I was in a dialogue with an atheist regarding what he believes is one of many so-called biblical contradictions. Odd guy that I am, I actually find this sort of thing fun. 22, xvii. Here is where Satan can use a man to influence scores of people, blinding minds and hearts to the truths of the Word of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? No matter where you are on life's journey. For the Christian, there are two extremes which must be avoided with reference to Satanic activity. In the past several weeks, there has come to light the case of a man arrested for various crimes who has several of the symptoms of demon possession, including multiple personalities, even multiple IQs. So he got into a boat and returned. Follow Up: struct sockaddr storage initialization by network format-string, How do you get out of a corner when plotting yourself into a corner, Movie with vikings/warriors fighting an alien that looks like a wolf with tentacles. This was a region east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. 124 Augustine: The devils were driven out and permitted to go into the swine; and Aquinas: But that the swine were driven into the sea was no work of the divine miracle, but was the work of the devils by divine permission. Quoted by Trench, Miracles, fn. 18). Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. Our children would probably understand best if I said that his appearance must have been somewhat like that of the television creation, The Incredible Hulk. Series NotesScripture references are based on the King James translation. Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. But about a mile further south there is a fairly steep slope within forty yards from the shore, and about two miles from there cavern tombs are found which appear to have been used for dwellings. William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), p.181.