Seeing the Supernatural

by Jennifer Eivaz

  There was once a man I knew of who stood firmly against a new pastor’s leadership in his church. This man would be a modern-day “son of Belial.” As he actively campaigned against this pastor, he became afflicted with cancer. While receiving treatment, he humbly repented of his rebellion, and the cancer went into remission at the same time. As soon as he felt better, he reverted back to his divisive behavior even more forcefully. Would it surprise you, then, that the cancer returned? At this point the Holy Spirit spoke to the pastor that if the man did not repent, he would die within three months. Sadly, he did not repent, and he died, just as the pastor was told.

  Leviathan

  Leviathan is a spirit principality, also known as the king of pride. Job 41 describes it in detail, starting out by asking, “Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook . . .?” and ending with “He beholds every high thing; he is king over all the children of pride” (verses 1, 34 NKJV). Pride is an attitude, but it is also a spirit. This spirit wants altitude and seeks to invade the high places. It wants to infect people in the high places because it is a glory stealer. It steals the glory that should go to Jesus Christ.

  Pride comes in a lot of forms. There are proud eyes, which is a haughty look; a proud heart, which is a hard heart; a proud spirit, which is an impatient spirit; and proud speech, which is the mouth that boasts and puts other people down (see Proverbs 21:4; Ecclesiastes 7:8; 2 Peter 2:18). People infected by Leviathan will act higher, better and more superior than you. They will have a high-and-mighty attitude. They will fight unusually hard to be right at your expense. That is the nature of the spirit of Leviathan.

  James 4:6 says God resists the proud, but He honors the humble. Luke 14:11 says He actually exalts the humble. God wants His humble people in the high places, not those people who are ruled by pride.

  The spirit of Leviathan is often referred to as a water serpent: “You, O God . . . split the sea by your strength and smashed the heads of the sea monsters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan and let the desert animals eat him” (Psalm 74:12–14 NLT). I believe this means that this demon likes to be around the water, namely the river of the Spirit, to look for a victim. The closest word picture in the Hebrew for Leviathan is the crocodile (see Job 41:12–16). A crocodile will get you in its jaws and thrash you until you are too tired to fight. It tosses you back and forth, one way after the other, to make you give up.

  When it attacks you, this spirit will also try to confuse you. How does that happen? Leviathan is described as multiheaded. That means it is divisive, it speaks out of both sides of its mouth, and it twists the truth (see Psalm 74:12–14; Isaiah 27:1). For example, you will say something and another person will hear it completely differently, resulting in strife. Or a person will change his or her story several times and then not acknowledge it when confronted.

  In the first seven verses of Job 41, the Lord asks Job several questions about Leviathan, and to sum it up, I believe these questions reveal man’s inability to surface and conquer pride without God’s intervention. When you are dealing with Leviathan, when it attacks you, it feels as though you cannot get a grip on it to defeat it. It twists, hides and goes under the water.

  I once had a ministry leader exposed for having the spirit of Leviathan. I did not catch on for a long time, but she had a trail of broken relationships and an airtight story about each one. She was always the victim in each situation, and the other people were always at fault for one reason or another. Finally, she got caught in a truth-twisting situation, and when confronted, she became demanding and reprimanding, with nonstop finger-pointing for months to try to wear down everyone involved. When that did not work, she would feign submission just long enough to make you believe she was changing her destructive patterns. And then the truth-twisting, finger-pointing behavior would start all over again.

  The way to counter the spirit of Leviathan is by humbling ourselves before God. How then do we humble ourselves? We humble ourselves first by prayer and fasting. Jesus taught that there are some spirits that only go out by prayer and fasting, such as the spirit that afflicted the young boy in Mark 9:17–29. I believe the spirit of Leviathan is one such spirit. You have to have enough humility within yourself to defeat it. You cannot fight pride with pride, but humility partners with the Holy Spirit to bind this spirit and cast it out.

  Mammon

  “All money has a spirit on it,” said Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas. “It either has the Spirit of God on it or it has the spirit of Mammon on it.” Morris further explained in his teaching about the spirit of Mammon that the way you get the Spirit of God on your money is to give the first 10 percent, the “tithe,” to the house of God. The tithe brings God’s blessing and redemption on the rest of your money and thus protects it from the spirit of Mammon. “Once you tithe, your money can’t be devoured by the devourer because God’s Spirit is on it,” he said. “Your money is then blessed by God and has the ability to multiply.”3

  Have you ever considered that money carries a spirit with it? I have actually felt and discerned the spirit on money now and again, sensing the blessing of God on it or the filth of Mammon on it. What, then, is the spirit principality of Mammon? Mammon is a Chaldee or Syriac word meaning wealth or riches. It is also the name of the “god of riches.”4 The spirit of Mammon has its roots in Babylon. Babylon came into existence with the incident of the Tower of Babel, as told in Genesis 11. Here we read that all the people had one language and decided to build a tower to heaven on their own. They wanted to create their own way to heaven, which is a reflection of an arrogant spirit that denies any need for God. When the Lord saw their ambitious plans, He confused their language and caused them to scatter all over the earth. Thus babel means confusion, and Babylon, then, has its roots in confusion. Babylon is historically known for its pride, idolatry and cruelty, and it is prophetically known to become an economic stronghold in the earth in the end times.5

