The Myth of the Jezebel Spirit
What’s the Deal with the Jezebel Spirit — and the Naming of Spirits Not Named in the Bible?
I know some big hitters like Mark Driscoll and Robert Morris have preached some famous sermons on the Jezebel Spirit. I’ve even talked about the Jezebel Spirit before (and its cousins, the Absalom Spirit and others). But lately, I’ve hit pause.
Here’s why:
I was prepping a message on the letter to the church in Thyatira (Revelation 2), and it led me deep into the Jezebel rabbit hole. And — big shocker — the “spirit of Jezebel” isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Not once.
That discovery forced me to slow down. I’ve heard plenty of stories, and seen firsthand, how labeling people with certain “spirits” can be incredibly unhelpful — sometimes harmful, and yes, even spiritually abusive. (I don’t use that word lightly.) I’ve watched well-meaning leaders take “naming spirits” as gospel truth. And I’ve seen how, within that mix, real evil does manifest in people and churches. Which means we still need to pay attention, still need to fight spiritual battles — but with theological integrity, wisdom, and love.
So what do we do with this habit, especially in some corners of the church, of naming spirits not named in the Bible? Are there spirits not mentioned in Scripture? If there are, how should we come to conclusions about them? And even more basically — when we say “spirit of Jezebel,” do we mean literal demonization, or just “acting like Jezebel”?
So many questions.
Let’s start with some ground rules:
Is there a spiritual realm with influence on the world and people? Yes.
Ephesians 6 makes that clear.Can people be under demonic influence? Also yes.
The ministry of Jesus and the apostles involved setting people free from oppression again and again. We like to draw neat distinctions in our modern vernacular between “possession” and “oppression,” but the Bible uses one word: demonization.
How does the Bible use “spirit of…” language?
The Bible’s use of “spirit of…” is wide-ranging and multilayered. Hebrew ruaḥ and Greek pneuma don’t automatically mean “spirit-being.” They can mean wind, breath, attitude, disposition, energy, life-force.
That’s why “spirit of…” can describe:
A personified emotional state (spirit of jealousy – Num 5).
A national morale (spirit of the Egyptians will be emptied – Isa 19).
A supernatural agent (unclean spirit – Mark 1).
The Holy Spirit (Spirit of God – Gen 1, Rom 8).
And sometimes it’s more than one at the same time:
Human disposition + demonic influence:
Spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7). Fear can be a normal emotion, but also something that enslaves like a power.
Spirit of error (1 John 4:6). It can mean preferring lies, but John ties it to antichrist powers.
God’s Spirit + human posture:
Spirit of wisdom (Isa 11:2). Sometimes clearly the Holy Spirit; other times (Deut 34:9), a God-given capacity in Joshua.
Spirit of grace/supplication (Zech 12:10). Could mean God bestows it, but it also describes a communal disposition of repentance.
The Bible doesn’t often separate “this is purely human” vs. “this is purely spiritual.” Dispositions can be animated by God or twisted by evil.
God’s Spirit: empowers, transforms, creates new dispositions (humility, faith).
Evil spirits: exploit or intensify negative ones (fear, jealousy).
Human dispositions: the arena where both can take root.
That’s why the categories overlap. Think of it like perspectives on the same reality:
From above: God shaping us.
From below: Evil twisting us.
From within: Our own heart’s posture.
The Lists
There are dozens of “spirit of…” references in Scripture. Just a sampling:
God’s Spirit at work:
Spirit of Christ (Rom 8:9; 1 Pet 1:11)
Spirit of holiness (Rom 1:4)
Spirit of grace (Heb 10:29; Zech 12:10)
Spirit of adoption/sonship (Rom 8:15)
Spirit of truth (John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6)
Spirit of wisdom (Exod 28:3; Deut 34:9; Isa 11:2; Eph 1:17)
Spirit of faith (2 Cor 4:13)
Spirit of power, love, and sound mind (2 Tim 1:7)
…and at least twenty more.
