# I was watching Satan fall from heaven as lightning
Jesus used a simile to compare how God was defeating Satan when his 70 disciples were preaching in the towns to the way lightning strikes. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-simile]])
Possible meanings are 1) fall as quickly as lighting strikes, or 2) fall down from heaven as lightning strikes downward. Since both meaning are possible, it may be best to keep the image.