Germanus Asks Where the Hostile Powers Come From

Then Germanus said: We want to know the origin of the great variety of hostile powers set against men, and the difference between them, which the blessed apostle sums up like this: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.” And again: “Neither angels nor principalities nor powers nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Where, then, does the hostility of all this malice that envies us come from? Are we to believe that those powers were created by the Lord for this, to fight against men in these grades and orders? [a]