There’s a saying that The Church cannot be destroyed from the outside. The point being that if it fails, it fails from the inside. I’ve personally witnessed a lot of these failures. Not just in different churches, but in families, partnerships, workplaces, schools, and other ministries. The culprit can usually be summarized as some combination of a Jezebel spirit and an Ahab spirit. Here’s why.
Ahab has power, Jezebel wants power. Ahab is a coward, a doormat, a pushover. Jezebel is determined, assertive, and seductive. Ahab is a puppet and Jezebel pulls his strings.
The first and perhaps most important point to realize when talking about principalities and powers is that they have no gender. The second important thing to realize, is that they don’t always just influence a specific person. Groups of people can be infected, and many are influenced one day and not another.
Concerning that last point, have you ever attempted to out a person that you believed was “a Jezebel” by putting him in a situation where you were sure he’d lie or cheat only to be “disappointed” when he did neither? If you’re sensitive to the Holy Spirit you may have felt some rebuke for being disappointed when someone does the right thing. If so, take heart that you’re not alone, but rest assured you were wrong. You were wrong to wrestle flesh and blood rather than principalities and powers. You fell for a trick that seductive Jezebel loves to play. She knows there are times that she has no choice but to be a charmer.
You also fell for the mistake of referring to a specific person as a Jezebel. Human spirits are independent, but often enslaved. Therefore no person is “a Jezebel” or “an Ahab”, they are simply susceptible to those spirits because of weaknesses in themselves.
For instance. Jezebel is a flatterer and liar. She, the spirit, who really has no gender at all, so henceforth shall be called “it”, has no use for sincerity. The Jezebel spirit tells speakers that they speak great, tells musicians that they sing/play great, and basically strokes the ego of everyone in the room. At least at first. When Jezebel first starts its work, it is on the prowl for those susceptible in the way that Ahab was. This demon cannot really find them without testing the waters, or at least the one influenced by the demon cannot. The demon itself already has a plan for how this will all play out.
Then there’s Ahab. He, who again has no gender and shall henceforth be called “it”, is insecure but usually honest. The honesty is part of the game. You see the spirit wants to emphasize a human’s insecurity, and therefore will be brutally honest with them to prepare them for the witch demon Jezebel to seduce them.
This process is disturbing to witness. I’ve seen it many times and I suspect that none of us are entirely immune. Suffering a bit of anecdote, one thing I have noticed is that humans susceptible to Jezebel (meaning its influence on them, not their influence on others) tend to be either flamboyant but effeminate males, or very hospitable but highly emotional females. Those susceptible to Ahab (meaning its influence on them, and their consequent enslavement to those controlled by Jezebel), are quite the opposite. Usually relatively reserved, even humble. Many of these traits can be admirable in-and-of themselves. Yet once a demonic spirit gets involved the fruit will soon be spoiled on the vine.
This post has been a work in progress for quite some time. In a comment on another post I mentioned a YouTube video by mega-church pastor Robert Morris. While we’ve consistently been critical of mega-churches the message he shared is worth hearing, whether he practices it or not.
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. – Matthew 23:3
At a point late in the video he – Morris – talks about how he refuses to be surrounded by “boys” to “carry his Bible” or to keep him out of trouble. Those “boys” would be the ones that would be susceptible to the Jezebel spirit and those who think they need their Bible carried would be under the influence of the Ahab spirit. Matthew 23 goes on to say:
…they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues.. – Matthew 23:6
This is what destroys churches from the inside out. Those with power, such as the “teachers of the law” and their love for “honor” is exploited by both the Ahab spirit and the Jezebel spirit to ensure that those with the authority are not making the decisions, even if they think they are!
So what can be done? Well consider carefully this scripture shortly after the rest of the above:
The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. – Matthew 23:11-12
Matthew 23 is a favorite here because it is a crux of many of the 96 Theses. Yet in so many cases I’ve personally witnessed, as well as Mr. Morris above, Jezebel has posed as a servant and appears to be fulfilling Jesus’ very words. Yet in context of the whole chapter it fails miserably because it is really trying to make its way up the perceived hierarchical ladder and operate from something akin to wild wolves in a pack. A “servant” that is very particular about whom it serves even downright calculated in where it places its affections. Jezebel exploits our churches’ failures to believe Jesus in Matthew 23. Jezebel pretends to serve those weakened by Ahab, but is by no means “servant of all” which is the context of Mathew 23:11 as explained in Mark chapter 9:
Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all. – Mark 9:35
The heart of Jesus’ teaching is completely lost on this sort of self-centered “servitude”. It’s manipulation, it’s seduction, it’s flattery, it’s ultimately control.
Rejecting its guidance of one’s perceptions of people and their potential resists the Ahab spirit, and refusing to insincerely distribute it to manipulate others resists Jezebel.
