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When Adam and Eve had ate the fruit they were subsequently cast out of Eden(garden)

Genesis 3:23 Ttherefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken.. 24 So He drove the man out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. ~ NASB

But of the serpent other than a curse there is no mention of it being cast out of Eden(garden)

Genesis 3:14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all the livestock, And more than any animal of the field; On your belly you shall go, And dust you shall eat All the days of your life; 15 And I will [c]make enemies Of you and the woman, And of your [d]offspring and her [e]Descendant; He shall [f]bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise Him on the heel.” ~ NASB

It is only later were there is some cursory reverence to the serpent being cast out of Heaven in the book of Revelation, but the reason seems somehow different from the garden rebellion

Revelation 12:7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they did not prevail, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole [d]world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ~ NASB

When was the serpent cast out of Eden?

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  • We are not told!! Further, being cast out of heaven (at Jesus crucifixion as per Rev 12:7) is very different from being case out of the Garden.
    – Dottard
    May 5, 2021 at 6:48
  • There is no support to him being cast out at the crucifixion...John may have been speaking of prior to the fall of man...which is also the most sensible and logical time for that to happen as Lucifer did rebell...does anyone honestly believe God allowed Lucifer to stay in heaven after that time?
    – Adam
    Jan 13, 2022 at 16:37

5 Answers 5

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Biblically speaking, there is no evidence that the devil (the serpent) was ever cast out of the garden, as long as it remained here on earth; but he had no reason to stay there after man had been cast out. Who was left there to tempt?

In fact, he had originally been confined to the tree of knowledge of good and evil; but when Eve, and afterward Adam, had both sinned, he was afterward allowed free access to them and to their children wherever they might be.

The Bible is clear about who was cast out, and why.

And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:22-24)

It was to prevent man from becoming immortal sinners that God cast out "the man" (Adam and Eve) from the garden; to prevent their access to the tree of life. The devil did not need to eat of the tree to extend his life--he is still alive and well thousands of years later. That tree, and perhaps the whole garden, was removed prior to the Flood. From that time to the present, it has not been on the earth, but rather in heaven.

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." (Revelation 2:7)

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." (Revelation 22:14)

While the Tree is now in "the paradise of God," God has promised that we may regain access to it if we are overcomers. And in that blessed place, the devil will vex us no more.

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When was the serpent cast out of Eden?

This is a good question for several reasons. The short answer is: "The serpent as was cast out at the same time that Adam and Eve where cast out." Why? Because the pronouncement by the Lord God was swift and unequivocal:

Genesis 3:14-15: “The LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;’ ‘And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.’”

This was not some divine "slap on the wrist" as we often suppose. Just what was this pronouncement by God if not the Devil’s condemnation? Is this not as clear a judgment on Satan as we ever read in the Bible? Indeed, it may well be the only instance that we ever read about, although some will insist that symbolic imagery found in the Book of Revelation (12:7-9) is describing yet another judgment. However, a closer examination of Revelation 12 should reveal how the "war in heaven" was, in fact the spiritual battle that took place on earth between Christ and Satan.

I will not take the time to demonstrate that here; suffice it to say Satan's angels were the demons whom Christ faced throughout his ministry. Christ's (Michael's) angels were his disciples (and perhaps certain angelic majesties). We simply cannot ignore the great symbolism found throughout the Book of Revelation; it is bad form to do so. [1][2]

There are great treasures in the Bible if we are willing to use our time and effort to look for them. For example, let us consider the following enigmatic passages from Peter’s First Letter, which are believed to convey great significance in this matter:

1 Peter 3:18-20: “For Christ […] having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, …” (emphasis added).

Just what is Peter telling us? Note the subtlety as God relates His Word to us, as if it is specifically intended to “filter out” those who do not have a conscientious desire to learn and be edified. Let us break the passages down by examining each point carefully:

  1. Christ was put to death in the flesh, but He was then made alive in the spirit.
  2. What else can this mean but that Christ became the Preincarnate Christ –- Christ in His glorified form. This makes perfect sense because...
  3. Recall that “Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9). That is not hyperbole.
  4. Christ appeared bodily to many of the Old Testament faithful, just as He did to Noah.
  5. Having thus been made alive, He went and proclaimed salvation through Noah.
  6. Noah’s audience was the violent, pre-Flood inhabitants of the Earth.
  7. These people were disobedient to the Words Christ spoke through Noah as he (Noah) was building the ark for 100 years. This is where “the patience of God kept waiting.”
  8. Finally, these same pre-Flood inhabitants, all of whom rejected the Message, are now spirits in prison -- at the time Peter wrote his Letter in the first century A.D.

