There is so much confusion today regarding what the doctrine of Jezebel really is but let us take heed of Jesus’ words and warnings regarding this danger that is very present in our churches in this time of apostasy.

“Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest (permit) that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols“ (Rev. 2:20).

Pastor David Wilkerson once explained that the Greek word for Jezebel (Strong G2403) is a synonym for false teacher, and that she clearly represents False Doctrine .  As Wilkerson mentioned, Jesus speaking in the book of Revelation clears up any doubt by continuing, “…as many as have not this doctrine… (Revelation 2:24)”.

“I could subtitle this message “The Danger of Being Seduced by False Doctrine“. Read Revelation 2:18-29 and you will see that Christ Himself warned the church against the doctrine of Jezebel. “You permit that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat the things sacrificed unto idols” (Revelation 2:20). The Greek word here for Jezebel is a synonym for a false teacher. She clearly represents false doctrines. Jesus clears it up by continuing, “…as many as have not this doctrine…” (Revelation 2:24).

Here is a group of God’s people, full of good works and charity, having a form of faith and patience. But the eyes of Jesus appear among them, blazing with flames of fire. With all that is good and commendable, there is something very dangerous going on, something so seductive that Christ warns He will send judgment and make them an example to all the churches. Certain members of the church were selling out to Satan. Their good works, charity, service, faith and patience were overshadowed by a seduction of false doctrine. They were under the spell of a false teaching, a teaching that came disguised as the true Word but was in fact evil.

The Seduction of God’s Servants

Christ said it was “My servants” being seduced. Ministers. We have come to this very dangerous condition Christ warned about. There are multitudes of pastors, teachers and evangelists completely under the seductive spell of the Jezebel doctrine. These seduced teachers are in turn producing “children of seduction”. They teach fornication and the consumption of the food of idols – this is spiritual fornication. This is eating the demonic food of doctrines that excuse sin.  . . . . . ” – David Wilkerson, Jan 18, 1988

By reading Revelation chapter 2 we clearly understand that Jesus is warning us about the teachings or doctrines of this person, a false teacher.  Sadly many will just focus on her gender, & not her doctrine, but if we think about it, we will realize that we don’t have women in position of authority over men in most of our Christian churches around the world. Obviously our Lord Jesus Christ is talking here about a big  & serious problem inside His church.  ” He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.” vs.29.  These bible verses are talking about us believers permitting to be spiritually seduced by false doctrines.  The word ‘seduction’ stems from Latin and means literally “to lead astray” mostly by an appeal to the senses.

“But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later timessome shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducingspirits and doctrinesof demons”  1 Timothy 4:1

Image of Jezebel from book “Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum “

Besides the book of Revelation we can find more about Jezebel in 1 & 2 Kings.  Jezebel was a princess, identified (1 Kings 16:31) as the daughter of Ethbaal, King of Sidon (Lebanon/Phoenicia), this king was not only a worshiper of Baal but also a high priest of Baal, his name means ‘ With Baal or devotion to Baal ‘.  Jezebel became a priestesses (a high level witch) of Baal, the Phoenician sun god. She  married Ahab, king of northern Israel, becoming queen of Israel.

I always associated Jezebel  with false prophets, which is not far off from false doctrines, but because of that limited interpretation, I was being more careful with false prophets & prophetess than with false teachings/doctrines.

According to the bible, Jezebel incited King Ahab (her husband) to abandon the worship of the God of Israel and encourage him instead to worship the false god Baal who required human sacrifices, and the goddess Asherah his counterpart. Ahab instead tried to stay in the middle, encouraging tolerance between the two belief systems (God’s truth & false doctrines) to God’s people. Throughout the Old Testament this union of that which is holy with that which is impure is considered by God as spiritual adultery. It was then and still is today an abomination in His sight!

And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 1 King 18:21

Jezebel  was an enemy of God who was “killing off the Lord’s prophets.” In response, the prophet Elijah accused King Ahab of abandoning the Lord and challenged Jezebel’s 450 prophets of Baal and 450 prophets of Asherah. Jezebel, like the pagan wives of Solomon, required buildings for carrying on her form of worship, so Ahab made an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. Another 400 priests/prophets were housed in a sanctuary that Jezebel erected for them, and which she fed at her own table. The palace in which Jezebel lived was called the Ivory House because of the wealth of carved ivory used in its decorations.

Jezebel was evil, she destroyed the true prophets of God as much as she could reach. After becoming queen, she violently dealt with any opposition & quickly tried to take over Israel with her idolatrous worship and  demonic practices, she ordered the extermination of all the prophets of the Lord and replaced their altars with those of Baal. Her goal was to advance the false doctrine she led.  These are very important characteristics, to take into consideration when we want to understand who she really was.

