9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old [382]serpent, called the [383]Devil, and [384]Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
9. And the great dragon was cast out. See Notes on [ver. 3]. That there may be an allusion in the language here to what actually occurred in some far-distant period of the past, when Satan was ejected from heaven, there can be no reason to doubt. Our Saviour seems to refer to such an event in the language which he uses when he says (Lu. x. 18), “I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven;” and Jude, perhaps (ver. 6), may refer to the same event. All that we know on the subject leads us to suppose that at some time there was a revolt among the angels, and that the rebellious part were cast out of heaven, for an allusion to this is not unfrequent in the Scriptures. Still the event here referred to is a symbolical representation of what could occur at a later period, when the church would be about to spread and be triumphant, and when Satan would wage a deadly war against it. That opposition would be as if he made war on Michael the archangel, and the heavenly hosts, and his failure would be as great as if he were vanquished and cast out of heaven. ¶ That old serpent. This doubtless refers to the serpent that deceived Eve (Ge. iii. 1–11; Re. xx. 2; comp. Notes on 2 Co. xi. 3); and this passage may be adduced as a proof that the real tempter of Eve was the devil, who assumed the form of a serpent. The word old here refers to the fact that his appearance on earth was at an early stage of the world’s history, and that he had long been employed in the work which is here attributed to him—that of opposing the church. ¶ Called the Devil. To whom the name Devil is given. That is, this is the same being that is elsewhere and commonly known by that name. See Notes on Mat. iv. 1. ¶ And Satan. Another name given to the same being—a name, like the other, designed to refer to something in his character. See it explained in the Notes on Job i. 6. ¶ Which deceiveth the whole world. Whose character is that of a deceiver; whose agency extends over all the earth. See Notes on Jn. viii. 44, and 1 Jn. v. 19. ¶ He was cast out into the earth. That is, he was not suffered to pursue his designs in heaven, but was cast down to the earth, where he is permitted for a time to carry on his warfare against the church. According to the interpretation proposed above, this refers to the period when there were indications that God was about to set up his kingdom on the earth. The language, however, is such as would be used on the supposition that there had been, at some period, a rebellion in heaven, and that Satan and his followers had been cast out to return there no more. It is difficult to explain this language except on that supposition; and such a supposition is, in itself, no more improbable than the apostasy and rebellion of man. ¶ And his angels were cast out with him. They shared the lot of their leader. As applicable to the state of things to which this refers, the meaning is, that all were overthrown; that no enemy of the church would remainunsubdued; that the victory would be final and complete. As applicable to the event from which the language is supposed to have been derived—the revolt in heaven—the meaning is, that the followers in the revolt shared the lot of the leader, and that all who rebelled were ejected from heaven. The first and the only revolt in heaven was quelled; and the result furnished to the universe an impressive proof that none who rebelled there would be forgiven—that apostasy so near the throne could not be pardoned.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, [385]Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
10. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven. The great enemy was expelled; the cause of God and truth was triumphant; and the conquering hosts united in celebrating the victory. This representation of a song, consequent on victory, is in accordance with the usual representations in the Bible. See the song of Moses at the Red Sea, Ex. xv.; the song of Deborah, Ju. v.; the song of David when the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, 2 Sa. xxii.; and Is. xii., xxv. On no occasion could such a song be more appropriate than on the complete routing and discomfiture of Satan and his rebellious hosts. Viewed in reference to the time here symbolized, this would relate to the certain triumph of the church and of truth on the earth; in reference to the language, there is an allusion to the joy and triumph of the heavenly hosts when Satan and his apostate legions were expelled. ¶ Now is come salvation. That is, complete deliverance from the power of Satan. ¶ And strength. That is, now is the mighty power of God manifested in casting down and subduing the great enemy of the church. ¶ And the kingdom of our God. The reign of our God. See Notes on Mat. iii. 2. That is now established among men, and God will henceforward rule. This refers to the certain ultimate triumph of his cause in the world. ¶ And the power of his Christ. His anointed; that is, the kingdom of Christ as the Messiah, or as anointed and set