To build up a resistance to this one must really despise flattery. Just leave no room for it. Rejecting its guidance of ones perceptions of people and their potential resists the Ahab spirit, and refusing to insincerely distribute it to manipulate others resists Jezebel. They cannot function without this weakness.
In taking on the armor of anti-flattery above one will often be accused of “lacking respect” by the Ahabs that have grown accustomed to flattery and the Jezebels that rely on that perceived duty to control the Ahabs under their influence alike. Those deeply invested in the activities of these two spirits will be confounded and infuriated. They will come up with any excuse to demonize you and since they operate as a wolf pack, they may well be successful. Just remember, you’re not wrestling flesh and blood. Don’t take it personal, these people are enslaved, and need your prayers. Especially if they are successful in excommunicating you. Rejecting a Jezebel’s advances is more offensive to “her” than any actual sin that one could commit. Failing to stroke Ahab’s ego is more offensive to “him” than sin either. Ironically, both are themselves sinful, the seductive advances, and the love of that seduction. Tolerating either spirit is itself sinful.
Please proceed with caution as you confront the spirit of Jezebel among you. As Mr. Morris says in the YouTube, it’s not for no reason that after defeating hundreds of prophets of Baal and Ashtoreth that Elijah fled from Jezebel. That spirit is incredibly powerful. It’s a witch spirit capable of tremendous harm.
Morris describes Jonathan as “a Jezebel” and I think he’s correct. Jonathan manipulated David in such a way that Jonathan himself couldn’t lose. If Saul wins, Jonathan becomes king, if David wins, Jonathan is second in command. Again, citing Morris, of the 5 times that Saul found David, 3 of them Jonathan was the only one that knew where he was. David had a bit of Ahab’s naive acceptance of insincerity. Perhaps – as is often the case with those weak toward the Ahab spirit – that is why he ended up committing adultery with Bathsheba. Affairs and sexual immorality are a signature of both of these spirits.
Put on your armor, reject flattery, and refuse any “duty” of respect based on position from among you. Be “all brothers” and “servant of all” as Jesus commands in Matthew 23:8. If we obey Jesus on this point we should never tolerate the hierarchies that attract these spirits. If we obey Jesus our churches would not be destroyed from the inside out.
WOW I see this at work. I see this in myself. I see this in others. Thank you. (i got more homework to do)
Read more about it in Revelation 2, around vs. 20. Yes, I hope I conveyed that nobody is entirely immune. We all like a bit of an ego boost now and again. Like I said above, encouraging can be great, but when people use it to gain “brownie points” (ever thought what “brown-noser” and “brownie points” have in common?) they start on a downward spiral that results in their every opinion being leveraged to manipulate rather than encourage.
This point drove very deeply home for me a few years back when I helped lead worship for a local church. I arranged and organized a Sunday morning only to discover that I’d been pulled into the middle of a conflict. The current worship leader was being bypassed by some manipulative folks and man did they flatter me. I told them that while I didn’t know if the worship leader needed to go or not, I did know that the way they were going about it was not honest or godly. They were so mad at me for not letting them manipulate me that they whispered about me. After a phone call when they asked me to take it over and I said no I went from being a “killed it” worship leader, to “blaaa” overnight and remain such to this day.
It was sure important for me that I’d already seen too much of that worship team drama to really feel any need to impress them. Don’t expect to be popular if you reject flattery and prove to be difficult to manipulate, but of course true believers shouldn’t ever expect to be popular. Especially not nowadays.
Great writing. Perfectly explained & communicated. Thank you. No stoking intended. This is sincere.
Thank you, and much appreciated. I rewrote the anti-flattery section about 4 times because I didn’t want to discourage encouragers like you. You have nothing to gain for your encouragement, at least not from me. With God’s help I will not be controlled or coerced by it either. Ahab and Jezebel are not tolerated here, or anywhere that “the least of these” are treated the same as we would treat Jesus. Matthew 25:40. Godspeed to you.
Well done, Ryan. You have just described the entertainment industry, my life in the theatre and media industries, and why politics, media and entertainment make such faaaaabulous bedfellows. With all the “outing” going on, I pray that the Church in LA is there to pick up the pieces (workers of the harvest) and help both the accused and the victimized out of their shame by pointing them to the One so well acquainted with it. As of now, it seems their only hope for “redemption” is revenge and the only way to deal with the shame that they went through as victims is to shame in retaliation. It seems Ahab and Jezebel are having a classic marital power struggle there and find themselves in quite the public pickle. A perfect set up by the Holy Spirit for Christians to speak Truth, freedom, peace, healing, and redemption, rather than joining in the fray with the bony finger of accusation and self-righteousness. Who know but Hollywood becomes the very tool chosen by God to bring about a great awakening. There’s so much potential and of course, because of the power of the media and entertainment, Jezebel finds herself quite at home as the host of the party, “setting the table for the prophets/profits of Baal and Ashtoreh.” (1 Kings 18:19)