Demons cast out into a herd of swine.

Matthew 8:28-34

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

From the verses of this post, we know four things about demons;
1] They make their home among the tombs.
2] They are extraordinarily fierce.
3] They are obstructive and prohibitive.
4] They thrive in numbers.

“When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way.” Matthew 8:28

The country of the Gadarenes/Gerasenes was part of a Decapolis made up of ten Greek/Roman cities. It was non-Jewish. That reveals the ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ extended beyond the Jewish culture into purely Gentile territory. The city was near to the Sea of Galilee, on the southeast side.

On the map below, you can see the place where the swine ran into the Sea of Galilee, labeled, “Drowning of the pigs”. The city of the Gadarenes [Gadara] is seen just a little below that, where the two demon-possessed men resided. The land from the city of Gadara to the sea was considered the country of the Gadarenes. Capernaum, where Jesus made His residence during his public ministry, is seen just above the label, “Drowning of the pigs”.

Our Lord Jesus was confronted by two men who were demon-possessed. Those demons intended to do to Jesus Christ what they had done to everyone else, terrorize Him and not allow Him to pass through the place where they were at.

We know three things about demons from verse 28 of this post;
1] They make their home among the tombs.
2] They are extraordinarily fierce.
3] They are obstructive and prohibitive.

Demons live in places where faith in Jesus Christ is dead, they are extraordinarily fierce against righteousness, and they obstruct passing by the way of the Cross.

They make their home among the tombs:
Demons exist in the tombs of souls where belief in God is dead, faith in Jesus Christ is buried, and the presence of the Holy Spirit is petrified.

They are extraordinarily fierce:
Demons are extraordinarily fierce against righteousness, fierce against the Gospel of Jesus Christ being presented to them, and fierce against being told of the consequences of the judgment to come.

They are obstructive and prohibitive:
Demons are obstructive and prohibitive of anyone seeking to pass by the way of the Cross [and many other forms of obstructions]. Demons obstruct people from coming to Jesus Christ who want to repent of their unbelief and to receive His forgiveness of our sins. Demons obstruct the way of Holiness that comes as our sins are put in remission and the Holy Spirit lives in us. Demons obstruct our walk with Jesus Christ.

We know we have the Holy Spirit when we do not speak against Jesus and we say that He is Lord, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthains 12:3

Today, we see how demons are working to obstruct Jesus from passing through this world. The fallen churches have abandoned the Gospel of Jesus Christ to partner with the broad way of mainstream community. Government lawmakers no longer integrate the values of the Bible into laws and policies, but they make the killing of the unborn legal, promote gay marriages, etc. The educational system prohibits the teachings of the values of the Bible within the classroom, but they teach values totally opposite. The community culture has fiercely obstructed Jesus Christ from passing through as the Light of Christianity is not welcomed in their social network.

Demons obstruct the way to Jesus Christ by serving the creature and not God the Creator. “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,” 1 Timothy 4:1 Humanism is one such doctrine that the world listens to, and is the fig leaf worn by those who serve the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. Humanism is “an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems:”

“And suddenly they cried out, saying, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?” Matthew 8:29

Instead of being able to chase our Lord Jesus Christ away, the demons suddenly cried out, “What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”

Demons know Jesus by name and that He is the Son of God, but to them His name is accursed as their tormenter, not their redeemer. They are not able to say that Jesus is their Lord, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

Demons know that their time on this earth has an end and the day of their torment in eternal Hell is coming, and our Lord Jesus Christ is the judge that condemns them. While demons know that their time is short and their judgment is coming, they don’t want you to know that. That is why they love the darkness more than light, and those who serve the beast that speaks and lives through them are the same, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.” John 3:19-20

Demons disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness even as Satan their master disguises himself as an angel of light, “And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” 1 Corinthians 11:14-15

When is the time of the demon’s torment? That time is when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. That is when the beast and the second beast [false prophet] are thrown into the “burning lake of fire”. The beasts give birth to demons within a person by giving people what to say, do, think, and feel to fiercely oppose and be prohibitive towards faith in Jesus Christ. When the beasts are thrown into hell, that is the beginning of the demon’s torment as well, “Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Revelations 19:20

Click for post on the mark of the beast.
Click for post on the image of the beast.

After “1000 years”, Satan is thrown into the “burning lake of fire” to join his two beasts, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelations 20:10 Satan is the master of all demons.

Satan and his two beasts are the unholy trinity, as Satan attempts to copy everything that God does. Satan’s trinity is described in Revelations 13. The Dragon [Satan] of Revelation 13:4, is the master of the first and second beast. Similar to how God gives power and authority to Jesus Christ, Satan gives power and authority to the first beast. The first beast is mentioned in Revelations 13:1-8 and is the second member of Satan’s trinity. The second beast [false prophet] with two horns like a lamb is Satan’s version of the Holy Spirit and is the third member of Satan’s trinity. That beast is the subject of Revelations 13:11-17. Similar to how the Holy Spirit draws people to Jesus Christ, the beast with two horns like a lamb draws all the world to the first beast.

“Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged Him, saying, ‘If You cast us out, send us into the herd of swine.’” Matthew 8:30-31

The difference between swine and pigs is that swine includes many variations of pigs while pigs refer to the more domesticated type of the swine family. Swine were the emblem of filthiness, and they were not to be touched by the Jewish people, and swine herding was forbidden by Jewish law, “…and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. Their flesh you will not eat, and their carcasses you will not touch. They are unclean to you.” Leviticus 11:7-8 “Chewing the cud” relates to animals thoroughly digesting food. It involves regurgitating food then chewing it again so that the food is thoroughly broken down to release nutrients into the body. Animals that “chew the cud” are such as cows, sheep, goats, deer, bison, and buffalo and are popular table foods today. All of those animals also have cloven, or split, hoofs.

