No person in the Bible represents evil incarnate more so than Jezebel, the wife of Ahab. Her influence over Ahab was so strong that her name became synonymous with false teachings by the time of the writing of Revelation and the warning against the church of Thyatira. God gave Ahab multiple chances to turn to him. He cut off rain for 3½ years. He brought fire down from heaven. He gave him not one but two victories against Syria. But time and time again, there was one person who had him by the hook: Jezebel.
In 1 Kings 21:25, we see this statement: “But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the Lord, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up.” Ahab was wicked enough as it was because he walked in the ways of Jeroboam, which means at the very least, he allowed the idol worship of the golden calves at Dan and Beersheba to continue, and not only that, he married Jezebel. As I read through the life of Ahab a while back, and after listening to this great sermon by David Wilkerson about Jezebel, I wondered something: if Ahab had not married Jezebel, would he have repented?
With this post, I wrap up my series on false teachings. One thing I have noticed is that with each false teaching, there is a connection to a false teacher. That sounds like a “Well, duh” statement, but hear me. Behind each person who promotes a false teaching behind the pulpit, there is a master wolf promoting it from behind the scenes.
The Prosperity Gospel is the pagan concept of “the Law of Attraction” covered and decorated in Christianese, targeting the fleshly desires to commit the sins of greed, lust, and covetousness. There is a person behind this “Law of Attraction” in the secular world, a woman by the name of Rhonda Byrne. Her film and book (based on the film) The Secret has held massive sway in many circles, not just Christian. I have watched the film and all my comments about the Law of Attraction are based on the documentary.
The Emergent Church also has one man influencing the leaders of the movement: Ken Wilber. One of the Emergent Church leaders actually said in one of his books that if you wanted to understand Emergent thinking to spend three months at the feet of Ken Wilber. Ken Wilber has many followers, and he is a New Age atheist, greatly influenced by various Buddhist, Freudian, and Marxist philosophies with a model, Integral Theory, that I have not been able to really grasp yet. Yet, in the Emergent Church, much of their influence is not coming from Christ but from Ken Wilber.
The Old Earth Creation models have many teachers, but the ones who primarily influenced them are now long dead. Charles Lyell, Charles Darwin, Thomas Huxley, and others were what spurred the movement. In all the models, what influences the OEC leaders are not other Godly leaders, but the secular experts.
If you are going to call yourself a Christian, shouldn’t the person you follow be Christ? And if you listen to others, shouldn’t they be also disciples of Christ? Yet one of the clues you can use to see if a teaching is true or false is to trace the core of the teaching to its roots. All false teachings have a root with someone who is not a Christian, with someone who follows in the footsteps of Jezebel.
Ahab got to witness God control the weather, bring fire from heaven, and win him battles, and every time he returned home to give the report, there was Jezebel, decked in her vanity, and her leash on Ahab in her hand. I can only image the excitement Ahab may have had after seeing what happened on Mt. Carmel. But instead of considering there was something real to Elijah, she put out a death warrant for him and it was no idle threat. She moved to silence any attempt to reach Ahab and she was successful. When Ahab wanted Naboth’s Vineyard, it was Jezebel who set the trap to have the man killed so Ahab could claim it.
But notice how God never blamed Jezebel directly. He blamed Ahab. Why? Because Ahab was the authority and he surrendered it to Jezebel, just as Adam did with Eve. Likewise, each of the teachers of these false teachings are going to be held responsible not only for teaching error, but for listening to sources that never came from God. Could they be deceived and teach out of ignorance? Sure. Paul in his zeal persecuted the Christians out of ignorance and pride. It did not get him off the hook, though. Paul grieved over his previous lifestyle constantly.
What happens when you follow such teachings? First, it takes away any power of your faith. You may be an authentic, born again Christian, but you have no power and Jezebel will have done her job at neutralizing you. She can’t take you with her, but she certainly can render you useless to God if you follow her as man falling for the trap of an adulteress. Second, if you are an authentic born again believer, following these teachings is as building with wood, hay, and stubble. You may survive, but as one just rescued from a burning building. If you hold on to it too tightly, you may be as Lot’s wife, escaping Sodom only to be turned into a pillar of salt for refusing to let go of the old lavish lifestyle. Third, while you may escape the judgment upon the false teaching, you open the door for the next generation to take it a step further. Those raised in Jezebel’s net are easily lured to stronger nets, and Jezebel is not one who will let go of a single follower without a fight.
There is only one way to escape Jezebel’s net. First, you need God to supernaturally awaken you to the fact that you are caught in her net. The enemy is really good at making those nets very comfortable and uses health, wealth, and prosperity to build them; but they are still nets nonetheless. And those he catches in Jezebel’s net tend to fight with everything they have to keep the net. If I were to start listing the specific names in these three categories of Prosperity Gospel, Emergent Church, and Old Earth Creation, I can guarantee I would have followers of those teachers roaring after me with teeth and claws as though I had destroyed their most precious possession. I can say that because I have experienced it.
The second thing is that you must renounce the holder of the net and deny the net. You must let go of what that false teacher promises and you must renounce that teacher of having any authority in your life. If it means leaving the church you attend, then do so. If it means changing your lifestyle, then do so. You must leave it all behind and not look back.
Leaving a false teaching is no easy task because it’s not just the enemy that will hound you to get you back; all those who follow it will hound you. Those who leave Mormonism or the Prosperity Gospel can often be considered outcasts by their closest friends. Daring to question the leaders to any of their followers is like taking a baby bear from its mama. They will use threats on your life, your family, your soul, and all you hold dear to keep you “contained.” Prepare for a fight. But this is life or death and is not a playing matter. Your life and the lives of any in your circles can be influenced in how you handle a true or false teaching. You may not be able to save someone, because they must make their own choices, however, you are responsible for how any who listen to you turn out. If you follow a false teacher, have been warned about it with wise, Biblical counsel, continue, and others follow that false teacher because of you, you will be held responsible. If you escape, and because of your influence others escape, you will be rewarded, as long as you lead them to the truth. It happened to a dear friend of mine who passed away two months ago. He was caught up in a cult setting and God enabled him to escape. He and a good friend started the church I grew up in, married my parents who describe him as the Godliest man they have ever known, and he never departed from the truth since. It wasn’t easy, but because he did and because of how many have followed him to the truth, he is experiencing a great reward in heaven right now.
Listen carefully to what you are hearing. False teachings are everywhere and it is very hard to find the truth anymore. The only way to know for sure is to check EVERYTHING with Scripture. Be a Berean. Take every thought captive to the will of Christ Jesus. Let him be the standard and let him help you escape from Jezebel’s net.
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