The Soul Redeemer: From Victim to Victory (8 page)

"Now that you mention it, that's very possible."

Nicole said, "I guess that's what Revelation 2:21-22 is talking about when it says that Jezebel refused to repent and so she was cast on her sickbed.  It must be referring to the victims of this spirit."  

Nicole whistled.  "Boy, everything you're saying makes so much sense.  It's interesting that Jezebel was the first spirit that the Lord revealed when BLAZE was getting started.  We didn't know much about it, but we knew enough to know that we didn't want it around.  We dethroned it from BLAZE through prayer, humility, surrender to God and repentance.  I guess we needed to see how ingrained it is all around us."

Casie agreed.  "And we need to be aware that as we begin to confront this spirit, it will fight back.  It's a dangerous foe.  Just look at how Elijah was attacked by the spirits of fear, doubt and discouragement after the huge victory on Mount Carmel!  God had just shown Himself to be all powerful by raining down fire from heaven, but instead of Elijah finishing his job of putting an end to Jezebel, he fell under the oppression of her witchcraft and ran and hid from her instead!"

"I'm sure that's true," Nicole said, "and we need to be aware that if Elijah was capable of falling under oppression, we certainly are too.  We must be watchful for it so that we don't accept the enemy's retribution or retaliation.  But we also need to keep our eyes on Jesus.  He's our deliverer, and as we are careful to obey Him in every step we take, He will crush Satan under our feet." 

Nicole opened her Bible.  "I just read this in Romans 16:17-20
.  'Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.
 
For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.
 
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.'"

"That first part sounds like a description of Behemoth and Jezebel in the church two thousand years ago!" Casie said thoughtfully.  "When I look at our community, I see people living under bondage.  When I look at our churches, I see a lot of the same.  I'm not saying that is the state of all the people in the churches, and I'm not saying that people with these problems shouldn't be in church.  I'm just saying that when they come to church, I don't see many changing; at least not for long.  And why not?  Maybe it's because the principalities and powers have not been recognized and targeted…until now!" 

"While we've been talking about this spirit," Nicole said, "I've come to realize something.  Even though we tend to think of Jezebel as a female spirit, spirits are neither male nor female.  This one wants to be identified as a woman because of its hatred of authority.  Every time we have called Jezebel 'it' instead of 'she' or 'her,' I feel its anger as though we are stripping it of some of its power."

"Awesome!" Casie said.

Nicole giggled. "This might sound funny but I keep seeing two dark spirits, Jezebel and Behemoth, armed to the hilt with their distinctly different weapons of enticement, entrapment and destruction.  It's like they are hit men for IS.

"Really.  Tell me what you see," Casie smiled.

"Well, Jezebel is hit man number one."  Nicole said.  "Its fee is the worship it gains through love of self, and it is paid in excess when it gains the worship of a Christian. 

"It is a shape shifter and changes its appearance depending on the situation and the level of the victim's bondage.  It shifts between looking like a beautiful, charming woman, to a poisonous snake, to a constricting snake, to a spider. 

"It seductively lures its victim into its snare like a beautiful woman calling out to a lover.  Its disguise hides its true form and it can even appear as a dedicated follower of God, but in reality, it is its own god and is deadlier than the most poisonous snake. 

"Jezebel strokes the back of those who listen to its lies and holds them close as it nurses them with its poison of self pity, false comfort and security.  And all the while it is stirring up rebellion and dissention and is impregnating them with judgmentalism, criticism, false pride, false prophecy, false spiritual gifts, hatred, rage and even murder. 

"As the poison of idolatry and self importance warps the minds of its victim, it begins to coil itself around them like a constricting snake.  They seem to sense the gentle pressure of its spiritual body and deceptively believe that they are under a covering of self protection which allows them to do and say whatever appeals to them at the time.  Jezebel's idolatrous lies cry out, 'Power of self!' rather than 'Power of God!'  The pressure of the constrictor increases slowly at first so that as time goes by, they are unaware that the physical symptoms they are experiencing are due to the fact that the spirit is crushing them physically as well as emotionally, mentally and even spiritually.

"It begins to violently oppose and strike out against those who would confront it, but all the while it is luring others into its web of deception, searching for its next victim.  The snake-like body has been crushing the soul and body of its unsuspecting carrier and its jowls that had emitted poison, now reverse the process and begin to suck the life out of its victim like a black widow feasts on the blood of its mate.  Too late, the victim is laid on their sickbed, and at their death, the spirit that has become hungry for new blood transfers to its next targeted victim."

"What a visual!" Casie commented.

"I've often wondered why I see specific spirits," Nicole said.  "But I've come to realize that as evil becomes more prevalent in these last days and there are more demonized people, when I recognize a face or character in these demons, it helps me to be able to target them more quickly and accurately."

"That makes sense.  Who's the second hit man?"  

"Behemoth, alias 'Gluttony' is hit man number two," Nicole said.  "His fee is the worship he gains through the dependency of people in their love for escape, excessiveness, laziness and unrestrained passions.  Job 40:16 says that His power is in his stomach muscles.  His goal is to become the god of their belly, their appetites and desires; a god that they crave and deceptively believe that they can't live without. 

"I see him as a gigantic reptilian, gangster type demon with a huge overcoat on.  I see him walking up beside a vulnerable or ignorant person, someone who's in physical or emotional pain, someone who is needy and looking for help, comfort or relief, or someone who just loves to fulfill the desires of their flesh.  Behemoth looks for those whose eyes are not focused on Jesus.  He stands next to this person, opens up one side of his overcoat and shows his 'free' goods.  Once the person takes the bait, they have no idea that they have just become a victim, ensnared and entrapped. 

