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womb of the spiritual, created world’ . The appearance of this being is
connected with the fall of Satan from heaven, as described in Rev. 12:9.
The distinction between chaos and demonic evil that is present in Men’s
Magicism and Monotheism is described in terms of the pagan sacred monarchies
of the Old Testament. The terrible events of the Assyrian and Babylonian
conquests are described by Men here as demonstrating a new kind of evil that
is capable of possessing and taking control of humans personally. These pagan
monarchies are described by the prophets as demonic kingdoms and the gods
they worship as demons. Men refers to Daniel’s vision (Dan. 7) where the
kingdoms of the world are described as abhorrent beasts that appear from the
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sea .
Even in Magic and Monotheism, Men brings the two forms of evil together
later in his discussion, attributing them to one Fall. Demonic evil has in
common with chaos that it is represented in the Old Testament in terms that
suggest it is part of the created order and God has ultimate sovereignty over it.
In part 11 of Appendix 8, Men appears to subjugate chaos (elementary evil) to
demonic evil: ‘it is not in the impersonal elements, but in the spiritual
hierarchies that the sources of the misuse of freedom must be hidden’ .
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Therefore the corruption of the process of evolution ultimately finds its source
in a demonology. Men suggests that from the moment of the Big Bang, the
evolution of the universe followed a diverted path. Its first day could have been
its last, were it not for the spirit (wind) of God that hovered over the waters.
Finally, in Magicism and Monotheism and also in his Commentary on Revelation,
Men sees a close link in Rev 12:9 between the angelic realms and the physical
realms of the earth. The different forms of evil combine into one, and the two
(or three) Falls interconnect to form a mutual rebellion against God.
Before we conclude our discussion of Men’s interpretation of Genesis 1,
we shall raise two further points. The first is that in common with process
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theology, Men understands creation in Genesis to be ‘mediated’ , apart from
the very first instance in Gen 1:1. The process of creation takes place stage by
stage, and at each stage God gives creative power to natural elements such as
‘earth’ or ‘water’ or ‘the sky’. God is not portrayed as a magician who creates
27 Men: Isagogics, p109
28 Men: Magicism and Monotheism, Appendix 8 Part 11
29 Men: Magicism and Monotheism, Appendix 8 Part 11
30 Russian – опосредственно
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