Witches- Part Three- Matthew Hopkins
They also used the bible as evidence that witches exist.
Witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28) - God's chosen Israelite King, Saul was afraid of a coming war. He prayed to God but hear nothing because God was angry that he didn’t kill everything and everyone in the nation of the Amalekites as he was commanded. (1 Samuel 15)
So Saul instead sought the prophesy of a well-known witch. He had previously upheld the banishment of witches and wizards but was now desperate to know what his future held. So, in disguise, Saul went to visit the witch. He asked her, “I beg you, conjuror up the spirit of a dead person for me.” The witch, not knowing it was Saul who was asking, said, “You know King Saul has exiled all the witches and wizards out of Israel. Do you want to get me killed?” and Saul swore by God that she would not get punished. So the witch asked, “Who shall I raise from the dead?” and Saul asked, “Raise up the prophet Samuel.” So the witch raised Samuel from the dead, “Why did you raise me?” Said the ghost of Samuel. Saul started to explain, “I am very stressed. The Philistines make war against me and God has left me and won’t answer me. He won’t speak to my prophets or come to me in my dreams. So I needed to speak with you, please, tell me what I should do?” The Ghost of Samuel said, “Why ask me? God has left you and you are now his enemy. God is doing what I told you he would and he’s taking away your kingdom and giving it to David. He is doing all this because you did not obey him when he asked you to execute all of the Amalekites. Now God will deliver you and Israel into the hands of the Philistines and soon you and your sons will be with me, in death.”
When Saul heard these words, he fell to the ground and was afraid. The witch saw that he had not eaten all day and decided to kill a young cow and bake some bread for him and his men. Once they had eaten, they rose up and left that night.
Pharaoh's Wizards (Exodus 3-7) - When God appeared to Moses as a burning bush, he told Moses to go back to Egypt and ask the Pharoah to release the Israelites. Moses asked, "What if they don't believe that you have sent me?" God said, "That walking stick in your hand, throw it to the ground" Moses did so and it immediately turned into a snake. God then told Moses to grab the snake by the tail and it turned back into a walking stick. God said, "do this so they may believe that I am with you." Along the way to Egypt, God sought to kill Moses for not circumcising his son. So Moses wife quickly cut the skin off the end of their sons penis and God was happy again. Finally, Moses arrived in Egypt and met with the Pharoah. His friend Aaron threw down the walking stick and it turned into a snake. Pharoah called upon his "wise men", they were sorcerers, these magicians turned sticks into snakes with their own enchantments. However, God's snake swallowed the snakes conjured by the Pharaoh's Wizards.
God speaks to Moses (Exodus 22:18)
While Moses was on top of Mount Sinai getting the ten commandments from God, he was also given a hundred other rules. One of these God given rules was- "Thou shall not suffer a witch to live."
https://youtu.be/Vx5KtyrLE30 -
Witches were so feared and those who hunted them were well paid and well respected. Many towns were willing to pay large amount for a witch-finder to visit their settlement and discover who the insidious schemers were. The most famous of all the Witch-Finders was Matthew Hopkins. He and his entourage rode from town to town on horseback in the finest clothing of the times. He rode into town with his own copy of the King James Bible & Demonologie by King James. Once the fee was paid, fingers were pointed, suspicions were raised and accusations made. Matthew Hopkins would then make the witch confess and the town would be cleansed of evil. They cleansed the town by burning the witches at the stake or hanging them.
Villagers would often be shocked to hear that their neighbor had confessed to being a witch. A confession was the most valuable piece of evidence in any trial and effectively proved all accusations to be true. An unfriendly, reclusive or weird individual would admit that they had sold their soul to the devil and were actively conspiring against God’s people on earth. They would admit that they were the ones who poisoned a farmers cow, caused the hail storm and killed the crops.
The villagers saw the dead cow, the hail storm and their crops had failed. They heard reports of witches from other towns and villages. Now this woman known to them all was admitting it!
