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Milton is widely considered to be one of the five greatest poets in the English language and Paradise Lost, a religious epic, is his greatest masterpiece. As stated in the beginning of the first book of Paradise Lost, Milton's intention for writing his religious e ....

Middle of Essay
.... letting the Angels rebel or Man eat of the forbidden fruit. Milton defends God's foreknowledge in Book III, when God says, . . they [rebel angels] themselves decreed Thir own revolt, not I: if I foreknew, Foreknowledge had no influence on their fault, Which had no less prov'd certain unforeknow. God states that His knowledge of future events is not the same as predestination, he establishes himself as merely a bystander in these events. To force His divine will on the Angels or Man would be an injustice to each particular creature's own free will. Instead, God must let each creature act on its own choices. In turn, God must act as a judge: He ....