legion of spirits had taken possession of one man. (Luke
8: 30; 4: 35, 36, 41 .) No wonder that his poor brain,
assaulted and operated upon by a legion of difIerent
minds, would be demented. This tendency of these
fallen spirits to congregate in one person indicates the
desire they have still to exercise the power originally
given them; namely, the power to materialize as men.
Deprived of this power they apparently have wmpara-
tively rare opportunities of getting possession of human
beings. Apparently the human will mwt amsent before
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these evil spirits have power to take possession. But
when they do take possession apparently the willpouler
is so broken down, that the individual is almost help-
less to resist their presence and further encroachment,
even tho he so desires. Our Lord intimates such a
condition (Matt. 12 : 43-45), suggesting that, even af-
ter an evil spirit had been cast out and the heart swept
and garnished, if it were still empty, there would
be danger of the return of the evil spirit with others
to re-possess themselves of the man;-hence the neces
sity for having Christ enthroned within, if we would
be kept for the Master’s use, and be used in his service.
Apparently these evil spirits have not the power
to impose themselves, even upon dumb animals, until
granted some sort of permission; for, when the “legion”
was commanded to come out of the man whom they
possessed, they requested as a privilege that they might
have possession of the bodies of a herd of swine; and
the swine being according to the law unclean to the
Jew, and unlawful to eat, the Lord permitted them to
have possession of them, doubtless foreseeing the re-
sults, and with a view to giving us this very lesson.
The same Apostle who speaks of these evil spirits