We have unpacked quite a bit here. Should we be surprised that Christ has sovereignty over Time? Why? He is an eternal Being. This is confirmed for us in (at least) the Gospel of John where Jesus told his Jewish audience that Abraham lived to see Him:

John 8:56-58: “‘Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’ So the Jews said to Him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am’” (emphasis added).

Are we to reject this declaration by Christ that Abraham visibly saw Him? Note that Christ may just as easily have said: “Noah rejoiced to see My day.” We know that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness” (Gen. 6:9, 2 Peter 2:5). He ministered to those alive while he built the ark, but everyone other than his immediate family rejected the Message. Therefore, the violent, pre-Flood inhabitants to whom Noah once preached are described by Peter as “spirits now in prison.”

All of those wicked people had been long gone, their spirits now languishing in the flames of Hades (Lk. 16:19ff, cf. 2 Peter 2:4, Tartarus). Recall that in the first chapter of Peter’s Letter we are told:

1 Peter 1:11: “[The] Spirit of Christ [dwelled] within [the Old Testament prophets]” as they “prophesied of the grace that would come” to those who were willing to obey."

From this, it seems plausible that Christ not only operated through Noah: He also ministered “in the Spirit” through all the O/T prophets. That is simply a direct observation of the text. Let us not miss a significant point here. It might be helpful to remember, as before, that “Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9). Christ existed as God in the Spirit and manifested Himself as a physical being visibly and often. And, this makes perfect sense. That is because it is Christ Who:

  1. Created the world (Col. 1:16-17, Eph. 3:9, 1 Cor. 8:6);
  2. Is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1:15, 2 Cor. 4:4);
  3. Is the LORD Who “spoke to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11), and
  4. Is the sole mediator between heaven and Earth (1 Tim. 2:5, Heb. 8:6, 9:15).

All of these facts would indicate that it is through Christ that people have a direct connection to God the Father. In Paul’s First Letter to Timothy, the apostle tells us:

1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus...”

It should be relatively clear to those who have studied the subject that a personal encounter with the Preincarnate Christ did not necessitate death. And, this is how we may understand that human beings could stand face-to-face with God (Ex. 33:11), and did so many times without loss of life.

Now, if these things are true, should we be surprised to learn that Christ traveled back even further to the Garden of Eden? And why would He do that? To pronounce judgment on the serpent! But this could not be accomplished until He had offered Himself as the Sacrifice for all humanity. Adam and Eve stood just as guilty as the serpent in the Garden.

Christ would now possess full authority to directly condemn Satan for his actions. It appears to be the case that the passages from 1 Peter 3:19-20 as well as 1 Peter 1:11 reveal a glimpse of much greater truths if we are willing to pursue them. Christ, as God, is an eternal being, capable of stepping into and out of Time at will. Why is this a surprise to so many? (cf. Ex. 33:11).

We should remember that Christ proclaimed to his disciples:

John 12:31: “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.”

Obviously, “the ruler of this world” would be cast out after Christ’s Sacrifice, and, I suggest that would be the curse in the Garden, where Satan would then spend all his days eating dust (on the earth). Let us contrast this with a statement by Christ from the Gospel of Luke:

Luke 10:18: “And [Christ] said to [the seventy disciples], ‘I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.’”

In both of these cases it appears that Jesus envisions the certainty of the Devil’s judgment as a near-future occurrence to Him, something which we have great difficulty comprehending as finite beings that exist in a world of finite time. At what other point would Satan, in the form of a serpent, receive a divine sentence if not right here, moments after he had so obviously lied and perpetrated spiritual murder against the first couple – with ramifications that would span all of human history?

In these two passages, the Lord GOD has just prophesied the fate of the serpent: “He [Jesus] shall bruise you on the head.” Indeed, if this extrapolation of 1 Peter 3:18-20 is correct, Jesus of Nazareth had just been “[bruised] on the heel” through crucifixion, where both his feet were nailed to a wooden cross. He would desperately have tried to lift his terribly mutilated body on those bruised, pierced heels to prevent suffocation.

Christ, now a Spirit Being, would surely waste no time pronouncing a sentence on this great enemy; Genesis 3:14-15 appears to describe that sentence. Ultimately, of course, the Devil’s fate would be the Lake of Fire. As a spiritual being, he has no possible hope of salvation (Matt. 25:41).

We should not overlook the fact that the meaning of these verses is that the Devil has likely just been “cast out” -- metaphorically, he has “fallen from heaven like lightning” (Lk. 10:18). Here, perhaps we are to understand that “[eating] dust all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:14) is also emblematic of Satan’s confinement, consisting merely of “roaming about on the Earth and walking around on it” (cf. Job 1:6-7, 2:1-2). What is the Earth if not dirt and dust?