Demons thrive in numbers, such as the legion of demons described in Mark 5:1-20 and also Luke 8:26-39. The demons implored Jesus Christ to cast them into a herd of swine, where many of them were feeding. As followers of Jesus Christ, we do not seek large gatherings nor to be counted among the mainstream of today’s culture, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 Click for post on Matthew 7:13-14. Those who serve the power of darkness through the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel demand to be recognized as a global culture as they are the masses of people in every city on all seven continents, “All who dwell on the earth will worship [the beast], whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelations 13:8 Click for post on Revelations 13:7-8

What do the masses of today’s culture feed on that makes them a desirable lodging place of demons? They are feeding on the what the beast feeds to them. That is the beast that has power over physiology to give people what to think, feel, say, and do. They are fed with unbelief in God the Creator, fed with obstruction to the way of Jesus Christ, and fed with opposition to the presence of the Holy Spirit. They are fed the desires of the flesh, bodily needs, and materialism as they despise life in the Spirit. They are spiritually filthy within their spirit and soul. They feel no conviction of their unbelief, feel no need for righteousness, and are not convicted of the consequences of the judgment to come. They are fierce against anyone who tries to persuade them otherwise. The image of the beast is given breath/life to speak by speaking and living through people. By what they are given to say and do, they are conformed to the number, name, and mark of the beast. The beast paves a way for demons to enter.

The world around the time of the collapse of this present world system of the beast is described like this, “She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.” Revelations 18:2 Click for a post on Revelations 18.

“And He said to them, ‘Go.’ So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water.” Matthew 8:32

Just before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, the population of the world will be under the influence of demons. Because they despise righteousness, and they refuse to repent of their unbelief and to receive the forgiveness of their sins through Jesus Christ, God gives them into the hands of the ruler of this world, the power of darkness, “…this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Luke 22:53

Demons: 1] Make their home among the tombs…those dead to Jesus Christ. 2] Are extraordinarily fierce against righteousness. 3] Are obstructive and prohibitive towards the way of Jesus Christ. 4] Thrive in numbers.

When the demons entered the “whole herd of swine”, the swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea and perished. That describes the day of lawlessness when the masses of the global population of the beast begin to plunge steeply and violently to their demise. That is a day of violence, chaos, social and economic collapse. The collapse of the economic system of the beast is described in Revelations 18. The power center of the beast is plunged into darkness in the Fifth Plague of Revelations 16:10-11, bringing the beginning of the end to the demonic empire. The demons will no longer be organized under the beast but will be the force behind total chaos and calamity. They will be stripped of the fig leaf of humanism that is worn by those who serve the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. Demons will be stripped of their appearance of Godliness.

After the power center of the beast is destroyed, then comes the Battle of Armageddon of the Sixth Plague of Revelations 16:11-16. After the Battle of Armageddon, then the beasts are cast into eternal Hell, “These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Revelations 19:20 That is when our Lord Jesus Christ returns in combination with the Seventh Plague of Revelations 16:17-21 and the Seventh Trumpet of Revelations 11:15-19. After that, after “1000 years”, Satan is thrown into the “burning lake of fire” to join his two beasts, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelations 20:10 Satan is the master of all demons.

The swine were drowned in the Sea of Galilee, as shown in the image at the top of this post.

“Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.” Matthew 8:33-34

The swine herders fled into the city and told everyone what had happened to their swine. They witnessed the demons speaking through two demon-possessed men asking to be cast into the herd of swine, and then the herd ran violently into the Sea of Galilee and were drowned. The swine herders were more concerned about losing their swine than rejoicing over Jesus Christ freeing the men from demon-possession. The herd of swine was their livelihood, their wealth, their way of living, the food source of the Gadarenes, etc. They also included the part about the healing of the demon-possessed men, but not glorifying Jesus for what He had done. The whole city was outraged that the herd of swine was lost, and they begged Jesus to leave the region.

The swine herders and the whole city were more tolerant of demons than what they were grateful for having their region cleansed of demon-possessed people. They chose their swine over having their people living with the healing of the spirit and soul brought through Jesus Christ.

Sodom was a city that thrived on corrupting righteousness through acts of homosexuality. Those who spoke of their need to repent were confronted by everyone of the city of Sodom and homosexual acts were forced upon them. Those of Sodom were more tolerant of demonic activity than they were of righteousness. The Sodomites wanted the righteous to depart from them. Click for a post on the motive that turned Sodom into a homosexual city. The following is an excerpt from Genesis 19:1-9, “Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom…And [Lot] said, ‘Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night’…Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally…This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge;'”

The Jewish people were like that also when they chose a violent murderer and rebel named Barabbas over Jesus Christ. Pilate gave the Jewish people a choice of whether they wanted Barabbas released to them or our Lord Jesus Christ, and they chose Barabbas as they demanded that Jesus be crucified, “And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion…but Pilate answered them, saying, ‘Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?’…but the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, ‘What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?’ So they cried out again, ‘Crucify Him!’” Mark 15:7, 9, 11-13

We live in a culture today, which is global, that has their way of life through the power of darkness by the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. The beast opens the gate to demonic activity. To lose a group of their people to Jesus Christ, or just one or two, infuriates them and today they demand for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to depart from their culture. Their culture thrives on not being convicted of the sin of unbelief, not being convicted of the need for righteousness, and not being convicted by the consequences of the coming judgment. Our Lord Jesus gave His life on the Cross in order to offer forgiveness of our sins after we repent of unbelief. By the remission of sins, we are given the Holy Spirit, and we know we have the Holy Spirit because we do not speak against Jesus and we say that He is Lord, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.
I am coming soon.
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.’”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11