After Elijah’s great victory on Mount Carmel where he called down fire from heaven and then slew the Prophet’s of Baal, Queen Jezebel threatened him with his life, so he fled as fast as his feet would carry him into the desert. It always puzzles me how such a mighty prophet could turn and run after such an amazing victory? The situation grew even worse for we later see Elijah sitting beneath a juniper tree, saying that he was no better than his fathers -- actually praying that he might die. The mighty man of God was now weak and weary.
“And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life,.” (2 Kings 19:1-7)
What pressure overwhelmed this great man of God that he would succumb to such fear and discouragement? It is none other than the spirit of Jezebel. This is the spirit that caused Elijah to flee when no one was pursuing him, and then be overcome with fear and weariness which brought on depression.
So many of God’s servants today are suffering from these very same symptoms brought about by the Spirit of Jezebel either directly through a confrontation with an individual in the Church or through some demonic activity in the community, i.e. witchcraft, new age teachers, spiritualists etc.
There is a war going on right now with ancient origins, between the spirit of Elijah and the spirit of Jezebel. In this age-old battle, Elijah represents the voice of Heaven: the call to repentance and a return to God. Jezebel, on the other hand, is a principality whose purpose is to hinder and defeat the work of repentance. Its goal is to silence the prophetic call. When you take a stand against the principality of Jezebel, even though you resist her temptation and witchcraft, you must also guard against the power-demons of Fear and Discouragement, for these will be sent against you to smother your prayer life and silence your voice against Jezebel.
The war between Elijah and Jezebel has raised its ugly head at peak seasons in the history of man. John the Baptist was also called an Elijah,
"forerunner before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17).
Jesus said of John the Baptist, "...he himself is Elijah, who was to come" (Matt 11:14, 17:11-13).
John even looked like Elijah and like Elijah, John proclaimed the need for repentance wherever he saw sin. One such area was in the adulterous lives of King Herod and his wife, Herodias. When John confronted them, Herodias had him imprisoned (Mk 6:17-19). This manipulating and controlling spiritual side of Herodias was none other than the spirit of Jezebel. As Elijah's spirit was ministering through John the Baptist, so the spirit of Jezebel had surfaced into this world again through Herodias!
What Jezebel did to Elijah in the wilderness, Herodias now released against John: fear and discouragement blanketed the thought life of this mighty servant of God. John the Baptist, who had visibly seen the Spirit descend as a dove upon Christ, who heard the Father's audible voice and see amazing miracles. Later in prison, he began to doubt and asked if Jesus really was the one or do they now look for another?
Herodias had her daughter dance before Herod and seduced him into asking for the head of John the Baptist on a plate. At her mother's request - or truly, at Jezebel's request she demanded the head of the Baptist be brought to her on a plate. Why did she insist on decapitation? It was through John's mouth that the word of God came.
The audible proclamation of the word of God is the greatest threat there is to this spirit of Jezebel. To cut off John's head was to silence his mouth and cut off his authority. So temporarily, the confrontation between the spirits of these two eternal enemies subsided.
The bible tells us that is still an Elijah to come. Two thousand years ago, Jesus stated that the ministry of Elijah was not over yet for He promised it would come again at a later date,
"Elijah is coming and will restore all things..." (Matt 17:11).
Malachi the prophet also wrote, "Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord" (Mal 4:5).
The spirit or influence of Elijah, according to scripture, will return to the affairs of mankind before the great and terrible day of the Lord which is the Second Coming of Christ! His purpose will be to restore all things before this happens.
Even as the Lord used the spirit of Elijah, through the Holy Spirit, to empower Elisha and then John the Baptist, so the Lord is raising up a company of Elijah prophets, Spirit-filled men and women sent forth to prepare the way for the return of Christ!
Realise that, if Elijah is coming before Jesus returns, so also will Jezebel. Do you not see her around you with an abundance of witchcraft and harlotries? Do you not hear her brazen voice rejecting God's authority and exalting her rebellion in feminism? Have you not beheld her causing even God's "bond-servants" to "commit acts of immorality"? (Rev 2:20) Seeing Jezebel so blatantly manifest herself around us only confirms that the spirit of Elijah is also here to bring repentance and help prepare God's people for the return of the Lord.
Jezebel was finally destroyed through the ministry of King Jehu. He challenged her eunuchs to cast her down from her upstairs window and then Jehu trampled her underfoot with his horse.
“Then he lifted up his face to the window and said, 'Who is on my side? Who?' And two or three eunuchs looked down at him. And he said, 'Throw her down.' So they threw her down, and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses, and he trampled her under foot"" 2 Kings 9:30-33
Though we are not called to anything like this, spiritually, like Jehu we must not tolerate this spirit! There can be no peace; no relaxing under our "fig tree," until the influence of Jezebel is slain! We must stop living for comfort as long as her harlotries and witchcrafts are in our land! We must refuse to settle for a false peace based on compromise and fear, especially when the Spirit of God is calling for "War"!
Remember, this evil spirit desires to silence your spiritual authority by quieting your voice. Have you not noticed that when this Spirit attacks you she shuts you up and you stop praying, prophesying and preaching the word of God. In other words your head has been cut off. You must resist her and learn to speak against Jezebel's influence. Other symptoms she brings on us are fear, tiredness and depression.
Jezebel got King Ahab to only think of himself and not his people, so this spirit will blanket his servants and get them to only think of themselves. When you are under attack you don’t want to visit others or pray for them. We need to use the name of Jesus to command this demon off us and our children, our family, our church and even our own souls. Don't let her decapitate you - open your mouth and pray against her! You have the authority in Christ. This spirit is subject unto you.
“Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name.” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20
Jesus made it plain that the Spirits are subject unto us and that includes the Jezebel Spirit. We mustn’t be afraid of her. Don’t let her trick you anymore through feelings. Shake her off like the snake that Paul shook off his hand into the fire at the island of Malta.
The bible says that the wicked flee when no one is chasing them. Elijah had no need to run from Jezebel but he was tired after all that had happened on the mount and his feelings overcame him. He wasn’t wicked but unbelieving and so many of us run as well through a lack of waiting on God. We have knee jerk reactions and are overcome by unbelief.
The bible says not to be ignorant of Satan’s devices 2 Cor 2:11 and that we must resist him and he will flee from us James 4:7. Because we pamper our flesh so much, our feelings can mean more to us than the still small voice of God. We later see after Elijah fled from Jezebel, that God was not in the earthquake, the wind or the fire, He was in the still small voice.
With the use of digital clocks now days, I remind myself everyday when I see 10:10 of John 10:10 where Jesus says that He has come to give us an abundant life, it’s the Devil who comes to steal, kill and destroy. If what you are going through right now is not life then it’s the Spirit of Jezebel trying to make you afraid so that you run from your true calling and the blessings of God.