Book VI continues Raphael's account of the war in Heaven and opens as Abdiel makes his way back to God from Satan's hosts in the North. The other angels welcome Abdiel and take him before God, who praises the loyal angel for standing for truth even though none stood with him. God then appoints Michael and Gabriel to lead the Heavenly forces against Satan's army. However, God limits the number of the Heavenly force and its power to equal that of Satan's hosts.
The battle lasts two days. On the first day, the angels easily beat the rebellious angels back; on the second day, under the assault of a cannon that the demons have built, the angels' victory is not so easy. In response to the cannon fire, the Heavenly hosts grab mountains, hills, and boulders and pelt the rebels, literally burying them and their cannon. The rebels dig out and begin to respond in kind, and the air is soon filled with the landscape. At this point, God, fearing for the physical safety of Heaven (he knows that Satan is no real threat to his power, but the rebels are literally uprooting the landscape), calls forth the Son, who attacks the rebels single-handedly in his chariot and easily herds them into a gap that opens into Hell. Afraid to go forward or back, the rebels are eventually forced through the gap into Hell.
Raphael concludes his narrative and tells Adam that Satan now envies Man's position and will try to tempt the two humans into disobedience. Raphael reminds Adam of the fate of the rebellious angels and warns him not to yield to temptation.
