The Curse of Jezebel
“As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths.” (Isaiah 3:12)
Isaiah wrote these words hundreds of years ago, but it is aptly descriptive of a largely matriarchal society we have had in America for over two generations. Female dominance has heavily influenced, and at times controlled, the social and spiritual sectors of life. The unfortunate results of this are clearly apparent in families, churches and the government. When children are reared in an atmosphere of fear, insecurity and frustration, families are sapped of strength. These are the by-products of the systematic emasculation of men in social, spiritual and even physical realms. There is a driving force operating through female dominance which has turned the churches into powerless groups filled with discord, slander and corruption. This same force has invaded the fields of finance, business and religion, expressing itself in outright sorcery and witchcraft, affecting every strata of society. Because of the years of Jezebelic leavening, men have become as adept as women in utilizing and developing this power to manipulate and control people.
The Jezebel influence is rooted in witchcraft and causes women to forsake the protection and place given them in God’s word. There is also a corresponding or complementary spirit to Jezebel which we call the Ahab spirit. This brings destruction of the family priesthood, laziness and sluggishness in males who allow females to dominate and control, but despise and hate them for it.
The Ahab spirit, rooted in the Destruction of the Family Priesthood, causes a man to forsake his responsibilities as the head of the household. He will not only refuse to take the spiritual headship, but often will not take a responsibility for working to make the living for the wife and children. He has overlooked the scriptural admonition that a man who does not work should not eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10), and that if a man fails to provide for his own, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel (1 Timothy 5:8). A man is to provide both spiritual and material security for his family. If he cannot or will not, he is in trouble with God. As the spiritual umbrella of protection for his wife and children, he is charged with the demanding role of prophet and priest for them.
If girls were more carefully taught about the divine order of the home and how vital it is that a man be a man of God over his family, they would choose much more carefully in the matter of a mate. Bad and hasty choices in this area have left many women with long and bitter experiences that last for years and, except for the intervention of God, they are never changed. Many marry in haste and repent at leisure. Some men gravitate toward a woman with Jezebellian spirits because they feel that she is hard and can take any punishment or abuse they want to dish out. If she were soft, feminine and submissive, it would make them feel terrible when they drank, committed adultery or otherwise ignored commitments to her. To ease their conscience they seek a female with these spirits of dominance and they can rationalize (falsely) that she is only getting what she deserves when they choose to mistreat and violate her confidence. Note how many Jezebellian women have attracted this type of male. They live their whole lives in unhappiness, frustration and bitter disappointment. These spiritual forces do their most deadly and telling damage when they are able to work covertly, undetected. It is a sad fact that those most active in this maneuvering for control are usually oblivious to the fact that they themselves are being controlled and driven.
Hopefully those who read this will be alerted to the danger by seeing the connection between matriarchism and witchcraft. It is not intended as an attack on women, but to expose the workings of the enemy to ensnare, degrade and enslave them.
In the Bible, Queen Jezebel is presented as a prime example of female dominance and witchcraft (1 Kings 16:22; 2 Kings 9). In Revelation 2:18-29, the false prophetess of Thyatira is labelled as Jezebel. Both these women are characterized by their attempts to control those around them through false teachings and the use of occult power. Each paraded her schemes under the cover of religion and “good” motives. Christian men and women today are often deceived and driven by the religious pretensions of these demonic forces. There are also multitudes snared in false religious cult systems. The end result in either case is always evil and disastrous.
Sorcery is a specific type of witchcraft used to gain one’s own ends through manipulative spiritual power. It operates through the mind and ego of the sorcerer and is carried out by spirits of witchcraft. Mind control spirits work to subject the mind, emotions, will and body to the control and whims of the sorcerer.
With her wiles and witchcraft Queen Jezebel of Israel persuaded her husband to allow her to usurp authority in the kingdom. By doing this he sold himself into her spiritual whoredom (1 Kings 21:4-10,20,25; 2 Kings 9:22). In Thyatira, Jezebel was judged because her thoughts, feelings and purposes were declared wrong in the sight of God (Revelation 2:20-23, Amplified New Testament). Just as Satan sought worship for himself, these women worked to become the center of worship and attention, and demanded obedience to their every command. Knowingly or unknowingly sorcery is always used to bring worship and adoration to the sorcerer.
