CHAP. XI.
Of the Knowledge, and Power of faln Angels.
These evil Angels of which we treat, did doubtless, before they left their habitation and did not keep their first estate, participate of the same knowledge and power, that those Angels still retain that did not fall into that defection and rebellion; so that our disquisition must be, what knowledge and power theyhave lost, and what they still do retain, and this we may consider in these particulars. 1. That there are many things of which they are totally ignorant and nescient. 2. The knowledge that they have is dark and confused.
1 Cor. 2. 11.
2 Chron. 6. 30.
Jer. 17. 9, 10.
Isai. 41. 21, 22, 23.
Matth. 2. 13.
1. Concerning the first, this must of necessity be a certain rule that what the holy and elect Angels do not know, the evil and faln Angels must much more ignore, except the knowledge of evil and guilt, from which the good Angels are free; and these may be reduced to these few points. 1. We here may consider that the knowledge of Angels, is to be restrained into these three ranks; first either their innate and congenerate knowledge, or secondly their infused or revealed knowledge by God in his Son Jesus Christ, or thirdly their experimental knowledge that they gain by observation and experience, and it is of the first only that we speak in this Paragraph, and the rest we shall handle anon. 2. That our cogitations, desires and affections are not known to the Angels, unless they manifest themselves either by external signs, or effects, or be revealed from God; And these ways they may be known, but not otherwise; for it is manifest that Satan had darted it, or put it into the mind ofJudasto betray Christ, yet had he so cunningly carried himself, that neither by any effect nor sign did the Disciples know it until our Saviour did reveal it unto them. So that the Scriptures do plainly inform us of the truth in this particular, as,For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?For this is only proper to God to search the heart, and to understand the cogitations, as saith the Text:For thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men, he only knoweth them, and neither Angels nor men: and though the heart be deceitful and desperately wicked, yetGod doth search the heart, and try the reins. So that if the good Angels do not know the cogitations, desires and affections of Mens hearts, except God either reveal them unto them, or they be made manifest by signs and effects, much less must the bad Angels know or understand them. 3. Those things that are meerly contingent, and those which depend upon free will, cannot be known of the Angels, unless they be revealed by God, as is manifest by the Text.Produce your cause, saith the Lord, bring forth your strong Idols, or Diviners, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things what they be, that we may consider them, and know the later end of them, or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are Gods: yea, do good, or evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.And as the good Angels know not contingent things, or those that depend upon free will, much less do the faln Angels understand them, as is manifest in these examples. The Angel that was sent of God to warnJoseph to take the child Jesus, and fly into Ægypt, did not of his own innate knowledge, either in it self, or in its cause (as the Schoolmen speak) know thatHerodwould seekthe child to destroy him, because it was truly a contingent thing, and did only depend upon the free act ofHerodswill, and therefore by Divine Goodness and Providence it was revealed to the Angel, thereby to preserve the life of the child, and to fulfil the Scriptures. Neither do the faln Angels know future events that are contingent, or depend upon the free will of men, as is manifest in Satans tempting and afflicting ofJob, which he intended to have been his destruction, and therefore did falsly divine and foretel thatJob would curse God to his face, but the event was not according to his lying conjecture, but to the manifestation ofJobsFaith and Patience, and produced his glorious restoration. So the lying spirit in the mouth ofAhabsProphets, did not know thatAhabwould go up toRamoth Gilead, or that he should be slain there, but that God did reveal it unto him, and sent him forth with a powerful commission to prevail. So that all the predictions and Divinations of the Devil or his Angels are nothing but lying guesses and uncertain conjectures; for what can be expected from himwho was a liar from the beginning, and the father of lies? Neither were his Idol-priests, Wizzards, Diviners or Prophets any better but meer conjecturers and lyars, as was most manifest in all those Oracles that were amongst the Grecians, which uttered nothing but cheats, lies, equivocations and ambiguous responsions. And those amongst the Jews were no better, who took upon them to foretel and divine for others, but could not or did not foresee their own destruction, as is manifest inAhabsProphets slain byElijah, and the Priests ofBaalslain byJehu, and therefore must all those needs be deceived that run to Divining Witches and Wizzards, of which sort of couzeners we have too many.
Object.
And if against this it be objected that the Devils did know and confess that Jesus was the Son of God, and therefore if they could tell this that was so great a mystery, much more easily may they know other inferior things, and so may foretel future contingencies, to which we give this responsion.
1. We only affirm that Devils did not know Christ by their innate or inbred knowledge, but they might know him by the revelation of the Father, and by the things that were written of him by the Prophets, and by the observation of those things that were manifested at his birth, and shewed and done in his life time.
