Revelation 12:6-9

WAR IN HEAVEN.

And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she bath. place prepared of God, that they should feed her there. thousand two hundred and three score days. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."--12:6-9.

The flight of the woman into the wilderness. will consider in connection with verse 14 which refers to the same event. In the order of time this flight occurs after the events related in verses 7-14. These verses describe. conflict which John saw in heaven, the overthrow of the dragon and the song of victory sung in heaven. If we will remember that the dragon is. symbol of bloody Pagan Rome, and the woman of the Church, it will be easy to explain the passage.

John had seen the woman in heaven and then the dragon appeared before her ready to devour her offspring. Then he beholds. champion of the woman appear who assails the dragon. This is Michael, the "Great Prince," the Archangel, described in Daniel as the guardian of the people of God, supposed by many to be the Lord. The dragon is vanquished in the conflict and is cast down from heaven.

This symbolism indicates the defeat of the dragon in his attempt. He is not only vanquished, but humiliated, "cast down." The first mighty attempt of Satan to "abolish the Christian name from the earth," signally fails. We have already written enough to show the reader that this represents the facts of history. Pagan Rome, the dragon, struck at the heart of the Church. Blood flowed in rivers, the blood of the saints, but the grandeur of their lives and the heroism of their deaths struck fear and conviction to the hearts of their enemies. Each martyr called forth an army who were ready to die for Christ. God exalted the man child, caught it to his bosom, protected it, and Pagan Rome went down. The dragon prevailed not. Baffled, he is cast to the earth.

We have next the songs of triumph sung in heaven. "Now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before God day and night." Then the means by which this mighty triumph has been won is disclosed. "They overcame him by the blood of Christ, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." They were ready to die for the Master.

Did the dragon, under the form of Pagan Rome, assail the Church? Every reader knows that it made repeated, determined and bloody attempts to destroy the faith of Christ. Did it meet with defeat in this effort? The bleeding, mourning, suffering, crying Church grew stronger and stronger. The dragon prevailed not. Was the dragon cast down? At last, Pagan Rome, vanquished in the struggle, went down. Paganism fell to rise no more. Was this followed by. triumph of the Christian religion? The persecuted faith become the religion of the civilized world. What was the means by which this triumph was won? Not the might of arms, not the subtlety of human wisdom; "they overcame by the blood of Christ and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death."

The first great struggle between the woman and the dragon ended with the triumph of Christianity. There is to be another. The first is seen in heaven. The next great conflict is to be