“And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon” (Rev. 12:7).
Just when you thought dragons were not real, along come the computer-generated images from HBO’s Game of Thrones, giving us fleshed out dragons in full flight, pouring out streams of fire and generally scorching the place. You might say that dragons have been having a bit of a moment for the past fifty years or so, beginning with The Hobbit and My Father’s Dragon. Dragons as images of destructive power have come a long way from the fairy tales of yesteryear to the big screen of today.
Our reading today, from the Revelation of John, reminds us that dragons got their first big break in the Holy Scriptures. In Psalm 74, “Leviathan” was a many-headed dragon that God wrestled with at the Red Sea. You won’t find it in the Book of Exodus, but there it is, preserved in the psalm. The prophet Isaiah seems to have the same idea in mind, as he says, “The Lord with his… strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will kill the dragon that is in the sea” (Is. 27:1). And Job waxes poetic about this same Leviathan, in his book: “From its mouth go flaming torches; sparks of fire leap out… its breath kindles coals, and a fire comes out of its mouth” (Job. 41:19, 21). Sounds like a dragon to me.
Leviathan was an image of destructive power, but in Genesis we find another serpent, another form of the dragon, the Tempter who deceives Adam and Eve. I know we think of this serpent as a snake, a pretty puny antagonist; but it’s actually the same dangerous creature. It’s only after wreaking havoc that the serpent is condemned to crawl on the ground. In the story of the fall of Adam and Eve, the serpent is humanity’s deadly enemy, sowing destruction and death. The serpent in Genesis is as dangerous as the fire-breathing Leviathan we find elsewhere in the Scriptures.
As the story goes, Adam and Eve are deceived; the serpent tells them the lie that if they eat the fruit of the tree they will be like God, knowing good and evil. Of course, there’s a sting in the serpent’s tail, as they end up knowing more about evil than they bargained for, to their own shame. The story ends: “[The Lord God] drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life” (Gen. 3:24).
It’s this story that provides the through line to our second reading this morning, for the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels. Once again, we have a dragon in view: “And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon” (Rev. 12:7). It’s the same serpent, of course, that we find in Isaiah and Job, and in Psalm 74; the same dragon that crept into the garden in Genesis. “The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” (Rev. 12:9), as our reading puts it.
Revelation, the last book in the Bible, often mixes up and recombine earlier images and themes, shedding light and wrapping up the story. So, Michael and his crew of angels now enter the heavenly contest with Leviathan, the seven-headed dragon, on behalf of the human race. Last seen guarding the door back into Paradise, so that humanity cannot return, the angels now have a new posting to protect the human race. Their mission is to guard and defend us here on earth, as they enter the conflict on our behalf. Revelation rewrites the Genesis story, and gives the angels a new role. “He shall give his angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (Ps. 91:11), as it says in Psalm 91.
Jesus says to Nathanael in our Gospel today, “You will see greater things than these… Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man” (Jo. 1:50-51). As the Gospel says, the way to Paradise that had been closed after Adam and Eve is now opened; the angels are no longer guarding the gate but covering the way back. It’s the great reversal of course, the great victory, that spells salvation for the human race. Jesus is the Son of Man who creates the way, who blazes the trail; who by his death and resurrection himself defeats our ancient enemy.
Today our baptismal candidates and our confirmands are showing us the way forward. In the course of our liturgy, our baptismal candidates will reject Satan and all his works: the evil and destructive power that the serpent represents. Our confirmands, and all of us as well, will re-affirm the same promise. As his disciples, we will be following the path that Jesus himself has traveled. The dragon will be cast down through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ! May all of us who travel this road see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.