Again, I point to the passage, “neither was their place found anymore in heaven.” That sentance explicitly states that before the battle, Lucifer’s place was in heaven.
That doesn’t really mean that he belonged there in the directly before this… I mean, it isn’t my place any more to eat baby food. But it has been that way for a long time. It’s not like that just happened yesterday.
Also, you can’t really say that he would have to be in heaven to fight there. For one, don’t we say that God is in heaven. But he is on Earth. But if he’s in heaven he can’t be on Earth. Get the point? Also number two, what if it is a tad metaphorical. I’m no Bible buff, but I do know there are plenty of not so explicitly labeled metaphors. Perhaps, it was his minions? If GW Bush sends troops into Iraq, but is beaten, he doesn’t even have to set foot in the country to be declared the loser of the battle.
I also would like to point out that it is possible that it was translated odd, which does happen, and by being cast out into the earth, he was cast out into the Universe OTHER than Heaven. From there perhaps he went back to his Hell, or perhaps this is just another metaphor.
Or perhaps, this may sound crazy, but he WAS on earth when he tempted Jesus, now wasn’t he. That doesn’t mean that this is Hell. If it makes it easier, He was cast out of Heaven, landed on Earth, then created a HQ in Hell, but comes to Earth to tempt people. Then at the end of days, he breaks back into Heaven, which starts the war.
Anyway, I usually try to stay away from Bible fights, because I believe that Christianity is flawed. The bible was written not by God, but by men. And it has been translated. Any one who studies languages can tell you that a near perfect translation can still lose the “meaning” of the word.
I gave you some possibilities that I thought of, now I am done. Say what you will, I’ve said my part.