War and Hell

Revelation 12:7-12

Phrases that spoke to me today:
• war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon
• the accuser of our brothers is cast out
• They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony

Applying the Word to My Life:
If you ever have the chance to talk to someone who fought in World War II, the story you hear will depend a lot on who you ask. A man pinned down behind a seawall on D-Day might have seen only a few hundred yards of sand, even while paratroopers fought behind German lines, soldiers came ashore under fire, ships battled offshore, and aircraft crossed the sky above them. Each man saw only his own piece of the war, but that small piece belonged to something much larger.

John pulls back the curtain and shows us a battle already raging. The soldiers of the Greatest Generation can help us understand what that means for us.

Michael and his angels fight the dragon, the ancient serpent and accuser. Heaven itself is at war, and the enemy wants something very specific: us. Revelation also tells us how that battle is won. Christ wins the victory, but He doesn't make His people spectators. His blood makes victory possible, and our faithfulness becomes part of how that victory enters the world.

Yesterday we met Lorenzo Ruiz in Nagasaki. From inside that torture chamber, his world must have felt very small. There was pain, fear, and one terrible question: would he renounce Christ to save his life?

Lorenzo was fighting on another front of the same war. He couldn't defeat the men torturing him, and he didn't need to. Christ had already defeated the enemy that mattered. Lorenzo's part was to hold onto the truth. When he said that if he had a thousand lives he would give them all to God, his testimony became part of the victory Revelation describes.

Most of our front lines look much less dramatic. The accuser tells us that what we have done is too terrible to forgive, and we repent instead of despairing. Fear tells us to keep quiet about Christ, and we speak. Anxiety or depression tells us to close in on ourselves, and we reach out. Temptation tells us that resistance is pointless, and we keep fighting. Compromise offers an easier road, and we remain faithful.

Those struggles may look small compared with Michael's battle or Lorenzo's martyrdom, but they belong to the same war. Your fight matters. Even when nobody else sees it, your faithfulness is part of something much larger than the moment in front of you. Fortunately, we're not being asked to fight alone.

The blood of the Lamb wins the victory. Christ chooses to let our testimony become part of it.

There's a battle for our souls, and we can't win it apart from Christ. But He doesn't save us by bypassing us. He asks us to trust His victory enough to live inside it, choosing Him and the truth even when something we value is at risk.

Michael fought his front. Lorenzo fought his. Today, we fight ours.

My Response for Today:
Today I'll recognize one lie of the accuser and answer it with the truth.

ABOUT THE ARCHANGELS: MICHAEL, GABRIEL, AND RAPHAEL
Names: St. Michael ("Who can compare with God?"), St. Gabriel ("God is my strength"), St. Raphael ("God heals")
Roles: Michael — Israel's guardian and leader of the heavenly armies against Satan (Revelation 12, Daniel 10, 12); Gabriel — announced the births of John the Baptist and Jesus (Luke 1); Raphael — guided and healed Tobias and his father on their journey (Book of Tobit)
Feast Day: September 29
Patron of: Michael — police officers, soldiers, the sick; Gabriel — messengers, postal workers; Raphael — travelers, the blind, physicians
Title: Archangels
Read more: Catholic Culture