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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
We now come to the differences of opinion about the being of
The Evil One. Those who believe in his existence regard bim as an angel of evil. According to the myths which have gathered round his personality, he is said to have been ordered to prostrate himself before Adam, but he refused to obey the command, and the "Lord God," in consequence of his refusal, bestowed the kingdom of hell and evil upon him. Since then the sole aim of the Evil one has been to throw temptation in the way of the pious devotees of God, and to lead them astray, for which reason he is called the Tempter. The Mahomedans, the Christians, the Zoroastrians and some others believe in this traditional devil, in different forms. In the Old Testament, Satan appears on the scene very early, and is shown as one of the principal dramatis personæ in the tragedy of the Fall. Innumerable are the accounts of his deceiving mankind, and many of them appear, at first sight, to be exceedingly conflicting. According to the Book of Job, he used to attend upon the Lord along with the Sons of God. Job, it seems, owed his misfortunes more to the decrees of the Lord than to the evil nature of Satan (Job, I. 6-12). The Lord God himself gave power to Satan over the family and possessions of Job, and the latter, be it said to his credit, did not exceed his instructions. In the book of Exodus, the Lord sends Moses to intercede with the Pharaoh for the freedom of Israel, brings plagues and pestilence on the Egyptians, and yet himself hardens the heart of the tyrant time after time; in other words, plays the part of the Devil himself.
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