Mark Driscoll Rebuked the ‘Jezebel Spirit’ This Week—But What Is That?

Mark Driscoll made headlines this week for being kicked off stage after he called out a performance at the Stronger Men’s Conference that he said displayed “the Jezebel spirit.” Driscoll later publicly reconciled with conference host Pastor John Lindell, but Driscoll has since been posting repeatedly on the idea of the Jezebel spirit, a topic Christians online are now fiercely debating. 

“The Jezebel spirit is a demon that has worked through men and women for centuries, from Queen Jezebel in 1st Kings to Jesus’s rebuke of the church in Thyatira in Revelation 2,” said Driscoll Monday on X, formerly Twitter. “This demon seeks to control and dominate, most often through seductive women but oftentimes through overbearing, domineering men.”

RELATED: Mark Driscoll Kicked Off Stage for Calling Out ‘Strip Club’-Like Performance at Stronger Men’s Conference

“There is no ‘Spirit of Jezebel’ or ‘Jezebel Spirit’ mentioned in Scripture,” said author and abuse survivor Jennifer Greenberg amid the online discourse on Driscoll’s actions. “There is a wicked Queen Jezebel in 1-2 Kings and a false teacher named Jezebel in Revelation 2:20, but the Spirit of the Anti-Christ is what the God warns us not to be seduced by (1 John 4:3).”

Can I request a moratorium on the phrase “Jezebel spirit?” I can’t think of a single time that it would ever be useful.

— Tyler Campbell (@osucowboytc) April 15, 2024

‘Jezebel Spirit’ Rebuked at Men’s Conference

Mark Driscoll, the controversial former leader of Mars Hill Church in Seattle and the current pastor of The Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, spoke at the Stronger Men’s Conference in Springfield, Missouri, on Saturday. Driscoll has been accused of controlling, abusive behavior during his time leading Mars Hill and during his time leading his current church.

The Stronger Men’s Conference, known for dramatic, over-the-top performances, had opened with an act featuring Alexandr Magala, a sword swallower and two-time Guinness World Record holder who has appeared on “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” and other iterations of the popular show.

In the past, Magala has performed in nightclubs as a pole dancer. In his performance at the conference, he took off his shirt, swallowed a sword, and then climbed a pole and slid down it. 

Between his speaking sessions, Driscoll addressed Magala’s act, telling attendees the “Jezebel spirit opened our event.” Driscoll went on to refer to the performance platform as “a high place” and the pole as “a pole of Asherah.”

“The same thing that’s used in a strip club for women who have the Jezebel spirit to seduce men,” said Driscoll. “In front of that was a man who ripped his shirt off like a woman does in front of a pole at a strip club.”