Therefore, it is essential that we as the Lord's people discern in the Spirit that 'the woman Jezebel" is a messenger of satan, and her evil seductive message is the most deceptive strategy that satan uses against those whom the Lord Jesus calls, "My bondslaves." Now we also need to realize that satan must use his most deceptive message against those whom the Lord calls "My bondslaves," because the bondslaves of the Lord are those who willingly submit themselves to the chastening work of the Cross and its principle of self-denial. [In the New Testament, we are called "children" or "sons".] And, beloved, it is through submission that the church becomes the bride of Christ. Hence, satan has always done, and is still doing his evil all to stop the Lord Jesus Christ from having His eternal union with His "glorious church." Therefore, in order to accomplish this, satan uses one of his most deceitful, seductive strategies, he uses the message of the false cross.
Beloved, the message of the false cross is the direct opposite of the true work of the Cross and its Divine principle of self-denial. It is the work of the true Cross in our lives with its Divine principle of self-denial that causes us to give Christ the Preeminence in all things. The message of the false cross is a message of satan which seductively causes us to give ourselves the preeminence in all things, especially in the spiritual things of God: - the false cross is a message that will cause us to be found in our own righteousness, and not in the righteousness of Christ. [To those who have ears, let him hear!]
Consequently, we shall see that Jezebel is not only a messenger of satan, but like "the way of Cain," that woman Jezebel is no longer seen as flesh and blood, but she also has become satan's counterfeit message of the true work of the Cross of Christ. Hence, "that woman Jezebel" has her place among "the spiritual wickedness - the spiritual powers of evil - in the heavenlies," for she embodies the worst of satan's messengers, because her message is the message of THE FALSE CROSS.
These things saith the Son of God ... "But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, the one calling herself a prophetess (claiming to be inspired), to teach and to deceive my bondservants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols."
Beloved, in the Holy Word of God, It was, and It is, the Son of God Himself Who issues the final deadly denouncement and judgment upon "the woman Jezebel," and upon her evil message which proceeds out of the depths of satan. "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches". But now, let u go back to the time of Elijah when he challenged the people of God with these words: "How long will you fluctuate from one to the other? How long will you be divided in your hearts on this matter? If the Lord is God, follow Him! But if Baal, then follow him". And the people did not answer him a word (1 Kings 18:21). We need to keep in mind that a divided heart was Israel's main problem throughout most of the Old Testament; and sadly, it has also been one of the main problems in the churches throughout the ages, right up to the present day. So let us watch and take heed now, and let us hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches, as we go back to the time when the Holy Word of God solemnly begins to expose "the woman Jezebel" for the first time.
In 1 Kings 16:29-33, we find the first time "the woman Jezebel" is mentioned; and in these scriptures, the Holy Spirit again uses the figure of speech that is called, "many-ands": and with each statement, the Holy Spirit calls our attention to the fact that this is one of the most evil and idolatrous times in all the history of Israel.
"And in the thirty-eighth year of Asa the king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel. And Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. And Ahab the Son of Omri did evil - surpassed in wickedness - in the sight of the Lord above all who were before him. And it came to pass, as if it were a light thing that he walked in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took a wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and bowed himself to it. And Ahab reared up an altar for Baal in the house (in the temple) of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him."
Now in the above scriptures, the first thing we need to notice is that the kingdom of Israel is divided into two kingdoms: Asa is the king of Judah; and Ahab i the king of Israel. Therefore, we need to understand why the kingdom of Israel was divided; and to understand this, we must go back to the time when Solomon was king. The Bible tells us that the lord loved Solomon, and that Solomon loved the Lord. The Bible also says that the Lord chose Solomon to build the House of the Lord and that king David gave Solomon the pattern that the Spirit had given him for the House of the Lord. And when Solomon became king, God said unto him, "Ask what I shall give thee." and Solomon asked for a wise and an understanding heart to judge the Lord's people, that he might discern between the good and bad. And the Lord was very pleased with Solomon and gave him his request. And Solomon's wisdom became known throughout the kingdoms of the world. And God strengthened the kingdom of Israel, and Israel became a mighty influence and power among all the nations. Solomon also built the temple of God and the kings palace and much, much more. So Solomon served the Lord wholeheartedly for at least twenty years, because he loved the lord, and the Lord God blessed Solomon and the kingdom of Israel.