apart to rule over the world. See Notes on Mat. i. 1. ¶ For the accuser of our brethren is cast down. The phrase “our brethren” shows by whom this song is celebrated. It is sung in heaven; but it is by those who belonged to the redeemed church, and whose brethren were still suffering persecution and trial on the earth. It shows the tenderness of the tie which unites all the redeemed as brethren, whether on earth or in heaven; and it shows the interest which they “who have passed the flood” have in the trials, the sorrows, and the triumphs of those who are still upon the earth. We have here another appellation given to the great enemy—“accuser of the brethren.” The word here used—κατήγορος, in later editions of the New Testament κατήγωρ—means properly an accuser, one who blames another, or charges another with crime. The word occurs in Jn. viii. 10; Ac. xxiii. 30, 35; xxiv. 8; xxv. 16, 18; Re. xii. 10, in all which places it is rendered accuser or accusers, though only in the latter place applied to Satan. The verb frequently occurs, Mat. xii. 10; xxvii. 12; Mar. iii. 2; xv. 3, et al. The description of Satan as an accuser accords with the opinion of the ancient Hebrews in regard to his character. Thus he is represented in Job i. 9–11; ii. 4, 5; Zec. iii. 1, 2; 1 Ch. xxi. 1. The phrase “of the brethren” refers to Christians, or to the people of God; and the meaning here is, that one of the characteristics of Satan—a characteristic so well known as to make it proper to designate him by it—is that he is an accuser of the righteous; that he is employed in bringing against them charges affecting their character and destroying their influence. The propriety of this appellation cannot be doubted. It is, as it has always been, one of the characteristics of Satan—one of the means by which he keeps up his influence in the world—to bring accusations against the people of God. Thus, under his suggestions, and by his agents, they are charged with hypocrisy; with insincerity; with being influenced by bad motives; with pursuing sinister designs under the cloak of religion; with secret vices and crimes. Thus it was that the martyrs were accused; thus it is that unfounded accusations are often brought againstministers of the gospel, palsying their power and diminishing their influence, or that when a professed Christian falls the church is made to suffer by an effort to cast suspicion on all who bear the Christian name. Perhaps the most skilful thing that Satan does, and the thing by which he most contributes to diminish the influence of the church, is in thus causing “accusations” to be brought against the people of God. ¶ Is cast down. The period here referred to was, doubtless, the time when the church was about to be established and to flourish in the world, and when accusations would be brought against Christians by various classes of calumniators and informers. It is well known that in the early ages of Christianity crimes of the most horrid nature were charged on Christians, and that it was by these slanders that the effort was made to prevent the extension of the Christian church. ¶ Which accused them before our God. See Notes on Job i. 9, 10. The meaning is, that he accused them, as it were, in the very presence of God. ¶ Day and night. He never ceased bringing these accusations, and sought by the perseverance and constancy with which they were urged to convince the world that there was no sincerity in the church and no reality in religion.
11 And they [386]overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and [387]they loved not their lives unto the death.
11. And they overcame him. That is, he was foiled in his attempt thus to destroy the church. The reference here, undoubtedly, is primarily to the martyr age and to the martyr spirit; and the meaning is, that religion had not become extinct by these accusations, as Satan hoped it would be, but lived and triumphed. By their holy lives, by their faithful testimony, by their patient sufferings, they showed that all these accusations were false, and that the religion which they professed was from God, and thus in fact gained a victory over their accuser. Instead of being themselves subdued, Satan himself was vanquished, and the world was constrained to acknowledge that the persecuted religion had a heavenly origin. No design was ever more ineffectual than that of crushing the church by persecution, no victory was ever more signal than that which was gained when it could be said that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.” ¶ By the blood of the Lamb. The Lord Jesus—the Lamb of God. Notes, [ch. v. 6]; comp. Notes on Jn. i. 29. The blood of Christ was that by which they were redeemed, and it was in virtue of the efficacy of the atonement that they were enabled to achieve the victory. Comp. Notes on Phi. iv. 13. Christ himself achieved a victory over Satan by his death (see Notes on Col. ii. 15; He. ii. 15), and it is in virtue of the victory which he thus achieved that we are now able to triumph over our great foe.
“I ask them whence their victory came.
They, with united breath,
Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb,
Their triumph to his death.”