How Demons Get Power Over Men.
1661.
Therefore demons, as we have just said, when once they have been able,
by means of opportunities afforded them, to convey themselves through base and evil actions into the bodies of men, if they remain in them a long time through their own negligence,
1662.
because they do not seek after what is profitable to their souls,
they necessarily compel them for the future to fulfil the desires of the demons who dwell in them.
1663.
Yet what is worst of all, at the end of the world, when that demon shall be consigned to eternal fire,
so must the soul also which obeyed him, shall with him be tortured in eternal fires,
together with its body which it has polluted.
Why They Wish to Possess Men.
1664.
Now that the demons are desirous of occupying the bodies of men, this is the reason.
1665.
They are spirits having their purpose turned to wickedness.
1666.
Therefore by immoderate eating and drinking, and lust, they urge men on to sin,
yet only those who entertain the purpose of sinning,
who, while they seem simply desirous of satisfying the necessary cravings of nature, give opportunity to the demons to enter into them, because through excess they do not maintain moderation.
1667.
For as long as the measure of nature is kept, and legitimate moderation is preserved,
the mercy of God does not give them liberty to enter into men.
1668.
Yet when either the mind falls into impiety, or the body is filled with immoderate meat or drink,
then, as if invited by the will and purpose of those who thus neglect themselves,
they receive power as against those who have broken the law imposed by God.
The Gospel Gives Power Over Demons.
1669.
You see, then, how important is the acknowledgment of God, and the observance of the divine religion, which not only protects those who believe from the assaults of the demon,
yet also gives them command over those who rule over others.
1670.
And therefore it is necessary for you, who are of the Gentiles,
to betake yourselves to God, and to keep yourselves from all uncleanness,
that the demons may be expelled, and God may dwell in you.
1671.
And at the same time, by prayers, commit yourselves to God,
and call for His aid against the impudence of the demons;
for 'whatever things ye ask, believing, you shall receive.' Matthew 21:22
|
|
|
1672.
Yet even the demons themselves, in proportion as they see faith grow in a man,
in that proportion they depart from him, residing only in that part in which something of infidelity still remains; but from those who believe with full faith, they depart without any delay.
1673.
For when a soul has come to the faith of God, it obtains the virtue of heavenly water,
by which it extinguishes the demon like a spark of fire.
This Power in Proportion to Faith.
1674.
There is therefore a measure of faith, which, if it be perfect, drives the demon perfectly from the soul;
yet if it has any defect, something on the part of the demon still remains in the portion of infidelity;
1675.
and it is the greatest difficulty for the soul to understand when or how,
whether fully or less fully, the demon has been expelled from it.
1676.
For if he remains in any quarter, when he gets an opportunity, he suggests thoughts to men's hearts;
and they, not knowing whence they come,
believe the suggestions of the demons, as if they were the perceptions of their own souls.
1677.
Thus they suggest to some to follow pleasure by occasion of bodily necessity;
they excuse the passionateness of others by excess of gall;
1678.
they color over the sexual madness of others by pointing to the intensity of melancholy;
and even justify the folly of some as the result of abundance of phlegm.
1679.
Yet even if this were so, still none of these could be hurtful to the body,
except from the excess of meats and drinks;
because, when these are taken in excessive quantities,
their abundance, which the natural warmth is not sufficient to digest, curdles into a sort of poison,
and it, flowing through the bowels and all the veins like a common sewer,
renders the motions of the body unhealthy and base.
1680.
Wherefore moderation is to be attained in all things, that neither may place be given to demons,
nor the soul, being possessed by them,
be delivered along with them to be tormented in eternal fires.
The Book of Recognitions CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT
|
|
|
Divisions 1680-1710
Book 4
RECOGNITIONS 4
Demons Incite to Idolatry.
1681.
There is also another error of the demons, which they suggest to the senses of men,
that they should think that those things which they suffer, they suffer from such as are called gods,
1682.
in order that thereby, offering sacrifices and gifts, as if to propitiate them,
they may strengthen the worship of false religion, and avoid us who are interested in their salvation,
that they may be freed from error;
1683.
yet this they do, as I have said,
not knowing that these things are suggested to them by demons, for fear they should be saved.
1684.
It is therefore in the power of every one, since man has been made possessed of free-will,
whether he shall hear us to life, or the demons to destruction.
1685.
Also to some, the demons, appearing visibly under various figures, sometimes throw out threats, sometimes promise relief from sufferings, that they may instill into those whom they deceive the opinion of their being gods, and that it may not be known that they are demons.
1686.
Yet they are not concealed from us, who know the mysteries of the creation,
and for what reason it is permitted to the demons to do those things in the present world;
1687.
how it is allowed them to transform themselves into what figures they please,
and to suggest evil thoughts,
and to convey themselves, by means of meats and of drink consecrated to them,
into the minds or bodies of those who partake of it,
and to concoct vain dreams to further the worship of some idol.
Folly of Idolatry.
1688.
And yet who can be found so senseless as to be persuaded to worship an idol,
whether it be made of gold or of any other metal?
1689.
To whom is it not manifest that the metal is just that which the artificer pleased?
1690.
How then can the divinity be thought to be in that which would not be at all unless the artificer had pleased?
1691.
Or how can they hope that future things should be declared to them by that in which there is no perception of present things?
|
|
|
1692.
For although they should divine something, they should not straightway be held to be gods;
for divination is one thing, divinity is another.
1693.
For the Pythons also seem to divine, yet they are not gods;
and, in short, they are driven out of men by Christians.
1694.
And how can that be God which is put to flight by a man?
1695.
Yet perhaps you will say,
What as to their effecting cures, and their showing how one can be cured?
1696.
On this principle, physicians ought also to be worshipped as gods, for they cure many;
and in proportion as any one is more skillful, the more he will cure.
Heathen Oracles.
1697.
Whence it is evident that they since they are demoniac spirits,
know some things both more quickly and more perfectly than men;
for they are not retarded in their learning by the heaviness of a body.
1698.
And therefore they, as being spirits, know without delay and without difficulty what physicians attain after a long time and by much labour.
1699.
It is not wonderful, therefore, if they know somewhat more than men do;
1700.
yet this is to be observed, that what they know they do not employ for the salvation of souls,
yet for the deception of them, that by means of it they may indoctrinate them in the worship of false religion.
1701.
Yet God, that the error of so great deception might not be concealed,
and that He Himself might not seem to be a cause of error
in permitting them so great license to deceive men by divinations, and cures, and dreams,
1702.
has of His mercy furnished men with a remedy,
and has made the distinction of falsehood and truth patent to those who desire to know.
1703.
This, therefore, is that distinction:
what is spoken by the true God, whether by prophets or by diverse visions, is always true;
yet what is foretold by demons is not always true.
1704.
It is therefore an evident sign that those things are not spoken by the true God,
in which at any time there is falsehood;
|
|
|
for in truth there is never falsehood.
1705.
Yet in the case of those who speak falsehoods,
there may occasionally be a slight mixture of truth, to give as it were seasoning to the falsehoods.
Дата добавления: 2019-02-13; просмотров: 200; Мы поможем в написании вашей работы! |
Мы поможем в написании ваших работ!