Leonard Ravenhill’s Son: Why Does the Church Obsess Over Jezebel?

I graduated from Bible School in 1964 and have been in full-time ministry ever since. For the first 30 years of ministry I barely heard the name Jezebel mentioned; but all that changed about 20 years or so ago. Jezebel suddenly became the queen of spirits, spiraling to the top of the charts in record time. Ever since then she has taken on a life of her own surpassing all other spirits, and to this day remains by far the most popular and feared of all spirits.

What is so amazing about this unprecedented rise to fame is that nowhere in the Bible do we find such a spirit ever mentioned. Yes, there was a so-called prophetess and teacher in the Church of Thyatira who taught a false grace message that produced immorality, rather than sanctity in the lives of her followers; however, God gave her time to repent. There is no mention of her having to be delivered of some spirit. (Yes, I do believe there are spirits at work today, and that as believers, we have the authority to see people set free through the triumphant and glorious name of the Lord Jesus Christ.)

What really concerns me about this whole fascination with Jezebel is that we are falling right into the hands of the enemy by our obsession with her. Years ago, I vividly recall a message by the late Judson Cornwall in which he shared openly how God had dealt with him regarding his own congregation at the time. He explained that every Sunday, the worship leader would stop the service after the first or second song and announce to the congregation that there was a spiritual battle going on. He would then bind the spirit of heaviness or call for Judson to pray against it and then proceed with the worship. This became a regular part of the Sunday morning routine until one day Judson heard the Lord say to him, ‘Why do you give the devil the place of honor in your church?’ or words to that effect. Judson was stunned by what he heard and began to explain to the Lord how much they loved to worship. The Lord then said, ‘But you always give honor to the devil before you honor me.’ Suddenly Judson got the message. The following Sunday when he was asked to rebuke the spiritual oppression he explained to his congregation what the Lord had spoken to him. He told them that from that Sunday on they were never going to give top billing to the devil.

I believe there is an unhealthy obsession with Jezebel that is working to the enemy’s advantage. She loves all the attention she is getting. It’s time to move on and focus our attention on the one who alone is worthy of our praise. Magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together. So let God arise, and Jezzie will soon bite the dust. {eoa}

David Ravenhill has served the Lord for more than 40 years as a missionary, pastor, teacher and itinerant minister, having worked with the late evangelist David Wilkerson, Youth With A Mission, pastor Mike Bickle and the late evangelist Steve Hill. He is the author of several books, including For God’s Sake, Grow Up! and Welcome Home.