,
but they did not prevail
and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.
The archangels have a special part they play in God's victory over the enemy. That enemy is the devil, and his allies, demons, sin, and death. We need to make sure we are close to the allies God gives us if we want to be able to resist such enemies. We need to make use of the weapons he gives us. If we don't realize we're in a battle we may already be prisoners. If we aren't actively taking up every grace God puts at our disposal we are at risk of being overcome.
The archangels remind us that even though we're in a battle it isn't all about us. Even though we have weapons given to us by God for the tearing down of strongholds and must individually overcome by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimony the battle itself is not won apart from those allies both human and supernatural whom God gives to stand with us. Under the leadership of the archangels we experience the victory of God.
In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.
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