“Spirit of Jezebel” – A treated distraction phenomenon

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The “Spirit of Jezebel,” a relatively new phenomenon, particularly in evangelical circles. There’s a lot of fuss about a matter that “doesn’t quite” do justice to the truth. Misinterpretations and abuses abound, while the actual Jezebel antitype is hushed up.

Jezebel – A schemer and idolater

The biblical figure Jezebel seems to be enjoying a boom at the moment. Evangelical congregations and magazines in particular dealt with the “Spirit of Jezebel.” Also, visible in numerous posts on social media. Jezebel first appears in the Bible in 1 Kings 16:31. She is described there as the daughter of the king of the Zidonians (Phoenicians), Et-Baal. He was also a priest of the pagan god Baal. Jezebel became (of all people) the wife of King of Israel, Ahab.

With Jezebel came the apostasy into the land of Israel. She brought with her a whole host of priests of the “god” Baal and the “goddess” Ashera (Astarte). Reason for God to entrust His prophet Elijah with this matter, because the people had almost completely fallen into the priesthood of Baal. There was the famous scene of the proof of God on Mount Carmel, in which all the Baal priests present were subsequently killed at the Brook Kison (1 Kings 18:40).

For Jezebel, this was like a slap in the face. She had Elijah pursued in order to kill him. Jezebel met an “inglorious” end. When she was in Jezreel awaiting a visit from Jehu, she adorned herself and looked out the window. Thrown down by the chamberlains, she died on the spot. As predicted, she was dragged into a field where she was eventually eaten by dogs. There was nothing left of her.

Jezebel’s Ignominious End – A Type

Jezebel is the epitome of spiritual apostasy, false prophecy, schemes, lies, murderousness, and deceit. A type of the whore of Babylon in Revelation 17, where she is ultimately killed, mauled, eaten and burned by the (Gentile) kings. Dogs are a symbol of paganism (Revelation 22:15). Jezebel is also a symbol of this in the letter to the community of Thyatira (Revelation 2:20). Here the community is warned not to follow their words and eat idol meat (Eucharist – Info).

This Jezebel thus symbolizes a character of apostasy, namely the “Spirit of Jezebel”. A buzzword that is currently making big waves. Some representatives of Christian communities seem to use the “Jezebel spirit” from a particular perspective. The evangelical magazine “Christianity Today” criticizes the misuse of the term “Spirit of Jezebel” (Source). They obviously have a problem with women and used Jezebel to highlight certain aspects of women.

Other pastors used this “Jezebel spirit” to represent demonic forces or demonic beings, the magazine said. This is mostly in relation to misogyny that cannot be overlooked.

Church of Rome remains unmentioned

Reinterpreting a biblical figure and misusing it for one’s own purposes is nothing new, and Jezebel does not play an exclusive role here. As it happens, certain statements are used in excerpted verse scraps to support some “theological nonsense”. As much as one can agree with the magazine about the misuse of the “Jezebel spirit”, what is missing is a clear reference to the very real spirit of Jezebel, manifested in the Roman Catholic Church.

Distraction instead of silence

The clear references in the sequence of the churches addressed to the church of Thyatira and the description in Revelation 17 are clearly connected to Jezebel and her contemporary antitype. Thyatira prophetically represents the years 538 to 1517 and the adversities at hand due to the enormous apostasy and tyranny on the part of the Roman Church (Info). At this point, the parallels of Jezebel’s characteristics and character with the traditions and practices of the Roman Catholic Church become apparent.

The clear hint with the fence post, Jezebel as a type and the church of Rome as its anti-typical counterpart, must of course not be taken up in the age of ecumenism. The purpose of this is not the usual silence, but rather the treatment of possibly existing misinterpretations of the “spirit of Jezebel” in order to lead as far away as possible from the knowledge of the true figure of this renegade pagan priestess (Info).

Bible verses from King James Version (1611)