Michael vs. the Dragon

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

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.

At the fullness of time, according to the will of God, Mary, the Mother of God, appeared in midst of the heavens, clothed with the radiance of the sun, bedecked with the royal garments of God, because she, having been overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, was greatly pregnant with none other than the eternally uncreated, only-begotten Son of God come into the flesh. She is borne aloft by the moon, the lesser light, and encircled by the twelve stars, the witnesses of the one Holy Church from ages past and in time to come.

She was thus pregnant, and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of labor. The Blessed Virgin cried out with the collected cries of all women, experiencing the agony of the curse put upon Eve in the Garden. Even she – the Blessed Virgin Mary – experienced the pain, fear, and tribulation wrought by the sin that infects all humanity.

More than Eve, though, the Theotokos cried out with the groans of all creation, eagerly awaiting the nativity of the Savior of the Universe, being languishing in the throes of sin and death for so many ages since the Fall of man.

And another sign appeared: a great red dragon. The ancient serpent raised his ugly mass of heads again to the woman of God. The accursed one appeared again to the Most Highly Favored Lady. This time, however, there is no temptation, no subtle whispers emanating from a tree in a garden. No, the dragon roars with all his might, as he stations himself before the laboring Mother of God, in hopes that he might devour the child about to be brought forth.

In the relishing of such great travail, and in the rage of anticipation for the birth of the Son of God, the dragon swept his tail back and forth, knocking down a third of the stars and casting them to earth. By his raging through the earth, by his despicable machinations, and by his lies and slander, the devil has caused a third, and then some, to fall from heavenly grace, both in the ranks of men and angels. He has, from the time of the Fall, deceived men by his preaching of lies and false belief. He even now roars in the ears of the faithful, wishing to deceive you into error, shame, unbelief, and every great sin and vice.

This great and terrible dragon stationed himself before the woman, hoping that he might devour her child. This is that fugitive angel who thought that the destruction of all people could be equally accomplished through death. He thought that he might be able to devour the Son of God about to be born from the Blessed Virgin Mother, and thereby thwart the plan of salvation. He raged against this poor, lowly child, planting doubt in the mind of Joseph, His Guardian, inciting Herod to jealousy and wrath, and provoking the slaughter of the Holy Innocents. But this holy Child, who is born not of the will of man nor of the flesh, owes no debt to death, and cannot be devoured in death, no matter how fierce the dragon.

The Theotokos gave birth to a male child, “one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron.” She was delivered of her travail by the birth of the child who, even in His infancy, held the powers of heaven and earth in His hand. The woman gave birth to the One who would become the Redeemer and Restorer of all creation, making all things new by the blood of His cross. The dragon sought to devour this child, but He was caught up to God and to His throne. The Son of God is brought safely to birth, and the King of the Universe deigned to make His throne now upon the lap of a woman, to feast at the breasts of a human mother. In the midst of death steps forth the Lord of Life.

The woman fled into the wilderness, to a place prepared by God, in which she is nourished. The Holy Family fled from the wickedness and murderous rage of Herod to the desert of Egypt, and was nourished and protected there until the Lord called His Son back to the Holy City. The Blessed Lady, the Bride of Christ has been driven into the wilderness of this world, away from the thrones of the powerful and the proud, into the hearts and homes and lives of the poor, the sick, the lonely, the oppressed – the sinners.

In this wilderness of sin and death, the Church is nourished by her Lord and Head. She is fed by the holy angels who minister to her in the wilderness just as they did to Elijah, and just as they did to our Lord Christ. The holy angels surround and guard her, so that her Lord may come to her in His own Flesh and Blood, and feed her with the food of heaven, nourishing her in soul and spirit, even when her outward appearance seems to be suffering great violence.

The Church of God may be driven into the wilderness, but she flourishes there, because her Lord is with her. The dragon may rage as fiercely as he will, but he can harm her none, no more than he can devour her Son, who is her Lord. The dragon cannot devour the Head, and neither can he conquer the Body, for they are inseparable.

