In Mark 5 we see the account of the legion of demons that Jesus cast out of the demoniac. I was asked the question recently why Jesus would consent to send the demons into the swine, His creation, knowing that the swine would all be killed. As I have been studying for an accurate answer to the question a couple of things stand out to me. First of all, mankind is the crown of God's creation. All of creation was designed with mankind in mind. God made a wonderful home for His man in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 1:26-28 we see this:
26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. KJV
God gave mankind the dominion over all of His creation! Animals, no matter how much a person loves their pets, are NOT on an equal basis with mankind. I do not condone the evil and senseless slaughter and abuse of animals, but God Himself ordained that the Israelites sacrifice animals, in faith, for the covering over of their own sin. When Noah was instructed to take male and female of every animal onto the ark, he was also instructed to take seven of the clean animals to be used in the sacrifices. I hope that you recognize that there is a balance here, with abuse of animals as one ditch and the elevation of animals on the same level as mankind as the other ditch. Every born again believer should be led by the Word of God AND by the Spirit of God in how they view and treat God's creation! When you do that, you will always be correct! Another point that I would like to make is found in Mark 5. Verse 8 shows us how Jesus responded immediately to the demons speaking from the man:
8 For He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. KJV
Jesus COMMANDED them to come out of the man! Then we see this in verses 12-13:
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. KJV
First of all, in verse 13, the words 'forthwith Jesus' are not in the original Hebrew. The demons did not want to be sent out of the area. They begged Jesus to allow them to go into the swine. Jesus did NOT tell them to go into the swine, neither did He actually give them permission. The only thing that Jesus did was to COMMAND them out of the man. Demons and evil spirits, because of Adam's surrendering of his dominion over the earth, have a right to roam the earth, seeking a place to reside. They cannot enter, or possess, everyone, only those who allow them in. There WILL be a day when Jesus will send the devil and every evil spirit into the lake that burns with fire for all of eternity, but that day has not yet come. Until then, you and I must exercise our God given authority over them so that they cannot operate in our lives. If you do have pets, then exercise your authority over your property! Do not allow the enemy to interfere with them and claim their protection as you do over all of your property! (A note here to remember is that there is also a slippery slope that many people get on when they treat animals as members of their family. They are NOT! They are your property, but they are NOT your family! You can enjoy them, treat them with kindness and care, train them to do the things that you need them to do, but they should never override the needs of your family. I have a particular, godly anger with people who will fight for the 'rights' of animals and turn a blind eye to the holocaust of our nation, the murder of the unborn HUMANS! I am certain that no one who is reading this blog to know more of God's Word is THAT person!)
I hope that this begins to answer the questions that some of you have asked. I will continue to share what I hear from God and see in His Word as anything more comes to light! As we turn our eyes back to Jesus, here is Hillsong Worship with the correct response to EVERY situation! "Look To The Son":
Shalom in Him!
