15th October 2025

ST MICHAEL AND FALLEN ANGELS.

The book of Revelation is not an easy read, with much of the writing highly symbolic.

Another difficulty is that John is describing happenings outside the human calendar – either expectations of life when history has ended, or beyond its scope, with those wonderful images of the New Jerusalem, or things happening before the historical record begins.

This latter point helped me in my reading of Revelation 12 [which reflects images set out in Isaiah 14]. This passage I was compelled to read because our parish church in South Littleton is dedicated to St Michael, who is celebrated at the beginning of Michaelmas, when we could not escape considering that strange passage describing ‘war breaking out in heaven’. Here Archangel Michael defends the divine interest against Satan who leads an angelic conspiracy, lusting for power, promoted by pride, envy and an attempt to usurp God’s divinity. But all this occurs before the beginning of human history.

The idea of fallen angels is important because in Christian theology evil is a corruption of goodness, rather than an independent force equal in power to that of the Almighty.

Satan’s expulsion from heaven, however, is not his ultimate destiny. Until history comes to end and the satanic Lucifer is consigned to hell, he preys upon humanity with deceit, malign intent and great fury, until finally he is consumed in hell.

So we live in this in-between time when a defeated Satan still challenges Christian believers. To combat his wicked deceptions and evil trickery, Jesus taught us to pray ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’.

John Briggs