Daniel 10:10-14; 12:1-3; Revelation 12:7-12; St Luke 10:17-20
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
St Michael and All Angels Day is awesome! The hymns, both text and tune, steel us for the battle. The readings, peeling back the curtain to behold but a glimmer of the spiritual realm usually hidden from our eyes. Its like some ancient prequel to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
You’ve got Satan, the Accuser, in cosmic battle. Hellbent, like Thanos, at destroying . . . everything. He will never be a god. He has his army with him: the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that stalks in darkness, the destruction that wastes at noonday. You heard them in the Psalm. A grotesque horde of demonic foes ready to do his evil bidding.
And then Michael, the Archangel, the Chief Angel, the Great Prince. Marvelous and powerful. He’s like Thor and Cap and Vision all rolled into one. Wielding his spiritual weapons, no doubt a hammer and a sword. And he has his Avengers. His angels fighting against the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. And they throw him down. Body slam him t the earth along with his army. Amazing!
Even if you’re not tracking with the analogies or don’t like comic book superhero movies, you’ve got to admit, this is really cool. In fact, this is better than cool. This isn’t myth or fantasy, legend or fable. This is spiritual warfare. This is real. Really real. It is utterly sensational and spectacular.
The trouble, dear Christians, is that we long for the sensational and spectacular. We are fascinated by speculation about demons and soul ties, intergenerational sin and spiritual strongholds in our environment, demonic possession and methods of exorcism. And that type of speculation plays into the hands of Satan. He uses the pornography of evil, with its promise of religious knowledge and power, to promote idle curiosity and unhealthy fascination.
The spiritual warfare in which you are engaged is not nearly as spectacular and sensational as described in Daniel and Revelation. It’s much more pedestrian. More mundane, though equally serious. Where does this spiritual battle take place? Where is the battle field? Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!
The devil attacks the Word of God. He will attack the source, the means, and the goal of the Word. This means he attacks within the heavenly council where the Word is spoken, in the Church where the Word is preached, and in the heart where the Word is received by faith.
That heavenly council, where the Lord sits enthroned, is what St John is given to see in his revelation. Isaiah saw it as he was serving in the Temple (Is 6). Jeremiah says that the mark of a true prophet is that he has stood in the council of the Lord (Jer 23:18, 22). In that heavenly court there is a conversation between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That conversation is what the prophets are to preach on earth. Requests are also made and heard here. These are the prayers of the Church, like in Daniel. Your words have been heard and I have come because of your words.
This is not only a throne room, this is where the celestial worship happens. Angels and saints falling down before the Lord and singing His praise. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.
But this throne room is also a courtroom. Recall the beginning of Job. There is an assembly of the holy angels and Satan also comes before the throne of God. He’s the accuser, the prosecuting attorney, who tells the Lord, “Job only believe because You’ve made his life so easy.” He attacks the source of the Word. He accuses us before God in heaven. He attacks that heavenly verdict that you are righteous and holy.
But there is comfort for you as well. Right before our text today, St John sees the vision of a pregnant woman. This is Old Testament Israel waiting for the promise of Genesis 3:15 to be fulfilled. This woman is pregnant with the Messiah. The dragon is waiting to devour the Baby when He is born. The Child is born. The dragon fails. The Child is caught up to God and to His Throne (Rev 12:5). In this one phrase is not only the birth, but also the life, ministry, teaching, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus!
What happens next is just amazing. Jesus bring His victory, His Blood, His triumph over sin, death and the devil with Him into the heavenly throne room. And there is no longer an place for the devil. There is nothing for him to do. No accusation to bring against sinners that has not been answered by the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb.
Imagine it like this. You’re on trial before God. Satan is the prosecuting attorney and he brings your sin before the court. As soon as he tries to admit evidence of your guilt, Jesus, your Advocate, your Defender, stands and says, “Objection: that sin is forgiven.” Every time the devil tries to bring an accusation against you, Jesus is there on your side: “Objection: that sin is died for. Objection: I suffered for that sin already. Objection: My Blood covers that sin. Objection: I carried that sin away.” The death of Jesus stands as the evidence of your righteousness. The Blood of Jesus is the chief witness in your case.
When Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, from before the foundation of the world, but behold He lives, enters the throne room with His Blood, war breaks out in heaven, and the victory of the crucifixion and resurrection are brought to bear against the devil. You heard it in the Second Reading this morning! And Jesus references it in the Gospel: I saw Satan fall like lighting from heaven. Amazing! The ancient serpent has been cast out of heaven. The devil would love to attack the Word of God at its source, where it comes from the mouth of God, but he can’t.
So where does he attack the preaching of the Word? Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short! He doesn’t want God’s Word to get to you. He doesn’t want it to be pure when it reaches your ears. He wants to snatch the Word of the Lord right out of the air on its way to the ground of your heart. He attacks the church, the pastors and teachers. He attacks the doctrine. He attacks the hearer and the hearing of the Word. He makes it hard for you to go to church. He makes it hard for the church to endure.
Ever wonder why Sunday mornings are so difficult? Why waking up and getting to church seems way harder than it ought? You get up and go to work, to school every day, but for some reason, Sunday is just tougher? Ever wonder why listening to a sermon is so hard? Or why things are difficult in the church? There never seems to be peace, but always trouble? People are fighting or arguing. The Word of God is always opposed. And getting our ears and our hearts to the place where the Word of God is proclaimed is spiritual warfare.
The preaching and teaching of God’s Word is the supply line for the Christian life. Its the ammunition, medical supplies and food for the Church Militant. All of our spiritual blessings and benefits are delivered to us through the Word. The forgiveness of sins is won by Christ’s death upon the Cross. But the forgiveness of sins is delivered to you in the Word. That’s why Satan seeks to disrupt and disarm it.
And that’s why Jesus tells the seventy-two, I saw Satan fall like lighting from heaven. They had just returned from preaching and teaching. Just returned from proclaiming His Word. Healing the sick. Raising the dead. Casting out demons. Forgiving sins. The demons are subject to them in His Name, by His authority, because in His stead and by His command, they, as servants of the Word, are forgiving sins! The Word of the Lord transports the victory of Jesus on the Cross through space and time and carries it right into your conscience!
Its no wonder, then, that the devil attacks the Word, the preaching, the Church. Saving faith cannot survive without the regular hearing of God’s Word, read and preached. Going to Church, gathering together by and around the Word, is more important now than it ever was. And it will become even more important the closer we are to the End. What did the loud voice say? They loved not their lives even unto death.
This is because, dear Christians, of the third place the devil attacks the Word. In your conscience. He comes to tempt and confuse. He comes lying and deceiving. That is what he is. A liar and a murderer. He tries to steal away the life-giving Word and replace it with the tares of false doctrine and empty spirituality.
He wages war in your heart. He wants to give you a bad conscience. He doesn’t care what kind of bad conscience. A prideful one, a hardened or calloused one, a despairing one, an indifferent one. It makes no difference to him. All are consciences shaped by the devil’s lies. He just wants to rob you of a good conscience by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of His testimony, that is, His martyrdom. His death for you.
Jesus gives you a good conscience, a working and clean and comforted conscience. The Law shows us what righteousness and love look like and how we should live. It shows us that we are sinners in desperate need of salvation. The Gospel forgives your sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Holy Spirit teaches and moves us to love and bless our neighbors. This is how the Lord gives you a good conscience, a repentant and faithful conscience.
To the world it doesn’t seem all that spectacular and amazing. Its rather mundane and ordinary. Maybe even foolish and stupid.
But rejoice, dear Christians. For Christ Jesus has so constituted the service of men and angels in a wonderful order. He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Hold fast to Him in love. He will deliver you. Call to Him. He answers. He will be with you in trouble. He will rescue you and honor you. With long life He will satisfy you.
