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Monday, November 7, 2011

Demons know nothing about the future from foreknowledge

Venerable John Climacus ~ The Ladder of Divine Ascent
Step 3 ~ On Exile

¶28. The demons of vainglory prophesy in dreams. Being un­scrupulous, they guess the future and foretell it to us. When these visions come true, we are amazed; and we are elated with the thought that we are already near to the gift of foreknowledge. A demon is often a prophet to those who believe him, but he is always a liar to those who despise him. Being a spirit, he sees what is happening in this lower air, and noticing that someone is dying, he foretells it through dreams to the more light-minded. But the demons know nothing about the future from foreknowledge. For if they did, then the fortunetellers would also be able to foretell our death.

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