Paradise Lost (Novel Adaptation)

Chapter 4 - Creation and Man

And thus Lucifer flew to Earth by wind. And upwards he could see Heaven. And he pondered himself.

I would shout and he would hear me.

And he saw the heavenly bodies like the moon, planets, and stars.

I wonder if there are divine beings of God there as well.

He finally reached the gate to Earth, and it was thus beautiful and golden unlike anything he had ever seen before. And beside the gate there was a large stairwell and ladder that went from the heavens to the Earth. And those who went to and fro from Heaven to Earth were angels. We as humanity would know it as Jacob's ladder.

Lucifer, like a wolf in the night and a man who values money over God, leapt over the gate. (author's note: Milton, the writer, was against anyone who was paid heavily in the church. He was a protestant and anti-government and during this time there was corruption in what would be known as the Catholic Church. He didn't believe in mediators nor did he trust those church leaders who he believed got money from the people of the church. So in the earlier mention of him looking to heaven, Milton is disavowing the mediator and in the original poem he quite literally says that Satan leapt over the fence like a wolf or a "paid clergyman". Real subtle yeah, I know. Just wanted to make that clear. Also he pondered whether, basically, aliens existed which is why Satan questions if there are, basically, people on the Moon, stars, and other planets. Dude was using the poem to throw shade lol, much like Dante did when he wrote the Divine Comedy. Go watch Wendigoon's videos on it for more info, or read the poems yourselves.)

As Lucifer entered the new Creation, he couldn't help but feel envious. He was envious because he could not enjoy the warmth and beauty of it.

As he looked over, he saw the sun. Now the sun was new, for it was created for the Earth and Man. Lucifer saw this and felt it and flew up to gather a closer look, and he marveled at its massive size and heat. As he stepped upon it, he realized that it almost felt...nostalgic. The immense light of it reminded him of Heaven. It gave him time to reminisce, for it would be unlikely that he would be able to step foot in Heaven again, until he would later come to test God's servant Job. Until that day, this was the closest he'd ever get.

As he came back to Earth, he saw an angel sitting upon a hill, whom he instantly recognized as the angel Uriel. Uriel had been placed as a guard of Paradise, for Uriel was a great protector among the Heavenly Choir. Thus, Lucifer figured, if God's Creation is indeed on Earth then Uriel would surely be defending it. (Author's note: Uriel is not an angel directly from the Bible but is called one of the seven archangels in Heaven, the seven of which I'm calling the Heavenly Choir. The Apocryphal Books (non-canon to most Bibles) describes 7 Archangels who are above all other angels and are sent down to Earth to protect and guide mankind. Uriel's name comes from the Jewish teachings from Kabbalism, which is not only non-canon but blasphemous to the Bible itself, so while Uriel might be an actual angel's name, no one can now for sure what type of heavenly being he is, nor do we know what he would be like, though in some. In most texts, he is seen as a Cherub as well as an Archangel (including one of the Cherubim at the gate of Eden) and his name in Hebrew means "God is my flame." I'll explain what a Cherub is in the next paragraph.)

Lucifer had to get past him. And he thought quick with his deceiving nature and transformed himself into a Cherub (Author's note: In the poem, Satan does this but transforms into the Renaissance version of the Cherub, which is basically the baby angel that looks like Cupid. For the sake of this story, I'm saying that the Cherub he turns into is Biblically accurate. So instead of a naked baby with wings, think of an angel with six wings, the head of a human and three other heads of animals: an ox, an eagle, and a lion. Also it's heavily hinted in the Bible that Satan himself was a Cherub before the fall because Ezekiel refers to a king as Satan and Ezekiel calls him a Cherub. So do with that what you will.).