In a subsequent chapter we shall discuss more particularly the suicide problem; but we are satisfied Judas was a victim of two satanic schemes: the hypnotic spell deadened his reason and judgment to do the deed; then, after the Crucifixion, despair gripped him like a vice. Who would say that Judas was excluded from the Saviour's dying prayer: "Father forgive them"? Peter denied Christ, then lied and blasphemed about it. He was restored; but Satan's power over Judas was not broken. His end was Satan's finished work. What he did to Judas he purposes to do with every "subject"--utter destruction. We once saw a snake charm a bird; the serpent's head was lifted several inches--eyes blazing, and red tongue flashing. The bird fluttered, gave a piteous wail, but was helplessly walking into the jaws of death. Now the question arises: what about the freedom of the will? Do we ever cease to be free agents? Certainly we do not; the hypnotic subject exercises free choice; that is never destroyed, but he acts under a compelling _vis uturga_--power behind. XXVII DEVIL POSSESSION "As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil. And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake."--_Matthew ix. 32-33._ "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?"--_Matthew xii. 34._ One characteristic, which has been prominent in the varied manifestations of Satan studied so far, is adaptability. Methods that were available in the days of our Lord cannot be used successfully now. By some secret unknown to us the Devil enters into the souls of men. This is a mystery; so is, also, the filling of the Holy Spirit a mystery. The Devil possessed King Saul, Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, and many are the instances recorded in the ministry of the Saviour. Devil possession, it seemed, was very common; Christ was continually casting them out, and He also gave His Apostles power likewise to cast them out. We do not believe the Enemy has abandoned his old profession: an evil spirit despises a disembodied state; if people are fortified and shielded against his entrance--then the swine. As cold air whistles and roars about every crack and cranny, entering in from all directions, so evil spirits--Devil and demons--press their entrance into the soul. If it is true they cannot enter except by permission,--they pry and pound until resistance is impossible, unless divine reinforcement comes to the rescue.