"Witches were discovered in the next village!"
"I don't believe it."
"They admitted to being witches! Why would they say that if it wasn't true! Why would they admit it if the penalty for witchcraft is death?”
Can you imagine how scared these people might have been?
Matthew Hopkins: The Witch-Finder General was clearly some kind of modern day saint, casting out demons in the name of Jesus. He looked to be an upstanding and educated man who was fighting Satan and his army. The next day, you hear that he is looking for another assistant to help him hunt witches across England. You get to see first hand how Matthew Hopkins battles evil…
Truth in Torture
Once someone was accused of being a witch, they took them to the jail. They were poorly fed, dehydrated and could only rest on a cold stone floor for days. When it came time to obtain a confession, they were taken to a torture chamber. They strip the accused witch and cut off all their hair. Hopkins would examine their body looking for any blemish, unusual mark or scar. This was Satan’s mark. If they didn’t confess, then Hopkins would use a device called “Piddlewinks” or “the screws” which was used to break the witches fingers one by one until they confessed. If that didn’t work, Hopkins would use the “Spanish Boots” which would be used to crush the suspects legs slowly until they confessed. Or Hopkins would strap them to a spiked chair under which he’s set a fire. The victim would be kept awake for three days without sleep. Eventually, Hopkins or the examiner would get them to confess. They believed they had broken the spirit of the devil inside of them and now could get a truthful confession.
How does this change your perspective of their confessions?
The accused witch confessed to many things. They confessed to being responsible for recent tragedies in their town or village. They claimed responsibility for crop failures, livestock deaths, bad weather, or poisoning fellow townspeople. They also admitted to flying to a satanic ritual in the middle of the night. They’d fly there with or without a broom or sometimes on the back of a black dog. At the ritual they’d kill babies and destroy holy wafers. At the end, the devil would appear in the form of a goat and the witches would kiss him on the butt as a sign of submission.
Letter from accused male witch accused of having sex with Satan in the form of a goat, renouncing God, flying to a Satanic ritual on the back of a black dog and consecration of the holy wafer.
Page 124-127
No confession = page 78
What do you think of this?
It may sound ridiculous but the examiner didn’t find it funny. The witch-hunters would believe this to be the truth and demand to know who else was at the Satanic ritual. If the witch claimed not to recognize anyone then they would be taken back to the torture room until they gave the names. After being tortured for a further couple of days the accused witches would often name between 10-60 other people who are witches and the examiners job would start all over again. One of the accused witches that Matthew Hopkins was torturing claimed to have demon helpers in the form of a kitten, rabbit, two dogs and a weasel. Hopkins claims to have seen them himself. Many accused witches confessed that they spoke to fairies.
How did they prove it?
If someone was accused of being a witch this is the evidence they looked for:
An unusual mark on the body (Satan’s mark)
Vicinity to a suspicious death
Being disruptive, unfriendly or rude
Having close relationships with animals
Confession
Floating proved rejection of baptism – page 90 of Demonoligie
Execution
Once Matthew Hopkins and the other witch-finders had got the confession and the names of other witches, the only thing left was to follow the law and have the witch executed. Sometimes they would hang the witches, sometimes they’re burn them at the stake. If the executioner was feeling especially sympathetic he’d often strangle them to dead before burning them.
A crowd would often was in fascination and righteous indignation. Townspeople were pleased to see criminals held accountable, especially those who had made pact with the devil. They gathered in the square to see a victory by God and his people over Satan and the forces of evil. They cheered and celebrated being safer now that a witch was dead.
Matthew Hopkins became very famous over the course of his 10 year career. He was proud to boast that he personally was responsible for the execution of over 200 witches. People believed he was fighting the good fight.
Why do you think people let Matthew Hopkins get so out of order?
https://youtu.be/7NOU4McjtXs?si=ktyG4Iv3-Af8DFkZ
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