Page:History of the Devil, ancient and modern (2).pdf/18

 woman was now come to break the ſerpent's head;

that is, to cut ſhort his power, to contract the

limits of his kingdom, and in a horrible manner,

whenever Chriſt met with him; or elſe very

humble and ſubmiſſive, as when he begged leave

to go into the herd of ſwine, a thing he has often

done ſince.

Defeated here, the firſt ſtratagem I find him

concerned in after it, was his entering into Judas,

and putting him upon betraying Chriſt to the chief

prieſt; but here again he was entirely miſtaken;

for he did not ſee, as much a Devil as he was,

what the event would be; but when he came to

know that if Chriſt was put to death, he would

become a propitiatory and be the great ſacrifice

of mankind ſo as to reſcue the fallen race; from

that death they had incurred the penalty of by

the fall; that this was the fulfilling of all ſcrip-

ture prophecy; and that thus it was that Chriſt

ſhould be the end of the law: I ſay, as ſoon as he

perceived this, he ſtrove all he could to prevent

it, and diſturbed Pilate's wife in her ſleep, in or-

der to ſet her upon her huſband to hinder his de-

livering him up to the jews; for then, and not

till then, did he know how Chriſt was to vanquiſh

hell by the power of his croſs.

Thus baffled and thwarted the Devil reſolved

on this truly helliſh thing called perſecution, and

armed the whole Romiſh empire againſt God's

Church; but tho' for a long time he was glutted

with blood and ſatisfied with deſtruction, yet un-

der Conſtantine the Chriſtian Church was eſta-

bliſhed and religion flouriſhed in peace, which

continued till the days of Arius, who was zea-

louſly oppoſed by the orthodox biſhop of the

Eaſt Athanaſius, whom they baniſhed and called

ſeveral times, as error ran high, and as the Devil

either loſt or got ground. The emperor Arian a