Matth. 8. 29.
Luke 8. 31.
2. And it is manifest that God did not altogether intend to have him hidden from the knowledge of Devils, because he ordered thatthe spirit should lead him into the wilderness, that he might be tempted, that his power and victory might be shown over the Prince of darkness. And the end that the wisdom of God had in this, was that the Devils to their greater terror and horror might know their Conquerour, and by whose power they should be tormented and thrown into the Abyss or bottomless pit, and this made them cry out saying,Art thou come to torment us before the time, and alsoforce us not into the Abyss or deep.
Luk. 2. 11.
Math. 3. 17.
3. The Devils might know this because the Angels had proclaimed his birth to the Shepherds, and told them, thatunto them was born that day, in the City of David, a Saviour which was Christ the Lord: And they might know it from the appearing of the Holy Ghost in the form of a Dove, and resting upon him, and by the voice which said from Heaven,this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased. And they might know it by the conquest that Christ had over the Devil, and bytheir daily being cast out by the power of his word, and command, as by the finger of God.
1 Cor. 2. 11.
4. The mysteries of Salvation cannot be known unto the good Angels, but by Divine Revelation, much less unto the bad ones, as witnesseth the Text:For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God.The mysteries therefore of Salvation, as they have been decreed by himself in his eternal counsel, are not known unto the Angels, but by the revelation of the spirit of God and the complement and fulfilling of his promises. So concerning the restauration or precise day and hour of the coming of Christ, do not the Angels in Heaven know, though their knowledge be vast and great, and therefore much less those faln and rebellious Angels that arechained in everlasting darkness, untill the judgment of the great day.
Math. 18. 10.
Revel. 12. 9.
2 Pet. 2. 4.
Heb. 1. 14.
Josh. 5. 13.
Acts 12. 7.
5. And as that which is not understood of the blessed and elect Angels must needs be unknown unto the faln Angels, so likewise there are many things known to the good Angels, that are hidden or but conjectured at by the bad ones, as may be manifest in these instances. 1. The blessed Angels know and see the face of the Father in beatifical vision, as saith the Text:Take heed that ye offend not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their Angels do alwayes behold the face of my father, which is in heaven. Upon whichBezahath this note:Loquitur more seculi hujus, ubi consistere in conspectu regis faciemq; ejus perpetuò videre posse, signum est domesticæ intimæq; familiaritatis. But the faln Angels are totally deprived of this blessed Vision, being cast forth of Heaven, as saith the Text.And the great Dragon was cast out, that old Serpent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the world: he was cast out into the earth, and his Angels were cast out with him.And S.Petertells us,that God spared not the Angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness. 2. And as they have lost the vision and fruition of the mercies of God, so they have utterly lost the knowledge of his will, concerning his Covenant of Grace and mercy to the elect, for they are only ministring spirits sent forth to tempt to sin, to afflict and punish, and have still enough for the advancing of the Kingdom of darkness, but have no knowledge of saving grace nor the mysteries of the Gospel, but are all enemies and adversaries to God and the Kingdom of Christ, andgoeth about seekingcontinuallywhom he may devour. But it is the blessed elect Angels that areministringspirits, sent forth for to minister to them, who shall be heirs of Salvation. 3. The good Angels have the blessed messages revealed unto them for the assisting and delivering of the godly. So an Angel did comfortJoshua, and another warnedJosephto take the childJesus, and to fly intoÆgypt, thereby to preserve the childs life; and an Angel delivered the Apostles forth of prison, and many such happy errands are made manifest unto them, and they imployed about them, of all which the faln Angels are utterly ignorant, and they are concealed from them.
6. There are some things that the evil Angels know of, which the blessed ones have no sensibility of, that is the knowledge of their own guilt, and the experimental sense of the loss of Gods Favour, Love, Grace and Mercy.
Jude 6.
De Civitat. Dei,l.9.
2. The second thing that we proposed to handle, is, that the knowledge that the faln Angels have is dark and confused, which is plain becausethey are reserved in chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. Now those that are kept or reserved in darkness, must of necessity have their knowledge dark, and consequently confused; and he also that is the Prince of darkness, and the Father and Author of the works of darkness, must needs like his children have his understanding darkned also. And therefore we will conclude this point with the opinion of S.Augustinewho speaking both of the Angels that stood, and those that fell, saith thus:Ante peccatum autem tam isti quam illi perfectè omnia intelligebant. Accessit igitur istis propter peccatum aliquid tenebrarum. Proindè etiam tenebræ appellantur, & in tenebris esse dicuntur, cœlesti illa luce destituti, & in locum caliginosum præcipitati. Ut indè intelligamus nonnihil tenebrarum naturali etiam illorum menti accessisse, in pœnam admissi peccati in Deum, Deiq; filium.But we shall only here speak of their knowledge in reference to things acted in this elementary and sublunary world, and that in these particulars.
