September 27, 2013

Felicitations! Greetings and Solutions! Good Morning! Howdy! In case I missed anyone, Hi, there!! Glad you could join me on this most auspicious occasion. So, what’s the occasion? It’s the best day of your life. See, yesterday’s gone, and tomorrow isn’t here yet. That means you’ve only got today. And God doesn't make rotten days! I could take this to extremes, but you get the picture. Hehehehehe……

 

As already noted the spirit of Jezebel is an unrepentant spirit, and folks who are contaminated with and by this spirit are highly resistant to true repentance. In order to help you understand why, let me lay a little historical background. First, however, let's take a look at an interesting statement that John makes in Revelation 17:10.

 

"And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."

 

What seven kings are those referred to? Deuteronomy 7:1 describes them as the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. Now I know you think I just fell off the turnip truck, but bear with me.

 

These seven nations were each ruled by a dominant spirit. In the Greek text of Ephesians 6 where Paul writes, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places," we see four classes of spiritual rulership. They appear in this order: (1)arche, (2) exousia, (3) kosmokrator, and (4) pneumatikos epouranios. Each has its respective place of power and dominion, but the one I want to focus on today is "kosmokrator:" world ruler of darkness. The Greek word is a conjunction of "kosmos" (the world at large, or areas of the world) and "krateo" (to seize power or strength and to retain it).

 

You may remember Daniel's experience when he fasted for 21 days. The angel of the Lord came to see him and told him that he had to do battle with the prince of Persia for those 21 days and that the archangel Michael came to help him defeat the prince of Persia; that when he departed Daniel's presence he was on his way to do battle with the prince of Greece.

 

This is the picture that Paul is drawing out of Ephesians 6, and this is the picture we have of the seven nations Israel was commanded to drive out. Ever wonder why Israel was commanded the following?

 

"When the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth."

 

God's command to Israel was there because you cannot co-mingle and co-habitate with other gods. Israel was serving God! He was absolute King and ruler. It is impossible to serve two kings at the same time. The King of the Hittites was the Fear of Death. The King of the Canaanites was the Fear of Man. The King of the Amorites was the Fear of Evil. None of that is compatible with our serving the Lord!

 

It is the Amorites that we want to pay attention to, in this case. History tells us that they almost always chose the high places, the hills, the mountains -- any place that would give them an elevated view of the surrounding countryside. The Hebrew word for Amorite, eõmoòr?òy, couldn't more clearly describe their nature. Em-or-ee is the word for: publicity, prominence, (and is frequently used for mountaineers). The Hebrew eõmoòr?òy stems from a root word for folks who talk a lot; those who love to make their voice heard as the most prominent voice. As you see this picture of the Amorites unfold, you'll better understand the significance of that characteristic.

 

The characteristic of the Amorites that made them want to be THE leaders, THE most prominent, THE rulers and subduers of everyone, is easily demonstrated in Scripture by the fact that there are 23 verses in the OT referring to Amorite kings, with an additional two that mention them in conjunction with Canaanite kings. As far as the kings of the other nations are concerned, Canaanite kings are named three times, Hittite kings are named three times, and -- with the exception of the Girgashites for whom no king is named -- the remaining nations  only have their kings named one time. The Amorites' character and nature presents a stark contrast to the other nations.

 

Years after Shem's (the son of Noah) death, the Jebusites moved in to occupy the city and citadel he had established in the midst of Canaan. Sometime thereafter, an Amorite king subdued the Jebusites and took control of the city and the region. That Amorite king took for himself the appellation and name, Adoniy-Tsedeq (we have it anglicized as Adonizedek), attempting to identify himself with Shem's power, authority and esteem throughout the land.

 

Adoniy-Tsedeq translates to "Lord of Righteousness." He thus palmed himself off on the inhabitants as being a picture of righteousness, and rightful heir to Shem's throne. This king was anything but righteous, and God's judgment fell upon him when he rose up in collaboration with four other Amorite kings against Joshua, being overthrown and killed at Makkedah with his four cohorts. Adoniy-Tsedeq's efforts are a clear picture of that spirit that dominated the Amorites.

 

We know that spirit today as the Fear of Evil. If there can be said to be any master spirit of fear, it is the Fear of Evil. It is a highly religious spirit, and it has all the pretense of right and righteousness. Yet, this spirit lives in dread fear of the power and authority of God.

 

Most folks don't think of her in this way, but Jezebel was an Amorite. Consider her background. Jezebel's father was an Amorite king by the name of Ethbaal (his name translates to: "living with [and enjoying the pleasures of] Baal") who also served Baal in the role of high priest. I Kings 16:31 describes Ethbaal as "king of the Zidonians." We know Zidon as the Canaanite city, Sidon. Thus, again, we have a picture of the Amorites subduing their brother-nations and ruling over their cities.

 

Jezebel was a picture of the Amorites and their dominant spirit all by herself. She was a usurper of power and authority. Once she had access to the throne of Israel through Ahab, she drove Baal-worship to new heights (lows?). If the Canaanites were licentious and aberrant in their sexual behavior, Jezebel took their use of prostitutes in Baal-worship to extremes the Canaanites couldn't even imagine.

