Numbers 1 through 5 give an over-all recap to this teaching

Many teachings have been taught, and many books have been written on the subject of this article. Sad to say, the great majority of them in error and untruth. It is because of this fact that most Christians run and hide at the mere mention of Satan's name.

We need to preface this writing with one absolute truth. God has never revealed anything to any man or woman and then instructed them to write a book on that subject and then turn it into merchandise.

Never ! Never ! NEVER!

Anyone and everyone who does NOT understand that the last paragraph above 'is THE TRUTH', will more than likely be wasting their time to read any further here.

The gifts and favor of God can NOT be purchased with money and all who believe differently might want to consider the fact that they may not know God nearly as well as they think.

For those who might be unsure of this, I can only recommend you read Acts 8: verses 9 thru 24. This is the story of a man who believed that the gifts and favor of God could be bought with money, and you can learn here exactly what is God's opinion of anyone who believes this.

Every book I've ever heard of dealing with this subject of casting out demons is little more than 'adding too' God's Word the opinions of men. If the writers of same had limited their great revelations from God to what is actually written in God's Word, they would have been very short books indeed.

There is not a great deal written in God's Word on our subject and yet there is 'more than enough' to give Christians 'ALL THE UNDERSTANDING' they need. For those who prefer reading fiction I could perhaps recommend Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn.

As stated already, these blind leaders of the blind seek only to profit from making merchandise out of God's Word so they had to find someway of filling a bunch of space. So, let us begin by separating their LIES from the TRUTH as God saw fit to have written.

For easier reader understanding, I will include first our text verse and after each one, point out things you might want to make certain NOT to miss. Any comments are only for the purpose of making certain that you understand exactly what each verse says, and also, what it does NOT say.

Luke 8: verses 27 thru verse 36

Verse 27 - “And when he (Jesus) went forth to land, there met him (coming) out of the city a certain man, which had devils a long time, and (that man) ware (wore) no clothes, neither abode he in any house, but in the tombs.”

This verse sets the scene and the characters. Nothing to explain here.

Verse 28 - “And when he (the devil possessed man) saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.”

Comment – The first thing Not to miss is the demons (devils) who possessed this man recognized Jesus immediately. Do NOT neglect to notice what Jesus did 'NOT' say in this verse. Jesus did NOT have to say, “I am Jesus the Son of the most high.” In the very same way, demons have the ability to recognize those who are God's from those who are not. They will know if Jesus is in you and the Father is in you, and (1) you will 'NOT' need to tell them who you are. All who believe it necessary to make certain that unclean spirits 'know' who you are, are NOT following this example given by Jesus, but rather they are doing only what some man has taught them. Just realize, the devils knew exactly who Jesus was BEFORE he spoke one single word.

Verse 29 begins with the statement “For he (Jesus) had (already) commanded the unclean spirit(s) to come out of the man. For oftentimes it (the devils) had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.”

Comment – Please do not fail to remember what we just read in verse 28. The demons recognized who Jesus was and already knew they HAD no choice but to obey whatever Jesus said. The most important thing 'NOT' to miss is Jesus had NOT yet ask anything concerning the identity or the name. It should be apparent that (2) finding out demon's name or names (as in this case) has nothing to do with casting them out. In spite of this, men have found it necessary to include learning the names of the possessing demons as absolutely something which must be done 'prior' to commanding them to leave. The sole purpose of this addition to God's Word is so that they will have enough to write about. This is called by God, 'ADDING TO HIS WORD'. That in itself should be a warning to all.

Verse 30 – “And (then) Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.”

Comment – This question asked by Jesus had nothing to do with his ability to command them to leave, or them (the devils) having to obey. Jesus asked this question, primarily, that we might understand someone can be possessed not only by one unclean spirit, but by many.(3) NOWHERE in God's Word are believers instructed to converse with unclean spirits in any fashion, as you will soon see.

Verse 31 - “And they (the devils) besought (begged) him that he would NOT command them to go out into the deep.”

Comment – The best thing we can do here, is a brief recap so we will not lose track of what we've learned so far. If Jesus abides in you, the unclean spirits (demons) 'will know' and it will never be necessary to say to them, “I am prophet do-dad and I command you to come out.” Yeah right, demons could care less about you 'or' who you are. They care only if Jesus is abiding in you and you have the right and authority to use his name (the name of Jesus). (4) The NAME OF JESUS is the ONLY thing in the earth that demons are required by God to obey. It's the POWER in the name of Jesus they they MUST obey, NOT you. Anything more than this comes only from pride in one's self, NOT faith in the Name of Jesus.

Verse 32 - “And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they (the devils) besought (begged) him that he would suffer (allow) them to enter into them. And he suffered (gave them permission) them.”

Comment – There is much information contained in this verse, but it has absolutely NOTHING to do with having the right, the privilege or the commandment to cast out evil spirits. That is unless you plan on carrying with you at all times a herd of swine so you will always have some place to command them to go. Give false prophets a scripture containing three words and they will twist it into a thousand, and give them even more and longer verses to work with, and they will twist them into an entire book.

Verse 33 - “Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.”

Comment – Nothing more needed here. This is just how this story concluded.

Hopefully, you can now understand that conversing with devils and asking their names has NOTHING at all to do with casting them out. Let us then proceed onward towards finding out just what is required of Christians and whether it is a COMMANDMENT from God or only a suggestion.