1. Though they retain the same faculty of understanding that they had before their fall, of the generation, motion and mutation of natural things here below, yet is it much darkned, and far inferior to the knowledge of the good Angels in natural things, the one sort living and abiding in light, and the other being shut up in darkness.
2. What knowledge soever they have by their natural faculties, or that they may be supposed to gain by acquisition, is by them gotten or learned for no other end, but for the hurt and destruction of mankind, and not as the good Angels who make use of theirs for the benefit of those that shall be heirs of Salvation. For as a good Physician labours and studies to know the nature and virtues of Animals, Vegetables and Minerals, and their parts and products, for the good and benefit of mankind, but a Witch or poysoner laboureth to know their virtues thereby to destroy and kill; even so do the evil Angels, and not otherwise.
John 8.44.
2 Thes. 2. 9, 10, 11.
3. The knowledge of Devils whether natural or acquisitive is spurious, erroneous, fallacious, deceitful and delusive; both inrespect of themselves and others, for as saith the Scripture:He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.Therefore saith learnedRollockupon this very place:Hoc est loqui ex ingenio suo, quod naturale est sibi facere; suum enim & quod ex sese deprompsit, non autem quod aliundè accepit, profert. For as all the endeavours of the faln Angels tend to the seduction and delusion of others, so are they, and were they the deceivers and deluders of themselves: For it is most manifest that their minds are so obcæcated and covered over with darkness, that although they be not altogether in general destitute of the knowledge of that which is just and unjust, good and evil, pious and impious, yet they do not acknowledge their own sin, as they ought, for they are so pertinacious in their sin and wickedness, that they do not attentively perpend and consider their own evil, and therefore are not truely sensible, or do understand that it is evil, and therefore are by the just judgment of God so absolutely obcæcated that they cannot acknowledge their own evil and sin. And as that knowledge they have is so darkned that they have deluded and deceived themselves, so all their knowledge in respect of others is erroneous, fallacious and lying, as the Text witnesseth of Antichrist:Even he whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs, and lying wonders: And with all deceiveableness of unrighteousness, in them that perish. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusions, that they should believe a lie.
4. In regard of the words, intentions and actions of wicked Men they both know and may foretel much, because they are the Authors and devisers of those evils and wicked thoughts; as it was the Devil that pushed on the Scribes and Pharisees to accuse and put Christ to death, for it wastheir hour and the power of darkness, and it was Satan that had darted it into the mind ofJudas Iscariotto betray his Master: And therefore the Devils might probably (if not certainly) know that his death would be brought to pass; so that they may easily foretel what themselves have projected and prepared instruments to accomplish.
5. The acquired knowledge of the faln Angels must needs be great in regard of their vast multitudes and their being dispersed in this caliginous air or Atmosphere, for the Devil is called the Prince of the air (if that be literally to be understood) and he compasseth the earth and walketh to and fro in it, andgoeth about, seeking whom he may devour, and therefore by their agility of body and celerity of motion may easily know what is done and spoken, and may so very quickly convey it one to another, and so may most readily communicate things that are acted or spoken at an incredible distance one from another; but yet all this no further than Divine Providence will permit and allow of.
De ver. influ. rer.l.p.425.
6. The Witchmongers and others do attribute a kind of omnisciencyto Devils in respect of their acquired knowledge, which we by no means can allow them, and that for these reasons. 1. Though it be granted that they do grow and increase in the knowlege of sin, evil, and wickedness, therewith to hurt, devour and destroy, or gain more skill and craft to lie, cheat, delude and deceive; yet that they either gain or gather any knowlege that is good, or for any good end, is absolutely false, forthey abode not in the truth, neither are they lovers of truth, but are utter Enemies to all good knowledge and verity. 2. That they may be Masters of all the arts or wayes of deceit, lying, cheating and delusion, is no way to be denied; but that they should (as many suppose) by reason of their longevity and duration, learn and be perfect in any or all of the good Arts or Sciences, is to me utterly incredible, because they are the Corruptors of all, but the perfectors of none, else should they be the greatest Philosophers in the World, which is false. And therefore most Christian and pious was that Sentence of that unjustly censured PersonParacelsusin these words:Et licèt Diabolus quidem plurima machinetur: hoc tamen cum omnibus suis legionibus præstare minimè potest, ut vel abjectam ollam frangat, nedum eandem faciat: multò is minùs quenquam occidere, aut jugulare potest, nisi id mandato, permissu jussuq; ac vi divina faciat.
