the expression 'the
delight of the paradise,' in the saying of the elders reported by
Irenaeus, is taken from the Septuagint of Ezekiel xxviii. 13, where the
Prince of Tyre is addressed, 'Thou wast in the delight of the paradise
of God;' and that Anastasius represents 'the interpreters' (among whom
he had previously mentioned Papias) as 'especially confirming their
views of a spiritual paradise' by appealing to this very passage, 'where
God seems to reveal to us enigmatically the fall of the devil from
heaven,' the Prince of Tyre being interpreted as Satan, and the 'stones
of fire' the hosts of intelligent beings; and he immediately afterwards
quotes in illustration our Lord's words in Luke x. 18, 'I beheld Satan
as lightning fall from heaven' [201:1]. 'See,' he concludes, 'we have
heard plainly that he was cast down to the earth from some paradise of
delight high above, and from the cherubic coals of fire. (Ezek. xxviii.
16)'

From the Hexaemeron of Anastasius I turn to the Catena on the
Apocalypse, bearing the names of Oecumenius and Arethas, which was
published by Cramer [201:2], and here I find fresh confirmation. On
Rev. xii. 9, the compiler of this commentary quotes the same passage of
St Luke to which Anastasius refers. He then goes on to explain that there
was a twofold fall of Satan--the one at the time of the creation of man,
the other at the Incarnation; and he proceeds--

Seeing then that Michael, the chief captain [of the heavenly
hosts], could not tolerate the pride of the devil, and had long ago
cast him out from his own abode by warlike might, according as
Ezekiel says, that 'he was cast out by the cherubim from the midst
of the stones of fire,' that is to say, the angelic ranks, because
'iniquities were found in him' (xxviii. 15, 16); again at the
coming of Christ, as has been said ... he hath fallen more
completely. This is confirmed by the tradition of the fathers,
especially of Papias ([Greek: kai pateron paradosis kai Papiou]), a
successor of the Evangelist John who wrote this very Apocalypse
with which we are concerned. Indeed Papias speaks thus concerning
the war in these express words: 'It so befell that their array,'
that is, their warlike enterprise, 'came to nought; for the great
dragon, the old serpent, who is also called Satan and the devil,
was cast down, yea, and was cast down to the earth, he and his
angels'