I took June to a Christian bookstore the other day. It’s one I hadn’t known about, and if you looked at it from the outside, you wouldn’t expect much:

Turns out looks can be deceiving; it’s deeper than it is wide, chock full of books and A LOT of Christian art, which is what June was looking for. We want more reminders of Jesus as we walk around our house.

This isn’t Jesus, but I was captivated by this reproduction of a painting by Guido Reni, 1635. The original is in Rome, and it’s 9 1/2 feet x 6 1/2 feet!

The Archangel Michael Defeating Satan

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, but he was defeated,and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. (Revelation 12.7 – 10, ESV)

The accuser of our brothers has been thrown down. And not only did Michael, the Archangel defeat Satan, we defeat Satan, also:

And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. (Revelation 12.11, ESV)

And so did Jesus:

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2.15, NIV)