The other main point that we undertake to handle in this Chapter, is, touching the power of the faln Angels, and that is to be considered in these three particulars: 1. In general in respect of their power, either in spiritual and moral things, or in things natural. 2. Or in respect of spiritual and moral things in particular. 3. Or in respect of Physical and sublunary things.
John 12. 31.
Ephes. 2. 2.
Rom. 14. 17.
Ephes. 6. 12.
Heb. 2. 14.
Vid. Caten. Aur. Tho. Aquin.
Psal. 119. 89.
Psal. 147. 8. 16, 17, 18.
Psal. 148. 8.
Ephes. 6. 12.
Homil.22.p.257.
Jo. 8.
1. And for the first it must of necessity be granted, that their power since their fall is much diminished, or at least restrained and chained and fettered up. For they becoming Rebels against the Almighty, and not keeping their first Estate, but having left their own habitation, it was most agreeable to the wisdom and justice of God to take away from them the greatest part of that power and authority that he formerly had given them, and so to imprison and chain them up, that they might never be able to attempt or perform the like Rebellion again; otherwise the Almighty should not have used that wisdom that is ordinary with earthly Princes, who haveing overcome those that rebelled against them, do not only disarm them, but also confine or imprison them. And to this very thing do the Scriptures allude, when they say, thatthey are delivered into chains of darkness, and thatthey are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. So that though the Devils still retain their cruel, wicked and devouring will and mind; yet they are but like the Lyon within the Bars of Iron, orBajazetin the Cage of Iron led about byTamberlan, and so though they be never so cruelly bent to do mischief, yet they are under the Chains and cooped up in the Grates of Darkness, and kept in Everlasting Chains that they are never able to break or unloose.And though he be called the God of this World and the Prince of it, yet that is not to be understood, that he is the Prince and Ruler of the Creatures of the World, or that he giveth riches, health, honour or the like, for those are the gift of God only and not of the Devil; but he is the God and Prince of the evil and wickedness that is in the World, for in that, and by that, he reigneth and ruleth; and to this purpose saithRollock:Damnatio est Satanæ, qui peccati author est. Nam vita hujus mundi est secundum principem cui potestas est aeris, &c. Dicitur autem Princeps hujus mundi, quia per peccatum, & mortem regnat in mundo: ut enim teste Paulo, Regnum Dei positum est in justitiâ, & pace, & gaudio per spiritum sanctum, sic regnum Satanæ positum est in injustitia, & morte. Vnde ipse propter peccatum per quod regnat, dicitur rector tenebrarum. Propter mortem per quam regnat, dicitur imperium mortis habere.And upon this place St.Augustinsaith thus:Nunc Princeps hujus mundi ejicietur foras, absit ut Diabolum principem mundi ita dictum existimemus, ut eum Cœli & terræ dominari posse credamus: sed mundus appellatur in malis hominibus, qui toto orbe terrarum diffusi sunt. Sic ergò dictum est: Princeps hujus mundi, id est princeps malorum hominum qui habitant in mundo. Appellatur etiam mundus in bonis, qui similiter per totum orbem terrarum diffusi sunt: Ideò dicit Apostolus, Deus erat in Christo mundum reconcilians sibi: Hi sunt ex quorum cordibus principes mundi ejicientur foras.And whereas also Satan is calledthe Prince of the power of the air, that worketh in the Children of disobedience, it is not literally so to be understood, as though he had the natural power of ruling the air, and causing of winds, hail, snow, frost, rain, thunder and lightning, for these are all ordered according to the will of divine providence and the causes that he hath established in the Elements: SoDavidspeaking of the Heavens, the Earth, and the Elements, doth conclude thus;They continue this day according to thine ordinances, for all thy servants: And it is he that ordereth all these, as saith the Text:Who covereth the Heavens with Clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. He giveth snow like wool, he scattereth the hoary frost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: Who can stand before his Cold? He sendeth forth his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.And all these fulfil the will and command of God, and not the will of the faln Angels; for the Text saith:Fire and hail, snow and vapour, stormy wind fulfilling his word; so that if they have any thing to do in the sublunary changes or motions of Meteors, it is but only as instrumental and organical Causes, working meerly as they are ordered and acted by the first cause that worketh all in all, as the Christian Philosopher DoctorFluddhath most learnedly proved in his Treatise of Cosmical Meteors, which I seriously commend to those that desire full satisfaction in this particular. But the Devil is chiefly calledthe Prince of the power of the air, because he is the proud, high, airy andspiritual Prince and Ruler of wickedness in high or super-cœlestial places, by which proud, airy, and spiritual wickedness,he worketh in the Children of disobedience. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις. Upon which learnedBezasaith thus:Homines quorum fragilis & caduca est natura, cui opponuntur versutiæ spirituales, infinitis partibus potentiores. And again,Ista nomina tribuit Angelis malis, propter effectus, non quod eos suâ vi possint præstare, sed quia illis Deus laxat habenas. And therefore S.Chrysostomupon this place saith thus:Mundi verò dominos eos vocat, non quod mundum gubernent, sed solet scriptura malos actus hunc mundum vocare, ut quando Christus dicit, vos non estis ex hoc mundo quemadmodum ego non sum ex mundo.
