The Controlling Jezebel Spirit

Revelation 2:20 – But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

The Jezebel spirit was at work roughly a thousand years after the actual woman died, doing the very same things in the church at Thyatira that she did in Israel – preaching and teaching lies and false doctrine, encouraging sexual immorality, attacking godly leaders (especially Bible teachers operating with a prophetic anointing to preach truth and call sinful darkness to light), and tolerating and celebrating instead of repenting of sin (Revelation 2:18-29). The Holy Spirit of Elijah, and the unholy Jezebel spirit continue to work and war in the world today. The same is true of the unholy Ahab spirit. 

Speaking of the demonic Jezebel spirit, a spiritual warfare manual says, “The spirit of Jezebel causes wives to forsake the covering of their husbands. It is a Hebrew name meaning untouched, untouchable, non-cohabiting, without husband, adulterous, base, licentious. This spirit is characterized by domination, control, and manipulation of the husband instead of submission to his authority. The spirit of Jezebel also operates in the church with spirits of seduction, fornication, and idolatry (Rev. 2:20). It works with the Ahab spirit in men but hates the Elijah spirit (Mal. 4:5–6). It is a very religious spirit and loves to operate in the church. This spirit has been known to operate in both males and females. Jezebel was very religious and a devout high priestess of Baal. Athaliah (2 Kings 11:1)—daughter of Ahab and Jezebel who married into the royal family of Judah. She had the same spirit as her mother in usurping authority in the kingdom of Judah, an example of how this spirit is transferred from Jezebellic mothers to their daughters. These spirits also operate through curses of destruction of family priesthood, destruction of family, and Ahab and Jezebel.” (1) 

Adding the story of Ahab, it goes on to explain he was a godless king who allowed Jezebel, his wife, to usurp his authority, “The Ahab spirit causes men to be weak as leaders in the home and church (Isa. 3:12). This spirit works with fear of Jezebel to prevent God’s order in the home and the church. The result is the destruction of the family priesthood. This is a curse that must be broken before Ahab spirits can be driven out. The curse of Jezebel opens the door for these spirits to operate in a family.” (2)

The Ahab and Jezebel spirit feed off one another. The Ahab spirit avoids conflict, disagreement, and confrontation. The Ahab spirit is often most entrenched in a person who is insecure, needy, and struggles with “fear of man” (Proverbs 29:25). This causes their passivity. Sometimes, a shy personality, bad upbringing, or unhealed trauma can make their passivity even more severe. A person with the Ahab spirit is particularly vulnerable to someone with the Jezebel spirit. Because the Jezebel spirit is controlling, domineering, and rules by threat, fear, sexual seduction, and punishment or reward depending upon whether they are obeyed, a person with the Jezebel spirit can easily rule over someone with the Ahab spirit forever, unless they are stood up to, which is exactly what Elijah did. Someone with the Elijah Spirit (the Holy Spirit of God) is particularly hated by the Jezebel spirit because they refuse to tolerate evil. Whenever there is tolerance of, working around, and making excuses for Jezebel, you know the Ahab spirit is at work. 

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  1. Eckhardt, Deliverance and Spiritual Warfare Manual, 227–28.
  2. Eckhardt, Deliverance and Spiritual Warfare Manual, 208.

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