  Although money in and of itself is not evil, the Bible instructs us that the love of money is “a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). It is the love of money that causes people to subject themselves to the evil principality of Mammon, either knowingly or unknowingly. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24 NKJV). Mammon is looking for devotees and promises to provide identity, security, influence and power for their perfect devotion; only it forbids devotion to Jesus Christ. This spirit is also a great intimidator of Christians, telling them they cannot be generous or give to God because they don’t have enough. Those who follow the dictates of Mammon, however, will eventually receive a visit from this deity. It always demands payment from its followers in one way or another and is a destroyer.

  World MAP founder Reverend Ralph Mahoney has spearheaded training events and provided training resources to hundreds of thousands of indigenous pastors in pastoral leadership and evangelism around the globe. In Dave Williams’s book The Road to Radical Riches, Mahoney shares a story about a South American town whose residents were taught how to bind their souls to the spirit of Mammon in exchange for wealth and riches. Those who made the vow to this deity quickly acquired more wealth than the average citizen and could be seen arrogantly driving around in their luxury cars and wearing fashionable clothing. In their false security of wealth, each of them became blinded to the hellish scene that eventually awaited them. Reverend Mahoney witnessed something horrific happen to each person who pledged his or her soul to Mammon. Between the ages of 40 and 45, each devotee, without exclusion, would swell up in unbearable pain. As their bodies became painfully bloated, they would shriek and scream, begging the deity for their lives. This merciless spirit gave them no reprieve before they exploded wide open, with slimy, slithering worms crawling out of their dead bodies.6

  Mammon tries to tear down the Church by destroying its economy. Money in the hands of God’s peo
ple translates into souls. It takes money to reach people with the Gospel, and for that reason this spirit works overtime to bind churches financially. You can hear this spirit talking to you whenever a church receives the tithes and offerings. It says things like, All that preacher wants is your money. Or, You better not give. You won’t have enough for yourself. It also creates theological lies to convince you not to give your tithes, saying things like, Tithing is for just the Old Testament. In the New Testament, you can give whatever you feel led to give. Only most people rarely feel “led” to give.

  Mammon also threatens pastors to do its bidding through wealth-controlling parishioners. These parishioners try to stop the move of the Holy Spirit and anything deemed “too radical” or “undignified” by threatening to withhold needed financial resources. Mammon has also gripped many pastors who have diverted the tithes and offerings to their own personal greedy use, which is robbing God. It puts them under a curse (see Malachi 3:8–9).

  On one occasion, a church I know of discovered that someone was stealing from the Sunday offerings. That is always the spirit of Mammon at work. This church had a very tight system of checks and balances, but still, no one could identify the thief. As the theft continued, leadership prayed for the thief to be caught, also knowing the principle of God’s Word. The Bible says in Malachi 3:8 that stealing the tithes is the same as stealing from God, which subjects you to the curse. The leaders also knew that Mammon always comes to collect. Soon enough, one of the ushers fell under the judgment of God and the penalty of Mammon. In just a matter of months, the usher’s entire household fell apart due to drugs, jail, theft, prostitution, adultery, rebellion and divorce. Through this, the church leaders were able to identify the thief, and sadly, neither the thief nor the household has ever fully recovered.

  Jezebel

  Years ago, there was a moral failure on our pastoral team. It was devastating, and the circumstances of the extramarital affair were hard to accept. There was also a woman who orchestrated the adulterous relationship behind the scenes. She did not have the affair, but she helped bring it together. This woman appeared very spiritual, prayerful and even prophetic, which was quite confusing at the time. I learned after some research that she fit the classic definition of a person under the influence of a Jezebel spirit. I also vilified her as an evil person in my mind for years and never considered her worthy of redemption because, after all, she was a Jezebel!

  Much later, I wondered about the root cause of her actions and if change would ever be possible. I have dealt with others who seemed to fit much of the classic description of a Jezebel spirit, or at least parts of it. It is a spirit that is controlling, manipulative, falsely prophetic, prideful, seductive, intimidating and deceptive, with a hatred for authority. Most of the people affected are women, but not all of them. I was also frustrated that I had never successfully cast out a Jezebel spirit from a person, and neither had our deliverance teams. When we told that spirit to go, it did not go! Instead, the person had to go if the church was ever going to be rid of it.

  I believe that I have finally figured out why. Notice that Jezebel is a spiritual power that received its first mention in the Bible as a human being—actually, two women with that name. Yet the behavior of those two people has become a spiritual reference point long after they are gone. It is not just that someone is acting like Jezebel, but that someone has succumbed to the spirit of Jezebel.

