Cases of Conscience Concerning Evil Spirits

In Ecclesiastes 9:2–3, it is said, "All things come alike to all; there is one outcome for the righteous and for the wicked, for the good as for the sinner... this is an evil among all things under the sun: that one outcome happens to all." And in Ecclesiastes 7:15, it is said, "There is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness."

From this, we infer that there is no outward affliction original: "Affliction"; here meaning a state of pain, distress, or trial. whatsoever that may not befall a good person. Now, to be represented by Satan as a tormentor of bewitched or possessed persons is a severe affliction for a good man. To be tormented by Satan is a painful trial, yet it is nothing other than what happened to Job, and to a "daughter of Abraham" whom we read of in the Gospel A reference to Luke 13:16, where Jesus describes a woman whom "Satan has bound" for eighteen years..

To be represented by Satan as if one were tormenting others is an affliction similar to the one mentioned before. The Lord may bring such extraordinary temptations original: "Temptations"; in this context, it refers to trials or tests of one's faith and character. upon his own children to afflict and humble them for some sin they have committed before him.

For example, a very wicked person in St. Ives A town in Cambridgeshire, England. took a knife and went to a minister's house, intending to stab him, but was unsuccessful. Afterward, once his conscience was awakened, the Devil appeared to this person in the form of that minister, holding a knife in his hand and urging the person to commit suicide original: "Self-murther".. Was this not a punishment suited to the sin that the person had been guilty of? Perhaps some of those whom Satan has represented as committing witchcraft have been tampering with some foolish and wicked sorceries—though perhaps not to the degree that is criminal and capital A "capital" crime is one punishable by death. under the laws of both God and men.