If a bunch of little children want a ball to play with and I toss them a grenade, am I off the hook if a kid pulls out the pin? But this is not the full explanation or the main one. The book ends on that very point. Take the first chapter of Genesis for example; ones interpretation of it depends on whether one thinks its a historical retelling of creation, or just a poem. The Gospels tell us that Jesus did most of His work among the Jewish people. Jesus is going to tell him, You can't come with Me, but I do want you to go back and tell them what great things God has done for you. 10 ) It was the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, the area of the Decapolis. In fact, they beg Jesus to leave. Pliny described it as a city of the Decapolis founded after the Rom. But if one cared to examine all of Gods Word, the only possible reason for Jesus to destroy the pigs in the exorcism seems to be connected to Gods opinion about ham. iii. The final battle requires a different strategy, one that involves a cross. Incredible. No other place on the E side of the sea fits this requirement of the story. The fascinating story behind many people's favori Can you handle the (barometric) pressure? Apparently Gerasa was rebuilt by the Romans before the revolt began, prob. This location agrees with the description given by the ancient writers. He had a new name and he had a new nature to go along with it. But now this is an extraordinary case. Two thousand pigs dead for one person to live is not an even tradeand that is the point. Now Jesus grants this permission. 10:31). All these inescapable facts are so important to getting the right interpretation of Mark 5 and the other gospel records of the same event. 4. With such a track record, what difference would Legions size or strength make? At the very end of his book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John repeats them. But MacArthurs logical is funny for another reason.

. Gods Everlasting Word is not something evolving or morphing into a strange new unusual thing, like some rose turning into a radish, or a carrot into a carnation. The heart set free from sin by Jesus. And from what I have heard, preferrably pig blood. Additionally, it would have been foolish for the Apostles to claim hundreds and thousands of witnesses (1 Cor 15:1-6). To run Money Maker Software properly, Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 or higher version is required. The Greek clause literally says, End of law is Christ but why bother finishing the sentence? Of course this kosher interpretation is just as obvious painfully obvious to John MacArthur and Piper, yet I've never seen either refute the issue or deal honestly with their doubts. B. vii. display: none !important; And Jews are forbidden by God and His eternal commands to own pigs. He's not only a person extraordinarily under bondage to demonic activity, but he's actually a picture of everyone who is in the thrall of sin. . take a dump and be cleaned.lol. Well this is a taste of the profound arguments that you will find in that book. That is, they appear contrary, except for one thing: Gods Law forbids righteous people from eating pork. And it is reveals a great deal comparing the reactions of the Gentiles in the two towns. Its odd that dispensationalist preachers dont preach this obvious, permanent truth. Early in the video, he is very factual and seems sure of himself. when hes rolling around with a thousand killer-demons inside. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (, Now, if a Jew can be treated so badly by fellow Jews, lets put on our thinking caps and imagine what happens to a Jew walking straight into a big group of Gentiles. Bibliography W. A. Thomson, The Land and the Book (1882), 333-338, 353, 359; C. H. Kraeling, Gerasa, City of the Decapolis (1938); The Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1946), 64, 117; M. F. Unger, Archaeology and the NT (1962), 139-141; E. Lohmeyer, Das Evangelium des Markus (1963), 93f; C. F. Pfeiffer, The Biblical World (1966), 252-254. I would think that it shows that demons would enter anything that could be unclean including a human being. Perhaps even ask who might that future group of individuals be to whom Jesus will say, Depart, I never knew you (Matthew 7:22) because even though they called him, Lord, Lord [and had gone to seminary and made dispensational charts] they somehow were on the wrong path. Add to that that recent. So how on earth could they dictate to the Son of God where they wished to go? Gadara). Secondly, I want you to look at the Lord Jesus Christ Himself because His power over Satan is on display full force in this passage. 2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. * And if one doesnt believe demons exist ..same question: why invent a false story to make the point that Jesus has power over demonic creatures that dont exist? Similarly, as God incarnate, Jesus knows the future. And it is a shame that the good pastors dont take these relevant Scripture passage into consideration. Regrettably, what were about to study the Big Pig Splash Down isn't one of them. As the Philistine dead were strewn from Gaza to Ekron, so thousands of Satans dead fell in their own territory. In actual fact, when you stop to think about it, because God denounced pork in Leviticus, and then Jesus destroyed two thousand, and that event is thrice repeated by Matthew, by Mark, by Luke it all adds up to a big confirmation of the fact that God doesn't change. That is how valuable human life is." And Christ went sadly.He had wrought for them a signOf Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;They wantedswine.Christ stands without _your_ door and gently knocks;But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,He forces no man's holdhe will depart,And leave you to the treasures of your heart. It was situated some 30 miles southeast of Gadara, on the borders of Peraea and a little north of the river Jabbok. (we dont invent stories to let people know Jesus has power over the Tooth Fairy, do we?). 