Revelation 12:7 Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But the dragon was not strong enough, and no longer was any place found in heaven for him and his angels. 9 And the great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down— he who accuses them day and night before our God…..12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea; with great fury the devil has come down to you, knowing he has only a short time.” BSB
In Genesis 1, we talked about fallen angels and the spiritual rebellion that preceded the one in Genesis 3 – a fall in the spiritual creation. Revelation 12 gives us a glimpse of this rebellion and the origin of the serpent in Genesis 3.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals which God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?'” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat, 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'” 4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You won’t surely die, 5 for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit, and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 The eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves. NHEB
Genesis 1 through 11 is the prehistory that leads to the beginning of God’s plan of salvation in calling Abraham in Genesis 12. Ultimately, Jesus is the new Adam (see: 1Corinthians and Romans) putting us back on track to restore and grow our relationship with God. In Genesis 3, we will see a direct violation of God’s word then a speech from God regarding the consequences. Next is judgment followed with an insertion of grace at the end. We will see a replay of this pattern again in the next few chapters in the stories of Cain and Abel, the Nephilim, and Babel.
The rebellion begins by putting some doubt in the mind of Eve (we would call this gaslighting today). Satan’s temptation is for them to be in charge rather than God. This is similar to the temptations of Jesus as in each one, the devil calls into question what God wants or has said but each time, Jesus answers with Scripture. This is a good example for us to follow – to anchor ourselves in Scripture. The serpent is quoting Elohim thereby directly challenging the authority of the high and mighty God.
There are three types of death in Scripture: physical, spiritual and eternal. The loss of the spiritual connection, as happens to Adam and Eve, is the worst. A question that has been debated is whether we were naturally immortal or did death come about as a result of the Fall, i.e., was death already in place before the Fall. Regardless, the only thing immortal in Scripture is God so that any immortality we might have is a result of our relationship to God.
2Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. NHEB
Paul is saying that the Corinthians are like Eve because they can be deceived and led away from the truth so Eve becomes a prototype for humanity and church folks.
Genesis 3:8 They heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden during the breeze of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of God among the trees of the garden. 9 So God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 So God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above every tame animal, and above every wild animal. On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” NHEB
The image we see is that God wants to dwell among us and have a personal relationship – a God who is engaged with His people. He is omnipotent and therefore knows where they are but the question is posed as a literary device to add to the drama.
The relationship between God and man is unraveling but this isn’t the only relationship that is unraveling. In verse 12, we see an “about face” from Adam from chapter 2 as it relates to Eve. He places the blame on her which damages the relationship with the one other living being that is most like him. This doesn’t quite add up since Eve was the one who was tricked – Adam wasn’t tricked into eating the fruit yet he did so anyway. In chapter 3, an immoral choice is made and everything starts to fall apart. This even extends to their inner selves as they feel shame for what they have done.
Genesis 3:15 is a critically important clue for interpreting Scripture as it reflects the first mention of the Gospel and of prophecy. Of particular note is that this first prophecy concerns a savior. The judgement of enmity falls on the serpent yet he is not destroyed by God and will continue to disrupt and mislead future generations.
Luke 2:34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “Listen carefully: This child is destined to be the cause of the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be rejected. 35 Indeed, as a result of him the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul as well!” NET
Simeon has been promised by God that he will not die until he sees the Messiah which happens at the Temple during the required ceremonies for Jesus as the firstborn son. To paraphrase, while Jesus will bruise his head, the serpent will still cause some damage and inflict some sorrow. Likewise, we will experience some pushback from an adversary that is trying to undo the work of Christ and God’s plan of salvation. Not to mention how much harder it will be to remain faithful with such an adversary in place. Despite this suffering, evil will be crushed.
Romans 16:20 And the God of peace will quickly crush Satan under your feet. NHEB