Evil spirits:
Spirit of infirmity (Luke 13:11)
Spirit of whoredoms (Hos 4:12; 5:4)
Spirit of error (1 John 4:6)
Spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7 – contrasted with God’s Spirit)
Spirit of bondage (Rom 8:15)
Spirit of stupor (Rom 11:8; Isa 29:10)
Spirit of heaviness (Isa 61:3)
Spirit of falsehood (1 Kgs 22:22)
Spirit of divination (Acts 16:16). Luke uses the rare phrase pneuma pythōna — literally “spirit of Python,” drawing on Greek mythology around the oracle at Delphi. Craig Keener notes this shows how the NT sometimes adopts cultural spirit-language to describe demonic realities, without baptizing those cultural names as biblical categories in themselves.¹
Spirit of antichrist (1 John 4:3)
Spirit of the world (1 Cor 2:12)
Unclean spirits (all through the Gospels/Acts)
Evil spirits (Judg 9:23; 1 Sam 16:14)
Human dispositions (not necessarily direct demonic influence):
Spirit of jealousy (Num 5:14, 30) – suspicion overtaking a husband.
Spirit of hostility (Judg 9:23) – enmity between Abimelek and Shechem.
Spirit of the Philistines (2 Chr 21:16) – national hostility.
Spirit of the Egyptians (Isa 19:3) – morale/confidence broken.
Spirit of the Chaldeans (Hab 1:11, implied) – arrogant drive.
Spirit of slumber (Rom 11:8) – unresponsive heart.
Spirit of fear (2 Tim 1:7) – inner timidity.
Spirit of bondage (Rom 8:15) – servile mindset.
Spirit of heaviness (Isa 61:3) – despair.
Spirit of error (1 John 4:6) – preference for falsehood.
Notice the overlap: the same phrase can lean toward disposition or demonic influence.
Why this matters
When the Bible says “spirit of…,” it’s not always a ghostly being floating around. Sometimes it’s God’s Spirit shaping us. Sometimes it’s demonic pressure. Sometimes it’s just the inner climate of a person’s soul.
The three layers overlap. Fear can be a natural emotion, a demonic grip, or the very thing God’s Spirit replaces with courage. Wisdom can be a divine gift, a Spirit-empowered leadership quality, or the fruit of teachability.
Craig Keener notes that biblical writers didn’t separate psychological, physical, and spiritual categories the way we do. A “spirit of infirmity” (Luke 13:11) could describe an illness, a demonic attack, and a human weakness all at once. In other words, Scripture shows us overlap, not clean lines. And Keener warns against over-naming or over-labeling spirits. He says the NT does not give exhaustive taxonomies of spirits; instead, it gives us Jesus’ authority over all of them.
He suggests pastors should focus less on classifying demons and more on discerning fruit (freedom, healing, holiness). Even Keener says the NT doesn’t give us a demon dictionary — it gives us Jesus.
So “spirit” in Scripture is less a textbook category and more about the animating force of life — what drives us, fills us, possesses us.
The Jezebel Question
Are there likely spirits and dispositions not named in the Bible? Probably.
But honesty matters: the “Spirit of Jezebel” is extra-biblical. We should admit when we use labels Scripture doesn’t.
The modern “Jezebel spirit” concept illustrates how biblical imagery can morph into spiritual warfare vocabulary — and then, all too often, get weaponized:
Symbol vs. substance: Revelation’s “Jezebel” was one false teacher in Thyatira. Modern use generalizes her into a caricature of manipulation, often aimed at women. As G. K. Beale observes, John’s use of “Jezebel” here is symbolic — evoking the OT queen as a type of false teaching and idolatry, not as a reference to a continuing demonic figure.²
Historical thinness: The phrase “Jezebel spirit” doesn’t appear in church history until the 20th century. From Evagrius Ponticus in the 4th century (who described eight evil thought-spirits: lust, gluttony, pride, etc.) to Aquinas in the 13th century (who linked demons to the seven deadly sins), the church has tended to name spirits by sins rather than by biblical characters.
