The stars falling from the sky are the angels who rebelled with Satan (hence their being pulled down by the dragon's tail). Distant, distant past but, like everything in Revelation, it may allude to other events as well. The whole first act of the divine drama alludes to Genesis 3:15 and the enmity between the serpent and the woman's seed. The woman's child is the newly established church.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:
and
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
In v9 Satan and his angels are cast down to the earth
BUT in v4 Satan casts some stars down into the earth. These actions also have different instigators, Michael in v9 and Satan in v4 and different victims, stars in v 4 and demons in v9.
It is very hard to reconcile these as descriptions of the same event, especially since the tone of v4 is Satan's animosity to the stars show by casting them down, a tone repeated when Michael casts down Satan and his angels. Oh I know that people rush over this and believe they are the same event without getting caught up in it, too bothersome.
So who are these stars, these angels that Satan has cast down? Some of satan's gang? Doubtful that he would turn against his own crew and throw some down when he needed their help against Michael. So if they were not demons, who are they? If not demonic, then they must have been elect, eh? But no one wants to believe that, do they, because then it means that some of the elect angels were cast to earth, that is cast down as sinners before the supposed fall in the garden, hmmm?
Unless you can find another reason than sin for anyone to be cast out of heaven, this verse tells us that some elect were cast to earth for sin. So let's think of a Christian theology that recognizes this fact.... ummmm, Ca...no,...Cath.....no, not them either. Oh wait, Pre-Conception Existence theology teaches this as a main point about the fall.
And how could Satan be the cause of their being 'swept by his tail' if they are GOD's elect? Doesn't GOD protect HIS own from Satan? Well yes, but about the only thing our Lord does not protect HIS elect from is walking down the path of their own foolishness. In other words, if they made a free will decision to follow Satan then so be it, eh?
But it is strange that it is Satan's tail that brings them to sin, not his mouth, the rants and preaching against YHWH as a false god. The one's who followed Satan into rebellion against YHWH as divine self created themselves as demons. So what was the crime of these elect angels who did not become demonic?
Well, consider this, perhaps these elect rebelled against God's plan to judge the reprobate demons and therefore became sinful themselves for their idolatry. Living with the tares on earth would soon cure them of that, right? Throwing them to earth does not necessarily mean having the power that forced them to earth, a power Satan probably does not have anyway, but by his inveiglements, he got these stars to rebel against their freely accepted GOD and become sinners, forcing the postponement of the judgment until the last sinful good seed repents fully unto holiness. GOD in HIS redemptive plan sent them to earth, to sheol, to await their birth on earth by the Son of Man,
Matthew 13:37... "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. for their redemption.
Peace, Ted