Hi,
I am wondering if you have watched and/or read anything by Michael Heiser, who has died recently. If so, I would love to hear your thoughts on his work. His book, The Unseen Realm, triggered a thought that I pursued and want to share with you. It is attached. It's title is "Satan was a Dragon in Eden [that turned into a serpent]" and the basic premise is that Satan was a powerful angel assigned to guard the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and that is where he made the choice to rebel against God and that the garden of Eden was the place where he fell, along with Adam and Eve. I know that sounds rather speculative, but if you don't mind, read it and let me know if it has merit.
Thanks
I haven't read or listened to Michael Heiser very much. My brother has his book 'The Unseen Realm' and I read part of it a few years back... and was a bit mixed on it to be honest. I liked some things and disagreed with others. Although many others think it is great. My brother enjoyed it more than me I believe. But I didn't read it all so not really qualified to give much of an opinion there.
In terms of Satan in the Garden, the Bible does say in both Testaments that he came in the form of a serpent in the Garden. And while both the dragon and the serpent are pictures used of the enemy, they are still distinct in that they present a different side of the enemy. The Bible doesn't say that Satan was seen as a dragon in the garden with Adam and Eve.
Rev 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Paul specifically says it was the serpent that deceived Eve:
2Co 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
I don't believe that Satan was guarding the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the Garden as I see His fall much earlier. God placed two significant trees in the garden because man needed to be tested, as the angels had previously been tested, on whether they wanted to obey God or go their own way. Neither tree was guarded initially.
In terms of the fall of Satan I see this much earlier as mentioned, than in the Garden of Eden. While I'm not dogmatic on it, I go along with what Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum teaches on this where the fall of Satan is between Gen 1:1 and Gen 1:2. And the reference to Eden in Ezek 28 is to a pre-fall mineral garden with precious stones, not a vegetable garden like Eden in Gen 3. If interested you could read about this here on page 385 of the pdf:
https://info1.sermon-online.com/english/ArnoldFruchtenbaum/The_Footsteps_Of_The_Messiah_1990.pdf
Or, I recently listened to Pastor Brandon Holthaus go through it all (he agrees with Fruchtenbaum's teaching concerning the fall of Satan and Gen 1:1 and 1:2) below. Note: it is quite long and in depth, but worth it! : )
https://youtu.be/tfLrFype7QY?si=gtFYbznlm5zTU8Yj
But it's always good to chew over these things!
Blessings,
Iain.
Readers Reply
Thank you so much for reading my erroneous article. That is why I wanted someone who knows more than me to read it....so I can be corrected, instead of believing some false notion that I thought of and tried to prove it with the scriptures. Thank you for the link to Arnold F.'s book and I will read it. And thank you for the link to the Hebraic Idioms series. My husband and I watched the first of the series today and my mind was blown, insomuch I had to take a long nap afterwards! So, God created a mineral world for the angels or for the angels to rule, with Satan as the supreme, and then after Satan's fall, God transformed the world for mortals?
Ha! Yeah not surprised you had a nap afterwards! It was not the shortest video or the simplest! Hopefully Arnold's book appendix of the abodes of Satan will help. It should be noted that it is still a debated and controversial area. Especially with there being a gap between Gen 1:1 and 1:2. I believe what He teaches on this but I'm not dogmatic on it as God hasn't made all of this perfectly clear. But yes, it seems that the Eden mentioned in Ezek 28 was originally a mineral garden and the earth 'became' formless and void with darkness over the surface of the deep as a judgment at the time of Satan's fall.
Blessings,
Iain.