Rev 12:9“Nachash” (The shining upright creature).
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)
Who was it that was cast to the earth?
Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isa 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Isa 14:16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
Isa 14:17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
Revelation 20:2He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
These verses give excellent information about Satan and his many names as well as his involvement back in Eden, being the serpent of old. But does this eliminate that he used a real serpent? Not necessarily. The whole of Scripture needs to be consulted.
We read in Genesis 3 that there was a real serpent and it received a real physical curse to crawl on its belly and eat dust for the duration of its life.
Genesis 3:14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
Satan is not a physical being, although he can operate in the physical realm (Job 1–2). He is a spiritual being that operates in the spiritual realm as evidenced in many passages that detail his spiritual attributes, such as 1 Peter 5:8; Matthew 16:23; Acts 5:3; and Ephesians 6:12.
The Bible seems to portray Satan and his angels as disembodied spirits. So then, how can both Satan and a real serpent be the culprit?
From other passages we find an important principle. Satan and demons can enter into people and animals and influence them.
For example, Judas was entered by Satan in Luke 22:3; Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.
Peter was influenced by Satan.
Matthew 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” and the swine were entered by Legion, which consisted of many demons (Mark 5, Matthew 8).
Martin Luther states it this way:
“Let us therefore, establish in the first place that the serpent is a real serpent, but one that has been entered and taken over by Satan”.
Moses, the author of Genesis, here introduces us to the serpent, the instrument that Satan used to deceive Eve and bring about the fall of man.
That it is Satan that indwells the serpent is confirmed by other Scriptures.
The Lord relates through Ezekiel that Satan was in the Garden of Eden: “You were in Eden, the garden of God” (Ezek. 28:13).
Christ alludes to Satan’s deception of Eve as murder, as He spoke to the Pharisees: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him” (John 8:44).
John, in the book of Revelation, specifically identifies the serpent when he describes a future incarnation of Satan as “the great dragon”: “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray” (Rev. 12:9).
So, there is no doubt that it was Lucifer the fallen angel who is called “that great Dragon, Satan, the Serpent of old, who possessed the serpent to deceive Eve.
For that reason God said to Satan:
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
What s meant by “The seed of the woman”?
Abel was the first. Cain being disqualified, because he was a murderer.
Then Seth and then all redeemed humanity and ultimately Jesus Christ Himself.
The curse was given to the serpent but it was Satan that bruised Christ’s heel and it was Satan’s head that was crushed.
The seed of the woman are all the redeemed and the seed of the serpent are children of Satan, (Children of your father the Devil John 8:44)
Conclusion:
The serpent in the garden was a real creature and was possessed by Lucifer, Hebrew: שָׂטָן (The Adversary) (Accuser), derived from a verb meaning primarily "to obstruct, oppose".
In the earlier biblical books, e.g. 1 Samuel 29:4, it refers to human adversaries, but in the later books, especially Job 1–2 and Zechariah 3, to a supernatural entity. When used without the definite article (simply satan), it can refer to any accuser, but when it is used with the definite article (ha-satan), it usually refers specifically to the heavenly accuser, literally, the satan.
Another word for serpent is “Nachash” (A shining upright creature).
There are serpents that can be upright, (e.g. Cobra).
Alternatively, the Bible refers to the serpent as that old dragon who is Satan.
So the serpent could have been some sort of upright creature with legs. Hence the curse, upon your belly you shall go.
The Devil is able to manifest himself as an angel of light.
So, Lucifer may have manifested himself as a serpent (Nachash, an upright shining creature).
Gen 3:15 God said “her seed; (Meaning Christ). it shall bruise thy head, and thou (meaning Satan) shalt bruise his heel.
It wasn’t a serpent creature that bruised Christ’s heel, but Satan.
So the creature (serpent) in the Garden must be Ha satan.
