February 2
Mark 5: When Demons Cry and Pigs Fly
Genesis 34; Mark 5; Job 1; Romans 5
Jesus is confronted by perhaps thousands of demons (or “unclean spirits”) in this account, so I would like to elaborate on the origin of demons and the background.
First, what are demons? My opinion is that they are the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim, the giants of old who themselves are the offspring of “sons of God” - angels - who defected from God and mated with human women in Genesis 6:1-4. This view makes sense of several other questions, not least of which is, “Why the Flood?” It’s because not only were humans in flagrant defection from God but so were the heavenly beings. The entire cosmos was inverted, in rebellious chaos. So many (all?) of the Nephilim were destroyed in the Flood.
This leaves questions. If the Flood destroyed everyone else, did Noah’s wife herself carry Nephilim blood and extend their line? Possibly, but that’s for another time. Regardless the connections to the Flood and the giants in Mark 5 are fascinating:
First, the demon-possessed man lives among tombs. This area is filled with stony, rocky, dry tombs. Matthew 12:43 says that demons seek “waterless places.” Is this because of the Flood?
Second, this man is said to possess incredible strength, as do other demon-possessed men (see Acts 19:11-20 for a funny example). In other words, this man possesses a strength of someone much larger than him - a giant.
Third, the demon begs Jesus not to cast him out of this region, which just so happens to be where most encounters with giants happened in the Old Testament. Moreover this area is likely where John the Baptist was baptizing - and therefore where Jesus was baptized.
Perhaps this demon was there, which would explain why it knows exactly who Jesus is (7). But demons cannot be redeemed, so this “Legion” cannot combine that acknowledgement with faith - they can only beg to not be tormented. So Jesus agrees to allow the demons to enter a herd of pigs nearby - unclean animals for unclean spirits (12). But this backfires, and the herd runs off a cliff and into the sea (13). They experience the same end as their “forefathers”: they go down to their watery prison (cf. 1 Peter 3:19). The same waters that Jesus came out of alive in his baptism brought these enemies of God down to Sheol.
Mark makes clear what we should do with this information. Some will say it is all too spooky, and like the townsfolk, will want nothing to do with Jesus (17). But others, like the man freed, will want to be with him (18). But not yet. Instead, for now, we proclaim his powerful mercies (19-20).1
Get the book, “Giants: Sons of God” by Douglas Van Dorn, for which I am indebted.