Cultural harm: The term has been used to silence prophetic women, to enforce conformity, and even in politics to demonize female leaders.
Tradition Differences
Catholic/Orthodox (pre-20th century): Named spirits mostly from Scripture (Satan, Leviathan, Belial) or classical demonology. Categorized them by the seven deadly sins (Aquinas, Summa Theologica I.63–64).
Charismatic/Pentecostal (20th century onward): Began naming spirits after biblical characters (Jezebel, Absalom, Python) and psychological states (fear, rejection, infirmity).
Pastoral Case Studies
I’ve seen this play out painfully:
A woman in a church meeting asks direct questions about leadership decisions. Within a week, she’s labeled as carrying a “Jezebel spirit.” The label sticks — she’s marginalized, and the real issue (a lack of transparency) never gets addressed.
In another church, a staff member challenges a senior leader’s vision. Rather than wrestling with the critique, someone accuses them of an “Absalom spirit.” The conversation shifts from accountability to suspicion, and healthy dialogue is lost.
These are not isolated stories. They’re common. And they show the pastoral danger of weaponizing labels Scripture itself never uses.
There are real demonic forces at play in churches trying to cause division and destruction, we need to pay attention to them, we need to fight the spiritual battles, and we need to do so carefully and lovingly.
We don’t want to fall into the error where nothing is spiritual and it’s all just human; we equally don’t want to overly spiritualize it in unhelpful ways.
N. T. Wright reminds us that the “powers and principalities” in Paul are not just “demons in the air” but also the structures, dispositions, and cultural currents that both oppress and can be redeemed.³ This supports the idea that spiritual realities and human dispositions overlap — the very thing we see in “spirit of” language across Scripture.
For my Pentecostal and Charismatic friends: none of this is to downplay spiritual warfare. I believe the enemy schemes against God’s people, and demonic dynamics are very real. We need prayer, discernment, deliverance, and the power of the Spirit. What I’m pushing on here is not whether demons exist — it’s whether our language helps or hinders the work of freedom. Scripture gives us the tools of discernment, not a manual of labels. The fight is real, but our confidence isn’t in perfectly classifying every spirit. Our confidence is that Jesus has authority over them all.
Healthier Alternatives
If you’re leading a church, here’s the question: What’s better language we can use?
Biblical categories: idolatry, false teaching, manipulation.
Pastoral categories: toxic patterns, controlling behavior, unrepentant sin.
Scriptural metaphors: Babylon (seduction of empire), Pharisees (religious hypocrisy), wolves in sheep’s clothing (false teachers).
This language names reality without over-spiritualizing or scapegoating.
Where This Leaves Us (A Pastoral Word)
Here’s the tension: as pastors, leaders, and theologians, we want language to name what’s happening in our churches. Sometimes “spirit of Jezebel” feels like it captures something real — manipulative, seductive, destructive dynamics at work. But we need to use language responsibly.
So maybe the better way is this:
Call sin, sin.
Call destructive patterns what they are (control, manipulation, rebellion).
Acknowledge spiritual realities without baptizing our own labels with biblical authority.
And ask yourself: How have I used “spirit of…” language in preaching or ministry? Has it helped bring clarity and freedom, or has it harmed and labeled people in ways Scripture doesn’t?
A Commission to Leaders
So pastors, let’s be careful with our language. Let’s not outsource our discernment to borrowed buzzwords. Instead, let’s shepherd with Scripture, lead with wisdom, and trust that God’s Spirit is enough to name what’s really going on and to set people free.
The good news is this: God’s Spirit is still at work. He reshapes dispositions, defeats evil, and creates new atmospheres of faith, courage, wisdom, and humility. Where the “spirit of Jezebel” has been used as a weapon, the Spirit of Christ can redeem language, redeem hearts, and redeem His church.
That’s the Spirit we need.
