Should We Ask Demons Their Names Before Casting Them Out?

Definitely NOT!

Demons lie anyway.  This appears to be the case in Mark 1:23-26, where it appears that a solitary demon implied that there was more than one of him.  Jesus said to cast out demons, not have conversations with demons.  Neither Jesus nor His followers ever asked an evil spirit for his name, or any other information, in the New Testament.  On many occasions, Jesus told demons to be quiet.  That was the extent of Jesus’ dealing with them – “Be quiet” and “Come out!”

In case you immediately think of the case of the madman at Gadara, this idea of asking demons their names comes from a very sloppy reading of Luke 8:28-30:

When he 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.
(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.  For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

This last verse proves that Jesus could not have been speaking to the demon.  After Jesus asked him (the man) what his name was, he (the man, and the person being asked the question) said “Legion” because many devils were entered into him.  If Jesus had been asking the demon, this would have to read: “The demon said, ‘Legion,’ because many demons were entered into the demon.”  This would introduce a new doctrine – that a demon could have a demon!

The demon is referred to as it.

The man is referred to as him.

“For oftentimes it had caught him...”

“And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name?”

Jesus didn’t ask the demon what his name was.  Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”  The man said “Legion” because many demons were in him and one of them was talking through the man.

The man cried out in verse 28, and it was obviously a demon talking through him.

If Jesus were talking to the demon, Jesus would have asked it the question.  This would be inconsistent with every other New Testament encounter with a demon.

If it were really necessary to ask demons their names before casting them out, Jesus could have been there all day and all night asking a couple thousand demons one by one for their names before He cast them out!  “What is YOUR name?”  “Sickening Water.”  “Okay, Sickening Water, go into that pig over there.  Next!  What is YOUR name?”  “Sleazy.”  “Okay, Sleazy, go into that pig over there.”  Obviously, that did not have to happen.

Besides, demons take after the devil, and the Bible explicitly refers to lying spirits (1 Kings 22:22-23, 2 Chronicles 18:21-22).  So why would you ask one for information?  You could ask for their names only to find out later that Sickening Water’s real name was Foulbreath and Sleazy’s real name was Butch.

We can learn three things from this.  First, don’t ask demons questions, because Jesus didn’t.  Second, attempt to talk to the person, not the demon.  Third, you do NOT have to ask demons for their names to cast them out!