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Bro. Otis Fisher
I promised you last week that we would go over again, Luke 8, 26 through 39, and do it in more detail. First of all, what is an angel? David, what is an angel? Well, that's the way we usually think of it.
We assign the name demon to the fallen what? Angel. They're angels, but they have fallen. Now, by their fall, they lost all of their purity. What do I mean by that, John? All right. But they did not lose their power.
They can still afflict people. Is it by their own will that they afflict people? By virgins. Virgins. To whom do the angels, the fallen angels, look for guidance? Satan. That must mean that Satan was the head of them.
And being the head of them, he was the head of all angels. It's only with God's permission that they have power not only to enter men's bodies, but to possess them. David, what takes place in the possession of a person?
All right. It is power to afflict their minds, to drive them to frenzy, madness. And we have such a case before us that the reason why the evil angels do not more often exert their power is what, John?
That's right. The straining power of God. The devil cannot do all of the mischief that he would, and he shall not do all that he can. The place where these evil spirits delight to make their abode. Joy, that doesn't belong to you.
Where is that? Well, that's true. But where do you find those people living? The people. The opposite of a Christian. We like the light. We like to live in cheerful places. It stands to reason that the evil angels would like the opposite.
They like the forlorn and solitary, which will breed horrors in your mind, give advantage to temptation. Now, do you find it strange, David, that the evil spirits recognize Christ, the demon's own Christ to be the Son of God?
Now, David, this is one for you. Do they pay homage and subjection to Christ? That's right. Unwillingly. They unwillingly worship and honor him, but it's all against their will. It seems strange, John, but to begin with, the angels must have had a free will when they were created.
Created with a free will because there was a group that followed Satan and gave up free will. And at the same time they gave it up, the others made a decision. They all made a decision, part of them to go with Satan, part of them with God.
And that's not reversible. Now, this man that we're studying about, Burge, how many demons did he possess? He didn't possess any of them. They possessed him. But, David, agreement was there among the spirits.
Doing this harm will multiply them in one person. Yet they all had what? They all answered half. That's absolutely right. We need to understand. We see the very demons have a sort of unity among them and their malicious and evil designs against mankind.
They are as one. Now, to understand what I mean by a myriad of demons, how many was there in this one person? How many men, soldiers, are in a region? The Roman army, at the time of Christ, there were 6 ,000 men.
Now, how tightly can you pack the demons? It boggles my mind. All right. That brings up an interesting question. We'll jump ahead a minute. When the hogs run into the sea, did the angels die? No, they didn't.
David, can you kill an angel? No. No way. Why is that? Why can't we kill an angel? Who's that on the back? Who? No, I recognize Fred. He said it by himself. It's because we just can't eliminate them. They don't die.
All that he ever created are still here or there, wherever. Did you ever see an angel, good or bad? You're speaking for the whole group. I'm reminded of a story where a little black boy asked if he ever saw a ghost.
And he said, no, not until I saw one. Well, I think it would be extremely good if all the Christians were as united in their designs and endeavors for the glory of God and the good of one another as the devil is with his crowd.
The request which the evil angels make of Christ brings up several questions. They said, we beseech thee, torment us not. That's to say, not before our time. Now, from which we may gather that there are torments appointed to the spiritual nature of evil angels, which they have not yet experienced.
Now, it says, I don't have it here, but someplace right there it says, before our time. Does it not, David? What were they talking about, David? All right, they call it the abyss, the bottomless pit, torments that I don't want to even talk about.
Yes, that's exactly right. That's right. The evil angels are not so full of torment as they shall be, although they are as full of sin and discomfort as they can be. There will be a time when their torment shall be increased.
Therefore, they pray, torment us not before our time. There it is. Don't torment us before our time. Now, urge what would be the torment to them before their time. Well, that's true. And they know who Christ is.
He is God in bodily form. But they ask him to not torment them before their time of the increase of torments. So they knew it was coming. They don't know when. The evil spirits request permission to go into the herd of swine.
