Want to talk about the war in heaven. First of all; John writes something that tells you there was a struggle; there was time involved... Jesus and the other prophets told us about how it ends; Satan is cast down to the earth, but that is the ending of the war, have you stopped to consider the war, itself? If "there was war in heaven" then when did that take place? It took place just prior to Satan being cast to the earth, and when did that happen? It happens at the end of the 42 month testimony of the 2 witnesses. So, let's look back at my timeline; right now we are in the 5th seal, this takes us up to the end, then the 6th seal is just the sign of the son of man in heaven (2027-2028) or possible just 2028... then the end comes - the 7th seal - which comprises of 7 trumpets for the first 42 months, then 7 vials of plagues for the last 42 months. Satan is cast down to earth in 2032 for the 42 month testimony of the antiChrist. So if there is war in heaven ending with the advent of the antiChrist, when does it begin? It begins with this struggle that we are witnessing that will result in the antiChrist taking the throne. It begins with the 4th seal; the great tribulation. It begins with the vision in Zachariah chapter one...
7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, 8 I saw by night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and behind him were there red horses, speckled, and white. 9 Then said I, O my lord, what arethese? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will shew thee what these be. 10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are they whom the LORD hath sent to walk to and fro through the earth. 11 And they answered the angel of the LORD that stood among the myrtle trees, and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
So the horses of the 2nd and 3rd seal have already walked the earth and now they are ready to perform the 4th seal. And it is kicked off by the towers falling in NYC. So, while we went through the 4th seal, the time of great tribulation, there was war in heaven. Now, that war in heaven is still going on, it continues right up until the middle of the 7th seal when satan is cast out of heaven. (So, when the Lord said he saw satan cast out of heaven... that meant he saw it in a vision)
So what does it mean, "war in heaven"? It means there is a spiritual struggle going on.
Now, let's look back at Genesis, and think about the whole story of mankind. God created man from the ground and put the spirit of life in him. And this man was "very good". This first man went forth and multiplied and built civilization all over the planet. There was no evil. There was a covering cherub over the throne in heaven and that cherub was not in rebellion against God, there was no spiritual force of evil at work amongst mankind. For all we know, mankind existed for millions of years and the entire earth lived in perfect harmony and peace and there was no crime, no hatred, no wars, no poverty, life was very good. And I guess the average life span was 1000 years.
Then God created the man Adam and a different spirit is placed inside the man. A spirit of good and evil. No more very good, and now we have evil present. Fast forward to about 10,000 years ago and the earth is struck by a small moon and turns over and new latitudes are set up and man's lifespan reduces to 600 years, then 500 years, then 400 years, until Abraham comes along and lives only 180 years... by the time of Moses it is 120 years... and now it is more like 70-80 years.
Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4 A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death — they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9 All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.
10 Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
We were born into this world where the spirit of man is good and evil, and the god of this world conducts civilization through constant war, strife, and sorrow. We live in a moment when the Lord Jesus and his angels are struggling with satan and his angels to cleanse heaven of their spirit. John's vision tells us that after satan is cast down to earth he has a short time (42 months) then the devil is taken and locked up in a bottomless pit.
8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. 13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
So what will life on earth be like, once that satan is locked up in the bottomless pit? The lives of the beasts were pro-longed for a season, meaning that the political earth inherited by the saints remains the same; the nations remain intact, and we rule by a rod of iron, which simply refers to the Roman Empire, hence, we take over the earth as it is, in the condition it is in, after satan rules the reformed Roman Empire out of Jerusalem for 42 months. Prophecy in Jeremiah says there is a struggle of sorts when the Lord Jesus rides in with the saints, the antiChrist puts up a war against the saints, all his armies are cast against the saints, in the valley of megiddo (armageddon) but the saints dissolve his armies and the beast is taken and cast alive into the lake of fire. According to the above passage in Daniel chapter 12, the war in armageddon lasts 45 days, or, maybe it is 45 days from the beginning of that war until the first day of the reign of the saints.
So there is a spiritual struggle, followed by peace. Real peace, peace like we have not known since the former creation, when mankind was very good and there was no evil. That's the peace of the coming kingdom.