Last time we were together we discussed narcissism and the link to Queen Jezebel from the Old Testament. Today we are going to jump to the book of Revelation and see what Jesus has to say about this destructive spirit. 

In Revelation 2:20-21 (ESV) we read, “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”

What Happens to the Jezebel Spirit?

Jesus says, “I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭21‬-‭23‬ ‭(ESV‬‬) 

The Jezebel spirit will be outed. No longer will this spirit be able to hide among God’s people and wreak havoc. God has given the people who have come into agreement with this spirit time to repent. Those that refuse to repent will be thrown into a sickbed. Those people who may be victims of the Jezebel spirit but refuse to break away from the hold of Jezebel will be thrown into “great tribulation.” They will be reaping what they have sown. 

We Need To Act

Once God has revealed the true motivations of the people who are carrying the Jezebel spirit, it’s up to these believers to call out the true colors of these men and women and have nothing to do with them. God has given us clear direction about how we should treat people who absolutely refuse to come under his authority and basically dig their heels in the ground and take on dangerous identities. ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭(ESV) tells us, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

Why We Should Stay Away

‬‬People afflicted with the Jezebel spirit will fit this description. Like the woman Jezebel in the Old Testament, the people of today who have allowed the Jezebel spirit to influence their thinking will be looking for power and will manipulate the people that come across their path to get what they want, no matter who may get hurt in the process. They are lovers of self, and as a result they become proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to not just their parents but anyone put in an authoritative role in their life. 

They are ungrateful because they think it is our duty to do whatever they want or need. We should be happy we have the privilege of helping such an amazing person. They become unholy, heartless, unappeasable, and  slanderous. The fruit of their works is rotten because they are never satisfied and thankful for the people around them. They end up pushing anyone who gets too close away in some dramatic way, making it seem to others that you are the problem. They are ALWAYS the victim, even though in reality they are in fact the perpetrator, not the victim. 

Lack Self-Control

People afflicted with the Jezebel sprit will not have self-control. They will be lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God and his ways. They will have the appearance of being really good Godly people, but when push comes to shove, they will deny the power of God. They will come to you with problems, and when you direct them to biblical methods of solving these problems, they will say things like, “That will never work in my circumstance.”

When you try to show them the ways of God and encourage them to trust God in any given circumstance, they will brutally turn on you. Their tactics to convince others they are completely right and you are completely wrong will be treacherous, reckless, and filled with conceit. They won’t care how bad they make you look as long as they “win” and everyone else takes their side. Can you see why God tells us to avoid these people? They are the type of people who are either your best friend or worst enemy. They truly are wolves in sheep’s clothing. 

God tells the church in Thyatira that they “…tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” ‭‭Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭20‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

The Question We Need to Answer

Are we tolerating the Jezebel spirit? Is there anyone in our life who fits the description in 2 Timothy who we try to simply appease because we know if we call them out on any of their bad behaviors we will be sorry? I know I’ve been guilty of this in the past. Let me just tell you, eventually God has always had me confront them. I eventually had to choose if I was going to stand up for righteousness or sit back and allow unrighteousness to rule.

These people have reacted just like I described above. You want to know what else happened? They all without fail have left my life. The relationship ended because I chose to stand up for the ways of God and refused to back down. Yes, the initial reaction was hurtful, but once these “friends” were gone, my life became so free. I was free to have a deeper intimacy with God. I was free to learn more of who God created me to be and walk in my true identity. When God led these people out of my life, it allowed me to be free from the intimidation and control of the Jezebel spirit. It was amazing! I highly recommend it! 

God’s Promise to Those Who Didn’t Fall for Jezebel

“But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come.” Revelation‬ ‭2‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ (‭ESV)‬‬

Jesus promises to protect his followers from those plagues; however, only those who stand firm in the truth and are not persuaded by the false teachings of Jezebel and learn the “deep things of Satan” will be protected. 

Don’t Tolerate the Jezebel Spirit

Did you notice what it took to be spared from those plagues? God says they tolerated the Jezebel spirit and thus will suffer the consequences. The way we stand up to this spirit and take away its control is to stop tolerating the destructive ways. If we want to be true followers of Jesus, we must learn to stand up to this spirit and not allow it to control us. We decide to stop allowing others to control us. No more allowing other people to control what we say or do. (Which by the way is the same as witchcraft in the eyes of God.) 

Here’s the thing I’ve learned about this spirit. When I finally decide to stop tolerating the control and manipulation of this spirit and proclaim the truth to these people, they may try to fight me at first. But when they discover I will no longer be controlled, they run away, never to be seen or heard from again.

Is There Hope For The Narcissist

The question becomes, is there any hope for the narcissist? Can these people break free from the Jezebel spirit? Yes, of course! The sad part is that, as far as I can tell, it is extraordinarily difficult for these people to allow freedom. You see, they must first recognize they are not perfect and need help. They must humble themselves before God and others to get freedom and healing. Sadly this is a difficult task for a narcissist. Difficult but not impossible. Never forget that all things are possible with God. (Mark 9:23)

If you recall, we discussed how a narcissist is created in the first post. When these people are children and go through trauma (usually repeated trauma), they become fractured in their soul. Their soul parts can come into agreement with the spirit of Jezebel. This is another reason it can be difficult for a narcissist to find freedom and healing. This person can go through deliverance and still hold onto this evil spirit. You see, as long as their broken soul fragment is in agreement with this spirit, the spirit has legal access to them. In order to find complete healing and freedom, that soul fragment must be healed and delivered by Jesus. Then that soul fragment can force the spirit out of their life. 

We All Need Healing

While this sounds complicated, it really isn’t. You see, all of us go through trauma in the course of our lives. We all have soul parts that have been damaged. We all need Jesus to heal and restore those parts of us. All it takes is for us to surrender those parts to Jesus for healing. 

This may sound foreign to you, but it really isn’t. Have you ever been in a situation where part of you feels you should do one thing and part of you feels like you should do something completely opposite? Perhaps you spoke up as a child and got condemned. You learned to just shut up and never speak up, even when you should be standing up for yourself or others. This is an example of a damaged soul. You can call that soul part up and ask Jesus to heal that part of you. He will heal that part and even give that part a new name and job. Then the next time you need to speak up, you will find it much easier to do so. 

So it can go with a narcissist. Pray for the narcissist in your life. We need to pray God will show them the healing they desperately need. Pray these people will humble themselves and accept healing. Above all, stop tolerating the narcissist spirit. You can stop having an intimate relationship with someone and pray for their healing at the same time. In fact you may find it easier to pray for these people when you aren’t constantly being abused by them. There is hope for them, and there is healing for both of you. It just takes surrendering to Jesus. 

Part 1 — Part 2