“Can you tell me if you’ve ever heard of the “Jezebel Spirit”, and if so, what you know of it?”
1. Jezebel was the wife of Ahab, king of Israel (1 Kings 16:31). She was a very evil woman, known for making her husband one of the most vile kings of Israel (1 Kings 21:25). She was a deceiver, a murderer (1 Kings 18:24, 1 Kings 21:1-15, 2 Kings 9:10), idol worshiping witch (2 Kings 9:22). She threatens to kill Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-2), but he announces her judgment (1 Kings 21:23, 2 Kings 9:10, 2 Kings 9:30-37).
2. She is also mentioned in Revelation 2:20-23. The Lord challenges the church in Thyatira for tolerating ‘Jezebel’, a prophetess who misleads Jesus’ followers into sexual immorality and idolatry. I suspect that this name is figurative, identifying her with the sinful character of the bible.
3. This is all that we know about Jezebel from the bible. The bible nowhere mentions a Jezebel spirit. This reference in Thyatira is not labelling a specific spirit in Satan’s army, just a specific woman among the Jesus-followers.
4. Some have named a specific evil spirit after queen Jezebel, describing this spirit as
“The Queen of Heaven/Jezebel/Mystery Babylon/Harlot Spirit … a very religious spirit, but it promotes religious things that are contrary to God. Jezebel promotes fleshly indulgence amongst God’s people and shuns the cross. The Jezebel spirit is the enemy of the true prophets of the Lord. The book of Revelation has a chapter almost exclusively devoted to exposing this spirit – Chapter 17. In this chapter we read that the woman is drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (Revelation 17:6). So this spirit especially hates and seeks to murder righteous people and those who speak faithfully the Word of the Lord, just as Jezebel the wife of Ahab was responsible for most of the true prophets of Yahweh in her day (1 Kings 18:13).
I believe that Satan and evil spirits are real. I have experienced both in action. I also believe that evil spirits work in common, effective patterns. They have centuries of experience, they’re good at what they do. In this general sense, there is a Jezebel pattern in the work of demons, a very religious, destructive and immoral pattern.
5. I do not believe there is a specific spirit (the Jezebel spirit) whose specific assignment is to do that part of Satan’s work. Nor do I believe there is a specific spirit whose assignment is lust or deception or war, etc. Some try to describe the hierarchies and classifications of demons, and although there may be some truth to this, I personally believe they dwell too much on the evil side of things. I prefer to focus on Jesus, and not get distracted by demonic details. Its all speculation, whereas Jesus is not. Go with what we know, and leave the rest!
6. I have worked with people who demonstrated patterns similar to Jezebel, but I would not say that they are possessed by the Jezebel spirit, or that a certain kind of spiritual warfare is needed to handle this Jezebel spirit. The solution for this person, as with all people, is a call to repent (Revelation 2:20-23).
Any other insights or comments on this subject?