tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post2247160861229525520..comments2024-01-20T16:28:46.327-08:00Comments on Wordgazer's Words: The "Jezebel Spirit" Teaching: Priming Churches for Spiritual AbuseKristenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-88547602621811068682021-05-08T05:29:34.420-07:002021-05-08T05:29:34.420-07:00I too escaped from this ungodly teaching. It is ex...I too escaped from this ungodly teaching. It is exactly as described here. Praise Jesus for delivering me! My story is very long and would not fit here. <br /><br />I would love to read the stories of other women who have escaped and whom God has delivered. Is there a compilation of such testimonies somewhere that someone could share a link to?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-25274463154882677662019-04-12T09:27:58.370-07:002019-04-12T09:27:58.370-07:00I wholeheartedly agree. There is no biblical basis...I wholeheartedly agree. There is no biblical basis for the "Jezebel spirit." It is literally a doctrine of demons, i. e. a doctrine concocted by the enemy and about the enemy. Thirty years ago, I was the victim of this witch hunt, and it changed my life. To this day, I cannot trust pastors or church leadership. I am very close to the Lord, and I do attend a church, but I stay under the radar and simply pray. <br />I noticed that the charismatic movement in general, and those who preach the Jezebel spirit specifically, focus on the demonic, not on Jesus. Paul determined not to preach anything except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I wish the church did this. Jesus already defeated the enemy. I never heard a sermon series on 1 John 5:18, "We know that no who is born of God sins; but He (Jesus) who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him." Let's glorify Jesus alone!transplant2xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03309942922974537344noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-40274945391466305722018-08-10T17:28:05.723-07:002018-08-10T17:28:05.723-07:00Love this blog. I was married to an abuser for 20 ...Love this blog. I was married to an abuser for 20 years, and after he learned of this teaching, I can honestly say that I never had a physical assault that wasn’t accompanied by spiritual and verbal assaults involving the accusation of being controlled by the spirit of Jezebel. I never told anyone about the physical violence because he had so much support for the spiritual. After all, I had committed adultery in our 3rd year of marriage. What other evidence did he need? Eventually, he tried to kill me, so I divorced him. Although he called himself a prophet for most of our marriage, he left the faith after the divorce, becoming completely apostate, attacking God online constantly. He stopped accusing me of being demon possessed by Jezebel and now just tells our children I am an extreme narcissist. LolAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-76166251302917640272017-08-27T12:42:31.756-07:002017-08-27T12:42:31.756-07:00Yes, please do share it, and thanks! And I am from...Yes, please do share it, and thanks! And I am from Oregon, yes. Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-85476497472536842362017-08-27T04:48:48.160-07:002017-08-27T04:48:48.160-07:00[b]Well, I ran across while looking for a differen...[b]Well, I ran across while looking for a different view on the subject of; 'A Jezebel spirit.' And the strange thing is it came up on a site dealing with sexual sins. Yet alarm bells went off for me that something was wrong with this teaching.<br />After reading your presentation, I felt my raised hackles were not in vain. This is one of those teachings coming out of the Charismatic movement that needs to be confronted. I would like to share what you presented if I may? <br />Side question: Did you say you are from Oregon as am I?[/b]Virgilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16187901987951264775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-74292980808198815272017-02-24T20:34:41.778-08:002017-02-24T20:34:41.778-08:00Anonymous, you're entitled to your opinion, bu...Anonymous, you're entitled to your opinion, but I can't subscribe to it. "Lilith" was a conjecture of Jewish rabbis and has no basis in the Bible or in reality. Jezebel was the wife of King Ahab whose name was later used metaphorically in Revelation. Anyone can seek their own glory rather than God's-- it's not the special province of women, and there's simply no evidence that when a woman does it (and why did you put that word in quotes?), she's being influenced by an evil spirit. Yes, I'm going to absolutely dismiss this, and for a very good reason: because it's harmful to real women to view them in this way.Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-88236333977150513652017-02-24T19:42:04.518-08:002017-02-24T19:42:04.518-08:00I understand your position against the extreme deg...I understand your position against the extreme degree that this belief has taken. <br />The sad reality is that this is not something "new" or specifically from the charismatic movement. If you go back through all of history, even in the ancient musings of the Jewish faith, you find discussion about Lillith - the two (Jezebel and Lillith) are actually the same spiritual force at work. It really references more so the arrogance of personal motives (of which gender can be one) over those of Gods. <br />Just because a woman may want to be a news anchor does not make her the subject of this spirit - but if she is doing so for her own glory as a "woman," rather than for Gods glory, then she is absolutely the example of being influenced by Lillith/Jezebel. <br />It is a simple truth that has, as it often is, been twisted to suit personal agendas. <br />Thank you for addressing a very important subject. I would only caution the absolute dismissal of something that has been acknowledged for a very long time - it really does have some merit worth a look through the eyes of our Lord. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-81696513130032072412016-11-01T05:13:50.994-07:002016-11-01T05:13:50.994-07:00Thank you for this. I can't say it enough. Tha...Thank you for this. I can't say it enough. Thank you. Thank you. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554357670282855639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-6281949438246320822015-09-13T20:15:01.879-07:002015-09-13T20:15:01.879-07:00Thank you for sharing all this. You are proof to ...Thank you for sharing all this. You are proof to those reading this who might think it far-fetched, that the witch hunt I described really is happening. It's awful the way you were treated. Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-60483012512042857202015-09-13T17:09:30.347-07:002015-09-13T17:09:30.347-07:00This happened to me over 4 yrs ago. The shock of i...This happened to me over 4 yrs ago. The shock of it is gradually wearing off. If I had understood what was really happening from the moment the word jezebel came from the pastor's (aka "the apostle") mouth as I stood at the altar that day, thinking I was for there for prayer, I would have turned right around, got my stuff, left and never returned instead of coming back for more abuse, rejection & humiliation-the likes of which I had never seen or imagined. I didn't understand what was happening. I was confused, terrified, scared and so desperate not to be rejected & thrown away & treated like lower than trash by someone I considered a spiritual father that all I could think to do was apologize in tears. I researched the stuff online about it. The info didn't look real hopeful for me- since denying it would only make me appear guilty (It's a genius set up. EVERYTHING you say will be held against you), apologizing seemed the best approach in my mind. But apologize for what exactly?!? I wasn't sure what. Smoking? I smoked cigarettes. Does that qualify me to be Satan's right hand woman? Because if that was true, believe me I would have used that power to win the Mega Millions jackpot not bother a preacher in church. Just saying. No one came to speak to me like a normal human being to tell me what or why. When I apologized to the pastor I said I had looked at some new age websites. That's all I could think of. He had preached that he had been dealing with witchcraft for a whole year. I told him I didn't realize that. (Because I attended church only sporadically & I hadn't even been to church in over a year before this) After 3 months of being insulted, accused, persecuted indirectly of course from the pulpit "jezebel wants to kill the prophet!", jezebel wants to seduce the prophet!" "Some people are witches & don't know it" etc. You know what's laughable? when you try to explain this story to people and they say "well if they didn't call you by name how do you know if they were talking about you?" You have a point there. Maybe it's how no matter what chair I sat in, that entire row was often guaranteed to empty within minutes of me sitting down. When it was suggested indirectly from the pulpit that I leave, I never went back to that church or any other. I got sick after that & wondered if it was because I was being punished because the pastor was right & wrote a coupla letters to the pastor asking for forgiveness for any critical thoughts I had about him or his ministry and asking for forgiveness if he was hurt because of me. I sincerely thanked him for what I learned there. There was still apart of me that wanted their approval. I went to find some experienced jezebel experts. This wasn't easy cause there weren't any listed in the phone book. They weren't in agreement with "the apostle" at all. There are probably some people in the church who weren't either but they were too scared say one word with the implied threat of being labeled the J word. After getting my scarlet letter, I went up for prayer frequently to get delivered of this demon & nothing dramatic ever happened after all this jezebel talk. Nothing. Even through my pain, my spidey sense told me something wasn't right. I think I really had to go after all the drama & theatrics & nothing happening. The poor church folks were on the edge of their seats, I guess waiting on the hand of God through the mighty apostle.but no. Nothing. not even a little foaming at the mouth. sorry no refunds. Oh, and by the way, that never stopped them from accepting my money. Kristen, I thank you for this article. it gives those of us a lifeline from the crazy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-24608285084643098882015-04-10T09:07:57.697-07:002015-04-10T09:07:57.697-07:00I found this site only because I had just read Lin...I found this site only because I had just read Linda Shepherd Evan's Book "When You Need a Miracle", which when I first got it, I thought, okay, harmless and uplifting. Then I got to the FIghting Enemy part and her very, very long "Set Free" prayers. They were quite disturbing. I don't know what her list of "false religions" is or "counterfeit Christians," or her list of "music." I'm not sure what the problem is with candles and incense. <br /><br />I did not know what this woman's denomination was, but I was raised Catholic, and I left that religion for