In the Gospel of Mark, we read of an account of Jesus encountering a Gadarene man, an inhabitant of the region of Gadara—a largely Gentile area near the Sea of Galilee, famous for the biblical account of Jesus casting demons into a herd of pigs.
“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, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind 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.
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, 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.
For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many” (Mark 5:1–9).
The Bible teaches there are demons in the world. There are spirit creatures that live to torment and hurt people, and animals. An enlightened individual might scoff at the idea of a demonic world, but that does not alter the fact that demons exist and are led by a fallen angel named Lucifer. The prophet Isaiah recorded what happened.
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High” (Isaiah 14:12–14).
Lucifer want to be like God and so he rebelled against Divine authority. There was war in heaven and “Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him” (Rev. 12:7–9).
According to the Gospel of Mark, some of the angels of Lucifer, that Old Serpent, the Devil, found their way into the body of a man in the country of the Gadarenes. Gadara was a town east of the Jordan River.
When the demon was confronted by Jesus, he was compelled to state his name for the Lord of the Universe was speaking to him. “My name is Legion,” was the reply, “for we are many.”
It is hard to comprehend what it is like to be demon possessed. By God’s grace, most people are sane, and rational. Most people are in control of their faculties and their emotions. But a person who is demon possessed is out of control. They are at the mercy of another spirit that compels them to act in an abnormal manner.
How a person becomes demon possessed is not always clear. Many become possessed because they open their hearts up to the world of the occult. They invite a spirit to come into their life and possess them. They may not understand consciously that is what they are doing but there is a demon of lust that will possess a person. It is called an Incubus. There is a demon of violence, referred to in Mark’s Gospel. This demon is so mean, so vicious, and so powerful that it can sometimes break strong physical chains.
It is not unusual for a serial killer to realize they are possessed by a demon of violence. David Berkowitz murdered six people in New York City in 1976–77. His crimes created panic in the city and produced a widespread manhunt. When final caught and confronted with his vicious crimes with a .44 caliber gun, David Berkowitz said he was driven by demons. He had been obeying the orders of a demon who spoke to him in the form of a dog belonging to his neighbor. The name of the dog was “Sam.”
Theodore Robert Bundy was another American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered many young women and girls during the 1970s. Before he was executed in 1989, he confessed to 30 homicides he committed in seven states over a four-year period, 1974–1978. A man of great charm and natural ability, Ted Bundy was driven by what he called an “Entity” within him. It was looking for satisfaction. The Bible calls this “entity” a demon. Attorney Polly Nelson, a member of Bundy’s last defense team, honestly admitted that Ted was “the very definition of heartless evil.”
Long ago, there was a man of Gadara who was also filled with heartless evil. He lived among the dead. He shrieked and put fear into the hearts of others. He engaged in self-mutilation. His life was in ruins. There is nothing more tragic than a ruined life.
Jesus asked, “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
There are individuals who have lost their souls. They have given themselves over to a powerful self-destructive, and other destructive force such as hatred and anger, sensual lust, or insatiable greed. Some make no effort to control the inner rage, and lash out at anyone who tries to bind, tame, or calm them down. There is the will to power, and they will have their way in a given matter. There are those who make no attempt to curb lustful passions, but seek out every form of sensual expression imaginable, including innumerable conquests, homosexuality, bestiality, and necromancy. Still others will do anything for power, position, or financial gain. The Bible says, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Tim. 6:9).
Be watchful over your soul, lest you become like the Gadarene.
The Collected Works of Stanford E. Murrell 