David, why did they choose this? The demon malice. Will they hurt? Debbie, tell me, will the demons hurt a person every time? They will hurt the poor beast rather than not hurt at all. This is their mission in life.
They never do good. Although it may seem good, it isn't. Now, his powerful restraint, he cannot hurt even a poor pig without permission. Satan's malice indeed was infinite. But his power is boundless.
If the power under a power, if he could not hurt the swine, much less affect one of his children without permission, we're living in a time where we're alive. But he does afflict us in lots of ways. Some we recognize and some we don't.
Now, Satan's request is yielded to by our Savior. He has suffered them to go into the swine. Now, David, why? Was it to disgratify them? No. So there must be some other reason. So true. Their desire in doing wrong was first hereby Christ showed his power over the devil, the demons, that they could not act without his permission.
Now, we can see that. I don't know if the people in Lent they saw it that quick. Next, to show how great the malice and power of the devil is, if not restrained. And lastly, that the miracle of casting out so many evil spirits might appear to be the greater.
He'd already established how many there were. Those around him knew that the man said, Legion. By the way, Virg, was that the man talking or the spirits? All right. That almighty God, for wise ends which we don't understand and just causes, does suffer the devil to enjoy his desire in doing mischief unto these creatures.
He just said to them, Go. They did not leave until he told them to go. He had said, Go. They dare not stay. What a bad effect this miracle had upon the minds of the Gadarenes. Who are the Gadarenes, John?
Fred, who are the Gadarenes? Gadarenes. David, we're back to you. No, you did so well on that one, I think. All right. All right. They didn't argue that he did or did not do this. The loss of their swine enrages them and makes them desire that Christ leave.
Can you imagine that? Yes, I can. You're servants of God or Satan, one or the other. You're under the controlling influence of God at all times. Well, they wanted Christ to depart from their shore. Just go away.
That tells me that Cardinal Hearst preferred their swine before their saints. They would rather lose Christ's presence than their worldly profits. They besought him to depart from them. Sad is the condition of those whom Christ departs.
But more sad is such who say unto Christ, Depart. But most sad is the condition of them who beseech and entreat Christ to depart. This is what the Gadarenes did, and we don't have a record of Christ ever returning to them again.
How desirous the possessed man was to continue with Christ. Well, that seems natural to me, that you would want to be around someone that has thus delivered you. He prayed that he might be with him. This, he might desire partly to testify his thankfulness to Christ, but partly, as Joy said last week, fear of being repossessed again by Satan, or perhaps to have the opportunity of hearing Christ's doctrine, seeing his miracles, for such as had once tasted that the Lord is gracious, and experienced the pleasure and profit of Christ's company, a very desirous of the continuance of it, an exceeding loathe to depart with it.
However, Jesus did not think it would be most proper for him to have this man. Now, Debbie here is a man that had been, by the way, when all of the demons left, the man returned, and he could speak of it for himself.
He couldn't until he departed. Now, don't ask me how the demons got in there. I don't know if you go into a lot of rabbit trails as to what he did, but know this. You allow one thing, innocent though it may be, to deter you from Christ, you have opened the door.
Jesus knew that more glory would have rebound unto God if the man stayed there and went about telling his friends. Yet, yet, what Christ expects after imminent deliverance is wrought for us, that we should be the publishers of his praises, and declare to all far and near the great and wonderful things which he has done for us, not for you but for me.
I cannot speak for you. Now, lastly, how Christ describes that power to God by which he had wrought this miracle of healing. Socinians, S-O-C-I-N-I-A-N-S. Who were they, David? I don't think it's in the text.
They, and they're still alive today only under different names, but they believe that if this man had been the most high God and the author of that power about which he wrought this miracle, he would have ascribed it to himself.
Jesus didn't do that. Christ does this as seeking, didn't do this to seek his own glory, but the glory of him that sent him, always pointing to God the Father, has executed his prophetic office in his Father's name, casting out demons by that spirit which he had received from his Father.
That finishes chapter eight. Anything from anybody? Urge this, Mrs. Please.