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Why did the demons ask to be cast into the herd of pigs, and why did the pigs then run into the water to be drowned?

I do not understand why the demon legion begged Jesus not to cast him off to a "distant place" why would it matter? And why would being placed into a herd of pigs that would then be drown benefit the demons?

Mark 5:9 - 17

ESV - 9 And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many. 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

Clarify (1) Share Report Asked January 06 2014 1538022084 Amber Gronlund Supporter

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Mini David Edouard Supporter
Deut 14:8, In the old testament, pigs were considered unclean, anything that is unclean gives demonic spirits legal ground or rights to operate. At that particular verse, the people were still under the law because Jesus had not 
died yet to fulfill the law, therefore when the demons wanted one thing to enter into, the pigs was the perfect legal ground for them.

As believers, this lesson applies to us; any area of darkness, sins, unclean things in our lives give Satan and his demons legal right or ground to operate. It's very important to remain pure, holy before the Lord. 1John 1:7

January 06 2014 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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David goliath victory hg clr Jim Tumlinson Supporter One beggar leading others to where the bread is
Amber here is what I have been taught and discovered.
Demons want a place to live, whether in a living person or animal, they seem to want to live inside something living. Other wise they go to dry places. Matt 12:43-45
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." NIV

They do possess places as well. I have yet to find scripture to support that but have been in places where I have not only sensed them but I begin to dry heave uncontrollably.

They cannot possess a born again Christian, like it would appear that David said. Once we are born again the Holy Spirit lives and abides in us and no demon can possess us not matter the sin.

Non Christians can be possessed. They do not have the Spirit of God in them so it is the opposite spirit. I have sat in deliverance sessions as an intercessor. I have literally seen one man grind his teeth and spit them on the table as he shook in his chair. Unfortunately he was committed to a mental hospital.

Christians and non Christians alike can be oppressed by the devil,
Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. NKJV

I too went through a deliverance session and once done had a freedom that I had never had before. I would see some things and they repulsed me unlike before. It was as though I was cleansed and then TV and other things have tainted it again now. It is not possible to stay that clean in todays society with all the media and other things in our life. The only way would have been to stay in a room and read the bible all day long, impossible. That brings me to Davids last point.

Since we did nothing to become righteous and holy before God other than receive what Jesus did for us, there is nothing we can do to maintain it. Will we give place to the devil, absolutely if we continue in sin, but this is an ongoing problem and takes years. Do we become possessed? No, oppressed? We can be. Demons can operate in our lives no matter what however they have no authority over us but can influence us, our decisions as well as tempt us as was done with Jesus. There is no darkness in our lives since we are the light Jesus said. We sin all the time and this sin does not give the devil place. In Eph 4:27 it says give no place to the devil but does not comment on how.

As far as why the pigs ran into the water I can only guess.
Here is my guess, the demons were a legion which means about 600 I think, so from my understanding there were only about 200 pigs, also pigs can be excited very easily so with that many demons in a pig the confusion that can be caused in an animals mind may have drove them to run and because pigs don't see well they did not see the cliff but only ran because of the demons and the cliff was their demise. 

Once again only speculation, but a very good question. I often see things in the bible as I read it and I write it down and ask God why He put it there. Then I will at some time or another revisit those questions to see if I have received any revelation about what I had asked. It's fun to see what God shares with me and the treasures in His word I find. Be blessed.

I trust this helps with what you were looking for and then some.

January 10 2014 1 response Vote Up Share Report


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84924d6f 9be5 4261 9e07 ab5f6a8c5842 Lena Wms Supporter Student @Christ Gospel Church, S.S.Teacher, Observer
Dear Amber, I would like to add just a couple of things to the things already stated. First, the demons asked not to be sent out of the country.

In the Greek, they did not wish to leave the inhabitants of the country. This being revealed, one must understand that demons are not creatures that are subject to the laws of death as we are. If someone dies that they are possessing, they simply move on to their next victim. They do not die with that being. 

This is why being demon possessed is so horrific, especially today. The demons (fallen angels) have been around for centuries, each time their victim dies, they move on, but the sins committed remain as a pleasure to them and they attempt to entice the next victim to duplicate the pleasure for them. The more sin, the more pleasure to them. It becomes a vicious cycle. 

Thank God that ONE DAY, Every Knee Will Bow and Every Tongue Will Confess, that Jesus Christ is LORD to the Glory of God the Father! (Phil 2:10,11) 

The second thing, if the pigs drowned, it would immediately release the demons to search for their next victims. So, they were freed into the same country where they were comfortable living. However, the man that Jesus freed was free indeed! The townspeople found him dressed and in his right mind speaking with the Master! 

I highly recommend e-sword.net with Strong's Concordance to study God's Word. (2 Tim 2:15)

Be Blessed
Lena

October 26 2014 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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Mini Joe Anderson Supporter
Thanks for your question Amber. I really appreciate reading it.

I'm under the impression that exactly what the outcome was is the exact reason why they begged: to enter into the pigs, have them rush off the cliff and get the people of the town to request Jesus leave the region because of their financial loss. Then they would have the people in that town to themselves. They were banking on the people's unwillingness to repent of their greed. 

The only thing about a man that a demon, or Satan himself, cannot withstand is a truly repentant sinner who submits himself (or herself) to God wholeheartedly (James 4:7). One of Satan's biggest goals is to stir people against God "to his face" (Job 1:11, Job 2:5, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

From my own experience, life gets worse when you reject Jesus, because now all the demons get to have a field day in your life. But as the Bible says repentance brings times of refreshing (Acts 3:19)

March 06 2018 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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Mini Paul Plumb Supporter
The possession of a physical body is an eternal privilege and a blessing. The righteous decision to accept the plan of God the Father and come into this world was rewarded with the gift of a human body. Humans are free to choose their actions while in the flesh, and they are privileged to experience the pleasures and pains of being alive. This is a blessing not enjoyed by those who followed Satan's lead and were cast out of God's presence, never to have a mortal body. We lived with God prior to this earth as spirits - We are the angels who fought with Michael. "Revelations 12:7 And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12“For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

During Christ's ministry, he found several occasions to cast out devils - evil spirits that were cast out of heaven. In the most notable incident, the evil spirits requested that Christ not cast them out entirely, but that he allow them to enter the bodies of nearby swine (Mark 5:6-13). This suggests how much the followers of Satan desire a physical body - so much so that they were willing to accept the body of a pig to have one. Since Satan's followers (evil spirits) were denied a body, to have even the body of a pig in the next life will be better than the other evil spirits.

April 10 2018 0 responses Vote Up Share Report


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