Day 212

“And the dragon was angry at the woman and declared war against the rest of her children—all who keep God’s commandments and maintain their testimony for Jesus.” Rev 12:17 (NLT)

The dragon – that ancient serpent called the devil and satan (12:9) has warred against Micheal and His angels (V:7). This is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Micheal is Christ (c.f.Jude 9 with 1 Thess 4:16). Micheal is the archangel a word derived from the Greek ἀρχάγγελος –archangelos -(arch- + angel, literally “chief angel” or “angel of origin”).  It is this archangel who will summon the dead to life in 1 Thess 4:15-17 when he descends from heaven with the trumpet call and loud shout at His second coming. Revelation has already well established the deity of Jesus, so Michael is not a created being, but the leader (‘archon’) of the angels. This is similar to the president of the United States also being the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. military. Michael is derived from Hebrew: meaning “Who is like God?”. Or “in the image of God.” This war that began in heaven with “the father of lies” (John 8:44) and continued on earth as the dragon wars first with Jesus and then with the women – the body of Christ on earth. 
He has pursued her down through the centuries. As noted yesterday, if he is warring against “the image of God,” he is warring against everything Jesus stands for: His character, His truth, His government(law), His people, His church, and those within it. The dragon is angry with the women (the church)! Have we not seen that anger played out through 12 chapters of Revelation and 2,000 years of human history? This is now the last battle and the following chapters will detail the events to take place in the war that will bring the curtain call on this planet’s rebellion. 
Those who have the testimony of Jesus will once again “Love not their lives unto death.” (V:11)