‘And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels going forth to war with the monster, and the monster warred, and his angels. And they did not prevail neither was their place found any more in heaven.'
This occurs before the flight into the wilderness (Revelation 12:13). Michael is the angelic Prince of the people of God and it is his duty to intervene directly because the people of God are going to be under attack, an attack which will eventually result in their fleeing into the wilderness (Daniel 12:1). Michael and his angels are a comfort to the people of God, for they indicate that the supenatual powers that have previously been described do nto have it all their own way (compare Daniel 10). For the woman further travails will begin immediately on the taking away of the Son, resulting from renewed Satanic attack on God's people. Behind the persecutions described in Acts and elsewhere are the activities of Satan seeking to destroy God's remnant. So Michael goes into battle with him.
This battle commences even while Christ is on earth. Through the power of Christ, (we learn here with the able assistance of Michael and his angels), the strong man is bound and his house ransacked (Matthew 12:29; Mark 3:27), and Jesus can state ‘I saw Satan as lightning fall from Heaven' (Luke 10:18) as He contemplates the power of the Spirit at work victoriously through His disciples. Through His presence on earth, and His death and resurrection and exaltation to the throne, the principalities and powers are disarmed and led in a show of victory (Colossians 2:15). And now that Christ has won the victory over sin for His people the Accuser has no place before God. He will, of course, carry on with his accusations but from a far weaker base. The whole picture is presenting powerful spiritual activity in human terms and we need not press the detail.
We can compare how Elisha appeared to be alone with his servant in carrying forward God's purposes on earth, but he was aware of the angel forces surrounding him and assisting with the carrying out of God's purpose (2 Kings 6:17).
This victory is of great importance for it prevents the direct access of Satan to God, which is a central thought in this passage. Because Michael triumphs through Christ's strength (Jude 1:9), Satan no longer has direct entry to accuse God's people as he did of old (Revelation 12:10; see Zechariah 3:1; Job 1:2). He will of course continue to accuse day and night, as he has always done, but he must do it indirectly. Along with that, of course, his final defeat is signalled, and his power is broken. There will be other battles but he is a defeated foe.
We must unquestionably link this victory of Michael with the fact that the woman's son, the male child, has taken His place on the throne of God. Previously Michael himself has had to be wary in his dealings with Satan (Jude 1:9), saying “the Lord rebuke you”, but the presence of the Lord on earth, and His cross and resurrection, summed up in His sharing the throne of His Father in triumph, have broken Satan's power. Incidentally, had He wanted them, these are some of the legions Jesus could have called on in His fatal hour (Matthew 26:53), but their intervention on earth would have prevented God's plan being fulfilled. They may fight in Heaven but He must endure His suffering on earth, for sin had to be dealt with and Michael and his angels could do nothing about that.