past three weeks. And there is no natural reason for it. I’ve been
sleeping plenty. Drinking lots of water. Getting plenty of exercise.
(Enjoying more than my quota of Starbucks!)
Yet the morning I
penned this article—despite sleeping nine hours the night before—I went
back to sleep for two hours after taking my daughter to school. And when
I woke up, I was still exhausted—and disgusted.
I was starting to wonder what was wrong with me. And then I got a friendly reminder revelation from the Holy Spirit: It’s witchcraft. Wicked witchcraft. How could I forget? It caught me off guard. Now I’m warning you.
Discerning Spiritual Climates
I don’t know where you live, but I live in South Florida where the spiritual climate often seems as hard as bronze. (Bronze heavens are part of the curse of the law, according to Deut. 28:23). South Florida is sometimes called the “evangelist’s graveyard.” The spiritual climate is intense.
Sometimes, it seems like our prayers hit a bronze ceiling and fall back down to the earth again. Of course, we know that’s not true because God hears the prayers of the righteous (Prov. 15:8). But prayer often feels like a heated battle when you are in a tight spiritual climate with strongholds like witchcraft and Jezebel. Sometimes you don’t even feel like praying.
The Bible talks about rebellion as the sin of witchcraft (1 Sam. 15:23).
Well, South Florida is home to a cornucopia of cultural rebellion
through homosexuality, an active drug scene, naughty nightclubs and the
like. The Bible talks about Jezebel and her witchcrafts (2 Kings 9:22).
Well, South Florida is home to a diverse population that has brought
Santeria from Cuba, Voodoo from Haiti and Rastafari—and God knows what
other devils—from the Caribbean islands. You might say the principalities and powers here are as eclectic as the population.
But there’s another element that contributes to the witchcraft
in my region and maybe in yours too, especially during this time of
year: Mary worship. My experience living here over the past decade tells
me that Mary worship empowers the Jezebel spirit. Remember, I’d been
exhausted for about the past three weeks. There was no natural reason for
it. But there was a supernatural reason for it. It’s no coincidence that Lent started on Feb. 22—about three weeks ago.
Mary Worship and Jezebel
See,
during Lent some people have a tendency to exalt Mary, the mother of Jesus.
But we know that’s not God’s will. God has highly exalted Jesus and
given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee must bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of
those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that He is
Lord, to the glory of the Father (Phil 2:9-11).
Where Mary is exalted, I believe it empowers the spirit of Jezebel and her witchcrafts.
Some people in some religions refer to Mary as the “Queen of Heaven.”
But Ashtoreth, the chief pagan goddess of war and sex mentioned in the
Old Testament, is also known as the Queen of Heaven. And it’s the
Ashtoreth spirit that’s behind Jezebel. The Lord speaks of the queen of heaven in Jeremiah 7,
noting that the people of Judah were giving offerings to other gods and
provoking Him to anger. The Old Testament Jezebel’s father, Ethbal, was
the high priest of the goddess Ashtoreth, the queen of heaven. Can you
connect the dots?
During Lent—at least in South Florida—the spirit of witchcraft
gets so thick it seems like you have to cut through it with a power
saw. Spiritual witchcraft (I’m not talking about practitioners of Wicca,
so you can refrain from the séances and curses against me) is a
spiritual force that causes you to feel like quitting and giving up.
From my experience, it can make you tired in your body. The imaginations
hitting your mind become more intense. And infirmities can manifest.
Indeed,
witchcraft can cause you to grow weary in well-doing and even faint if
you don’t know what you are dealing with—and how to battle it. So how do
you battle it? You battle witchcraft like you battle every other principality, power, ruler of the darkness of this age, or spiritual host of wickedness (Eph. 6:12).
Battling Jezebel’s Witchcrafts
Always
remember, we aren’t wrestling against flesh and blood, yet we do need
to put on our whole armor and engage in the battle. Passivity isn’t
going to deliver you from Jezebel’s witchcraft.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare
are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting
down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the
knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience
of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your
obedience is fulfilled” (2 Cor. 10:3-6).
When it comes to witchcraft,
we have to withstand it. The Amplified Bible says to “be firm in faith
[against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and
determined]” (1 Peter 5:9).
It’s easy enough to give in to witchcraft, especially if you don’t know
what is attacking you. So again, when you feel like giving up, when you
feel tired for no reason, when you have strong confusion, when you are
fighting an intense battle in your mind, and when infirmities are
manifesting, it could be witchcraft. Resist it at its
onset. Cast it off. Submit yourself to God. Resist the devil [stand firm
against him], and he will flee from you (James 4:7 AMP).
Again,
submit yourself to the Lordship of Christ. Exalt His name. Thank Him
for His blood. Rejoice in the Lord. This morning, before I even
recognized I was covered with witchcraft I turned on some music and
began to worship God. Praise and worship carry breakthrough. That’s often all it takes to change the spiritual climate in your home. And that’s where we should start because He is worthy of our adoration.
If
worship doesn’t break the witchcraft, take authority over it in the
name above all names. Witchcraft has to bow at the name of Jesus. But
make sure you don’t have any common ground with the enemy. Repent for
any rebellion in your heart and surrender your will anew to God.
Remember, we are more than conquerors in Christ and no weapon formed
against us can prosper—not even witchcraft. Our job is to be spiritually
discerning enough to catch the devil at his onset, resist him, rebuke
him and praise God for the victory. Amen.
Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Heart of the Prophetic. You can e-mail Jennifer at
[email protected] or visit her website here.
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