Just as Satan used questions to challenge the validity of God’s word and create doubts (i.e., in Eden, “Yea and did god say…?”, to Jesus, “If thou be the Son of God…”) so those moved by the Jezebelic demons still employ the same tactics. Directly or indirectly, through attitudes, emotions and insinuations, they question those around them. This is calculated to cause doubt about a person’s manhood, worth and ability.
A woman may tell her husband that if he were a real man he would be able to make more money. Or she might be more subtle and just sigh that it would be nice to have this or that–but, of course, they cannot afford it. The man, already sensitive and feeling inadequate because of the need for more money, will be pressured to secure what his wife wants. Next in the campaign of intimidation and insinuation is the spoken or implied statement that if he really loved her he would provide for her needs. Often she determines to go to work because of dissatisfaction with her husband’s provision.
These maneuvers can bring incredible pressure on the man and force him to strike out to prove his own worth and preserve his self-respect. In a woman driven by Jezebel spirits there is no satiating of her constant “needs” and endless demands. Eventually, disgusted and frustrated, the husband is driven into a life of defeat and hopelessness by his wife’s ceaseless demands and complaints. Angrily he may agree to her going to work in order to satisfy her appetite for the things he cannot supply. He hopes this will pacify her. She increasingly assumes control and direction of the finances in the family. As the discouraged husband retreats from responsibility, he makes the most tragic abdication of all, that of spiritual head of the house and family. The husband’s life becomes a series of quiet but furious refusals to become involved. At home he winces under her proud looks, sharp tongue, emotional outbursts, and bedroom blackmail. Increasingly he retreats into newspapers, sleep, alcohol, work, TV, adultery, or some other area outside the home, striving to find appreciation and satisfaction. To prove his manhood and escape her emasculating blows to his male ego, he may withdraw physically from his wife. If she becomes repulsive to him with her driving, ranting and accusing, he often becomes impotent. The sex drive, strong though it is, can be blunted by such a barrage. No matter what he does, it is not enough, nor is it done right. If he attends church, he seldom does more than sit back, fearful of the sharp and critical tongue of his wife. She speaks out for the family in spiritual matters and he becomes more silent.
Children reared in this kind of atmosphere will grow up with the same desires to manipulate the lives of those around them. Divorced women many times have strong Jezebel spirits. The same spirit is obviously at work in the lives of many who are not divorced but whose marriages are filled with strife and whose children are full of rebellion.
The pattern of rebellion of the mother against the authority of the father in the home strongly influences the children to become rebels. Continuous complaining and pointing out every weakness of the husband undermines the children’s respect for him. This in turn becomes a source of deep-rooted conflict and upset to the children.
The Jezebel spirit does not always assume a brash, bossy and aggressive stance, openly overbearing or dominant. There is a more subtle manifestation. The woman is outwardly sweet and unassuming, a picture of demure helplessness and feminine fluttering. Actually, there is a fist of the fiercest determination and rebellion under that velvet glove. There is not a helpless bone in her delicate body! She is just as determined to have her own way as the most openly rebellious female, and is an expert in the art of bedroom blackmail. What she actually does is to create disgust in the males in her life for her conniving ways.
Often a woman will complain about her husband with such finesse that it does not seem to be that. For example, she may sweetly remark, “Well, I’ve been wanting this done for months, but your Dad is so busy that he doesn’t have time to fix it.” This thinly veiled criticism is interpreted by the children to mean that he does not care about the needs of his family, especially longsuffering Mama. Repeated over a period of years, this practice can damage the family structure. The wife adopts a “sweet” martyr attitude in order to draw attention to herself as the injured party.
Another way the spirits drive is to arrange for the husband to never have any rest or realization from her demands on his time and attention. She works constantly to cause him to feel guilty and neglectful when he devotes himself to being a hard worker to make a living. If the money is sufficient, there is constant whining about the time spent at work. She comes up with endless projects at home, many of which should be handled by her, to drain him of all spare time and energy. She evidently never read of the woman who “looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness” (Proverbs 31:27).
False sickness is another convenient way of dodging responsibility and gaining sympathy at the same time. If the husband is tired and wishes to relax, he is lazy. If he wants to postpone something because he is weary, then he is deliberately neglecting the needs of his family. Many women have this procedure down to a science and keep their husbands in a constant state of turmoil, guilt and weariness, often to cover the fact that they have neglected their own duties at home.