De operib. Deil.4.c.6.p.175.
Jo. 17.
2. To consider their power in spiritual and moral things particularly, we shall find they have no power in some things, but by their fall have utterly lost it, as is apparent in these few points. 1. They have lost that freedom of will that they had by Creation, and were partakers of before they fell, and agreeable to this is theThesisof learnedZanchy, which is this: “That all Devils have so far their wills made obstinate in sins, the hatred of God, Christ, and of Mankind, that from this evil they cannot will to repent, and thereby be saved;” and this he thus proveth. 1. Because in the Scriptures they are called,πονυροὺς κατ’ ἐξοχὴν, for they are now become such, that they cannot be changed from their malice and wickedness; because it is become natural unto them. 2. From whence it is manifest, that the whole time since their fall, never yet any of them hath given any sign of resipiscence. 3. If they could repent and believe in Christ, then for them and their sins Christ also should have died; for he saith,that he prayed for those that were to believe in him; but they neither believe in him, neither did he die for them. 4. But the chief cause of their impenitency is the just judgment of God, that hath given them up to hardness of heart, because they sinned knowingly and wilfully against the truth. And this point is sufficiently proved byThomas Aquinas, the rest of the Schoolmen and many others. 2. So that as they have lost freedom of will, so they cannot at all will or act to be saved, or to repent. 3. And as they cannot will or act to repent or be saved, so the whole acts of their wills are evil, malicious and wicked,being liars and murtherers from the beginning.
3. The third is to consider their power in sublunary and elementary things which is the most pertinent to our present purpose, it being the thing that some have magnified even to a kind of omnipotency, and therefore we must the more narrowly ventilate and examine it, which we shall do in this order.
1. How great soever the power of the faln Angels may be supposed to be, yet neither in knowlege can they be deemed to be omniscient, or in power to be omnipotent, because they are createdBeings, circumscribed, limited and finite, and consequently can perform no act that necessarily must require an omnipotent power, and so can neither create thingsde novo, annihilate or transubstantiate any Creature or substance, or pervert or put forth of order, the things that God by Creation, Decree and Providence hath set into their certain orders of Generation, alteration and corruption.
Ut supra.
2. How great soever their power may be supposed to be, yet rationally it must be taken for a truth, that they have not the same power that they had before their fall. For asZanchysaith:Certum est enim in universum, & in genere, hac etiam in parte illos punitos fuisse, ut non possint quicquid poterant, cum boni essent, nec etiam quicquid nunc velint. Because the Holy Ghost beareth witness,that they are bound in Chains, and that Satan begged leave of God to invadeJob, that they fought with the good Angels, but were overcome, and that they may be so resisted of believing men that they may be overthrown.Ac væ nobis, nisi potentia Dæmonum infirmata esset, & à Domino comprimeretur, & compesceretur.
Zanch. de op. Dei ut supra.
3. And what power soever be granted to the faln Angels, yet it is by the opinion of all the learned, restrained only to these sublunary and inferior bodies, and that they have neither power by Creation or Ordination, to work upon, move, or alter things that are Angelical, Celestial, Ethereal and Superior, but only are chained in this Caliginous Atmosphere, and impure air. For it is manifest, that superior bodies work upon those that are inferior, but not on the contrary, neither have we any examples that can prove that they do operate upon Celestial bodies, and so their power (how great soever some may suppose it to be) is only restrained to these inferior sublunary things.
Gen. 19. 24.
Isai. 37. 36.