"Behemoth loves to disguise himself as a 'legal' or justifiable answer to human problems.  He often uses programs within the government such as disability and free health care to usher in the Spirit of Laziness and Entitlement.  The victim becomes reliant on others or the system to care for them.  This robs them of the desire to see the value in work of any kind, even spiritual work.

"Prescription medication is another of his 'legal' lures, and as people fall prey to this tactic, the Spirit of Addiction attaches to them.  They loose their 'sober' mind and the ability to be watchful and alert.

"He uses cultural justification as his defense of what God calls sin to entice people into believing that because every body else is doing it, that it's ok for them as well.

"And within the religious community, he uses things such as false grace or 'free salvation' as fire insurance and the license to sin.  On the other extreme, he uses legalism, rule following and the love of doctrine to replace true relationship with God and others. 

"The consumer becomes the consumed as this new god of his belly replaces his relationship with God and others.  Behemoth moves in behind the victim and overshadows them, while Gluttony or unrestrained, excessive passion for his dependency overcomes his desire for anything else.

"And bingo!  Behemoth has accomplished his goal of keeping this person from relationship with Jesus and in servitude to him.  They may recognize their bondage and want to be free, but it all seems like something far off in the distance that they can't quite reach.  They see the work and time it would take to attain these things, but they want a quick, easy magic pill, or someone else to do it for them."

"IS and his hit men.  Sounds right on to me!"  Casie laughed. 

Nicole pondered, "I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones I see around us.  IS so strongly appeals to fleshly desires, unfulfilled needs or points of pain while he offers counterfeit answers, false comfort and instant gratification.  He functions in deception and must be recognized as the destroyer.  Actually, he might well be one of the main principalities over our nation!"

Casie said, "I think that some of those destroyers are the constrictor spirits such as Python and Anaconda.  They squeeze the life out of people, and I mean literally sometimes."

"Well," Nicole said, "That even fits with what I believe to be the real form of IS.  He is a serpent and I know that he is often responsible for choking, physically as well as spiritually."

"Where are God's people?" Casie cried out.  "I'm afraid that many of them have become desensitized and have fallen under the spell of IS's deception that is flowing so freely through the culture and media.  They don't see how they are not only opening themselves up to this spirit, but their children as well.  I know that Satan is after our kids and because parents are the spiritual covering for children, when they abandon their post for even just a second, IS is right there ready to jump in and grab the kids; and the younger they are the better.  It all goes back to the power of the occult that is targeting our children's minds as well as our own.  I can't stand to think of all the vulnerable little girls and boys who are being overtaken by evil!  Where is the hope?"

"Lord Jesus," Nicole prayed.  "You are the God of hope and You always give us keys to overcoming." 

In her spirit, she began to see the opposite of everything they had been talking about.  "We take up the key of loosing and loose the heavenly angels and Your Spirit of repentance, humility, relationship with God, surrender and submission to God and authority, resisting the evil one, forgiveness, truth, healing of wounded places in our souls, intercessory prayer, unity with other believers, the fruit of the spirit which are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control …"

Casie picked up a few more…."thankfulness, rejoicing, praise, compassion and empathy for others, honesty, a servant heart…."

"You know, Case," Nicole said, "I think that Romans 16:19-20 gives us another key.  After describing what sounds like Behemoth and Jezebel, it says "
For your obedience has become known to all….but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.
 
And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.'"
   

Casie was smiling now.  "Oh I love to see Satan crushed!  Ok then.  Obedience, dying to self, focusing on God's goodness and plans, and staying away from evil…HERE WE COME!"

"Amen!" Nicole shouted.  She jumped up and raised her hands toward the sky.  "Here's to overcoming by becoming Christ-like!"

Casie clapped and Nicole sat back down. 

"The key to my being freed from what I now know to have been Jezebel," Nicole reminisced, "was my submission to Jake and allowing him to be the head of our home.  That didn't mean that I was just a doormat.  Jake is very good at allowing me to share my thoughts with him.  He values my opinion and takes it into account, but we have both agreed that he will make the final decisions.  It's really funny, but since I surrendered my right to rule our marriage, I have the peace that I was always really searching for!" 

Casie said, "Submission to authority is obedience to Christ, so when you chose that path, you did trample on the enemy.  You know, that's what Jehu did to Queen Jezebel.  In 2 Kings 9, Jehu killed King Ahab and took over his throne and the king's rightful authority and control.  Jezebel and two servants were standing in her home looking down from her high window at Jehu.  Jehu told the servants to throw her out of the window, and when they did, his horse trampled and killed her."

"Of course you aren't suggesting that we go around killing people who are in bondage to the Jezebel spirit," Nicole clarified.  "You know me.  I'm very visual."

Casie laughed.  "Of course not.  But we need to eliminate and destroy the spirit of Jezebel from our lives, our churches and community.  I'm not sure what that looks like exactly, but I know that Jesus is going to show us because that is His desire."

They were both quiet as they thought about this, then Casie said, "As far as IS and his hit men go, it makes sense.  I'd like to just bind them and kick them out, but like you said, it's a process.  I think we need to ask God for His strategy."

"Good idea," Nicole said.  "One thing is clear though.  We need to be walking in relationship with Jesus, in repentance, humility, surrender and obedience to the Holy Spirit and His Word if we are going to overcome."