04-15-07
Sorry, you must have Windows Media Player 9 or higher. This is a large file which may take a few seconds to start Windows Media Real Audio MP3 Click HERE, or scroll down to view the diagram (Luke 8:26,27) And they [Jesus and His disciples] arrived [via ship] at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he [Jesus] went forth to land [be (wax) old], there met him [“ran” to Jesus: Mark 5:6] out of the city a certain man, which had devils [evil fallen angels resident within him] long time [they were firmly entrenched in strong holds in his mind], and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house [he was not domesticated, not housebroken], but in the tombs [houses of the dead, strong holds in the mind]. 1. Commentary: “out of the city” = vs. directly “out of the tombs” (Mark 5:2). This is a pointer, later proven to be quite accurate (Luke 8:34-37), that all the inhabitants of the city were likewise dwelling in the tombs of their mind, each possessed (inhabited) by fallen angels, although to a much lesser degree. 2. (2 Cor 10:4,5) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [fleshly], but mighty through God to the pulling down [destruction] of strong holds [(fortified); castles, fig. arguments;)] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity [a prisoner of war] every thought to the obedience of Christ; 3. Commentary: “and ware no clothes” = this man had no covering, and walked naked before man and God. He was wild, but more than wild, he was intentionally defiantly wild through the influence and control of Legion, the host of fallen angels dwelling in “strong holds” (tombs, castles) inside him. Natural animals are wild because they do not have “the knowledge of God” (2 Cor 10:5). This man was wild, but both he and the fallen angels had “the knowledge of God.” His wildness therefore clearly indicates gross disobedience “against the knowledge of God” stemming from the evil root of bitterness/rebellion, the root of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without God, that is resident in all men and women. 4. (1 Cor 10:13) There hath no temptation [test] taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you [allow you] to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 5. (1 Cor 10:13 Amplified Bible) For no temptation (no trial [test] regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY OUT (Luke 8:28) When he saw Jesus, he [THE MAN] cried out, and fell down before him [“and worshipped him” Mark 5:6], and with a loud voice [THE FALLEN ANGELS IN THE MAN] said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. //// (Luke 29-31) (For he had commanded the unclean spirit [the fallen angels] to come out of the man. For oftentimes [i.e. not always, but often – indicating the man still had a degree of volition which he manifested by running to Jesus] it had caught [seized (trapped)] him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil [the internal fallen angel in control] into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. 1. Commentary: We may perceive in verse 28 the manifestation of two distinct personalities inhabiting the same physical body. First the man “cried out,” and then Legion “said.” This verse is a God-given example of human behavior that the blinded scientific minds (2 Cor 4:4) of the modern world will observe and categorize as classic schizophrenia, behavior having nothing at all to do with God or the spirit world. But this verse is in fact a biblical example of behavior that God calls demonic (fallen angel) possession (Mark 5:15,16,18). Who is correct, the world or God? What does that say about the science of psychology? May we also note that Legion represented “many devils,” i.e., many other voices (personalities) also inhabited this man. Please note that a single fruit (Legion) from the tree of knowledge of good and evil has many seeds, “many devils” having many personalities. 2. (2 Cor 4:4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. EXERCISE YOUR FREE WILL AND RUN (Mark 5:1-6) And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit [demons, fallen angels (one spirit may have other spirits inside him – a single fruit with many seeds)], Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him [control him], no, not with chains: 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 [domesticate him]. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains [high places: manic], and in the tombs [low places: depressive – bi-polar type one, schizophrenic], crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 1. Commentary: “bound with fetters and chains” = “no man” had any power over this man who was “possessed” (Mark 5:15,16,18) by fallen angels. To be “possessed” means to be owned and exercised (like a puppet) by unclean spirits, demons, fallen angels (internal fleas). However, we may happily note that although this man was indeed biblically “possessed” by fallen angels, and consequently the vast majority of his uncivilized acts were demonically inspired (the reverse would apply to us), that he still retained a very small degree of volition or free will which was attested to by