4. The operations and actions performed by the faln Angels, may be considered, either in the simple respect of their natural and created power, and this how great soever it was before their fall, is not only lessened, but that which remains, is limited and restrained with the Adamantine Chains of the decree of divine providence: or in respect of what power they may have superadded by God, when they are Commissionated and sent by God to effect some particular actions, as for example,MosesandAaronhad but the ordinary strength and power that was common to other men, before they were sent upon the message toPharaoh, and made Instruments to deliver the Israelites, for then were they armed and indowed with the power of working great and stupendious Miracles. So it cannot rationally be imagined that the two Angels that were sent as Instruments to destroySodomandGomorrha, did or could of their own proper, individual and created power, bring down Fire and Brimstone from Heaven to burn those two Cities, but that it was brought to pass by the Power of the Almighty, as granted and given to them for that judgment only, and not by that ordinary power that they could always exercise, for the Text saith:Then the Lord rained upon Sodom, and upon Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord forth of heaven. Neither can it rationally be supposed that one Angel hath by his created power, that ability, thathe can slay in one night an hundred fourscore, and five thousand, as it is writtenthe Angel did in the camp of the Assyrians, but that it was brought to pass by the power of Jehovah superadded unto him, to work the great deliverance ofHezekiahand his people. Upon which place the learned ExpositorJohn Calvinsaith thus:Solus quidem dominus satis per se potest, ac certè solus nos servat: Angeli enim, manus quodammodo sunt ipsius: Unde etiam Virtutes & Potestates vocantur. Interim hæc vis soli Deo tribuenda, cujus organa tantummodo sunt Angeli, ne in superstitionem incidamus.From whence we may note these two things. 1. That even Devils are but the organs and instruments by which God accomplisheth his will, and executeth his wrath and justice, and so are but as tormenters and executioners to act no more than what they are appointed and commanded to do. 2. We may observe that in times past they had large Commissions given and great power superadded to perform great wonders for the destruction of the wicked, which was done for great and extraordinary ends, such as in these days the Lord doth seldom or never use, and therefore there can be no reason now shewed why Devils should have any extraordinary power added unto them in working strange feats for Witches and Sorcerers.
De op. Deil.4.c.4.p.174.
2 Pet. 2. 4.
Jude 6.
Loc. Com.p.12.
Matth. 25. 41.
5. It will much conduce to the clearing of this point of the power of Devils to examine into what place they are faln, or since their rebellion into what Prison they are shut, and this we shall give in the Thesis of learnedZanchywho saith thus: “All the evil Angels were thrust down from Heaven, into places that are below the Celestial Orbs, to wit into this air, and below, as it were into a caliginous Prison, where they are reserved unto the Universal Judgment as bound with chains.” And this is plain from the words of S.Peter, who saith:For if God spared not the Angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto judgment. To which accordeth that ofJude:And the Angels that kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. For as learnedMusculustells us:Decet Christianum hominem ea modestia, & cautio, ut nihil affirmet, nec si quis alius affirmaverit, inconsideratè recipiat, quod non certo veritatis testimonio è sacris literis desumpto, confirmari queat. To this we shall only add what the acute and learned TheologueAmesiusnotes upon this place ofPeter, which in English is this: “In general (he saith) we are taught, that they did not keep their first estate, that is, they did forsake righteousness and that station in which they were placed of God, and afterwards they have exercised from the beginning, envy, lies and murther against Men. Also (he saith) we are taught, that they were a great number that were partakers ofthis defection, and therefore the Apostle speaketh in the plural number. 1. They are said to be thrust downin Tartaruminto Hell by reason of the commutation of estate and condition, because that from a most high condition, which they received by creation, they were cast down to an estate most low. 2. By reason of commutation of place, because they were thrust down from a place of beatitude, where they were conversant about the Throne of God with the rest of the Angels, into an inferiour place subject to sin and misery. But that this place is in the lowest parts of the earth, as the Papists do hold, cannot be made forth from the Scriptures, but rather the contrary, for they are said to be conversant, and to rule in the air, and to walk to and fro in the earth seeking the subversion of Men. This at the least is manifest from the Scriptures, and ought to satisfie those that are not too curious. 1. That they suffer a great change of estate and condition. 2. That they are excluded and shut out from their first habitation. 3. That they are in such a place where they suffer both the pain of loss and of sense. They are said to be delivered over to darkness, partly in respect of sin, and partly in respect of misery; for darkness in Scripture doth denote both: and they are said to be delivered in chains, by a metaphor taken from facinorous persons, that are condemned and kept bound in prison with chains, and the chains are these. 1. Obfirmation or obduration in sins. 2. An utter despair of any freedom or deliverance. 3. A terrible, expectation of extream misery, and an horrid fear of being cast into the abysse or deep. 4. The Providence of God which continually watches over their custody, imprisonment, and punishment. They are said to be reserved to damnation, because they are so bound up in these evils and miseries, that they never can escape; and yet these are but the beginnings only of their miseries, for they are hereafterto go into that everlasting fire, that is prepared for the Devil, and his Angels.”
