Milton’s Paradise Lost is one of my favorite books of all time. It is actually a poem that is divided into twelve books or parts. The book traces the journey of the Fall of Man, first mentioned in the Book of Genesis, from the stature of a hero to that of a heinous villain. The book not only sheds light on the events that led to the fall of Lucifer (later Satan) but also gives a unique side to his personality, that is, all evil begins as good. Paradise Lost begins with a description of Satan and his team recovering in Hell after losing a war they waged against God. They must choose to return to war or explore a newly created world and find a way in that world to avenge their defeat. Satan chooses the latter. As you travel, you see a new universe located near the sky. God sees Satan and predicts the fall of man. His Son offers to save man even if it involves the sacrifice of himself. Satan arrives in the new universe and enters the Garden of Eden. He is jealous of Adam and Eve. Satan also hears them talk about God’s command not to eat the forbidden fruit.
Meanwhile, the angel Gabriel and his followers expel Satan from Eden. God sends the angel Raphael to warn Adam and Eve about Satan’s machinations. Satan returns and enters the body of a serpent. When he sees Eve alone, he convinces her to eat the apple from the forbidden tree. Adam also eats the fruit. As a result, Adam and Eve lose their innocence. The Son of God judges sinners but delays their death sentence. The children of Satan, sin and death, build a path to their new home, earth. But Satan and his team are punished and transformed into snakes. The angel Michael expels Adam and Eve from Paradise, but first he tells Adam about the events that will happen due to his eating the forbidden fruit. Although saddened by this narrative, Adam joins in the thought of the coming of humanity’s savior.
This book is a revelation. It educates us about the existence of good and evil inherent in all of us. The man on the path of his life often forgets that good and evil coexist in each of us. Our misfortunes lead us to make a decision that marks us as good or bad in the eyes of others. Many people see Satan as the hero, as he was God’s archangel and had been wronged when God chose his Son over Satan to sit on his right. It was this great injustice that led Satan to wicked persecution. The strength and charisma of a fallen angel is evident in the last part of the book, where Satan manifests himself as the serpent and lures Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. It is also reflected in the non-redemptive quality of God, which leads him to cast his wrath on Adam to endure the harshness of work and on Eve to endure the pain of child labor.