the third, and last time, last year. I started reading my Bible and I couldn't stay. <br /><br />Emphasizing and making lists of what is considered denominc is very dangerous. I remember reading recently last year -- and not something I wasn't aware of on the surface -- was the Catholic role (and we know other religions engaged in this, too) in burning witches, along with their so-called "familiars." At that time I would have lasted two seconds before being burned just for having a cat, dog or other animal and just giving them names. Me and my animals would have been burned together. <br /><br />I recently listened to a sermon by Derek Prince, after having read something that was very wonderful by him, and it was something about message to America, and he pretty much pointed to the 60s as being the source of all our problems today, and particularly homosexuals and femnists. <br /><br />I always go back to the words and actions of Jesus when I see what is going on. What did Jesus do: He healed, he loved, he felt compassion, he taught about he who is without guilt ..., he taught about the log in the eye. We don't have a right to judge or condemn anyone. <br /><br />I did things in my youth for which I spent most of my life being condemned for, mostly by my Catholic family, and a part of me felt that God must feel this way about me, too. <br /><br />Thanks to Emmett Fox I started reading the Bible. I agree with Emmett Fox that the Bible is a progression from the Old Testament to the New, but that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. If you simply take Jesus teachings and the Psalms you truly understand the nature of God, and it is simply beautiful. Emmett Fox calls the Bible the manual for the soul, that we are on every page from Genesis to Revelation. Fox also spoke a great deal about thinking for oneself and not blindly following groups, people, dogmas, etc. <br /><br />These days I borrow a phrase from Al-Anon's "take what you like and leave the rest," and I say "Take what is Truth and leave the rest."<br /><br />If any group or person is overtly giving me a message in their writing to hate a certain group I'm out of there. That's not my job. <br /><br />I remember a person named Donohue, in an interview a couple of years ago, talking about his idea of a "pure" Catholic Church. In listening to him I thought, well, none of the Apostle could apply, not Paul, pretty much not anyone. Jesus would be the first one kicked out. <br /><br />Scary stuff. Cathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01273909266733071337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-13315812045323873682014-11-12T13:16:56.522-08:002014-11-12T13:16:56.522-08:00Anonymous, I'm so sorry this happened to you. ...Anonymous, I'm so sorry this happened to you. I see you posted twice, but since the posts are different in some ways, I'll keep both of them up. Thank you for posting here and illustrating first-hand what happens when this "Jezebel Spirit" thing is used against a woman.<br /><br />I hope you do find a church home where this sort of thing is understood for what it really is. Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-67478387317487422772014-11-12T11:49:51.987-08:002014-11-12T11:49:51.987-08:00Thank you for posting this article. I have been l...Thank you for posting this article. I have been labeled a Jezebel spirit from 2 churches here in my small town. In the first incident, I became aware that a couple in leadership were telling a lot of lies, passing them off as prophecies or that the Lord was exposing some demonic influence in people, particularly myself, as one of the leaders apparently became jealous. After I had told the minister what I knew, he basically acknowledged that this person was "insecure and had a need to appear more spiritual than others", and pretty much asked me to look the other way. I found out these leaders were his best friends. He then labeled me a "gossip" because I had (wrongly so) complained about the lies in a prayer group, though I had not named anyone. The talk had already been going around about me, though I was unaware at that time. Turns out that when they talked, it was "just sharing information", not gossip. The woman who was intimidated by me made two phone calls, and she was angry and aggressive, referring to the spirit of Jezebel, directed at me, and said if she couldn't get the "gossip" under control, then she would sick the pastor's wife on those who opposed her. IF there were a Jezebel spirit there, it seemed it was more in her than in me....so I left and went to another church. Turned out later the two churches were in friendship and also "shared information". And it was apparent to me that both pastors were recording my phone calls to them....really paranoid. This pastor of the second church also preached about the spirit of Jezebel....looking in my direction the whole time....and that was just the beginning of a few aggressive "sermons" that seemed to be fired in my direction. I don't go to church anywhere now and often am lonely and certainly treated like a leper. Even those who weren't directly involved and have no reason to know what happened, treat me this way...but they don't gossip. I've been deeply wounded by the churches, and have no interest in going at all. I do believe the Lord loves me and that I'm not lost....I'm just wounded and lonely. Even my religious family members avoid me...their church also teaches the submission to authority thing, and especially teach out of John Bevere's books...what happened to the Bible? Doesn't take a scholar to see that in John Bevere's "Bait of