Job 1. 7.
1 Pet. 5. 8.
1 Kings 22. 22.
6. Though the Devils be said to be reserved in everlasting chains of darkness, yet are they said sometimes to be loosed, andto go to and fro in the earth, and to walk up and down in it, andthat Satan doth like a roaring lion walk about seeking whom he may devour. Which must be understood (as we have shewed before) that in respect of his evil will, malice and envy, he seeketh and desireth the overthrow of all mankind, but yet is so restrained that he doth but act, what, where, when and so far only as God doth limit and order him. For though it be usually said that God doth permit him, yet it cannot be understood as a bare and nude permission, as though God should suffer him to go so loose and at liberty, that he may exert and exercise his power to the uttermost, for then all the godly should be destroyed both in Souls and Bodies, and God should only sit by as a bare spectator, not as an Orderer, Ruler and Governour, even as though an hungry fierce Lion that had been chained up in a grate, should be let loose to rage and run where he would,and to kill and devour what he could, and thus the Witchmongers do suppose of him, which is false and contrary to the testimony of Gods word. But when the Almighty maketh use of Satan or his Angels, they are only so let loose that he hath a hook in their Nostrils, and their Necks in a chain, that they can act no more nor no further than he ordereth, and gives them leave to accomplish, and thus are they limited not only by his irresistible will and decree, but they are also watched over and ruled by the good Angels that are as it were their keepers and overseers. So when the Devil is used as an instrument to afflict HolyJob, he is first let loose to afflict him in his Children and Goods, but not to touch his Body; and the second time he hath leave and power given him to lay his hand uponJobsBody, but not to take away his life: which do plainly shew, that he is not only and barely suffered to do what he will, but hath his limits set how far he shall act, and no farther. And when God maketh use of him for the punishment of the wicked, he giveth him power, and ordereth him how far to act or prevail. As in the case of the lying spirit in the mouth ofAhabsProphets, the evil spirit is sent forth with this commission,And God said thou shalt perswade him and prevail also: go forth and do so. By which it is manifest that he prevaileth more by the virtue of Gods command and commission, than by his own proper created power.
Vid. Lambert. Dan. Isagog.c.24.p.68.
1 Cor. 10. 13.
Exages. Aphor.14.p.133.
7. It is manifest that as the good Angels are the Ministers of God for the Salvation of mankind, so the evil Angels are ministring spirits only seeking the destruction and damnation of Men; and though God doth use the Ministry of these that are evil and have an evil will, yet he useth them well, and to good ends, that is, as the executioners of his justice to chasten the godly, and to restrain, or destroy the wicked. Therefore God and the Devil do not afflict, tempt or do any other thing for the same ends; for God acteth to prove, preserve, and stir up to goodness, but the Devil acteth to bring into sin and evil, to destroy and to bring to despair, as is manifest in the History ofJob. And therefore here we may consider the several ways wherein God useth the evil Angels as his instruments, and that is in these particulars. 1. God useth him generally for temptation both of the good and the bad; so he temptedDavid, Christ and the Disciples, for Satan haddesired to sift them as wheat, and therefore he is calledὁ πειρόζων, the tempter: and these temptations are internal and spiritual, forwe fight not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places. And in these as far as concerneth the faithful, he acteth but only as God permitteth or ordereth him, as is plain in the case ofDavid, where one Text saith,Jehovah moved David to number the people, and in another place,and Satan stood up, and moved David to number the people: where it is to be noted that God did it as the director and orderer, and Satan performed it as his instrument and servant. And the Apostle telleth us;that God is faithful, and would not suffer the believing Corinthians to be tempted above what they wereable, but would with the temptation also make a way to escape, that they might be able to bear it. 2. God maketh use of him for the chastisement and affliction of the godly, as is most manifest in that ofJob; but this only so far as he is limited, ordered and commanded from God and no further. 3. When Satan as a tormenting or punishing instrument is used of God, he hath his commission given him how far only he shall act and proceed, beyond which he cannot go one hairs breadth, as is manifest in the case ofAhaband theGadarensSwine, so that we may conclude this with the learned Aphorism ofPiscatorin these words:Etsi autem Satan seu Diabolus cum suis Angelis Deo et filiis Dei adversatur quantum in ipso est, nimirùm voluntate et conatu: non tamen effectu; ita nimirum ut vel fidelibus perniciem afferre, vel quicquam efficere possit quod Deus nolit. Deus enim illum potentiæ suæ fræno vinctum constrictumq tenet: ut ea modò exequatur quæ ei divinitùs mandata, aut concessa fuerint.
