Image: Christ defeat of evil powers and raising Adam and Eve to heaven.

"Since the Lord visited the earth,

the enemy is fallen

and his power wakened."
(St. Antony of Egypt)

St. Antony during his life underwent a great struggle against the influences of evil spirits and so one day speaking to monks told them how to be aware and overcome these influences.

Now, he told them, even if weakened by the victory of Christ, fallen angels seek to influence mankind to revolt against God in many and devious ways. They suggest evil thoughts which we can overcome by prayer, fasting and faith in the Lord.

Evil spirit are masters of disguise and deception. They may use music or even the words of scripture to deceive us. They can tempt by speaking through seemingly "holy monks" who tell us that discipline and the solitary life is unless. They may weaken our resolve by waking us often to pray hardly allowing us any sleep. Evil spirits try to dissuade us by "tumult and confusion of thought" from which arises fear, discouragement, hatred of discipline, indifference, grief, remembrance of kinsfolks and fear of death. Continuing fear is a sign of the presence of evil spirits. The appearance of good angels although at first engendering fear due to their power always dispel fear as we read in the Biblical accounts by saying "fear not".

So he told them--

"Fear God only, and despise demons."

St. Antony told them not to seek and pray to know the future beyond normal ways because this is a trick evil spirits use to gain our trust leading to our spiritual ruin. Since they are spirits, they see certain events which we do not see. For example, they may see your relatives directing their steps to see you and be able to predict their arrival. That is because they are swifter than any human messenger, but should your relatives decide to turn back, they have no way of knowing. They have no power of foretelling hidden events.

St. Athanasius wrote that they all marveled at the grace given to Antony by the Lord for the discernments of spirits. "So their cells were in the mountains, like filled with holy bands of men who sang psalms, loved reading, fasted, prayed, rejoiced in the hope of things to come, laboured in alms-giving, and preserved love and harmony one with another."

This then is the beginning of monasticism.

The Inner Mountain