Satan", scripture has been severely taken out of context....but, there you go. What the Spirit of Jezebel has done to me. I take comfort in knowing I'm not the only one who sees this as a witch hunt. I did tell the pastor at the second church; "You'll always find demons in people you don't like." I got no response on that. Once again, thank you for posting this article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-15048349268335515612014-11-12T11:29:49.523-08:002014-11-12T11:29:49.523-08:00I'm glad you posted this. I'm an evangeli...I'm glad you posted this. I'm an evangelical Christian who really can't attend church in my area because I've been labeled with this very spirit. One church had some leaders who I caught lying, and they were seen as prophets...and making false prophetic claims. When I challenged that, it turned out the pastor was best friends with them and even acknowledged at least one of the leaders was "insecure and had a need to appear more spiritual than others", to explain the lying. I then was labeled a gossip because I had (wrongly so) spoken about the lies in a prayer group, though I didn't name anyone. Turns out they also had been gossiping about me behind my back, but "that's just sharing information". This liar made phone calls to me and made vague threats, not to mention started on me about the Jezebel spirit, which then followed me to the next church. Turns out these two churches "exchanged information". The paranoia within both churches was such that the pastors were recording my phone calls to them. (I picked up on the sounds in the phone). It's been years, and there are still people from the church who give me those looks, and some will not speak to me, and sometimes look right through me as though I'm not there. I'm still hurting over it all, as it's almost impossible to overcome the wounds when their behavior is still the same. Some have even given me looks of pity and hugged me as though they forgive me....I find this insulting. There is a lot more to the story, but this is the basic issue. I'm sick of the witch hunts, and I did tell one of these ministers, "You will always find demons if you're looking for them; you'll find them in people you don't like." Ain't it the truth!<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-81874540335041720132013-12-08T21:03:40.168-08:002013-12-08T21:03:40.168-08:00Thanks, Sketches! You're welcome to quote wha...Thanks, Sketches! You're welcome to quote whatever you like. Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-20466412122404595442013-12-08T19:52:28.884-08:002013-12-08T19:52:28.884-08:00Kristen, this article is so powerful and resonates...Kristen, this article is so powerful and resonates so deeply with my own experience. I think I may have to write about it on my blog. Thank you for writing this.Sketches by Bozehttp://thetalkingllama.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-84662913460243299022013-12-05T16:44:14.706-08:002013-12-05T16:44:14.706-08:00Traditional gender roles benefit women like OJ ben...Traditional gender roles benefit women like OJ benefited NicoleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-28768851188042282612013-11-23T10:24:08.036-08:002013-11-23T10:24:08.036-08:00Thanks for the history and insights! Thanks for the history and insights! Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-5029404006487500982013-11-22T12:10:36.865-08:002013-11-22T12:10:36.865-08:00"When it comes to Jezebel, you can forget abo...<i>"When it comes to Jezebel, you can forget about praying for her to come to truth and repentance. You will be wasting your precious time. Also, you must never sympathize with her. You must be 100% against her, and stop having hopes for her recovery and well-being! She is not your sister or brother in the Lord. She is living in the strength of demonic soul power, absolutely sold out to doing evil, and completely out of the will of God and obedience to God."</i><br /><br />i.e. "WITCHCRAFT!!!!!!!!"<br /><br />OK, now we're even beyond the European Witchfinders-General of the <i>Malleus Malefacarium</i>.<br /><br />We're into the mass Smelling Out of Witches among the early Bantu and Zulu, where the Isangomas would walk through the crowd flicking their fly-whisks pointing out Witches (even those who didn't know they were Witches) and the King's Warriors would follow with the Impalement Stakes for anyone the Isangoma flicked with their fly-whisk. <br /><br />(This custom was stopped by the military dictator King Shaka when he unified the Zulu -- he set up a deliberate fake bewitching and called upon the Isangomas to find the Witch. Surprisingly, they all found witches -- their own political enemies and rivals. Since they had found nonexistent witches, Shaka figured they were bogus and had them all killed.)Headless Unicorn Guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-74194415415331942762013-11-22T12:02:37.174-08:002013-11-22T12:02:37.174-08:00"Jezebel is not just a principality or power....<i>"Jezebel is not just a principality or power. It is a stronghold of the second highest classification of demons listed in Ephesians Chapter 6. It is a “ruler of the darkness of this world” holed up in a strong and unbroken woman. . . Jezebel exists to undermine the authority and anointing of the man of God."</i><br /><br />And I thought Medieval Angelologists and Demonologists (such as referenced in the <i>Malleus Malefacarium</i>) were the all-time champs in weaving elaborate Theologies/Demonologies out of minimal original source documents (like a name mentioned twice in passing in the Bible).