  Jezebel is not a human spirit who has gained some type of cosmic evil power. Not at all. It is a demonic spirit that first became personified in the actions of an actual person, and has since continued its evil influence as a territorial type of demon. One of the women by the name of Jezebel in the Bible was in the Old Testament, and one was in the New Testament. There was Queen Jezebel, Baal worshiper and wife to King Ahab, and then Jezebel from the church of Thyatira, an idolater and self-proclaimed prophetess (see 1 Kings 16:29–31; Revelation 2:18–29). These are not the same woman, but two different women having similar sins and evil behaviors such as those I just described. I don’t believe this is a coincidence. Then we read about a demonic principality, the “great harlot” in Revelation, and how it promotes in the nations the exact behavior we find in both Jezebels and in those we know who act like them (see Revelation 17). I believe the “great harlot” is one and the same as the spirit of Jezebel. It is an evil principality that exerts influence over people and entire nations.

  Consider the deep spiritual dimensions attached to Jezebel’s behavior, and then consider Jesus’ remedy. Unlike with other demonic spirits that afflict people, Jesus does not say to cast out a spirit of Jezebel. Instead, He gives instructions about how to handle Jezebel, also warning her to repent or suffer serious consequences:

  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. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.

  Revelation 2:20–22

  Why, then, does Jesus emphasize repentance instead of emphasizing casting the spirit out? Biblical repentance means to change your mind. When someone is under the influence of the Jezebel spirit, they are not possessed in the traditional sense. Jezebel in the Bible had to repent because the behavioral strongholds had been craftily built into her mind. She was not possessed by this demonic spirit, but had become like this spirit in her personality and behavior. This typically happens as this principality unleashes sinister and targeted circumstances into a person’s life to create the needed mental strongholds that result in the patterned behaviors. These targeted attacks can be childhood sexual or physical abuse, severe neglect, painful family issues and trauma. Not everyone with a difficult upbringing comes under the influence of Jezebel, but such trauma is intended to create its effects inside a person’s mind. When you encounter a person under the influence of Jezebel, realize his or her wickedness today is a deep-seated response to traumatic conditioning yesterday.

  Repentance is not easy, however. Change can feel like a personal death since the behaviors are so deeply ingrained. Catherine, a woman in our church, shared her story with our congregation. “I hated my husband and verbally abused him,” she said. “I finally tried to kill him and ended up in jail.”

  Although she was a Christian, Catherine did not fully surrender her life to Christ until she was incarcerated. The root of her behavior was childhood sexual abuse, coupled with strong family matriarchs who taught her never to trust men. “I had to learn how to stop controlling people,” she explained. “It really was all about control rooted in deep emotional wounds and fear.”

  Today, Catherine is a medical professional and a powerful speaker, equipper and minister in our church. We have several such stories of women just like her. These are women who could not control their rage, destroyed their marriages, hated authority, lied compulsively, used sex to get their way and on and on. Every time, these were women who had been abused or traumatized in their younger years. They were set free through personal repentance, the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit.

  If this is you, know that God loves you and has already made a way out for you. You need to be delivered in your soul, but how? The Bible instructs us to be renewed in the spirit of our mind (see Romans 12:2). To renew our mind, we meditate in God’s Word. We read, speak out loud, write and memorize Bible verses that reshape our thinking and behavior. For example, “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:1–2 NKJV). As we review these verses over and over and others like them, we will begin to reshape from the inside out. We will change. The Bible says God’s Word can divide soul and spirit, meaning it is so sharp that it has a surgical-like ability to cut thin
gs out of your soul (see Hebrews 4:12). God also promises to restore your soul (see Psalm 23:3), and restoration happens as you renew your mind with His Word.

  If you live with, work with or attend church with a person under the influence of Jezebel, realize that every situation is different and you have to choose your battles. Pray specific and redemptive Scriptures for the person that counter his or her ungodly behavior. For example, if the person is seductive, then pray that he or she would not have even “a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity” (Ephesians 5:3). If the person is controlling, then pray that he or she would have confidence in leadership and submit to their authority (see Hebrews 13:17).

  Still, Jesus instructs us not to tolerate Jezebel. In other words, you have to set firm boundaries with those under this spirit’s influence. Remember that people under the influence of Jezebel cannot control you, seduce you or bewitch you unless you allow it. In a church, be very diligent when such people begin tearing down leaders behind their backs. Remember, these people hate authority, but this hatred has a root cause. Show a lot of love, but confront them immediately and insist that they right their wrong with that leader. Once they know the boundaries and know they are loved, it creates enough safety for them to start changing. If they are destructive and will not repent, don’t feel bad for removing them from your circle or fellowship. If you are their target, however, pray and strategically confront them. Don’t be their victim.

  Discern and Overcome

  The Church will fail to overcome what it fails to discern. If we are going to overcome our spiritual enemies, we have to be able to identify them. Studying our spiritual enemies is not being spiritually negative or out of balance, as some have proposed. Studying our spiritual enemies and knowing who they are and how they attack is necessary, so as not to become deceived by them.