It has become popular among authors and screenwriters these days to write prequels. When a book or movie series does well, eventually there are only so many sequels you can do, and so you work the other way around, and write the stories of what happened before the first story. 

The events of Genesis take us to the very beginning of creation, but they do not intend to tell us all that happened between chapter 1 and 3. One of the perplexing things about Genesis 3 is we have almost no background on who this serpent is that tempted Eve. Since God made everything good, and since verse 1 explicitly says that the serpent was the most subtle of all the creatures God made, we seem to have a conundrum. God made all things good, God made the serpent, but the serpent is apparently evil. We need some kind of prequel to Genesis 3 that gives us that story

We saw last time that the serpent was evidently much more than a serpent. The Hebrew word nahash means not only serpent, but to divine or act as medium, and it also means shining or bright one. There are hints that this serpent is far more than just a serpent, but a spiritual being. 

Now the New Testament clears up any doubt we might have. The book of Revelation says  “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (Revelation 12:9) 

And if there were any doubt,  He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; (Revelation 20:2) 

Well, that explains the evil. The serpent is evil, because the person possessing it, or appearing as it, or having that form is evil: Satan, the Devil. But that still leaves us with a problem. Where did he come from? Apparently, the devil exists before man sins. Man brings the curse into his world, the earth, but the evil of Satan had to have entered the universe before that, for there to be a temptation in Genesis 3. Since Genesis is the book of beginnings, why don’t we have some record in Genesis of where Satan comes from, of where the original evil began? Why isn’t there some account of this?

Well, as we’ll see, there are bits and pieces all over Scripture that enable us to piece together some of the answer. But I think there are at least two reasons why Genesis doesn’t answer that question. 

First, the book of Genesis is telling the human story, and particularly, the story of Abraham and the chosen nation. Its focus is not to answer every cosmic question, or tell the stories of angelic beings.

Second, the Bible has a very particular way of treating the topic of Satan and fallen beings. They are mentioned, strategies for dealing with them are usually given, but then the Bible quickly changes the topic. There is almost nowhere in Scripture where you have an extended explanation or discussion in detail of fallen spiritual beings. I think that’s because the Bible wants to teach and warn us, but not scratch the itch of curiosity we have about them. Angels and fallen angels are interesting and we are naturally curious. But it is that curiosity which dark beings exploit into deception, or even being drawn into the world of the occult. It is as if these beings spin sticky webs, and humans that linger too long in curiosity get caught. So the Bible instead gives us fragments here and there, enough to explain, but also too little to begin worshipping. Keep moving, the Bible says, don’t park here. 

But since we are studying beginnings, it is helpful to try to answer a few questions about this Fall before the Fall. When were the angels created during creation week? Where did Satan come from? How did he become the evil serpent?

I. God’s Household of Two Families

The first thing we remind ourselves of is Genesis 1:1, which tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. We sometimes miss that Scripture is often putting these two next to each other to describe two different realms: the heavenly realm, and the earthly realm. 

Now most of Genesis 1 is concerned with what God did to the earth, and how He created mankind to live and rule on the earth. But it appears God created another family to live and rule in the heavens. The heavens is their abode, their country, their home. 

 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 3:10) 

 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12) 
In fact, some of the terms given to refer to them are the heavenly host or the host of heaven. The word for host, tsava, actually means army. Sometimes this word refers to the stars; “who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.” (2 Kings 23:5) 

But sometimes it refers to living beings. “I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing on His right hand and His left. (2 Chronicles 18:18) 

 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:13–14) 

By the way, this is the term paired most often with God’s name. Yehovah Tsavaot. Jehovah of the Hosts, Jehovah of the Heavenly Armies. 

Job 38 also gives them a similar title and tell us they were present before man was created. 

“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.  Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it?  To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone,  When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4–7) 

Now if these beings are also called sons of God, then they are part of His family. 
It seems God made two families to make up His household: a heavenly family, and an earthly family. This heavenly family is made up of spirits. We know that because Hebrews 1:14 calls them ministering spirits. That doesn’t mean they do not have bodies; it means they do not have earthly bodies. 

This heavenly family is innumerable beings of different type, and rank. We tend to use the word angel to describe them all, but actually, the word angel just means messenger. 