1^st John 3 : verse 23

“And this is his (God's) commandment, that WE should believe on (have faith in) the NAME of his Son Jesus (the) Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”

Comment – This verse says very plainly that we are commanded to believe on (have faith in) the NAME of Jesus. Does this say this is a suggestion? No, it plainly says this 'IS' a commandment. It is amazing just how many Christians use the word Christ and believe it to be his name. It is NOT. In Luke 1 : 26 thru 31 the angel Gabriel was sent to a young virgin who's name was Mary. He told her of the child she would have and in verse 31 he says very plainly, “and shalt call his 'name' JESUS.” He did not say his name shall be called Christ. He said his name shall be called JESUS. Hello, if God sent an angel to tell Mary of that which was to come and included the name by which he would be called, don't you think, just perhaps, that he would most certainly get the NAME right? Well, he did and the name is JESUS. It was certainly God's right to choose the name for his only begotten Son. I have called on that NAME (Jesus) for 60 years now and he always answers to that NAME. Try crying out to “Puddin-tain” and see if Jesus comes to save you. He will not. Jesus answers only when HIS NAME is called and no other.

Why then, does half the church run all over the earth saying “his name is Christ?” How well do you really 'know' someone when you do NOT even know his NAME? Not very well, would be my first guess. The word “Christ” means “The anointed one”. It is not 'now', nor will it ever be, his name.

Peter explained it best when asked by Jesus himself, “Whom do you say that I am?” Peter answered with these words. “ Thou art Jesus (the) Christ.” Even when the word “the” is not included in verses, the word “the” is understood. One would get the impression that Jesus is his first name and Christ is his last. Why, you might wonder, is using his correct NAME so important when it comes to casting out devils? A good question deserves a equally good answer. I'm so glad you ask.

Jesus sent out disciples to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and TO CAST OUT DEVILS in Luke 10: 1. Exactly what power and authority did Jesus 'give' them to accomplish these amazing things? That answer is found in Luke 10: 17 - “And the seventy returned again with great joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us 'THROUGH THY NAME'.” How strange is it that out of all these wondrous accomplishments, the thing that thrilled them most was the power to cast out devils. The part you must not miss, however, is to understand by 'what power' these followers of Jesus were able to do all these things. The answer is right there in plain view in this verse 17. It was the power that God placed in the NAME OF JESUS. Do you realize that all these deeds were done by using that same power? They raised the dead by using that same NAME. They cleansed lepers by having faith in that same NAME. We have that same commandment and until you see that in Jesus' own words, you will NOT believe, and sad to say, even after seeing, MANY will not believe.

Mark 16: verses 15 thru 17

“And he said unto them, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, (The whole church believes this part) 'BUT' notice that this same Jesus is still talking. Verse 16, He (whosoever) believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he (whosoever) believeth not shall be damned.” Does the whole church believe this part? Pretty much. All churches (which believe in evangelism at all) are in fact admitting that this same commandment Jesus gave his disciples here applies to the entire church still today. If that were not so, why then is this called THE GREAT COMMISSION? Verse 17 – “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my NAME shall they cast out devils;” (partial) How did he say they (believers) could do this casting out of devils? He said believers could do this by the power in his NAME. Did Jesus say devils were subject to obey commands given in the name of “Christ”? I do not think so. I am fully confident that Jesus knew full well what his name was and is. Do you? To attempt to cast out devils with the power in the name of “Christ” will not work. You might as well say, “In the name of Porky Pig, I command you to come out.” You will get the same results. NONE.

Let's see how Paul was able to cast out a spirit of divination. Acts 16: 16 thru 18. Read these three verses until you understand clearly, exactly, what was going on and then center up on verse 18. This woman was following Paul for many days and after Paul had grown tired of it, he simply turned and said 'to the spirit', “I command thee 'IN THE NAME of Jesus (the) Christ to come out of her. And he (the spirit) came out the same hour.” There are many things here we could discuss. As for instance, the words 'the same hour' might lead one to believe that it speaks of some 60 minutes in time. This word HOUR simply means 'time', and when used in conjunction with the word 'same' means INSTANTLY. It did NOT take all day. There was 'NO' long drawn out conversation, 'NO' exchanging of names or resumes. Paul did not bother telling this spirit who he was because this unclean spirit already knew that Jesus was in Paul and Paul had the right to use this mighty name. There is only ONE name that matters and there is ONLY ONE name that demons, devils and unclean spirits MUST obey. Had Paul said, “ In the name of Paul, I command you to come out of her,” exactly nothing would have resulted. Perhaps Paul might have done this better if he'd read one of the millions of books that have been written on this subject??? Poor Paul. He only knew what was taught in God's Word. To tell you the truth, 'every' time I read this account, I see Paul turning in anger and, without hardly breaking stride, he commanded this spirit to come out. It came out immediately, and Paul went right on about on his mission for God. (5) Paul had the right and authority to use the mighty Name of Jesus, and he did.

This same right and authority belongs to every believer who knows enough about God's Word, and has 'enough' Faith in what God said. God has commanded us (The CHURCH ) to have this 'same faith' in Jesus' name. Paul had it, Do you??? If not, then perhaps you'd better go buy a book and see if you can have faith in the words of some man.

The End.