A man has a strong sense of right and wrong, and has fought with his conscience all his life. By becoming his conscience, she provokes endless battles with him. What she needs is to bring her spirit under control and to become a meek and quiet wife as the Word declares (1 Peter 3:1-6). Bedroom blackmail and rationing are another form of the Jezebellian strategy. Unfortunate is the man who will give into this sort of thing. This situation is the source of much marital discord. Many women use sex as a tool to get their own way and bargain with their husbands until the men feel as if they were dealing with a prostitute. If she is displeased she will communicate her sullen rebellion, even in submission, and her husband certainly finds no satisfaction in such a strained episode. Without a word she can severely wound his male ego, often causing him to become impotent with her and raising serious doubts in his own mind about his virility. This impotence is a cross which has driven many a man to other women, drink and other pursuits to drown out the bitter defeat he feels with the woman he loves.
She is defeating her purpose. In attempting to bind him close to herself, control and direct him, she forces him to rebel and seek satisfaction elsewhere. The morsel of sex which he receives from her is so degrading to him personally that it becomes repulsive and, far from eager anticipation, he begins to dread and shun such contact. The wife will never win in this sort of contest but always loses far more than any concession she may wring from her husband. Many times Christian women will talk much about submission and obedience to their husbands, but both husbands and children know that it is all just talk. When she asks her husband what she should do and he answers the way she wants, fine and good. If not, then a series of determined maneuvers begin, calculated to force him to change his decision. She has not the slightest inclination to cheerfully submit to his judgement and her campaign to have her own way in the matter will eventually provoke him into anger. She then “meekly” points out that she can never talk to him about anything without his becoming argumentative. Rather than to believe that God will give her husband wisdom to guide the family because of his position of authority and her praying for him, she sets about to accomplish things in her own devious ways. This constant maneuvering and pressuring is sensed and resented by all the males in the household and leads to many problems.
The spirit of Jezebel enters the family situation wherever God’s order of authority is either not known or ignored. God’s order is basically simple: The authority of man is Christ; the authority of women is man; the authority of Christ is God (1 Corinthians 11:3). Friends, death, circumstances, the economy, war, famine, nor anything else can change the fact the head of every woman is man, no more than they would change the fact that God is the head of Christ. Any tampering with God’s structuring of family authority will open the women and children to satanic attack.
When a woman chooses or is seemingly forced into headship of the family, she is put in a position for which God has not fitted her: body, soul or spirit. Because she is the weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7) when she is put into the place of authority, she has no choice but to utilize methods and techniques of securing dominance which are not approved of God. Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23) and when a woman usurps authority in a man’s place, no matter how noble the motivation, she ends up using occult power to achieve her ends. An earthly and natural reaction is to take authority from necessity. Because a woman is not designed mentally, physically or spiritually to wield authority, her actions soon become sensual. Because of her limitations she is forced to connive and manipulate to control those around her; resorting to tears, anger, pouting and fake sickness to coerce. At this point her actions become demonic, controlled by demons, because she is out of the will of God (James 3:15). The woman in rebellion will produce rebellious children, no matter how sincerely she may rationalize her position. This is one of the chief reasons for this generation of rebels in America, filled with lawlessness and anarchy.
Of course, there are cases where women are thrown into the headship of the family because of death or legitimate separation from their husbands. In these instances God’s Word provides covering for them through remarriage, the elders and pastors of the churches, and, in some cases, through a male relative. Discipline of the children is an area where the Jezebel influence is often noticeable. Bible instructions direct parents to take the rod of correction and drive foolishness far from the heart of the child (Proverbs 22:15). Our witchcraft influenced society urges instead that children be bribed, manipulated, and tricked into obedience. “If you loved me, you would not do such and such” is a common approach. Used repeatedly on a child, he is put under constant pressure to prove his love. This victim is never sure if his love is believed and accepted. This kind of badgering can produce spiritual and physical problems and can open the door to a spirit which makes it difficult or impossible to give or receive love.
Strong emotions are another form of Jezebellic discipline. Threatened with storms of weeping, recriminations or great fits of anger, a family can be forced under a control spirit. The demons of Fear, Failure and Rejection plague them and they learn that to obey every whim is better than to suffer constant outbursts.
Another cruel method of control is a silence which is a type of hypnotic control, or charming. The person given this treatment is often left guessing what he has done and must bend every effort to discover how he has offended. Again this makes the one exercising the control spirit the center of attention and the one who must be modified.