As mortal beings, it’s unlikely that we can plumb the depths of the spiritual consequences imposed on Satan at that moment.

I propose that, Yes, Satan was cast from the Garden immediately just as with the first couple.

[1] Daniel’s people were the Israelites, those protected by Michael (Dan. 10:13, esp. Dan. 10:21, 12:1). It was Christ Who was the rock that followed and protected them in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:4). Further, Michael was the one to dispute with the Devil over the body of Moses (Zechariah 3) represented by the Old Covenant relationship (Law and the Prophets), just as the body of Christ is represented by the New Covenant.

[2] God is omnipotent. It is, therefore, impossible for a war to “break out” in the holiest of the heavens because nothing can occur against the will of a Being with absolute power. This also means that angels, who exist in His magnificence could simply never fall, never rebel, because to exist in the paradise of God is to share His mighty intellect. How could anyone reject such thoughts or disagree with Him? If we are disposed to believe that some angels fell, we are then going to need significant evidence to prove how that could possibly occur.

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EZEKIEL 28:13 *You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: [snip]

(From the same passage)

EZEKIEL 28:16 ”By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; “ [snip]

.... Pretty clear I’d say. Verse 16 relates to Genesis 3.

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  • 1
    Scripture often employs poetic, celestial language, just as with this chapter in the Book of Ezekiel. In this case, it is directed at the king of Tyre. Ezekiel 28:2: “Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says..." Ezekiel 28:11-12: "Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lament for the king of Tyre".
    – Xeno
    May 5, 2021 at 19:58
  • @Xeno Greetings - Ezekiel ‘weaves’ between the natural and the ‘spiritual realm’ - he sees them as ‘one’. He demonstrates the interaction between the ‘realms’. So, ‘behind’ the king of Tyre there are spiritual entities that influence rulers. - Or are you suggesting that the King of Tyre was in Eden, the garden of God as well?
    – Dave
    May 5, 2021 at 20:33
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    Again, the Bible uses celestial imagery throughout. When there is an inspired narrative that contains a significant portion of symbolism (as several biblical books do) and there is no specific historical connection within the immediate context, we must seek to determine -- on the basis of a broader context -- what the background of the text may be. In other words, we are not at liberty to extract, from our own imagination, an “interpretation” that is alien to the historical text or that contradicts information found elsewhere in Scripture. Such is the case here.
    – Xeno
    May 5, 2021 at 20:40
  • @Xeno I have no issues with your different view of those specific passages in Ezekiel and Isaiah that some (like myself) relate to Genesis. Many agree with your view. But (IMO) Ezekiel’s reference to ‘Eden’, and ‘garden’ don’t require any stretching to make them ‘fit’. Your answer [above] is well argued, and has depth, and provides a very good alternative for readers to consider. And your comments here will alert readers to exercise caution with mine - all good stuff!!!
    – Dave
    May 5, 2021 at 20:58
  • I respect your opinion on this matter; I held it once myself and could not see how such language (as with Isaiah 14 (esp. 14:12)) could possibly apply to a human being. Then I began to question just how an angel - any angel - could fall from the Presence of God. It seemed to me that if this is possible, we too might destined for the same fate as Adam and Eve in the Garden. Consequently, I've since mostly abandoned the idea of fallen angels. Thanks!
    – Xeno
    May 5, 2021 at 21:30
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It seems to be, in a sense, the deceiver's original mission to put our obedience to God to the test. It seems to have exceeded its remit by tempting, not merely trying, the woman's obedience, and this is why it was 'cursed' by God.

We read about the deceiver standing before the throne of God petitioning the Almighty to put Job to the test (Job ch. 1), and God allows this, with restrictions. Later God allows further testing of Job, up to almost the point of death. Why would God allow this? It seems to be the enemy's purpose to do this, as a way of increasing God's glory, and yet by tempting us into sin, it draws eternal condemnation to itself.

Jesus said something similar as he told Simon Peter in Luke 22:31:

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.

Again here, the enemy petitions the throne of God to inflict trials on Simon Peter, but in this case, Messiah also petitions the Father advocating for Peter, to mitigate it but apparently not to cancel the coming trial. Paul even teaches in Romans 8:34:

Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

These facts present somewhat of a mystery, to understand how Satan as we call it ('Satan' is probably not actually a name in scripture, as Aramaic satana means simply 'enemy') could be doing its job and yet be condemned eternally by God - or more to the point, how such a situation could possibly originate. God does not create evil, but if not, how could something holy become profane on its own? This is never directly explained in scripture; perhaps it is something deeper than we are meant to understand. As Jesus said in John 3:2,

I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?

