Bible Questions and Answers

What is the meaning of the devils that were sent into the swine in Matt. 8:31, Mark 5:12 and Luke 8:29?

• Matthew 8:31  So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine."
• Mark 5:12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them."
• Luke 8:29 For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had often seized him, and he was kept under guard, bound with chains and shackles; and he broke the bonds and was driven by the demon into the wilderness.

Devils (KJV) more properly ‘demons’ NKJV are defined by Luke as the ‘unclean spirit’ in Luke 8:29.

‘Spirit’ is the way a person thinks. Luke 9:55; Mark 2:8

An unclean spirit or ‘demon’ describes a mental illness. Legion’s mental illness was transferred to the pigs causing them to drown as a visual sign that the man was cured. The man was found ‘in his right mind’ — his mental illness gone. Mark 5:15; Luke 8:35

Today we understand that mental illness is not caused by ‘demons’. Demons do not exist as entities (though we sometimes use ‘demons’ as a figure of speech to refer to mental problems). The mentally ill are treated by drugs and psycho-therapy.

I hope this helps.

God bless.
Glenn