Often businesses are invaded by the Jezebellic control spirits. It was inevitable that this happen in a society so structured and controlled by this evil influence. Routinely many companies utilize handwriting analysis and astrology in conjunction with hiring workers. Preplanned sales presentations often utilize ESP and Mental Telepathy to anticipate and program customer reaction. God’s Word says that the Great Whore system of the end times will be run by merchants who will deceive the nations by their sorceries (Revelation 18:23). As we move deeper into an intensely computerized society, it is not hard to see that we are moving closer to this period.
Jezebel spirits have done some of their most evil work in the spiritual realm. Whole churches are under the domination and control of a few powerful families and/or personalities. They attempt to control and dictate every move pastors and other spiritual leaders make. This form of pressure leads to resignations by thousands of discouraged pastors each year. Instead of honoring and obeying their shepherds (Hebrew 13:17) the flock becomes a grief to him. The more spiritually minded a church grows, the more dangerous is the operation of the Jezebel spirits. Often persons with the Jezebellic control spirits will deceive persons seeking God’s will by use of soulish prophecy. These spirits will always seek to beguile people to a person and his own peculiar teachings rather than to center on Jesus Christ. One tactic is to keep seeking souls in spiritual suspense by use of counterfeit spiritual gifts, enchanting people to stay with them and their causes. They promote the idea that they are the “spiritual” ones. God’s Word declares that one who speaks from himself seeks his own glory and/or worship (John 16:13, 14). Unfortunately, much that passes for “word of knowledge” and “word of wisdom” could just as well be called charismatic fortune-telling!
The effects of unsuspected practicing of witchcraft are just as disastrous as open contact with the occult. Confusion, suicide, spiritual blindness, loss of children and broken homes are a few byproducts. Impotence in husbands, frigidity in wives, doubts and fears, all work together to prevent and destroy any meaningful and satisfying sexual relationship. Remember the enemy comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. Persons driven by Jezebellic spirits can be recognized (James 3:13-18) by their motivations. They are driven by dominance, not meekness and wisdom. Surrounded by bitter envying in home and churches, the lives of those closest to them will stay in a state of constant confusion. There will be other evil works manifested, including rebellion. Breaking the laws of man, backbiting and slander are often present. Always we must check for the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) in lives and ministries. If the wrong fruit is being produced, then the wisdom by which they are operating began in the natural and became an extension of a desire for power and attention. Entrance of a Jezebellic spirit gives demonic drawing power, a beguiling power, not of the Lord. Charisma given by the Holy Spirit attracts people to Christ and freedom. Satanic powers emphasize a personality and create bondage. Unfortunates snared in such bondage will desire freedom and the suffer guilt for having felt disloyal.
Still another characteristic of persons under a Jezebellic control spirit is an inability to designate authority. Rather than to allow person under them to work, they will constantly interfere and hinder, often doing the work themselves trying to demonstrate incompetence in others. Driven to control, dominate and arrange the lives of all close to them, these people thrive on keeping all those around them on edge and nervous.
A victim of any one or a combination of these pressures for any length of time will be crippled in some way. They are dulled by confusion, tormented by fears, and often become so indecisive that they have trouble making simplest decisions. Doubts and apprehension will many times keep them spiritually immature and weak.
God has given inner warning against submitting to this insidious influence. Jehosophat had a check in his spirit about an alliance with Ahab (1 Kings 22) and called for a word from the Lord. Jezebel’s lying prophets brought a false prediction of victory. Unsatisfied, Jehosophat asked for a prophet of the Lord and Micaiah came, warning of lying spirits in the false prophets. By believing a lie, Ahab paid with his life and Jehosophat saw his armies humiliated in defeat. God warns that if we do not love the truth God will cause belief in a lie (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). If we submit to bondage and unscriptural authorities not ordained of God, we are asking to be overcome by a delusion.
Although this spirit has affected men, it still seems to work extremes in women. In the spirit of every man (saved or unsaved) there is the knowledge that the woman was deceived in the Garden, not the man. Adam was drawn into sin by his wife and because of this, men hesitate and rebel against a woman seeking to lead or to usurp authority over them. They may react and attempt to escape through over-indulgence in sports, business or adultery but the voice of the law remains true (1 Timothy 2:11-15; Romans 2:14, 15).