Nevertheless, Solomon was not a perfect man, he was a human being with a human nature, and his adamic nature was as strong and as sinful as ours. Therefore, king Solomon made a serious mistake right at the beginning of his reign, a mistake with far-reaching consequences for the kingdom of Israel. "And Solomon made an alliance by marriage with Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he took the daughter of Pharaoh and brought her to the city of David." Also, in the very first year of his reign, Solomon married Naamah an Ammonitess who was the mother of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon who would be king pf Israel after his father died. And the Bible says that "king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites" (1 Kings 3:1; 11:1; 14:21, 31).
Now the Lord had always warned the sons of Israel, as well as Solomon, that they should not go whoring after other gods. The Lord warned them against the strange women, He said to them and to Solomon: "You shall not go in to them, and they shall not go into you; surely they shall turn aside your heart after their gods" (1 Kings 11:1-10; Exodus 34:14-16).
Now we are sure that when Solomon first began to marry "the strange women," he told himself that these alliances would strengthen and help establish the kingdom. We are sure he believed that nothing could turn his heart away from the Lord his God Whom he loved so much; and it is evident that this was true for the for the first twenty years of his reign. Nevertheless, we must remember the Lord's final word about Jezebel, the false prophetess, who is the embodiment and the fulfillment of the evil message of "the strange woman": "I [the Lord] have this against you, you tolerate, you allow, you permit the woman Jezebel to seduce My bondslaves." This means that the woman Jezebel is a false prophetess! She is a messenger of satan! She is the embodiment of "the strange woman!" She teaches and seduces the bondslaves of our Lord through the message of the false cross! Let us beware, because the message of the false cross will always cause us to be self-important, self-satisfied, self-indulgent, and worst of all, self-righteous. Therefore, it is imperative that we realize that the message of the false cross always gives the "old man", our self-life, the preeminence, particularly in the things of God! [Is this why we see today, so many believers putting themselves first, over God, in importance. Is this why we seem to think that "everything starts with us??? May we all answer this individually.]
Brethren, it is easy for bondslaves to fall into this trap. King Solomon did! Solomon was given everything he needed from the Lord to be able to walk before Him and fulfill His will, but Solomon tolerated, he allowed, he permitted the strange women slowly but surely to seduce him. And even though it took over twenty years for the messages of the strange women to take hold, the Word of God tells us: "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives (the strange women) turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites..." etc., etc., (1 Kings 11:4-5). Consequently satan had the ground he needed to divide the kingdom and to ultimately bring forth out of his depths, the woman Jezebel, the prophetess, the messenger of satan whose message was, and still is, the false cross. And we shall see that a spiritual wickedness, a messenger of satan, came forth out from the depths of satan's iniquitous heart, which - IF TOLERATED! IF PERMITTED! IF ALLOWED! - will continue to divide the hearts of God's people throughout the ages and generations, until satan is finally cast into the lake of fire.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(Next: Beware the False Cross")
[I was going to end this topic here but, after much prayer, I am inspired to keep on with this important topic. I think we all need reminding of the various things to make our faith be what God purposed it to be, and to keep us on the right pathway to God. The devil is slick and sly, so much so, that when he goes after the "old man" in each of us, it is quite easy for us to go astray! And let us remind ourselves that, though we talk about the Old Testament, we are actually teaching New Testament believers! And, as you can tell, the New Testament is brought in to fit in where it should be. It is easy to forget, but it is heart-warming to know that when we realize our mistakes, God fully accepts our repentance in heart-felt humility! "To those who have ears, let him hear." Beware of false teaching!]
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