Obadiah, the faithful overseer of Ahab’s house, rescued one hundred of God’s prophets, hid them, and secretly fed them in a cave. 1 Kings 18:4, 13.

Jezebel also fabricated false evidence of blasphemy against Naboth, an innocent landowner, because he refused to sell his vineyard to Ahab, causing him to be put to death. (1 Kings 21:3; Leviticus 25:23)  At God’s command, the prophet Elijah then confronted King Ahab that was going to take possession of the land. He proclaimed that because of their actions : “Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine“.  (1 Kings 21:19). He further prophesies that Ahab’s male descendants will die, his dynasty will end and that dogs  “shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.” (1 Kings 21:23).

Three years later, Ahab died in battle. His son Ahaziah inherits the throne but dies in an accident and his brother Jehoram became the successor. Jezebel outlived Ahab by thirteen years, she then knew that Jehu killed her son Jehoram and was coming for her, she prepared herself &  died a gruesome death – At the orders of Jehu she was thrown out of a window of her palace by members of her own court, the eunuchs that were there to protect her, her body was then trampled by horses & later when Jezebel’s body was to be taken for burial, his servants discovered only her skull, her feet and the palms of her hands – her corpse had been eaten by dogs, & Ahab’s male descendants also died just as the prophet Elijah had prophesied.

Interestingly enough it wasn’t the prophet Elijah who executed God’s judgment over Jezebel, (only over her prophets), he was already gone when her judgment took place, but (most likely because of her position of authority as queen) God used a military commander called Jehu who was anointed as the new king over Israel (1 King 19:16).

Jezebel’s dressing  and her putting on of makeup led some people to associate the use of cosmetics with “painted women” or prostitutes. But when we do some research we find that the make up used by kings and queens at that time, were used only by the royalty and priestess, and it represented their authority. It is also believed that Jezebel went to her death wearing the ritual make-up and dressed as a priestess of Baal.

Heavy make-up was part of the regalia and ritual of royal women (& men) and priests & priestesses

Knowing that he was coming, Jezebel put on make-up and a formal wig with adornments and looked out a window. Bromiley says that it should be looked at less as an attempt at seduction than the public appearance of the queen mother, invested with the authority of the royal house and cult, confronting a rebellious commander.Wikipedia

Also- Geoffrey W. Bromiley (International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)

In many evangelical circles, the “Jezebel spirit“ is used to describe a spiritual force behind individuals (males or females) and groups which exercise manipulation, domination and control.  There are some events in the life of Jezebel which characterize her and may define what is meant by many in the church as the ‘Jezebel spirit’.

1/ They abuse their position of authority (She was a queen in a position of power, able to do harm to God’s people).
2/ They have a strong tendency for domineering and controlling others, especially in the spiritual realm. (Like promoting Baal worshipers-false doctrines & Killing the opposition to dominate).
3/ They have a single-minded determination to have one’s way, no matter who is destroyed in the process. (Example: What she did to Naboth to get her way).

These are the main characteristics we find out of what many Christians call the ‘Jezebel spirit’, but there are many more that you can find on-line. This could be true, these are known characteristics behind any spirit of witchcraft, control & manipulation (in males or females), and it’s good to be able to recognize them, but unfortunately we always have the tendency to miss the main problem that JESUS was pointing out to us: Her (or his) False Doctrines.

” Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest (permit) that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. …. But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine“. Rev.2:20,24

Jezebel worked hard against Godly doctrine and relentless promoted her false doctrine of sun-god worship.   God not only warned Jezebel the false teacher, but God also warned her followers to stop and repent (Rev. 2:22-23).  God appealed to Jezebel’s husband King Ahab many times: with a famine, a miraculous fire set to a sacrifice, military victories against-the-odds, spoken appeals, and more. Ahab humbled himself before the Lord and because of that the Lord didn’t bring the punishment of his household in his days. 1 King 21:27-29. But Jezebel was more proud & evil and she didn’t repent.

– In conclusion, the main characteristics to remember when some one mentions the ‘spirit of Jezebel’ in the church, should not be mainly her personality or her tools (things that are temporary), but her spiritual goals:

1/ As soon as Jezebel got into a position of authority, she quickly began an intense & violent campaign to take control of God’s people and get rid of sound doctrine & consequently true worship. For this reason she ordered the extermination of all true prophets (teachers) of God, replacing them with counterfeits full of demonic doctrines & witchcraft.

This is her real legacy, these are the main characteristics to take in consideration when someone mentions her name, but most important of all, this is what our Lord JESUS was warning us about.  I pray for the entire Body of Christ to be able to discern false doctrines, but especially for our church leaders to not allow them to contaminate the Church, & that we all will diligently guard the sound doctrine that was given to us in the Scriptures.