Wordgazer's Words has a very good post on the frightening rise of a false teaching concerning Jezebel. The teaching is nothing short of modern day witch hunts minus the literal burning (though the spiritual, emotional, and psychological burning are very much present).
The "Jezebel Spirit" Teaching
Church beware of this slippery slope.
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Hi, Mara; I'm a bit late here, I know, but I thought it might be worth muddying the waters because we also picked up some teaching over here in Blighty on the "Jezebel spirit". However, what we've heard was vastly more constructive and useable than what you, Wordgazer (and others) have come across. And, btw, the primary teaching we had on this was from a female preacher…
It goes thus. The "Jezebel spirit" is indeed described by comparison to the Old Testament character of that name. It may or may not be a specific demonic entity, and in fact is more likely a mindset or culture that prevails in a given church setting, albeit encouraged by spiritual things. But it's nothing to do with gender at all, and indeed both men and women are equally prone to falling into this particular trap. Rather, it refers to Jezebel's position as an eminence grise behind the throne. Ahab, in other words, was supposed to be King; but it was Jezebel who was pulling the strings.
Thus, the "Jezebel spirit" operates through the "shadow leadership" of people who are tacitly influential but who are often anonymous, lurk in the background rather than openly in the light, and are able to force the agenda in a church without ever being accountable or responsible. With all the noise generated by the celebrity church CEO's, it's easy to forget that many pastors and eldership teams serve quietly and faithfully without any fanfare in relatively small congregations. When they are honestly doing what they know needs to be done, but find themselves thwarted by opposition that never seems to go away, and is very hard to pin down to specific people whom one could at least engage in open discussion - then, goes the teaching, the elders should be aware of the possibility that this kind of spiritual influence may be at work.
Now, obviously, when you filter this through a patriarchal theology, you get yet another stick to hit women with. The example in Wordgazer's blog, of a young man waving his fist at the TV screen, is funny in a sad kind of way. I wonder whether the newsreader in question was suddenly struck dumb by this young man's spiritual authority? I suspect not. In which case he doesn't seem to've worried the enemy's camp too much, does he?
Personally, I don't care much for any teaching against a perceived 'Jezebel' spirit.
For one thing, the New Testament 'Jezebel' mentioned in Revelation is quite different than the one mentioned in the Old Testament.
I've even jokingly accused Driscoll of having a Jezebel spirit, not because of his controlling manner (and yes, he is very controlling) but rather because of his pornographic teaching on the Song of Solomon and his push for married couples to engage in the kind of sex that could be considered 'fornication' in some circles.
I guess I don't know why it always has to be a "Jezebel" spirit when I see things going on that I could label a "Pharaoh" spirit or a "Balaam" spirit or "Absalom" spirit or a "King Saul" spirit or any number of other masculine terms describing wrong behavior.
I just feel that "Jezebel" spirit is a left over witch hunting term that embodies all that dark-minded men fear in women. I feel that the term needs to die and go the way of medieval torture chambers.
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