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “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 and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But 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!”

War arose in heaven, in the domain of the angels. The holy Archangel Michael led the charge of the holy angels against the dragon and his accursed angels. A war was fought between brothers and kinsman of the most powerful beings in creation. Those who had been created as servants of the Most High God, as messengers of the divine Word, fought against each other for control of the cosmos – as if there were actually a war to be waged.

The dragon was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The dragon was defeated by the forces arrayed behind St. Michael, and their access to the throne of God was revoked. No more would there be a case like Job; no more would the ancient Accuser bring any charge against God's elect. No more would anyone bring harm against the souls of the children of God.

The great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, the deceiver of the whole world. The hissing liar who tempted Eve in the Garden. The demonic prosecutor who wrought havoc upon faithful Job. The deceiver who fabricated all manner of false gods for the children of Israel to ogle and play the harlot. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels with him.

Then, a loud voice sounding in heaven, announcing the victory of God. “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come!” St. Michael did not win the battle against Satan and the forces of evil. He may have waged the war, but the victory belongs to another. For who is like God? Even Michael, the Archangel and Captain of the host of heaven, did not presume to rebuke or battle Satan under his own power and authority, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” That is, Adonai Elohim, the Lord of Hosts, King of the Universe, rebuke you!

For St. Michael has no power and strength to overcome Satan and his forces. Neither do you. Nothing in all creation could overcome the prince of darkness. And nothing in all creation did. The Lord of Creation overcame the prince of darkness, precisely by entering His creation. He came into creation, that ever-blessed Son of the Blessed Virgin, who was born from the throne of Mary's flesh to inhabit the Throne of Heaven in the flesh, in order to die as a part of His creation. For only as a partaker of creation could the Creator redeem, sanctify, and restore His most precious work.

The host of heaven conquered not under their own power, but under the power of the blood of the Lamb. They conquered by the blood that our Lord Jesus Christ, the true Son of God and Son of Man, shed upon the cross. The dragon could not devour the Son when He was born of woman, but that serpent tried to swallow the Lamb in death. He who owed no debt to death could not be held or bound by the Law, but instead traveled through death into hell to imprison the ancient evil foe there. Our Lord Christ set the bars of captivity and placed the limits of the devil's raging and ravening. He has been conquered by the blood of the Lamb, which the holy angels excel in wielding as their only weapon against the evil one. For that which was shed in death has become the death of evil. Death is dead, and Life is risen eternal! Sin is no more, nor accusation.

The war has been won by the blood of the Lamb, and the forces of evil have been cast down by the testimony of the faithful. Satan has been cast down by your testimony, by your confession of the faith. He is cast down every time you confess to God your sin and receive with faith the blessed Absolution. By this, he is robbed of his power, because when your sin is wiped away, of what can the enemy accuse you?

He is cast down every time you confess the true and holy catholic Faith, because he cannot be the lord and master of one, such as you, who confesses with the mouth and believes with the heart that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is the Adonai Elohim who created the heavens and the earth, who sustains them by His Word, and who has redeemed them, and you, by His blood.

He is cast down and knocked from his pedestal and defeated even when he causes the death of even one of the blessed children of God. For their angels always see the face of God in heaven, and your angels know the blessed Name of Jesus, the Name which conquers sin, death, and the devil. The saints of God love not their lives unto death, but love the death of their Lord even unto eternal life. Even the death of a child of God is not a victory for the dragon, for thereby he has delivered a child back into the arms of his Father in heaven, who will never leave him nor forsake him. For when you pray “Deliver us from evil,” your Father in heaven has done just that, and will deliver you through the work of His holy angels whom He gives charge over you, lest you fall into any kind of danger.

Jesus, send Your angel legions
When the foe would us enslave.
Hold us fast when sin assaults us;
Come, then, Lord, Your people save.
Overthrow at last the dragon;
Send him to his fiery grave (LSB 521.6).

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.