But it does emerge that in some way, while 'the devil' to us is an enemy spirit who vexes us, tempts us, and seeks to destroy us, it is also fulfilling its purpose. Why else would Almighty God permit its activities, particularly when the begotten Son of God petitions for our cause day and night before the throne?

Therefore, the serpent seemingly was not cast out of the garden, but appears there even now, orchestrating the destruction of as many people as possible, petitioning the throne to exercise his ill-gained authority over the people.

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When was the serpent cast out of Eden?

As mentioned above, the fact is that the text does not say that the serpent was ejected. In fact, the serpent has often carried the image of eternal life, so it could be that the ancients understood that the serpent still had access to the tree of life.

The shedding of the skin and the apparent lack of aging for snakes in general gave people the idea that they were immortal (unless killed). In fact, parallels are drawn between John 3:14-15 and Numbers 21 where the serpent (nachash as in Genesis 3) was raised up as a sign of life.

Contemporary to the New Testament, it was common understanding that Emperor Augustus (63BC - 14AD) was the child of Apollo in serpent form.

When Atia had come in the middle of the night to the solemn service of Apollo, she had her litter set down in the temple and fell asleep, while the rest of the matrons also slept. On a sudden a serpent glided up to her and shortly went away. When she awoke, she purified herself, as if after the embraces of her husband, and at once there appeared on her body a mark in colours like a serpent, and she could never get rid of it; so that presently she ceased ever to go to the public baths. In the tenth month after that Augustus was born and was therefore regarded as the son of Apollo

On top of this, the rod of asclepius, clearly contemporary to the early Christians, was a roman/greek representation of life that involved the serpent as a symbol of immortality. Asclepius as such is mentioned in the Illiad which may have been contemporary to the writings of Genesis 3. But certainly the egyptian Ouroboros and the Uraeus pre-dates the eden story as a symbol of protection and immorality within a serpent. A serpent is also mentioned as taking the plant of immorality for itself in the Gilgamesh epic predating all that.

In terms of the "protoevangelion" which interprets Genesis 3:15 as a potential interpretation of the serpent as Satan, I invite you to consider the following:

  1. The enmity setup between the serpent and the woman is a CONSEQUENCE of eating the forbidden fruit.
  2. If we look at all three punishments we see, cursing the earth and the bread for toil of the man. Cursing the soil of the womb. Casting down the serpent and setting up enmity.

It is inconsistent, for example, to read the Gospel of John as supporting the "SOLUTION" as setting the heel against the serpent. In John, instead of bread from below, we must eat bread from above. Instead of birth from the womb below, we must be born from above. Running the heel against the serpent is an interpretation inconsistent with these other two responses to the punishments in Genesis 3. That would be like saying "no, you must eat bread from below to be saved."

And in fact, John 3:14-15, points to Jesus needing to be lifted up "as the serpent" (which was cast down in Genesis 3), and also that the "heel is brought against JESUS" (John 13:18). Seeing the serpent as a symbol of eternal life, and realizing that Augustus, the emperor and "son of god" was seen (positively) as being of the seed of the serpent, it is not inconsistent to think that there were early Christian thinkers who did not see the serpent as a negative symbol. Perhaps, they associated the serpent with wisdom (Genesis 3:1, Matthew 10:16), the holy spirit with wisdom, and as with Augustus, saw Jesus as the seed of the spirit (wisdom/serpent). This would be consistent with "ending the enmity" through peace, and not through violence... Or in fact, Jesus NOT striking back at the heel and letting the heel land on him (John 13:18), knowing that he would shed his skin and be reborn.

This does require, however, dramatic shifts in theological positions for most people. Most people want to interpret God/Satan in polytheistic terms more akin to Zoroastrianism (e.g. as did Jerome and Augustine - literally with his manichean background) than to those in the Judaism in which it derived. Though Judaism had it's own struggling with this kind of thinking due to Persian post-exilic influences.

For more reading on this, I recommend Dr. James Charlesworth's recent awesome book, "The good and evil serpent."

All this points to the idea that the serpent may not have been seen, by some jews, as a negative symbol. In fact, most Jews that had gardens or farms would have thought of serpents as welcome guests in their gardens. They are purely carnivores and protect the plants from rabbits and rodents which eat vegetables, spoiling the food. This is how modern farmers still feel about snakes today. They are blessings in gardens.

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  • I struggle to give credibility to any author who ignores Bible genealogies...yours claims the earth contains writings from 40,000 BC. Sorry, that one isn't supported by biblical evidence.
    – Adam
    Jan 13, 2022 at 17:02
  • Huh? What are you referring to?
    – Gus L.
    Jan 13, 2022 at 20:21

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