1), and apparently occupied these cities with Jewish patriots. They were people who knew him. Obviously, they were Jewish pig farmers seeing judgement for flagrant disobey Gods Word and keeping and eating pig meat. The most plausible reason Jesus chose the pigs was because he regarded people as precious and priceless, But are these good pastors on the right track? Why did these people respond to Jesus this way? Notice how Gods, Plus, when Jesus chased the sellers out of the Temple courts (. Mark as quoted by Spalde, Annika; Strindlund, Pelle (2012). Thats why there was a herd of two thousand He's converted. Dedicated Online Support through Live Chat & Customer Care contact nos. in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon rushed down a steep hill and perished. As well, every place the Master went on his travels was inside of the Land of Israel; he never went to Gentile territory. They dont care about about the demon possessed men, they want their pigs back, (My opinion) Jesus was raised with sacrifice so animals were thought of for food, not so much as pets like today. David did the same to a bear that took a sheep. Peter, the thick-headed captain of the Tedious Twelve, needed a hammer of a vision to get it across to him that Gentiles not ham and back bacon are clean and Jews could fellowship with them. The demons freak out that Jesus is there because its not time for them to be tormented by Him yet. 4 ) As R. Sol Urbin Ohel Moed teaches us, Technically, the greek word for swine is choiros, which many people think means swine, but in the Akkadian, and so with the Syriac, it really refers to an indigenous type of little lamb owned by sea-faring peasants, suitable for pets, grazing, shishkabob and MLT (Mutton, Lettuce and Tomato) sandwiches., 3 ) Pigs?? Ligon Duncan (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary; PhD, University of Edinburgh) is the Chancellor & CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, and the President of RTS Jackson. Such alternative readings include arguments that the swine were meant to represent the Roman army or "unclean and unfaithful" people; that pigs were considered "unclean", so destroying them might be consistent with care for other animals; and that Jesus did not actually "send" the devils into the pigs. borrowed from Anglo-French, borrowed from Medieval Latin galilea, probably after Galilea, Galilaea galilee, from a monastic and clerical comparison of the church porch, where the laity gathered, to biblical Galilee, regarded, in opposition to Judaea, as a country of Gentiles (as in Matthew 4:15) David ran after the lion that had grabbed his sheep and with just his staff, and his wits, he forced the lion to drop it. No one cares where he sleeps when hes busy trying to keep himself from killing himself. The only other commandment with this same specific promise is the command to honour thy mother and father (Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16; c.f., Ephesians 6:2-3 where Paul copies out the entire commandment and the promise). (. Now that's interesting isn't it? The Gemara on the passage gives a historical foundation for the practise in the times of Aristobulus. Let's pray. The action is no different than Revelation 14:14-15 where we see the Son of Man brandishing a sharp sickle. Why? After stilling the storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus lands with his disciples on the eastern shore of the lake. And John nicely parallels Jesus who said, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law (Matthew 5:18). The good pastor actually believes that a Jewish man can rationally decide the best sleeping quarters , In the end, the good pastors assumptions keep us, Just remember the wonderful folks in Jesuss hometown? Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. We use cookies to provide you with a great user experience. We have it all down on paper exactly how gentle Gentiles can get when they get annoyed by a Jew. He was getting everyone on board with what was started at Sinai. Many of you have seen, maybe fewer of you have read, a book by the famous British philosopher and skeptic, Bertrand Russell. I love irritating those charlatans who pretend the Law of God is somehow different than the Law of Moses. THE PIGS DID IT FOR HIM!! Where He goes, they show up and they say things to Him. Later, Leviticus 11 explains to His Chosen People that He had chosen only ritually clean/pure animals for them to eat. Living in rural Central Africa villages for ten years, I heard many stories from locals about demon spirits living in streams and trees and boulders. WebWell pretend with him that the folks in Gerasenes were placid Gentile farmers happily raising their gentle Gentile pigs. And as Palmer approached him at the fireside, the man identified Palmer before he got there. Legion probably comes from the fact that Roman legions had four to six thousand men in them and this name, Legion, indicates that he is possessed by a host of demons. And sadly, neither of the two Johns considered Gods extreme love for His Creation when giving their interpretations. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him and said with a loud voice, What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? And at the end of the passage, look how he is described. It's almost like the demons are inexorably drawn to Jesus. Admittedly the whole event with the demon-crazed pigs is odd you dont see it every day but the writer wanted us to believe it genuinely happened.