a few of his actions: first and primarily that he “ran [to Jesus in haste] and worshipped him,” thereby doing two things that a fallen angel definitely would not do, and secondly that he was “crying,” we think not so much from the pain, but “crying” out of a measure of true remorse (syn: repentance) surrounded and encased by a feeling of complete helplessness, and perhaps thirdly we may note that “he was cutting himself with stones” which symbolically represent the Laws of God, the “two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exo 31:18). It is not coincidental that the Old Testament punishment for most major sins (offenses to God) was stoning, i.e., you break the Law, the Law will break you. Ultimately therefore, because this man still had “free will,” he was responsible for his own actions. We need to remember that! 2. possessed = Gk: to be exercised by a demon:--have a (be vexed with, be possessed with) devil (-s) /// a demon or supernatural spirit (of a bad nature):--devil. ANOTHER RELATED VIEW Commentary: In this picture of extreme demonic (fallen angel) possession (3x, “possessed with the devil” Mark 5:15,16,18), why was the untamed (wild = unsaved) man “crying”? Have you ever cried out for relief (freedom) from addictions (spiritual chains formed like controlling reins hooked into your mind) such as alcohol, drugs, gambling, sexual perversions, etc., addictions that gave you brief intense worldly pleasure, but at the ultimate cost of the physical destruction of your body and the mental destruction of your soul (mind, will, and emotions)? Fallen angels seek to destroy you. This man knew that he was internally infested with “something” that was influencing and controlling him against his will, and he was desperately trying the only conceivable physical means at hand to get that “something” out of his body by “cutting himself with stones,” i.e., forcibly opening up fissures of exit in his skin. However, in the deeper spiritual sense, “stones” also represent the Laws of God with which the unsaved man was vainly trying (works) to impress upon and control the unclean spirits – until Jesus Christ appeared. Why “vainly”? Because the man was unsaved and had not yet accepted into his life the authority and power of God that energizes those Laws. Comparatively speaking, this poor man was trying to control the “exceeding fierce” (Mat 8:28) fallen angels dwelling in the tombs (caves) inside his mind who were raging and roaring about like ferocious lions (1 Pet 5:8) by whipping at them with a hollow straw rather than striking them squarely with the iron rod of God’s mighty judgmental power (Rev 2:26,27), for he was not yet an “overcomer.” Who are you? Amen Click here or on the diagram for a printable (PDF) version Previous Chapter Table Of Contents Next Chapter Click here to download a printable version of this message Click here to download a DOC version of this message
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(Luke 8:26,27) And they [Jesus and His disciples] arrived [via ship] at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he [Jesus] went forth to land [be (wax) old], there met him [“ran” to Jesus: Mark 5:6] out of the city a certain man, which had devils [evil fallen angels resident within him] long time [they were firmly entrenched in strong holds in his mind], and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house [he was not domesticated, not housebroken], but in the tombs [houses of the dead, strong holds in the mind].
1. Commentary: “out of the city” = vs. directly “out of the tombs” (Mark 5:2). This is a pointer, later proven to be quite accurate (Luke 8:34-37), that all the inhabitants of the city were likewise dwelling in the tombs of their mind, each possessed (inhabited) by fallen angels, although to a much lesser degree.
2. (2 Cor 10:4,5) (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal [fleshly], but mighty through God to the pulling down [destruction] of strong holds [(fortified); castles, fig. arguments;)] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity [a prisoner of war] every thought to the obedience of Christ;
3. Commentary: “and ware no clothes” = this man had no covering, and walked naked before man and God. He was wild, but more than wild, he was intentionally defiantly wild through the influence and control of Legion, the host of fallen angels dwelling in “strong holds” (tombs, castles) inside him. Natural animals are wild because they do not have “the knowledge of God” (2 Cor 10:5). This man was wild, but both he and the fallen angels had “the knowledge of God.” His wildness therefore clearly indicates gross disobedience “against the knowledge of God” stemming from the evil root of bitterness/rebellion, the root of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without God, that is resident in all men and women.
4. (1 Cor 10:13) There hath no temptation [test] taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you [allow you] to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
5. (1 Cor 10:13 Amplified Bible) For no temptation (no trial [test] regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.
