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

Lindell, lead pastor of James River Church (which was hosting the event), interrupted Driscoll and told him to get off the stage. Driscoll complied as some in the audience booed Lindell’s decision. Lindell told attendees that Driscoll should have come to him privately, according to Matthew 18, instead of speaking out publicly.

Driscoll and Lindell later joined each other onstage and reconciled in front of the audience, expressing their gratitude for each other. Driscoll apologized for how he handled the situation.

Magala later issued a statement saying that “Pastor Mark Driscoll’s remarks about my act failed to recognize the difference between a male strip tease and a stunt performance rooted in art and sport.” He added, “Only an uninformed person would draw a comparison between my act and an inappropriate performance.” Magala also said that he is a Christian and that his sword-swallowing mentor attends Driscoll’s church.

What Is the ‘Jezebel Spirit’?

The word “Jezebel” has several connotations, from Scripture itself and also from American evangelicalism and American history. The term is always negative unless people are using it ironically. 

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Scripture tells us that Jezebel was a pagan queen married to the Israelite king Ahab; she was infamous for her idolatry and her antagonism toward God and his prophets. 1 Kings 16 says that during Ahab’s 22-year reign over Israel, he “did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.” 

Among Ahab’s evil acts was that “he not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.” Jezebel was a zealous enemy of God, and she systematically killed off the prophets who served him.

The other significant reference to a woman named “Jezebel” in the Bible is Revelation 2. In this passage, God tells the church in Thyatira:

I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first. Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.

Some people see “the Jezebel spirit” as a way of describing “anyone who acts in the same manner as Jezebel did, engaging in immorality, idolatry, false teaching, and unrepentant sin. “