Matthew 26:51-53: And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest’s, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
The prophet Elisha knew that there were many more angels supporting him than what there were Syrian soldiers that had come to take him (2 Kings 6:15-17). King Hezekiah also understood that the number of angels supporting Judah far outnumbered the Assyrians that had gathered against Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32:7-8). Jesus knew this too and did not flinch when He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, for at His disposal were more than twelve legions of angels ready to be dispatched by the Father if the Son would have called for them.
Earlier in Jesus’ ministry, He went to Gadara and encountered a possessed man whom the devils had called Legion (Mark 5:9). A Roman legion typically numbered between four thousand to six thousand men, so Satan was able to spare a few thousand devils for just one man! We learn from this that the number of supernatural beings, whether angelic or demonic, far outnumber the population of man on the earth. And when we compare the size of the angelic host against the demonic host, we learn that the ranks of Michael’s army are numerically superior to Lucifer’s.
In Luke 14:31, Jesus spoke of a king taking counsel as to whether he with an army of ten thousand could successfully engage another king in battle whose army was two-thirds larger, being twenty thousand. So in Revelation 12:4 we read of how Lucifer drew to himself a third of the angelic host, whilst the remaining two-thirds stayed loyal to Michael. Lucifer waged an unsuccessful war in Heaven with his numerically inferior army (Revelation 12:7-9), and the battle that began in Heaven will culminate on the earth at Armageddon.
Not only is Michael’s army numerically superior to Lucifer’s, but the angels that fill the heavenly ranks are far stronger in power than any devils from the hordes of Hell. The Bible even states that the theophanies of the saints of God in Heaven hold a position that is higher than what Lucifer had before he fell, for he desired to exalt himself above the stars (sons) of God in the beginning (Isaiah 14:13).
Jesus could have readily called out to the Father, and an army of angels, between 48,000 and 72,000 (twelve legions) in number would have been sent to deliver Him out of the hands of wicked men. But Jesus did none of that. Instead He submitted Himself to the will of the Father and went alone to the cross where He conquered Death, Hell, and the Grave. Satan and all his devils were no match for the Son of God in perfect submission to the will of the Father. And for a son or daughter of God, not only are they more than conquerors through the power of Jesus’ name, but untold legions of angels are waiting to support them if they should but call for them.