"When He arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes,two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. 'What do you want with us, Son of Elohim/God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?'

"Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Yah'shua/Jesus, 'If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs'.

"He said to them, 'Go!' So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Yah'shua/Jesus. And when they saw Him, they pleaded with Him to leave their region" (Matthew 8:28-34, NIV).

Animal rights, René Girard's Scapegoat Theory, Roman sexual conquest, and other 'explanations' are all offered as possible interpretations, all but the most obvious because the most obvious runs counter to orthodox Christian doctrine. I call all of these the Bacon-Lovers' Exegeses.

The explanation is simple enough. Demons are unclean. Pigs are unclean. Demons reside where they most feel at home - including unclean human beings choosing to live in sin. The Torah demanded that alien residents within the Holy Land be subject to Yahweh's Laws and that such were to be protected. This went for resident pagans (gentile unbelievers) as well as for God-fearers (non-covenanted believers) (Ex.12:49; Num.15:16; Lev.19:34; 24:22; Dt.27:19; Jer.22:3).

Israel was under pagan Roman occupation. Galilee had many pagan inhabitants under Rome's protection who lived as they pleased in violation of Yahweh's Torah. They raised unkosher stock animals like pigs and consumed it without fear of consequences.

Yahweh has nothing against pigs per se. He created them to cleanse the land but not to be eaten. Cultivating pigs for human consumption violated His Law. The demons got what they wanted and Yahweh judged the pagans at the same time by destroying a herd by striking at the heart of their livelihood. Elohim/God will not be mocked. That is why they begged Christ to leave their area.

Historical context always furnishes us exegetical answers to 'unusual' incidences in Scripture. We don't need to go inventing fancy theories based on lawless assumptions to justify ongoing sinning.

Pigs were created for hygiene, not for food. Father's dietary law has not changed, a reason why we find a distinction made between 'clean' and 'unclean' right up to the very end of the New Testament. Babylon the Great is described as being "a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit, and a cage for every unclean and hated bird" (Revelation 18:2). Vultures are undoubtedly at the top of the list of unclean and hated birds! And pigs, given how much Father loathes our eating them because they are such a danger to our health, are rated alongside mice and rats as to their filthiness by the navi (prophet) Isaiah:

"'Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one who is among those who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things-they will meet their end together with the one they follow,' declares Yahweh" (Isaiah 66:17, NIV)

Sorry, bacon-lovers, but it really is time to repent if you've been ignoring or postponing this one. We don't get to pick and choose which commandments we want to obey or not. It's a package deal - take it all or leave it all. It's the devil who has a two-tier system of laws - one for the spoiled and pampered 'king's kids' who can do as they please and one for the rest of humanity. That is not love. There is but one Law or Torah for all, including unbelievers. And even if we do decide to gamble with our health by throwing caution to the wind, we must still answer our Elohim/God for the way we respond to what He says. As one standing next to death's door, I say this with sobriety and urgency.

Do what is right.

Comments from Readers

[1] "Luke's account of the same incident says it was one man.. and the debates as to why this significant difference have also raged on through our generations" (PF, USA, 14 February 2025)

Author's Response #1:
A well known phenomenon in the legal profession yet it's one of the keys of authentication. Witnesses tend to see or hear different aspects of the same event. And if it's a (secondary) witness of what someone else has seen, data does tend to get lost in the transmission. I have shared my testimony hundreds of times in my life and sometimes I forget details, or maybe go into greater depth than I did originally, and sometimes I forget dates or misremember them which might lead folks to think I was making it up. Luke was in any case not a witness of the Gospel events but an historical collator. I reckon that's why Father gave us 4 witnesses.

"Another aspect is that the story is yet another parable, an allegory of the two houses of Israel. Matthew sees them or understood them to be still as two, while Luke saw the main character as one house. Either way, the houses of Israel are rather contaminated with idolatry and compromises, as represented by the demons, and also the pigs. This compromising cannot be hidden in the presence of Redeemer and thus it is excised to be manifested into the pigs which are half kosher since they have a split hoof but do not chew the cud. They appear kosher outwardly, at first impression (feet) but with observation (discernment) their true nature is revealed (inner digestive process). So it is with people, who appear righteous on first impression but in time prove themselves to be full of compromise, and thus the well known instance of those who claim to have done much in the name of Messiah, even raise the dead, but will hear 'depart from Me, I never knew you..' because of their hidden non-righteous true nature. The pigs rushing into the body of water is symbolic of demon inspired compromises being allowed to be among humanity (bodies of water representing all humanity, a theme throughout Scripture right from creation) as a grand test to see if we will choose righteousness or compromise. When Messiah approaches us, anyone, the 'demons' in us or influencing us will agitate, since they fully recognize Him and cannot lay still in His presence, and thus we see in the story the result of outward manifestations that probably most of us do not recognise for what they really are but actually would reveal to us this inner battle between compromises and purity or righteousness" (PF).

[2] "I have found that when a person is (whether they realise it or not) influenced/troubled by demons, one of the areas they insist upon is the stomach --- they will insist that they can eat whatever they want. Demons don't willingly respect boundaries, and that includes the boundary between clean and unclean. And those servants of our adversary also want to get us entangled in rebellion, so they can have something of which to accuse us. Thank you for the lesson!" (SBE, USA, 15 February 2025).

This page was created on 15 February 2025 Last updated on 16 February 2025

Copyright © 1987-2025 NCAY - All Rights Reserved