THIS IS THE ONLY WAY OUT
(Luke 8:28) When he saw Jesus, he [THE MAN] cried out, and fell down before him [“and worshipped him” Mark 5:6], and with a loud voice [THE FALLEN ANGELS IN THE MAN] said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. //// (Luke 29-31) (For he had commanded the unclean spirit [the fallen angels] to come out of the man. For oftentimes [i.e. not always, but often – indicating the man still had a degree of volition which he manifested by running to Jesus] it had caught [seized (trapped)] him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil [the internal fallen angel in control] into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
1. Commentary: We may perceive in verse 28 the manifestation of two distinct personalities inhabiting the same physical body. First the man “cried out,” and then Legion “said.” This verse is a God-given example of human behavior that the blinded scientific minds (2 Cor 4:4) of the modern world will observe and categorize as classic schizophrenia, behavior having nothing at all to do with God or the spirit world. But this verse is in fact a biblical example of behavior that God calls demonic (fallen angel) possession (Mark 5:15,16,18). Who is correct, the world or God? What does that say about the science of psychology? May we also note that Legion represented “many devils,” i.e., many other voices (personalities) also inhabited this man. Please note that a single fruit (Legion) from the tree of knowledge of good and evil has many seeds, “many devils” having many personalities.
2. (2 Cor 4:4) In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
EXERCISE YOUR FREE WILL AND RUN
(Mark 5:1-6) And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit [demons, fallen angels (one spirit may have other spirits inside him – a single fruit with many seeds)], Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him [control him], no, not with chains: 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 [domesticate him]. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains [high places: manic], and in the tombs [low places: depressive – bi-polar type one, schizophrenic], crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
1. Commentary: “bound with fetters and chains” = “no man” had any power over this man who was “possessed” (Mark 5:15,16,18) by fallen angels. To be “possessed” means to be owned and exercised (like a puppet) by unclean spirits, demons, fallen angels (internal fleas). However, we may happily note that although this man was indeed biblically “possessed” by fallen angels, and consequently the vast majority of his uncivilized acts were demonically inspired (the reverse would apply to us), that he still retained a very small degree of volition or free will which was attested to by a few of his actions: first and primarily that he “ran [to Jesus in haste] and worshipped him,” thereby doing two things that a fallen angel definitely would not do, and secondly that he was “crying,” we think not so much from the pain, but “crying” out of a measure of true remorse (syn: repentance) surrounded and encased by a feeling of complete helplessness, and perhaps thirdly we may note that “he was cutting himself with stones” which symbolically represent the Laws of God, the “two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God” (Exo 31:18). It is not coincidental that the Old Testament punishment for most major sins (offenses to God) was stoning, i.e., you break the Law, the Law will break you. Ultimately therefore, because this man still had “free will,” he was responsible for his own actions. We need to remember that!
2. possessed = Gk: to be exercised by a demon:--have a (be vexed with, be possessed with) devil (-s) /// a demon or supernatural spirit (of a bad nature):--devil.
ANOTHER RELATED VIEW
Commentary: In this picture of extreme demonic (fallen angel) possession (3x, “possessed with the devil” Mark 5:15,16,18), why was the untamed (wild = unsaved) man “crying”? Have you ever cried out for relief (freedom) from addictions (spiritual chains formed like controlling reins hooked into your mind) such as alcohol, drugs, gambling, sexual perversions, etc., addictions that gave you brief intense worldly pleasure, but at the ultimate cost of the physical destruction of your body and the mental destruction of your soul (mind, will, and emotions)? Fallen angels seek to destroy you. This man knew that he was internally infested with “something” that was influencing and controlling him against his will, and he was desperately trying the only conceivable physical means at hand to get that “something” out of his body by “cutting himself with stones,” i.e., forcibly opening up fissures of exit in his skin. However, in the deeper spiritual sense, “stones” also represent the Laws of God with which the unsaved man was vainly trying (works) to impress upon and control the unclean spirits – until Jesus Christ appeared. Why “vainly”? Because the man was unsaved and had not yet accepted into his life the authority and power of God that energizes those Laws. Comparatively speaking, this poor man was trying to control the “exceeding fierce” (Mat 8:28) fallen angels dwelling in the tombs (caves) inside his mind who were raging and roaring about like ferocious lions (1 Pet 5:8) by whipping at them with a hollow straw rather than striking them squarely with the iron rod of God’s mighty judgmental power (Rev 2:26,27), for he was not yet an “overcomer.” Who are you?
Amen
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