If Lucifer had been considered an archangel before he rebelled against God, would he then have become the serpent in the Garden of Eden immediately after?
We can understand some prophecies to not only be referring to human beings but also the rebellion of the angel of worship who becomes the devil. First, Isaiah 14:12-16 is a taunt against the king of Babylon, but shows language that seems to go beyond a mere man.
““How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit. Those who see you will stare at you and ponder over you: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms,” (Isaiah 14:12–16, ESV)
The title Day Star, son of Dawn is where we get the name Lucifer. Lucifer is the Latin for this title, Day Star. If it were only a king, it won’t use the language of falling from heaven. Jesus talks about Satan falling from heaven like lightning (Luke 10:18). Revelation 12:7-17 also describes Satan falling from heaven.
Pride was the reason this glorified Angel fell from heaven (Isaiah 14:13). He attempts to take God’s place (Isaiah 14:14). But his pride causes his fall, resulting in him being cast to the earth and everyone looking on him with pity (Isaiah 14:15-16).
Another prophetic text that refers to Satan begins by speaking of the Prince of Tyre and then using elevated poetry to talk about someone who seems to fit the bill for the fallen angel, Satan. Ezekiel 28:12-19 alludes to the devil, confirming some of what Isaiah has already said.
““Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.”” (Ezekiel 28:12–19, ESV)
This fallen angel began with beauty, even mentioning the Garden of Eden. But the Prince of Tyre was nowhere near Eden. This is evidence of the prophets referring both to the Prince of Tyre and going beyond speaking of him to Satan.
The precious stones that adorn this angel show you his beauty (Ezekiel 28:13). A guardian cherub could refer to one of the angels that guarded Eden after Adam and Eve were kicked out. But it most likely refers to his special place on the mountain of God, in God’s temple.
This angel, like all other angels, is a created being. He was blameless until unrighteousness was found in his heart (Ezekiel 28:15). Because of the sin of his pride, God cast him out of his mountain, in reference to heaven (Ezekiel 28:16-17).
Ezekiel informs us that the pride found in this angel’s heart was due to his beauty. And the same result talked about in Isaiah happens here, that he is cast out of the mountain of God, heaven, down to the ground of the earth (Ezekiel 28:18).
People have the same reaction to the fall of the angel in both prophecies, that they are appalled at his end (Ezekiel 28:19). We know Satan will end up in the Lake of Fire from the book of Revelation. All the nations that follow him at the Battle of Armageddon will see the same end.
As I mentioned, Jesus proclaims the fall of Satan from heaven like lightning (Luke 10:18) and Revelation 12:7-17 depicts his fall from heaven to earth as the Dragon (). The event of Satan’s fall is solidified through these passages.
The Bible is not clear on how the serpent and the devil are connected in the garden of Eden in Genesis 3. We have two possibilities. The first possibility is that the animals can speak before the Fall of Man, and the serpent speaks of his own accord.
In this case, the serpent can be Satan himself, agreeable with the legends of the Leviathan, the sea monster serpent and the Dragon. The second possibility is that Satan possesses the serpent and speaks through it to Eve.
Since the Bible is not clear on which option is more plausible, the possibility for both can be maintained. It could be that Satan fell from heaven, turned into the serpent, and was in the garden of Eden. But it could also be that after he fell, he inhabited the serpent so he could deceive Eve and Adam, bringing the curse and setting in motion his play for God’s throne.
