The Displaying of Supposed Witchcraft, chapter 11: Of the Knowledge, and Power of faln Angels (part 1 of 4)

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 they have 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. 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; Andtheseways they may be known, but not otherwise; for it is manifest that Satan had darted it, or put it into the mind of Judas to 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, yet God 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 warn Joseph to take the child Jesus, and fly into Aegypt, did not of his own innate knowledge, either in it self, or in its cause (as the Schoolmen speak) know that Herod would seek the child to destroy him, because it was truly a contingent thing, and did only depend upon the free act of Herods will, 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 of Job, which he intended to have been his destruction, and therefore did falsly divine and foretel that Job would curse God to his face, but the event was not according to his lying conjecture, but to the manifestation of Jobs Faith and Patience, and produced his glorious restoration. So the lying spirit in the mouth of Ahabs Prophets, did not know that Ahab would go up to Ramoth 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 him who 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 in Ahabs Prophets slain by Elijah, and the Priests of Baal slain by Jehu, and therefore must all those needs be deceived that run to Divining Witches and Wizzards, of which sort of couzeners we have too many.

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.

2. And it is manifest that God did not altogether intend to have him hidden from the knowledge of Devils, because he ordered that the 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 also force us not into the Abyss or deep.

3. The Devils might know this because the Angels had proclaimed his birth to the Shepherds, and told them, that unto 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 by their daily being cast out by the power of his word, and command, as by the finger of God.

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 are chained in everlasting darkness, untill the judgment of the great day.

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 which Beza hath this note: Loquitur more seculi hujus, ubi consistere in conspectu regis faciem q; ejus perpetuò videre posse, signum est domesticae intimae q; 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. Peter tells 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, and goeth about seeking continually whom he may devour. But it is the blessed elect Angels that are ministring spirits, 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 comfort Joshua, and another warned Joseph to take the child Jesus, and to fly into Aegypt, 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.

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 because they 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. Augustine who 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 tenebrae appellantur, & in tenebris esse dicuntur, coelesti illa luce destituti, & in locum caliginosum praecipitati. Ut indè intelligamus nonnihil tenebrarum naturali etiam illorum menti accessisse, in poenam admissipeccati in Deum, Dei q; 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.

3. The knowledge of Devils whether natural or acquisitive is spurious, erroneous, fallacious, deceitful and delusive, both in respect 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 learned Rollock upon 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 obcaecated 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 obcaecated 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 was their hour and the power of darkness, and it was Satan that had darted it into the mind of Judas Iscariot to 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, and goeth 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.

6. The Witchmongers and others do attribute a kind of omnisciency to 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 knowledge 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 knowledge that is good, or for any good end, is absolutely false, for they 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 Person Paracelsus in these words: Et licèt Diabolus quidem plurima machinetur: hoc tamen cum omnibus suis legionibus praestare minimè potest, ut vel abjectam ollam frangat, nedum eandem faciat: multò is minùs quenquam occidere, aut jugulare potest, nisi id mandato, permissu jussu q; 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.