Here is a list of the terms used in the Bible of this heavenly family to describe the different kinds of spirits or beings in this family: seraphim, cherubim, living creatures, princes, archangels, rulers, authorities, powers, lords, thrones, spiritual hosts, watchers, holy ones. In fact, in Psalm 82, they are even called gods, elohim. Revelation 5:11 and 9:16 describes their number as ten thousand times ten thousand, meaning many hundreds of millions. Indeed, if there is somehow a connection between the stars and the angels, then there are many, many times more angels than all the humans who have ever lived.

So when did God create the heavenly family? My suggestion is either day 1 or day 4. Day 1 because this is when both heavens and earth and created, and also because it is the creation of light, and they appear to be beings somehow connected to light. Day 4 because that is the day when the stars are created, or at least revealed from Earth’s perspective. But I think on day 6, both families are created and unfallen. Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. (Genesis 2:1)

II. The Fall Within The Heavenly Household

Now somewhere between the end of day 6, and the events of Genesis 3, there has to be a fall, the entrance of sin into this heavenly family. Genesis doesn’t record this, but several New Testament texts tell us that it happened. 

And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (Luke 10:18)

not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. (1 Timothy 3:6) 

2 Pet. 2:4, “if God spared not the angels who sinned.” Jude 6, “angels which kept not their first estate.” 

He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8) 

And then we have this cryptic passage from Revelation 12:

And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. (Revelation 12:3–4) 

So we know it did happen, but when, and why?

The two most likely Scriptures are Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14. In the chapters before Ezekiel 28, God has been prophesying doom on certain nations: Ammon, Moab, Philistia, and then the harbour city of Tyre in chapters 26 and 27. This was a city filled with pride at its wealth, its beauty, its renown. Behind this city’s pride was a ruler who is denounced in verses 2-10. But then in verse 11, we are introduced to someone who is behind even that human ruler. 

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,  “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him,`Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

“You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 

This person is a king, but not a human king. This king is clearly an angelic being, a mighty angelic lord. The Bible often refers to angelic beings as the king of Persia, king of Greece – apparently a reference to some form of dominion they exercise. Remember the terms princes, archangels, rulers, authorities, powers, lords, thrones.

How do we know the king of Tyre is an angelic being? Just look at the descriptions.

Verse 12 – He was the seal of perfection – full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. For a creature, He was quite simply the most beautiful thing God ever made. No human can make that claim. No other angel was as beautiful. He was the height of glory when it comes to a creature. 

Verse 13 says he was in Eden, the Garden of God. This seems to refer to a time before the Fall, maybe even on the first days of creation. Eden was a mountain, the mountain of God, and it may well be that several of God’s highest heavenly beings were with God there. He was covered with every precious stone, here are listed nine stones alongside gold. And since he may well have been created before the Earth, it is quite possible that the Earth’s precious stones were copies of the original precious stones found in Heaven, and adorning this creature. While we can’t quite picture all these stones together, the idea is one of extraordinary beauty, dazzling wealth. The glint, the sparkle, the radiance that must have gone with him wherever he went must have been something. 

You cannot help picturing the other spirit beings admiring his beauty, staring, being as amazed by his appearance.

The words, “The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes (Eze 28:13)” can be translated Your mountings and settings were crafted in gold; but it may well refer to some musical aspect of this heavenly creature, that he was gifted and given extraordinary ability in music.

Verse 14 describes his privileges. He was the anointed cherub. The cherubim are that order of angelic beings that surround the throne, and seem to cover, or protect the holiness of God. They seem to be the highest order of angels, because they accompanied appearances of God Himself in chapter 1. And in that order of angels, he was the anointed one – the chosen one, the highest of them all. He was on the holy mountain of God, he was walking upon the stones of fire- these seem to refer to the innermost presence of God, perhaps a closeness that the other angels do not access.

In Jude 9, he is greater than Michael, the archangel.

So consider all this heavenly prince had. He was as beautiful as God can make a creature. He was as wise, brilliant and intelligent as possible. He had all the wealth and splendour that could matter in heaven’s economy. He was the chief of the chief angelic order, the very prince of the greatest created beings. We could say he was the crown jewel of all God made, as high as high could be in God’s creation. 

But what did he do?

You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you.

Sin was found in him. What kind of sin? Verse 17 tells us. 

“Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendour; 

Pride was his sin. As high as he was, he was not as high as God, he was lower than God. But this lower prince wanted to go higher. With all that beauty, wisdom, wealth, honour, privilege, rank, status, it was not enough. What did he want? Isaiah 14 picks up the story and tells us his name:

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’

Lucifer may or may not be a proper name. It is helel in Hebrew, meaning shining one – very close, if you remember to one of the meanings of nachash, or serpent. 

Verse 13 tells you what he decided in his heart. I said five “I wills”. I will ascend into heaven – I will go up to the place of worship; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God – I will rule over God’s angels; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north – I will sit where God sits ; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds – I will receive highest glory, I will be like the most High – in every way, I will equal and be what Yehovah God is. 

Into the heart of this creature came a thought, a thought which began to nag at him. If I am so beautiful, the most beautiful, if I am admired by all God’s angels, if I am already at the top of all creation, why should I not be the chosen ruler alongside God? Why should I not sit at God’s right hand, be co-equal? Why should I not be God? Granted, I am created, but God has clearly created an equal to Himself, why should I not rule, and be served, and be worshipped? 

Perhaps the pride included jealousy and disdain when he found out that the Second Person of the Trinity was going to become a man. 

Jonathan Edwards speculated that either just before or after the creation of man, God declared to the angels that one of the same human nature should be His Son, “his best beloved.” Thus, a human would be the “head and king” of the angels, and thus angels the charge of [mankind] as ministering spirits to men. Edwards explained that Satan could not bear the thought that he was employed to serve and protect those who were hierarchically below him within creation. “Lucifer, being the archangel, one of the highest of the angels, could not bear it, thought it below him and a great debasing of him; so he conceived rebellion against the Almighty and drew away a vast company of the heavenly hosts with him”. We don’t know that for sure, but it does have a lot of explanatory power: it would explain Satan’s hatred for mankind, his desire to see mankind fall. 

Here was the moment sin was born. 

Here this shining one becomes the adversary. In the Old Testament, Satan is not a proper name, it is a title – hasatan – the adversary. He became the Enemy. In fact, what his actual name is, we do not know and may never know. Nameless and accursed. 

He chose to love something in a way that God did not. He loved himself more than God. He valued himself more than God. He made an idol of himself. He wanted to take and have what was God’s. And in a moment, he was corrupt. He was a thief – stealing God’s glory and worship. He was a murderer – hating God’s supremacy and uniqueness and wanting to murder the other household. He was a liar – believing his own self-deception. 

He was lower than God, but he wanted to go higher. What did God say would happen to him?

Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit.

“Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying:`Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’ “All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot.(Isa 14:12-19)

He was cast out and brought down. In fact, Satan’s fall takes place in three phases. His first fall was from his place as one of the cherubim guarding the holiness of God. He still had access to Heaven in general, as we read in the book of Job, where he appears with the other angels. The second stage of his fall is recorded in Revelation 12, where he is cast out from even appearing in Heaven itself during the Tribulation period on earth. His final fall will be, after having been bound for a thousand years and released for one last temptation of man after the Millennium, he will be caught and cast into the Lake of Fire. 

And this text tells us that Satan will end up in the very lowest, most disgraceful, most painful part of the Lake of Fire. Even in that place, the unsaved dead will look at him and marvel, and ask, was this the cause of all evil? Was this the great prince of the power of the air? What has become of him? He is discarded, corrupting, rotten. He has lost all power, all beauty, all honour, all glory, all wisdom. All the things he coveted beyond the measure God gave him, he has lost.

Now what of the other angels? We are not told when or how or how many sinned. Revelation 12 tells us that the dragon cast down a third of the stars of heaven to earth, which may mean that a third of the heavenly beings followed him in his rebellion. One commentator suggested that there was more than one fall of angels, one with Satan, another in Genesis 6, and a third at the Tower of Babel. But we have too little information to go on. 

Now, why does this matter? Well, the heavens and the earth are tied together. These two families have destinies that are inseparable. The Fall in the One was the prequel to a Fall in the other. 

One day, the Heavenly city will be on the earth, which means that Earth is the throneroom of the heavens. Whoever rules the Earth rules the heavens. 

That’s why we live in the world we do. It’s a battleground for power, a stage for a war over the cosmos, a war over pride versus humility, domination versus love. But it will be the scene where the redemption of one family will teach the other family.  to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, (Ephesians 3:10)