8. Lastly, we shall now examine the particulars wherein learnedZanchydoth acknowledge the faln Angels to have power over our and other sublunary bodies, and they are principally these.
De oper. Dei.l.4.c.10.p.186.
Acts 8. 39, 40.
1. Upon the supposition granted that the faln Angels have permission, he holdeth that by their own proper created natural power, they can as they please move in place: as to lift a Body up from the earth on high, and then to let it fall or throw it down to the earth; that they can transfer or carry a body from one City to another in a very short space of time: Lastly, that they can move and agitate bodies with every kind of local motion that none can resist them. And that therefore all those strange transportations of Witches in the air into forraign and far distant places (he holdeth) need not be thought strange or impossible, and that they may be done with great celerity, and in a short time. And this he thinketh he proveth by the example ofPhilip, who when he had instructed the Eunuch in the faith and baptized him, was caught away by the spirit of the Lord, that the Eunuch saw him no more, and that he was found at Azotus. Upon which we must make these animadversions. 1. That upon the supposition or ground that faln Angels are simply and meerly incorporeal, this must be false, for then they cannot move in place, nor agitate any bodies, as we have sufficiently proved before. 2. And though upon the supposition that they are corporeal, they may move in place, and may move and agitate other bodies, yet that must be understood in a proportionable measure, according to their power and strength, and not in an infinite, or indefinite respect; for though one Devil may be supposed to move or lift up that which would load an Horse, yet it will not follow that he can move or lift up as much as would load a Ship of a thousand Tun; and though one Devil might remove a Millstone by his own created power, yet it will not follow that he can remove the greatest mountain that is to be found. 3. And whatsoever motion Devils may have here in the air, or power to removeand agitate bodies, yet the least of these cannot be performed but by licence and permission from God, which licence and permission is always for ends agreeable to his Wisdom and Justice; but for God to license or permit Devils to appear to Witches in the shape of Cats, Dogs, Squirrels or the like, to the end to suck upon their bodies or to have carnal copulation with them, or to transport them in the air to places far distant, to dance, revel, feast and to do homage to the Devil (as the Witchmongers alledge) is for so impure, filthy, horrid and abominable ends, as can no way agree with the Wisdom or Justice of the Almighty, and therefore must needs be false and frivolous. 4. And that which the faln Angels are in the Scriptures recorded to have performed, may be considered, whether they accomplished those things by their own created power, or by the power of God granted to them when they are sent forth to perform such or such an act: For as it may not be rationally granted that the two Angels that were instruments for the destroying ofSodomandGomorrhadid bring down fire and brimstone from Heaven by their own created power, nor that the destroying Angel inEgyptdid in one night kill all the first-born by his own power, but by the power of the Almighty granted unto him in that mission, so it is not rational to suppose, that although Satan might by internal motions and spiritual temptations prevail with theSabæansandChaldæanswho were his Vassals, wherein he could work what he would, to take away the Oxen, Asses and Camels ofJob, and to slay his Servants: though (I say) he might do this by his created power; yet that he should bring fire from Heaven to destroy the sheep, or that he by his created power could raise such a wind, as could blow down the house in which the Sons and Daughters ofJobwere, and slay them, is not probable, but that it was performed by that assisting power that was granted him of God, to effect that affliction uponJob, that God had determined for the trial and manifestation of his Faith and Patience, which cannot in any reason be said to be done by Devils in their transactions with Witches, and therefore must needs be Fables and Chimeras. 5. And whereas he addeth that the Devils can perform all kind of motions with natural bodies, and that none can resist them, it is too large by far; for by that rule they might shake and remove the earth, which they cannot do, for it abideth firm according to Gods appointment in the creation: And it is absurd to think that the superior and good Angels cannot resist them, who have far greater force and might than the faln Angels have. 6. And whereas he would prove the power of Devils by that of the spirit of the Lord conveying ofPhilipfrom the Ethiopian Eunuch, which supposing it to be a good Angel, it must likewise be granted to be furnished from God to have that power to carry him away, and doth not necessarily conclude that the Angel did it by its proper created power: neither is the consequence good, to argue that what a good Angel may do, that therefore a bad one may do thesame or the like, for their powers and strength are not equal, the one retaining what he had by creation, the other losing much by reason of his rebellion and fall; as an outlawed person hath not in a civil respect the same power that another person hath that is under a legal capacity, and as a prisoner that is loaden with chains, gives and fetters, can neither walk, leap, or run so fast, as he that hath none, no more can the fettered Devils move with that agility and celerity that the good Angels can do that have no fetters nor chains at all.