Archangel Michael - Source: www.allposters.com

The "time, and times, and half a time" is a year and two years, plus a half-year, 1260 days, or 3 1/2 years, as described in verse 6, above. This kept Jesus safe as Herod committed infanticide by slaughtering every child under 2 years old in the kingdom: "Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men." (Matthew 2:16)

The final verse describes the persecution of the followers of Jesus, as history clearly records: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Rev. 12:17)

As amazing it seems, there it is; a clear contradiction of this great "war in heaven" occurring at the return of Jesus. Satan was about to kill Jesus, God takes Mary to safety, and Michael blows Satan right out of the sky. And, equally clear, is the fact that Satan is not imprisoned, as will happen to him at the return of Jesus. Rather, it states that after he is defeated, he goes after Mary and the infant Jesus, and the world is warned of the danger he now poses to all living things. This is not a description of Satan operating out of prison, but a prediction and description of the havoc he has been wreaking on Earth since he was grounded, about 4 BC, or just over 2000 years ago.

The twelfth chapter of Revelation could not be more concise about when this occurred, which shows that the accepted doctrine on this issue is, in fact, false. But, this would seem to fly in the face of some other, very well-known biblical "facts", such as, Isaiah specifically saying he saw Satan / Lucifer fall in his day, almost 8 centuries before the birth of Jesus. What about Ezekiel's declaration that he saw Satan fall about 6 centuries before Jesus' birth? And, there is the well-known fact that the Revelation is a book of future predictions and not historical realities.

The same people, who will tell you the "war in heaven" is an end-times event and the three points just presented are true, will also tell you that the Bible does not contradict itself. Therefore, since we have proven that the "war in heaven" did not occur until just over 2000 years ago, either the last three concepts presented are as false as the concept of an end-times sky battle, or the Bible is contradicting itself.

One of the basic pulpit-supported traditions is that Satan's fall took place, either in the gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, in the gap between Genesis chapter 2 and Genesis chapter 3, or even before that. This, even though Satan still had access to God's throne after he tempted Eve, which is evidenced by his appearances before God with the other angels in Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7.

Another traditional belief is that Satan's fall was described in Isaiah 14:12-17, where he is called "Lucifer". A very basic study of the word "Lucifer" will show that it was never in the original Hebrew text of the Book of Isaiah. And, a simple reading of the entire 14th chapter of Isaiah will show that the passage clearly applies to the king of Babylon. Modern theological scholarship accepts that this is the king of Babylon that Isaiah is describing, and not Satan.

The same reality also applies to the concept that Ezekiel 28:11-19 is describing the fall of Satan. Again, a simple reading of the entire text will show that Ezekiel is giving a prophecy against the king of Tyre, who is specifically identified in verses 2 and 12. Many will admit the prophecies of both Isaiah and Ezekiel are directed at kings, but try to claim that they are actually giving prophecies against the "power behind the throne", and not the kings themselves. This may be an argument of convenience, but is not a valid concept which is accepted in theological erudition.