Jesus described a Jezebel-type person in Revelation chapter two. Around A. D. 95, Jesus said to the church in Thyatira:
“I know your works, love, service, faith, your patience and as for your works, the last are more than the first. Nevertheless, I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent of her sexual immorality and she did not repent. Indeed, I will cast her into a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of their deeds. I will kill her children with death, and all the churches shall know that I am He that searches the minds and hearts. And I will give to each one of you according to your works” (Revelation 2:19-23, NKJV).
From this passage we can draw several things. First of all, although Jezebel was being allowed to teach in this church, she was not the main leader of the church. From what Jesus said at the first of this address, we know that the main leaders of the church were leading the congregation in love, faith, patience and abundant good works. They were doing good in all those areas except one, tolerating Jezebel. But the trouble was that the leaders were allowing Jezebel to teach in the church.
In her teaching, Jezebel had assumed the role of a leader. Three leading characteristics that we immediately see from Jesus’ description of this Jezebel are: (1) she placed herself in the role of a leader/teacher in the church, (2) she was sexually immoral and she led others into immorality, and (3) she claimed to be a prophetess, or to operate in
"4 prophetic gifts.
However, when one lives a life of sexual immorality and still attempts to “press in” and prophesy and operate as a prophet, a spirit of witchcraft will give this person counterfeit gifts.
Jezebel was a false prophetess. We should remember what Jesus taught about false prophets: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:15-20, NKJV).
This is an excerpt from my book Jezebel Exposed. Available on Amazon.
Marie Moyers