<br /><br />We're seeing the creation and elaboration of a new contemporary intricate Demonology, like that which made the jump from Theologians and Witchfinders-General to Occultists during the Renaissance. Expect this to be the forgotten source documents for some Aliester Crowley type a couple centuries from now.<br /><br />Or how the Jewish demonological tradition of Lillith became a mythical heroine among some branches of X-Treme Feminism. (And some not-so-extreme who see only the strong female and not the entire myth of Lillith.)Headless Unicorn Guynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-52593396190380403292013-09-25T00:39:54.592-07:002013-09-25T00:39:54.592-07:00This is yet another set of beliefs that can be eas...This is yet another set of beliefs that can be easily abused by the wicked. During the witch-hunts it was easy enough for a man to threaten his wife/mother/sister that he'd tell everyone she was a witch, and in Victorian times if a husband wanted to be rid of his wife for a while all he had to do was tell the local mental institution that she was insane. No tests, no second opinion, she'd be admitted. <br /><br />Think of how an abusive man in the church could use this false theology to their advantage. Threaten to tell the pastors that she has a jezebel spirit if she doesn't obey. Abused wives suffer from this already, in a way, as the first thing they are accused of by some church leaders is not being "submissive enough". The assurance of his wife being shunned from their church upon one single accusation would sound like heaven to some abusers. This could get ugly.Annenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-79810059931245796442013-09-23T13:18:36.516-07:002013-09-23T13:18:36.516-07:00"Once a group of church leaders decides a wom...<i>"Once a group of church leaders decides a woman has a Jezebel spirit, there is no appeal. There is no argument. And there is no mercy."</i><br /><br />This seems to be true. Even if the woman in question is a godly, kind hearted, service oriented loving woman believer, there is no escape once so branded. In their eyes, to deny it is to confirm it. It would be especially difficult to try to explain that their is no such spirit.believer333https://www.blogger.com/profile/03480546499577897857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7971820842270330168.post-69281955498743446062013-09-22T08:56:41.524-07:002013-09-22T08:56:41.524-07:00How horrifying that these men and their twisted be...How horrifying that these men and their twisted beliefs can gain wider traction. They sound like underachievers who are not equipped to handle life's demands, and who are resorting to this as a way of removing some of the competition and some of the attention from their own failures.<br /><br />At the risk of showing a "Jezebel spirit", there are some holes in their logic. First, they list a lot of qualities that aren't actually traits of "authority." Authority may have some control, but it's not seductive, manipulative, or bossy. Those are separate qualities and as such, shouldn't be automatically implied by a grant of *in best South Park Cartman voice* authoriTAY. In fact, most of the "problem characteristics" that they list for "jezebel" women have nothing to do with authority over others, so much as her realization of her own authority over herself, up to and including complete exclusion of the male gaze or opinion. <br /><br />Second, since those qualities aren't part of an authority grant to men, what DO we call men who are seducing or manipulating women? Especially when studies show that men lie approximately 6 times more in a given day than women do? What about women who are manipulating other women? Given the amount of pain and emotional trauma female-on-female strife can cause in the church, you'd think it'd be addressed as well. <br /><br />The quote which refers to Jezebel as an "unbroken woman" is frightening. I hope it's being used in the traditional-if-flippant "Lord, break me and use me" sense of most modern church songs, but fear it's not. The last thing today's beleaguered women need is a collective of complete strangers, all male, intent on "breaking" them with every display of self-possession and autonomy. <br /><br />Fourth, the definition of malignant narcissism is <b> describing the men speaking here to a "t" </b>. "Firm conviction that he is better, smarter or more talented than others" - check. "Regards anything short of actual worship to be rejection" - check. And so on. Actually, the four qualities listed on the jezebelspirit.net's site describe these men as well. <br /><br />Finally, while they talk about how a Jezebel's actions grow out of being wounded by a man, probably her father (which I disagree with entirely, but will play along for now), their response is void of sympathy or healing mercy for such wounds. Male "jezebels", they admit, also come from wounds. Wounds they can be sympathetic to (perhaps because they're assuming such wounds did not come from other members of the hallowed male sex, but from those evil women). <br /><br />There's nothing new about this belief. There are pockets through out history with similar teachings about women: women are the ones with higher sex drives and as such are more wanton and out to bring men to their knees, women are pure evil and caused the fall, women are here to tempt men, women cannot be educated without damaging them, etc. The serpent's promise to target woman in the garden of Eden is still alive and well today - and being carried out largely through men. You'd think they'd have caught on by now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com