The Dread of Demons

    When it comes to demons, people often fall into two extremes. On one hand, some people overemphasize them by constantly seeing the work of demons behind every event and sin. For them, spiritual warfare is fighting demons in various ways. On the other hand, others ignore demons. They don't consider that they are real and active. Perhaps they think that demonic activity belongs to the past or to some far off country. The truth is that demons are active in our world, and likely more than we think even in our so-called civilized Western culture. Demons are incredibly powerful and wicked. But an awesome and comforting truth is that the Lord Jesus is infinitely greater than the demons. To show this, I will look at Luke 8:26-27, Mark 5:1-17, Mathew 8:28-34.


The incredible power of demons

   The Lord Jesus has just shown that He rules over wind and wave by calming the sea of Galilee during a violent storm. He and His disciples landed at the shore of the region of the Gadarenes. There they are met by two demon-possessed men. One of them seems to be the most prominent of the two and is the focus of Luke and Mark. We are told that these men were extremely violent, so much so that no one could pass in that area due to their violence. It seems that the people in that area had at times tried to capture these men and bind them with shackles and chains. But incredibly, the demons had given such strength to the men that the chains and shackles were broken. No one was able to subdue the demon-possessed man. Nor was this man indwelt by just one demon. The name of the demon-possessed man was Legion because he had many demons in him. A legion was a military unit of 6000 men. So this man had many demons, although maybe not 6000. Legion and his lesser companion must have been a great terror to the people in that area, causing fear and worry. This account shows us the great power of demons. On our own, we could do nothing against them. They could, if God allowed, utterly overwhelm us by their might. It is foolish to toy with the occult and is extremely dangerous.

The incredible wickedness of demons

   The demons are very powerful and they use that power for evil purposes. The demons in Legion tormented him. They caused him to live among the tombs, where he lived without clothes on. He was always screaming and cutting himself with rocks. At other times, the demons drove this man into the desert. All this had gone on for a long time. Poor man! Consider as well, the case of the demon-possessed boy whom Jesus healed, in which the demon cruelly tried to destroy this boy. These demons used their cruelty to bring pain and suffering on these people. There is no goodness in a demon. There is not one drop of kindness or goodwill. There is only a black evil heart that delights in doing wickedness.

   Such power! Such wickedness! The demons are a dangerous and terrifying enemy. If that is where it ends then we have no hope against such beings. But there is hope for those who love and know the Lord Jesus.

The Dread of Demons

   Perhaps as the demon-possessed man saw the boat approach, they ran out as usual to drive off these invaders. but as they got closer, they realized Who was in the boat. Even from a long distance away they knew it was Jesus. And when Jesus got on shore the demon-possessed man ran up and bowed down before Jesus. The demons begged Jesus not to torment them. Throughout the interaction between Jesus and the demons, Jesus shows He is in total control of these powerful beings. They are afraid of Him. They know He has the power to torment them and judge them. He asks the questions and they give the answers. They can't demand anything and can only beg before him like a dog before its master. He commands they leave, and leave they must. The demon must even ask permission just to enter some pigs, which they drown in the lake, showing again their wickedness. There is no good versus evil struggle. God doesn't need to struggle against His foes. The infinite power of the Almighty is not even close to a match for the demons. Jesus is Master over all, even over the demons.

  This is a great comfort for us. This is a world filled with demonic activity. They are much more powerful than us and very wicked. And yet for those who have been forgiven by Jesus and follow Him, they are no longer objects of dread. The power and presence of Jesus protects us from them.With Him at our right hand, we will never be shaken even with demons all around us for they must bow before The Dread of Demons, Our Lord and Savior Jesus.

Brad