This is the reason why so many lost husbands refuse to accept Christ and others resist receiving the baptism of Jesus in the Holy Spirit. Militant pushing by their mates turns them off. Wives who bombard them with tapes, books and testimonies seeking to force them to do what is right almost always fail. Certainly their approach is unscriptural. Instinctively the male knows that spiritual leadership is a masculine prerogative. Scripture is clear that an unbelieving husband is to be won by the quiet and obedient submission of his wife, as he sees her godly life and walk. A woman must be and do rather than to talk the way of God if she wants to see in her family the realization of her heart’s desire (Psalm 37:4,5; 1 Peter 3:1,2). The wicked bondage of Jezebellic spirits can be broken only by an Elijah, for these men have successfully resisted other physical and spiritual seduction of Jezebel. Because they cannot be bought by the clever pretensions and wiles of the enemy they are hated and slandered as troublemakers and disturbers–the enemy of those they are sent to rescue (1 Kings 18:17, 18; 21:20). Only by the demolishing of the strongholds of Jezebel can God’s rightful authority be re-established.
In Malachi 4:5-6, God says the hearts of the fathers (not the mothers) will be turned to the children by this Elijah ministry. Preachers of this truth will help men everywhere to realize their responsibility to take their place as prophet and priest in the family unit, sheltering and protecting wives and children. Women will be relieved of the strain and struggle of attempting to pull leadership loads for which God did not design them. As men take their rightful place to love, cherish and protect, wives will find blessing and fulfillment which God intended for them. In a very real sense it behooves wives to pray for their husbands to come under proper spiritual leadership and authority.
Oftentimes a woman will pray for years for the Lord to bring her husband to Himself and will faithfully request others to pray for him. Seldom does she realize that when God does answer and galvanize the man into action, He will immediately groom him to be the head of the house. Instead of a spiritual cripple and weak dependent, a wife is faced with a strong and rapidly growing rival who will easily outdistance her in spiritual matters if he really applies himself. Due to God’s authority structure, the man will be given wisdom and knowledge to equip him for leadership. Many a woman caught in this whirlwind of change has wondered if it is fair for God to make such sweeping changes and upset the status quo. Very often traits of dominance and masculine protest, cleverly concealed for years, will rear up in rebellion revealing their presence at this time. Isaiah 3 and 4 warns sternly of judgment which will fall upon those resisting the establishment of God’s order. Rebellious women will be shamed by baldness and have their secret parts uncovered. Could this be a reference to the epidemic proportions of female cancer and chemotherapy which results in baldness? In Isaiah 3:24 the prophet speaks of a stench and burning where there had been perfume. Again the reference is strikingly similar to some common symptoms of cancer.
Isaiah 4:1,2 speaks of a time when all will repent and seek the path of Scriptural submission. In the church today God is calling for a return to Biblical submission, discipleship and restoration. If you have been practicing unsuspected witchcraft, dominating your husband, pastor, children, friends or prayer group, repent at once and renounce this evil force in Jesus’ name. If you realize that you have been under this type of bondage for any length of time, renounce it at once and sever the wicked cords which bind you in unscriptural servitude to the one who dominates you. Here is a prayer which has been helpful to free many:
Father, I come to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the shepherd of my soul. I confess and renounce as sin everything I have every done to manipulate, dominate and control other people. I hate and renounce the foul Jezebellic spirits and claim deliverance from them in Jesus’ name (Psalm 139). Because Jesus died on the cross for my sins and became a curse for me, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances which were against me, I declare every curse having to do with the Jezebellic spirits to be broken from whatever source, even back to seven generations on both sides of my family.
I also ask Father, that You sever any ties of bondage which may exist between me and those who have practiced sorcery against me.
Direct me to the undershepherd You have ordained for me, and above all else, help me to come into true submission to You, Father. Jesus said: “Those who believe in Me, in my name shall they cast out demons.” I am a believer, and in Jesus’ name I now command all spirits associated with the Jezebellic influence to leave me now and set me completely free in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Based on a tract: “The Jezebel Influence” by Jim Croft; Reprinted by permission from Conquering the Hosts of Hell, by Win Worley, © 1977, W R W , Box 852626 Mesquite, TX, 75185
The following is an excerpt from “The Curse of Jezebel, Booklet #17″ by Pastor Win Worley. Copyright © 1983 by Win Worley, Reprinted 1990. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including storage and retrieval system, without securing permission in writing from the publisher, WRW Publications, PO Box 852626, Mesquite, TX 75185.
If you’d like to obtain your own copy of not only this, but other materials authored by Win Worley, please contact WRW Publications at www.wrwpublications.com
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