Elijah, Jehu and the War Against Jezebel

Elijah, Jehu and the War
Against Jezebel
(En Español)

There is a war, a very ancient war, between the spirit of Elijah and the spirit of Jezebel. In this age-old battle, Elijah represents the interests of Heaven: the call to repentance and the return to God. Jezebel, on the other hand, represents that unique principality whose purpose is to hinder the deep work of God in the church.
To the Victor Goes the Nation
To understand the conflict between the Elijah spirit and the spirit of Jezebel, we must understand these two adversaries as they are seen in the Scriptures. Each is the spiritual counterpart of the other. Is Elijah bold? Jezebel is brazen. Is Elijah ruthless toward evil? Jezebel is vicious toward righteousness. Does Elijah speak of the ways and words of God? Jezebel is full of systems of witchcraft and words of deceit. The war between Elijah and Jezebel continues today. The chief warriors on either side are the prophets of both foes; to the victor goes the soul of our nation.
In the tradition of Samuel, Elijah was the head of the school of prophets. Under him were the "sons of the prophets" -- literally hundreds of prophetic minstrels -- who proclaimed the Word of the Lord in song. In this war, however, Jezebel had viciously and systematically murdered nearly all of God's servants until it appeared only Elijah remained (see 1 Kings 18:22). Elijah, as the last of the prophets, then challenged the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of the Asherah to a demonstration of power: their gods against the power of the Lord.
These 850 men were the false prophets, the satanic priests "at Jezebel's table" (1 Kings 18:19). They were the most powerful, demonized individuals that the hosts of darkness could produce. King Ahab, Jezebel's husband, sent a message out to "all the sons of Israel" (v. 20), and the nation came to witness the battle between the God of Elijah and the demons of Jezebel.
The terms of the challenge were simple: each was to place an ox upon an altar. Elijah then said, "You call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, He is God" (v. 24). Six hours later the cult priests still could produce no fire; twelve hours passed and Elijah began to mock them: "Call out [to Baal] with a loud voice . . . perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened" (v. 27). Then, just before evening, Elijah prayed over his sacrifice and "the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering" (v.38). The Bible says that "when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God'" (v. 39). Immediately after this powerful witness of the Lord, Elijah had the Hebrews secure the prophets of Baal and all of them were put to death.
We would suppose that, at this point, Elijah would have asked God to finish off Jezebel, but he did not. In fact -- and this may surprise you -- Elijah came under spiritual warfare. When Jezebel heard what had happened to her servants, she released a flood of demonic power against Elijah, and he fled in fear.
You may ask, "How could such a mighty prophet turn and run?" The answer is not simple. In fact, the situation worsened. We next see Elijah sitting under a juniper tree, bewailing that he is no better than his fathers -- actually praying that he might die! (See 1 Kings 19:4.) What pressure overwhelmed this great man of God that he would fall prey to fear and discouragement? He succumbed to the witchcraft of Jezebel.
And now, let the reader understand: when you stand against the spirit of Jezebel, even though you resist her lusts and witchcrafts, you must guard against the power-demons of fear and discouragement, for these she will send against you to keep you from your victory!

Continue reading

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Adapted from Francis Frangipane's booklet, The Jezebel Spirit, available at www.arrowbookstore.com.

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

Free booklet offer
Limited Time Offer

This Day We Fight

plus free copy of

The Jezebel Spirit

There is a time for peace and a time for war. We are in a war, and you better not put down your weapon or you will become captive to sin, fear or unbelief.

Francis Frangipane tells us that the call of God is a call to war. Yet, the enemy uses human passivity to seduce God's warriors. This book is anointed to help the reader get their fire back. The Holy Spirit is ready to impart a fresh anointing to God's people - an anointing that will activate a "spiritual war mode" in the church.

Revised and expanded edition

Book - $12.00 (Retail $15.00)
(Free booklet retail $4.95)

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~