 

Her marriage to Ahab, while politically arranged as part of a peace pact between Ahab and Ethbaal (more compromise between Israel and an accursed nation?), served both her agenda and Ahab's. She created a "school of prophets" that were sent forth into the various tribes of Israel to prophesy "in the name of the Lord" (who in their reality was Baal). It was these same prophets who could speak and prophesy to their hearts' content before the sacrifice that Elijah prepared, who failed to command fire from heaven.

 

When Elijah spoke and fire rained down and consumed the sacrifice after three barrels of water had been poured on it, proving that the god of the prophets of Baal was dead and lifeless, Elijah and the company of people present with him put all 450 prophets of Baal, plus another 400 prophets of the groves "which [ate] at Jezebel's table" to death by the sword. (See I Kings 18)

 

The picture of Jezebel as a part of the spirit of the Amorites is so significant, and that spirit’s influence so great in the body of Christ today that it gives us clear understanding of John's prophecy when he writes, "...five [kings] are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space."

 

The phrase, "and one is," is a reference to the spirit of the Amorites as manifested in the spirit of Jezebel. The five kings (or ruling spirits) who had fallen (and were not in a position to exercise kingly authority) were the Hittites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, the Girgashites and the Canaanites. The spirit of Jezebel and the Amorites was in full bloom already in the body of Christ when John wrote the Revelation, manifesting itself in the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes in the form of the hierarchical structure that was usurping the authority of the Lord in the Ekklesias.

 

The phrase, "the other is not yet come.." is a reference to the king and ruling spirit of the Perizzites whose influence was initially felt through the "born again" Pharisees as they tried to implement a form of democratic structure (the other half of the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes) within the Ekklesias. That spirit began to really manifest itself through the introduction of "congregational" church structure in the 1700's and 1800's.

 

One thing that is eminently clear is that these last two kings (the Amorites and the Perizzites), while appearing to be in opposition with each other, actually cooperate with their Master as they drive the doctrines of humanism forward within the body of Christ.

 

This last bit is somewhat of an aside but I wanted to help you understand the character and background of the spirit of Jezebel, and why this spirit is so arrogant and unrepentant. I remind you that the character of the Amorites was to always have the high places, to have the preeminence among their brother nations, to be in control of everyone and everything. Historical references to them in Egyptian archaeological findings call them "the long-necked ones" -- a reference to the way they held their heads up in arrogance and pride. The Amorites all thought they were pretty "hot stuff!"

 

Jezebel idolized herself. She thought she was the greatest thing on the planet. She loved what she saw in the mirror and worshiped herself to her own downfall. So it is with folks who become ensnared by this spirit. They become the center of their own attraction and self-worship. They become so arrogant in their own appearance or abilities that they believe everyone else should likewise be drawn to them. Thus, manipulation and control – witchcraft and sorcery, and with it, divination – become their modus operandi.

 

It is that very arrogance and self-worship which is at the heart of the spirit of Jezebel's inability to come to a place of repentance. Folks who are contaminated by this spirit have an extremely difficult time accepting their need to repent of their attitudes, their activities and their usurpation of power and/or authority. They become control-freaks!

 

The Amorites principality, or ruling demonic spirit, was the Fear of Evil. They (and, of course, Jezebel) were ruled by fear, and they -- in turn -- used fear as a means to control and manipulate people. The Fear of Evil is a highly religious spirit whose primary purpose is to get us to be afraid of God rather than having an awe and respect of Him. The Fear of Evil -- like every other spirit of fear -- is a driving spirit who seeks control of all those within its influence.

 

The Amorites used force to achieve their ends. (Hence hierarchical church government, and hence, Jezebel's modus operandi.) Force is always the first alternative when people lack real authority. Real authority, of course, is only found with the Lord Jesus Christ; and that authority becomes operational in us when we are in fellowship and union with Him!

 

It was my intention to share a personal story with you today to demonstrate the difficulty that people have in coming to a place of repentance when they are confronted with the fact that they are being used and manipulated by the spirit of Jezebel. My story is long enough that it would make this Coffee Break much too long, so I will save it for next week. Instead let's wrap up this week's discussion with a current prophetic word that came from a brother in the Lord who has since gone home to be with the Lord.

 

Many years ago I was fortunate enough to meet and share with Wade Taylor on a number of occasions. He was a brother with a deep sense of the heart of the Lord, and the cry that went forth from him prophetically came directly from that knowing within.

 

This word from Wade was published on September 10th on the Elijah List.

 

"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me. Psalm 42:7

 

"Deep calls." Our Lord is a seeking God who desires a satisfaction that can be found only in us – our worship and our times of fellowship with Him. We were created for this purpose, which became marred by the transgression of Adam.

 

"At the noise of Your waterspouts." Our initial response may seem to us as being "noise," but as we continue to worship and spend time in fellowship with the Lord, it will become as a "song."

 

The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him. Exodus 15:2

 

If we will be patient and not become discouraged, we will be immersed in His presence – "all Your waves are gone over me." Now, we are no longer in control. Others will notice the change in us and ask: Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?... Song of Solomon 8:5

 

All this begins with our response to the cry that comes from within the heart of the Lord, "Deep calls." In order to rightly respond, we must become spiritually hungry.

 

Blessings on you!