by Michael G. Mickey

The Bible tells us a story of Jesus arriving in the country of the Gadarenes that demonstrates how the forces of evil immediately knew who He was whenever He was seen coming their way.

Mark 5:1-3 : And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

As you have seen in this Scripture, the man who ran to Jesus was the victim of a demonic possession so powerful he couldn't be restrained by anything the people of those days had to try and control him.

Mark 5:4-5: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

The extent of this man's possession was so severe we see he was living like a wild beast, wailing in the mountains. Under the influence of the demons he was indwelt by, this man was extremely self-destructive. Undoubtedly, people who saw him must've been scared to death of him because of his evil. What did this maniacal madman do upon seeing Christ coming his way? Did he rush out to attack Jesus? Hardly!

Mark 5:6-7: But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

Had this wild man met Jesus before? No, but the demonic forces that lived inside the man knew precisely who Jesus was! Not only did they know who Jesus was, but they sensed they were in great peril being in His presence! They judged rightly because Jesus immediately confronted them.

Mark 5:8-12: For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

The demons which possessed the man were so frightened by the Lord they begged to be cast into a herd of pigs rather than have to face the wrath of Christ for what they had done! Jesus elected to grant them their wish, but, in doing so, also brought judgment upon them.

Mark 5:13: 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.

Did evil know Christ's name? You better believe it! Did this happen more than once? Yes! Wherever Jesus went, evil trembled.

While in Capernaum, Jesus was speaking in the synagogue when he encountered another man possessed by demons.

Mark 1:23-26: And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

Demons wailed in the presence of Jesus as the Scriptures reveal. So great was the power of the Lord that His presence anywhere near them caused them to cry out for mercy!

Early in Christ's ministry, He didn't want His identity as the Messiah revealed so He often had to tell the horrified demons he encountered to be silent!

Mark 1:34: And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

What can we learn from this?

As Christians, our desire should be for evil to know our name because of the radiant power of Jesus Christ that is revealed from within us!

Am I suggesting we should all become exorcists? No. I'm speaking of us letting our light shine in a world that is filled with spiritual, demonic wickedness!

As Christians, we need to take our role as the body of Christ seriously here in the last days and do whatever we can to let people know of the wonderful gift of salvation we have obtained through a relationship with our Lord, the one before whom demons tremble!

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest story of hope the world has ever known, one we have been entrusted by Jesus to deliver in His absence while He prepares a place for us. What an honor!

When we do our part to try and lead the lost to Christ, we demonstrate ourselves before God to be good and faithful servants, but the impact of what we do when we take our role as the teachers of the Gospel seriously is felt far beyond Heaven. It is felt all the way into the kingdom of darkness!

The Bible tells us in Matthew 16:18 the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church! What kind of weapon is a gate? Offensive or defensive?

Have you ever seen a movie where-in a fortress or castle was being attacked and seen images of those inside the fortified structure bracing themselves against the door trying to keep it from being knocked down by the invading forces? If so, you know what is going on spiritually between the forces of darkness and the children of God!

Every time we successfully witness to someone who is lost and lead them to salvation, we force the gates of hell open and snatch someone out, securing their eternal freedom from Satan.

If you're a Christian and you're making an impact on those around you, bringing about change in the lives of men, I assure you evil knows your name!

One by one, we're pulling the lost to safety, making a difference in a world that has forgotten its God. Between now and the time of Christ's return, I hope you will do everything in your power to lead someone - ANYONE - to a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Before we leave this world at the Rapture of the Church, let's let evil know precisely who we are - the Church of the Living God!