Did the war in heaven take place before or after the time of Adam and Eve?

I believe that the Bible teaches this war began before our world was created. It doesn’t tell us exactly how long this went on. We do know from Scripture that the devil was once an undefiled angel named Lucifer. He rebelled against God and became the fallen angel now known as Satan, meaning “adversary.” In other words, the Lord did not make a devil.

But when did God cast Satan out of heaven? Did this war between good and evil start before or after Adam and Eve? The Bible tells us, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning” (1 John 3:8).

Now God created the garden of Eden and, in the context of freewill, placed a test of Adam’s and Eve’s loyalty. He warned them about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So, obviously, somebody was going to be tempting them to turn away from the Lord right from the beginning. It certainly was not God tempting them. “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone” (James 1:13).

So in order for Satan to tempt Adam and Eve, he must have rebelled before the creation of our world. It might have even added to the devil’s jealous rebellion when God created our first parents, because angels cannot procreate. The devil does not have creative power, but Adam and Eve could create in their own image through the union of love. Because God made man in His own image and the devil hates God, it might have inspired Satan to especially focus his anger on the first couple.

Key Bible Texts

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, (Revelation 12:7 KJV)