Mark 5:1 ¶
And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of
the Gadarenes. 2 And when he was come
out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an
unclean spirit, 3 Who had his
dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 Because that he had been often bound
with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and
the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the
mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. 6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and
worshipped him, 7 And cried with a loud
voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the
most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. 8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou
unclean spirit. 9 And he asked him, What
is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we
are many. 10 And he besought him much
that he would not send them away out of the country. 11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a
great herd of swine feeding. 12 And all
the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into
them. 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them
leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the
herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two
thousand;) and were choked in the sea. 14
And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in
the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was
possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his
right mind: and they were afraid. 16 And
they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with
the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17 And they began to pray him to depart out of
their coasts. 18 And when he was come
into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he
might be with him. 19 Howbeit Jesus
suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how
great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20 And he departed, and began to publish in
Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did
marvel.
Note the singular, an
unclean spirit. An unclean spirit is a devil. There is a Devil who is over many
devils and there are unclean spirits that do his work and his bidding.
An interesting contrast
appears with this verse in Isaiah;
Isaiah 65:4 Which
remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments, which eat swine’s flesh,
and broth of abominable things is in their vessels;
Devils are attracted to
bodies and to graveyards and tombs.
5:3
Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with
chains:
Devils are unusually
strong.
5:4 Because that he
had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked
asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame
him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying,
and cutting himself with stones.
Here is an excellent
study on demonic possession. Notice what the followers of Baal in the Old
Testament did in an attempt to manifest their god before Elijah’s challenge.
1Kings 18:28 And
they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and
lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.
Now, note the
expressions of grief at the death of the emperor of Tang Dynasty China,
T’ai-tsung from historical writer, Will Durant;
“When he died the grief
of the people knew no bounds, and even the foreign envoys cut themselves with
knives and lancets and sprinkled the dead emperor’s bier with their self shed
blood.”
Devils encourage self-abuse
and self-damage including religious processions in Iran (Shi’ite Muslims) and
the Philippines (Catholic Christians) and the self-cutting behavior of some
young girls. There are numerous examples of self-mutilation in religious
rituals from all over the world as well as in literature. Self-mutilation as a
religious ritual is a common theme in mankind’s religions.
Christ does not call us
to mutilate ourselves like the popular Christian philosopher, Origen, live on a
platform in the desert high off the ground to mortify the body like the ancient
monks, or to think that we please Him by deliberately making ourselves suffer
as I have heard some modern Christians say. Such behavior is the work of
devils.
For
those of you who don’t believe in the importance of the Bible God has preserved
for us I would warn you that if you believe you are saved because you have
“chosen” Christ let me point out to you how to tell if you are merely
devil-possessed. If your Christ encourages you to hurt yourself or allow others
to hurt you as a sign of your sanctification. If you seek to be uncomfortable
rather than simply denying your Self and selfishness, but actually look for
ways to cause pain and suffering to yourself. If your Christ makes you feel
that it’s okay to glorify yourself or mankind in general, your nation, your
government, or to place anything above the God who created you. If you are
constantly lamenting how your gender, your race, your culture, your country is
mistreated and misunderstood. If you are always beating yourself with sins that
are forgiven. If you are drawn to death, destruction, violence, graveyards,
battlefields, or anywhere else where death is prominent out of morbid curiosity
or entertainment RATHER than merely seeking understanding or to remember the
fallen. If you love horror movies, war movies, action-adventure movies or
anything else where scenes of gruesome death are reenacted with buckets of fake
blood, screaming, and agony. If your religious practices require suffering
rather than putting Christ first, which leads to self-will worship.
You
might possibly be saved. But, you are most definitely influenced by devils. I
won’t argue with you about whether a Christian can be oppressed or possessed
but only say that if a devil has got your eyes, your tongue, your hands, or
your mind then whether you call that oppression or possession it makes no
difference. You need the cleansing that is only found in God’s word.
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