Jezebel Attacks: 9 Signs You’re Under Attack & 5 Steps to Defeat This Demon
The Jezebel spirit is essentially a demonic control spirit that seeks to dominate by whatever means necessary.
When allowed to prevail, it aborts the birthing of those things that the Lord wants to bring forth both in the lives of His people and in the nations of the earth. It is seductive and enticing on the surface, promising much but delivering nothing. “For the lips of an adulteress drip honey, and smoother than oil is her speech; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps take hold of Sheol” (Prov. 5:3-5).
Like the adulteress in these verses, the Jezebel spirit is spiritual harlotry masquerading as genuine intimacy. Its outward appearance of vibrant life and fruitfulness hides an inner barrenness. Those who are drawn in are led to their destruction. The Jezebel spirit sidles up to its victims cooing with soothing words of false comfort, then suddenly slashes and cuts them to pieces with bared fangs and claws.
In order to successfully confront and defeat this menace, the Church must first learn to recognize it for what it is. Believers must know how to identify its presence and effects within their own midst before pointing it out in others. They must remove the plank from their own eye before trying to remove the speck from someone else’s eye. This is especially true when preparing to deal with this manipulative, controlling spirit that is so deeply entrenched in American, European, and other societies.
Identifying a Jezebel spirit requires discernment and discretion and must be handled with great care. Too many Christians have had their spirits crushed and their ministries damaged because an insensitive brother or sister falsely and carelessly accused them of being under a control spirit or being a “Jezebel.” Let us again emphasize for clarity’s sake—demonic spirits do not have gender! Second, some people, both men and women, have strong personalities and strong leadership abilities. But this does not mean they are operating under the influence of a “control spirit.” And third, your pastor is not your enemy; your pastor is your friend!
Recognizing A Jezebel Spirit
The Jezebel spirit doggedly pursues its own divisive and destructive agenda, absolutely intent on getting its own way. Although subtle in its ways, this spirit is not invisible. Certain characteristics commonly appear whenever a Jezebel spirit is at work. These symptoms do not automatically mean that such a spirit is present, but they should serve as warning signals to alert believers. Again, careful and prayerful discernment is called for.
The ultimate goal of a Jezebel spirit is always control. Every thought, every stratagem, every effort is directed at usurping another and taking over. Usually, the preferred method is a very subtle and low-key approach, at least in the beginning.
Because its goal is control, a Jezebel spirit takes aim especially at persons in authority: spouse, pastor, elders, boss, or anyone else in leadership. It does this to create a vacuum that it wants to fill.
A Jezebel spirit stirs up fear, flight, and discouragement, often prompting a spiritual leader to flee his or her appointed place just as Elijah did. Every year hundreds of spiritual marketplace and governmental leaders resign because of debilitating discouragement, confusion, depression, loss of vision, despair, disorientation, withdrawal, a sense of worthlessness, defeat, burnout, physical illness, financial insufficiency, character assassination, moral failure, and an almost infinite variety of other factors. In many cases, this maligning control spirit is responsible.
People under a Jezebel spirit often are naturally born leaders who have come under another influence instructing them how to operate covertly. Many of them actually have a leadership call on their life, but because they have never surrendered the issue of their personal ambition, that call becomes distorted. Therefore a mixture occurs. They seek to advance their own purposes by gaining the ear and the trust of influential people whom they can use in their climb to the top.
People who are insecure and wounded and who have pronounced ego needs are particularly susceptible to this seductive, manipulative spirit. Trying to fill a love deficit in their lives, they seek constant affirmation and approval. They crave popularity. They need to be needed, to be on the “inside track” and therefore make others dependent on them. In many cases they may have experienced rejection or abandonment at some point, creating fear, insecurity, an obsession with self-preservation, resistance to authority, and bitterness.
A Jezebel spirit operates deceptively and with extreme subtlety. Its seeds of manipulation and control are cleverly disguised as flattery, encouragement, affirmation, and sometimes even wise counsel. Once planted, however, they grow quickly into weeds of destruction. Flattery will get you nowhere!
No one under this influence can operate effectively and unchallenged without an “Ahab” present. This spirit always tries to attach itself to a leader who is weak in character, someone who is powerful but pliable.
Ultimately, a Jezebel spirit is always in alignment with a “religious” and/or a “political” spirit. It operates behind a façade of decency, orthodoxy, and pious devotion. It might even demand the strictest of outward obedience.
Quite often, the natural family where this spirit operates is out of order. Chaos, confusion, and division rule the day. Rebellion is the seed Jezebel plants in the next generation.
Reckoning With A Jezebel Spirit
Once this controlling spirit has been identified, there are several important principles to follow in dealing with it effectively.
Be stable. Stability is one of the fundamental weapons of spiritual warfare. The issue is not maturity as much as being securely planted, firmly rooted in Christ. Those who hope in Christ are stable because He is an anchor that holds firm, immovable and unshakable amidst any storm. “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 6:19-20). Stay attached to the Solid Rock. Don’t be swayed!
Don’t “check out.” When the going gets tough, it is easy to feel like giving up and saying, “I’m tired. I think I’ll just sit this one out.” Don’t do it! That’s when vulnerability is the highest. A “check out” mentality opens the door for the enemy to send in deceptive words of false comfort. Stay engaged with faith. Don’t run away from godly authority and accountability; instead, run to them. This is not the time to avoid the fellowship of other believers. Don’t check out; check in!
Be ruthless in your own life in dealing with the desire to control, even when it comes because of fear and hurt. The desire to control circumstances to avoid being hurt again is another form of checking out. Release that desire to God and let Him replace it with peace and assurance. Seek healing and walk in the light.
Allow Jesus to take His rightful place as Lord and Master instead of letting other people fill that void. Human relationships of friends and family are important, but ultimately God is the only one who can fill the emotional and spiritual voids in each person’s life. Don’t look to receive from others that which only God can give. That is a lesson that takes a lifetime to learn. But learn it step by step.
Don’t idolize people, especially their giftings. Gifts do not guard against human weaknesses and failings. Spiritual gifts are no protection against an “Achilles’ heel.” Only the eyes of God offer protection. Do this by walking with others who will watch your “backside.”
In the final analysis, the biggest secret to dealing with the control spirit is learning how to yield to God and trust in Him; learning how to “let go and let God.” Anything released to God He will return greatly multiplied. This principle is clearly illustrated in the lives of two remarkable women of the Bible, Hannah and Mary, and one man of extraordinary faith, the patriarch Abraham.
