Nevertheless, I have a few things against you. Because you allow that woman Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My Servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. Revelations 2:20
Have you ever thought about what you would like your tombstone to say or what kind of legacy you want to leave behind, the stories your children and their children will always remember about you? The actions we take or chose not to take today will leave memories and a living legacy for those we love. Ahab was anointed King after his father died. He came from the lineage of David and was ordained to rule and govern God’s people according to the principles and laws of God. He had everything handed to him on a silver platter. Sadly, the beginning of his story in 1 Kings 16:30-31, clearly defines his reign as King, “Now Ahab the son of Omri, did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. And it came to pass as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that he took as a wife, Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and he went and served Baal and worshipped him.” Ahab embraced his wife’s pagan worship of Baal and went so far as to build a temple for Baal and set up an altar for Baal in Israel. When Ahab coveted the vineyard that belonged to his neighbor Naboth, Jezebel devised and executed an evil plot to falsely accuse Naboth so the men of the city stoned him. Ahab then took Naboth’s vineyard which was did not belong to him. Ahab was so defiant against God he fed the prophets of Baal at his table. The dynamics of this couple show two very evil spirits that are alive and well today. In Revelations 2 Jesus even warned the corrupt church at Thyatira, that the woman Jezebel, the Jezebel, the Jezebel spirit was allowed to operate in their church. Jezebel was an evil queen who exhibited control, rebelliously defied God, and embraced evil with no regard for other people. The Jezebel spirit is a controlling spirit and it says “I will do what I want, when I want, how I want, and if getting what I want destroys others, then so be it.” This spirit is not just unrestrained flesh, it is motivated and fueled by the worship of Baal. In Revelations 2, Jesus explained how the Jezebel spirit works, it teaches and seduces God’s people into sexual immorality and worship of false gods (eating things sacrificed to idols.) Jezebel constantly exhibited an attitude of control that defied God and openly, embraced evil to trample on others to get her way. Throughout my Christian life, I have heard many messages about the evil woman Jezebel, but too often the church fails to acknowledge the root of the Jezebel spirit is the spirit of Ahab. The truth is that you cannot have a control hungry Jezebel without a passive, weak willed Ahab. Ahab was king of Israel and it was his God given responsibility to rule and guard Israel from all forms of evil, the physical attacks from other nations to the spiritual breakdown caused by sin. The real problem was not Jezebel, it was her husband Ahab who refused to take responsibility and stand for truth. People who are controlled by an Ahab spirit see evil, they know it is evil and have the power and authority to stop the behavior but they choose not to act. Ahabs do not want to “rock” the boat or confront the blatant sin around them. They justify that they are not doing the sinning so it is really the Jezebel spirit that is evil. In all reality, they are enabling the evil spirit to have control because they refuse to walk in dominion and to exercise their God give authority. Jezebel is dangerous because she refuses to be restrained and Ahab is dangerous because he refuses to act. This is not a battle of the sexes, men can operate in a Jezebel spirit as easily as a woman can operate in the Ahab spirit. This is a spiritual battle, and Paul warned us in Ephesians 6:12 “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness in this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” People who allow these spirits to work through them become Godless and immoral and they have no conflict of conscience in sacrificing people for things. Our national politics are controlled by the Jezebel and Ahab spirits and they do not care the cost or who gets sacrificed in order for them to have unrestrained control. I do not believe it is really a battle between the Democrats and the Republicans, it is a battle between good and evil. No, I am not calling one party good and the other party evil, there are good politicians from both parties and bad people in both parties. It is easy to recognize those who are operating in the Jezebel spirit and are adding more and more control over the people, restricting their freedoms and writing more laws that control. When the opportunity to control others arises, the Jezebel spirit gladly embraces the opportunity to control others. This mentality is trying to even take a parents’ rights away and allow the government to determine what is right for our children, even allowing them to decide what sex they are if they are even human, a furry. Before you pick up a stone to throw at those who operate in the Jezebel spirit, remember that the Jezebel spirit can only thrive when an Ahab spirit exists. The conservative politicians are even more guilty than the liberals who are trying to push this evil agenda. The conservatives who refuse to do nothing are operating in an Ahab spirit and they have willingly relinquished their God given authority to the liberal agenda by not standing for what is right. By not taking a stand and actively confronting this evil behavior, thy have allowed it and accommodated it. Dr. Martin Luther King said “Evil triumphs not when bad men act badly, but rather when good men see evil and do nothing.” The Ahab spirit is not just working in the political realm, it is also operating in the church world. Too many churches and pastors have bought into the lie that the Constitution says there must be a separation of church and state. The reality is that the Constitution states the government has no control over religion. The church has been too passive for too long. Instead of praying for President Trum as he stood for Israel and the unborn, the church was too busy judging his past mistakes. The church has isolated itself inside the four walls and to often chosen not to participate in life outside the church. The conservatives and the main stream churches have allowed the Ahab and Jezebel spirit to be alive and thriving in our political world. These two spirits operate by systematically removing anything that would set boundaries and keep their power in check. The first thing Ahab did was embrace Baal worship. Our nation has been fooled into believing we must respect and embrace the foreign gods that have been brought to the United States of America. We are a nation that was built by a group of people who loved God and created the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution on Biblical values. Because we have not stood against false doctrines and religions, but embraced sin so that we do not offend the sinner, we have seen a rapid moral decline in the church. Too many modern churches have lost their spiritual vision and discernment, tolerating sin, then embracing sin and have faded into a form of godliness that has no power, and is unable to fulfill the great commission. Pastors are afraid of being banned from Facebook and offending people so they do not have the courage to preach the full gospel. Some elders and other church leaders are trying to control what the pastor does and does not preach. The Jezebel and Ahab spirits will gladly take over your church when given the opportunity. When we see the moral decline in the world, then the church, the next step is destruction of the family. The family is the core social unit, the first social structure designed by God. It is the foundation what all society rests on. Satan’s ultimate goal is to destroy the family so he can have the children. The Jezebel spirit will try to usurp parent’s control and take over the raising of our children and create confusion and rebellion by redefining the roles of a husband and wife. Husbands are called to be the head of their homes with love. According to scripture it is their responsibility to lead their family in a relationship with God. Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord.” Women are commanded to submit to our husbands. Together parents are responsible for raising their children to know and honor God. Sadly, we are seeing parents that want to be their children’s friends and they are passive in their responsibilities and it is producing children that do what they want when they want and how they want, if they want to at all. If parents do not come together and stand, fighting for the family, the family will cease to exist in a few years and our children will become the wards of the state. We cannot give in to the passive Ahab spirit and allow the Jezebel spirit to do what ever it desires to do. Will you take a minute and be honest with yourself and God? Are there areas in your life you have allowed the Jezebel spirit to operate and controlling others with no regard for their well-being? Are their areas in your life that you have allowed the Ahab spirit to operate and remained passive and refusing to confront sin? Are you willing to be a like Elijah, refusing to compromise and remain silent, but speak the word of God in love? It took an Elijah spirit to break the stronghold of this evil dual. Our families, our communities, our churches, our nation and the nations around the world are depending on us stand and be all God called us to be. It is so important for the church to take her place and walk in our God given authority. Matthew 16:18 Jesus said, “ And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth, will be bond in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed n heaven.” When we see these spirits operating, we have the authority as believers to bind them. In closing, 1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore my brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing your labor is not in vain. Cathy Nesmith