For in the end, Jesus, the Lamb, stands on the battlefield of your conscience. He triumphs over sin, death, and the power of the devil. The victory shout of His crucifixion echoes in the good conscience, It is finished! The skull of the serpent is crushed.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
St Michael and All Angels Day is awesome! The hymns, both text and tune, steel us for the battle. The readings, peeling back the curtain to behold but a glimmer of the spiritual realm usually hidden from our eyes. Its like some ancient prequel to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
You’ve got Satan, the Accuser, in cosmic battle. Hellbent, like Thanos, at destroying . . . everything. He will never be a god. He has his army with him: the terror of the night, the arrow that flies by day, the pestilence that stalks in darkness, the destruction that wastes at noonday. You heard them in the Psalm. A grotesque horde of demonic foes ready to do his evil bidding.
And then Michael, the Archangel, the Chief Angel, the Great Prince. Marvelous and powerful. He’s like Thor and Cap and Vision all rolled into one. Wielding his spiritual weapons, no doubt a hammer and a sword. And he has his Avengers. His angels fighting against the ancient serpent, the devil, Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. And they throw him down. Body slam him t the earth along with his army. Amazing!
Even if you’re not tracking with the analogies or don’t like comic book superhero movies, you’ve got to admit, this is really cool. In fact, this is better than cool. This isn’t myth or fantasy, legend or fable. This is spiritual warfare. This is real. Really real. It is utterly sensational and spectacular.
The trouble, dear Christians, is that we long for the sensational and spectacular. We are fascinated by speculation about demons and soul ties, intergenerational sin and spiritual strongholds in our environment, demonic possession and methods of exorcism. And that type of speculation plays into the hands of Satan. He uses the pornography of evil, with its promise of religious knowledge and power, to promote idle curiosity and unhealthy fascination.
The spiritual warfare in which you are engaged is not nearly as spectacular and sensational as described in Daniel and Revelation. It’s much more pedestrian. More mundane, though equally serious. Where does this spiritual battle take place? Where is the battle field? Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!
The devil attacks the Word of God. He will attack the source, the means, and the goal of the Word. This means he attacks within the heavenly council where the Word is spoken, in the Church where the Word is preached, and in the heart where the Word is received by faith.
That heavenly council, where the Lord sits enthroned, is what St John is given to see in his revelation. Isaiah saw it as he was serving in the Temple (Is 6). Jeremiah says that the mark of a true prophet is that he has stood in the council of the Lord (Jer 23:18, 22). In that heavenly court there is a conversation between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That conversation is what the prophets are to preach on earth. Requests are also made and heard here. These are the prayers of the Church, like in Daniel. Your words have been heard and I have come because of your words.
This is not only a throne room, this is where the celestial worship happens. Angels and saints falling down before the Lord and singing His praise. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.
But this throne room is also a courtroom. Recall the beginning of Job. There is an assembly of the holy angels and Satan also comes before the throne of God. He’s the accuser, the prosecuting attorney, who tells the Lord, “Job only believe because You’ve made his life so easy.” He attacks the source of the Word. He accuses us before God in heaven. He attacks that heavenly verdict that you are righteous and holy.
But there is comfort for you as well. Right before our text today, St John sees the vision of a pregnant woman. This is Old Testament Israel waiting for the promise of Genesis 3:15 to be fulfilled. This woman is pregnant with the Messiah. The dragon is waiting to devour the Baby when He is born. The Child is born. The dragon fails. The Child is caught up to God and to His Throne (Rev 12:5). In this one phrase is not only the birth, but also the life, ministry, teaching, crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus!
What happens next is just amazing. Jesus bring His victory, His Blood, His triumph over sin, death and the devil with Him into the heavenly throne room. And there is no longer an place for the devil. There is nothing for him to do. No accusation to bring against sinners that has not been answered by the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb.
Imagine it like this. You’re on trial before God. Satan is the prosecuting attorney and he brings your sin before the court. As soon as he tries to admit evidence of your guilt, Jesus, your Advocate, your Defender, stands and says, “Objection: that sin is forgiven.” Every time the devil tries to bring an accusation against you, Jesus is there on your side: “Objection: that sin is died for. Objection: I suffered for that sin already. Objection: My Blood covers that sin. Objection: I carried that sin away.” The death of Jesus stands as the evidence of your righteousness. The Blood of Jesus is the chief witness in your case.
When Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, from before the foundation of the world, but behold He lives, enters the throne room with His Blood, war breaks out in heaven, and the victory of the crucifixion and resurrection are brought to bear against the devil. You heard it in the Second Reading this morning! And Jesus references it in the Gospel: I saw Satan fall like lighting from heaven. Amazing! The ancient serpent has been cast out of heaven. The devil would love to attack the Word of God at its source, where it comes from the mouth of God, but he can’t.
So where does he attack the preaching of the Word? Woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short! He doesn’t want God’s Word to get to you. He doesn’t want it to be pure when it reaches your ears. He wants to snatch the Word of the Lord right out of the air on its way to the ground of your heart. He attacks the church, the pastors and teachers. He attacks the doctrine. He attacks the hearer and the hearing of the Word. He makes it hard for you to go to church. He makes it hard for the church to endure.
Ever wonder why Sunday mornings are so difficult? Why waking up and getting to church seems way harder than it ought? You get up and go to work, to school every day, but for some reason, Sunday is just tougher? Ever wonder why listening to a sermon is so hard? Or why things are difficult in the church? There never seems to be peace, but always trouble? People are fighting or arguing. The Word of God is always opposed. And getting our ears and our hearts to the place where the Word of God is proclaimed is spiritual warfare.
The preaching and teaching of God’s Word is the supply line for the Christian life. Its the ammunition, medical supplies and food for the Church Militant. All of our spiritual blessings and benefits are delivered to us through the Word. The forgiveness of sins is won by Christ’s death upon the Cross. But the forgiveness of sins is delivered to you in the Word. That’s why Satan seeks to disrupt and disarm it.
And that’s why Jesus tells the seventy-two, I saw Satan fall like lighting from heaven. They had just returned from preaching and teaching. Just returned from proclaiming His Word. Healing the sick. Raising the dead. Casting out demons. Forgiving sins. The demons are subject to them in His Name, by His authority, because in His stead and by His command, they, as servants of the Word, are forgiving sins! The Word of the Lord transports the victory of Jesus on the Cross through space and time and carries it right into your conscience!
Its no wonder, then, that the devil attacks the Word, the preaching, the Church. Saving faith cannot survive without the regular hearing of God’s Word, read and preached. Going to Church, gathering together by and around the Word, is more important now than it ever was. And it will become even more important the closer we are to the End. What did the loud voice say? They loved not their lives even unto death.
This is because, dear Christians, of the third place the devil attacks the Word. In your conscience. He comes to tempt and confuse. He comes lying and deceiving. That is what he is. A liar and a murderer. He tries to steal away the life-giving Word and replace it with the tares of false doctrine and empty spirituality.
He wages war in your heart. He wants to give you a bad conscience. He doesn’t care what kind of bad conscience. A prideful one, a hardened or calloused one, a despairing one, an indifferent one. It makes no difference to him. All are consciences shaped by the devil’s lies. He just wants to rob you of a good conscience by the Blood of the Lamb and the Word of His testimony, that is, His martyrdom. His death for you.
Jesus gives you a good conscience, a working and clean and comforted conscience. The Law shows us what righteousness and love look like and how we should live. It shows us that we are sinners in desperate need of salvation. The Gospel forgives your sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Holy Spirit teaches and moves us to love and bless our neighbors. This is how the Lord gives you a good conscience, a repentant and faithful conscience.
To the world it doesn’t seem all that spectacular and amazing. Its rather mundane and ordinary. Maybe even foolish and stupid.
But rejoice, dear Christians. For Christ Jesus has so constituted the service of men and angels in a wonderful order. He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Hold fast to Him in love. He will deliver you. Call to Him. He answers. He will be with you in trouble. He will rescue you and honor you. With long life He will satisfy you.
For in the end, Jesus, the Lamb, stands on the battlefield of your conscience. He triumphs over sin, death, and the power of the devil. The victory shout of His crucifixion echoes in the good conscience, It is finished! The skull of the serpent is crushed.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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