Most people, to the extent that they heard about it at all, probably interpreted the connection between Jezebel and Kamala Harris made by conservative Christians as more or less an expression of sexism and racism filtered through a biblical lens. When the idea of “The Jezebel Spirit” is invoked, it tends not to be fully unpacked, instead becoming a part of the (admittedly, rich) tapestry of prejudice that Jezebel represents. But for those who agree theologically with the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR) movement, the truth is far more complicated and threatening.
The NAR is a grouping of loosely-affiliated charismatic churches and religious leaders—often termed “prophets” or “apostles.” As Frederick Clarkson writes, it is “the largest religious movement in recent American history, [and] has unabashed, undemocratic, and well documented political aspirations.” These political aspirations are deeply intertwined with an idea that demons have infiltrated politics, buoying the Democratic party with diabolical power and influencing the United States through literal “demonization.”
For the NAR, “The Jezebel Spirit” isn’t simply another way of saying “in the spirit of Jezebel,” it’s actually a reference to a literal demon called “The Jezebel Spirit.” For example, a recent discussion between Lance Wallnau and Mario Murillo, two prophets of the NAR movement, characterized Harris as making use of “witchcraft” and “the occult” in her debate with Trump. As Wallnau explains, “that’s where demons come upon you… [and] organize and galvanize in order to make you more powerful than you are.” The culprit? “With Kamala, you have a Jezebel Spirit… the personification of intimidation, seduction, domination, and manipulation.”
The movement has long feared this supposed demon, but the entity took a distinctly political turn in the work of Alice Patterson. Patterson—a leader in the NAR and president of “Justice at the Gate”—claimed at a 2011 prayer rally for Rick Perry that there is “a demonic structure behind the Democratic Party” which she identified as a “Jezebel Structure” in her book, Bridging the Racial & Political Divide.
Patterson uses the idea of Jezebel in two ways: on one hand, she says, there’s a Jezebel that acts as “a Spirit or territorial principality”; on the other, it’s a state of affairs that allows demons easy political access. This mirrors Biblical verses such as 1 Kings 18:19 in which Jezebel’s presence in King Ahab’s court allows access to those who worship Baal and Asherah, who were seen as false gods or idols.
By the 2016 presidential race, this ambiguity had vanished: Jezebel had become a personified demonic force in politics. Specifically, the Jezebel Spirit was empowering Hillary Clinton, and the NAR movement made a meal of the supposed connections between the Clintons and the Bible. Jonathan Cahn—the prophetic figure behind “A Million Women”—stated that Hillary/Jezebel and Bill/Ahab had led the US down a path of transformation from a godly nation “to one mired in sexual depravity, gender confusion, and Baal worship in the form of child sacrifice, or abortion, in modern terms.” As in the Bible, Jehu/Trump won the day and deposed Jezebel.
For obvious reasons these Biblical connections weren’t as clear in 2020, but the Jezebel Spirit still managed to find its way into the discussion. On a live stream seen by almost four hundred thousand people, Wallnau recounts a prophetic dream in which he was in an elevator with Harris when he “knew there was a Jezebel Spirit” and that Harris “was the one the Devil was gonna try to use to take Trump out.” Reaching back to the rhetoric of the 2016 election, Wallnau claims “Kamala is Hillary 2.0. It’s the Jezebel Spirit 2.0.”
Most recently, at the Million Women event, Ché Ahn, NAR prophet and pastor of Harvest Rock Church, said, “I decree it by faith that Trump will win on November the 5th…. and Kamala Harris will be cast out,” using a term frequently found in both the NAR and some Bible translations in conjunction with demons. “Casting out” the Jezebel Spirit, Ahn and NAR followers believe, would break the power that backs the Harris campaign, casting her out into political irrelevance in the process.
Repeated invocations of the Jezebel Spirit offer both present benefits and a possible dangerous future. First, the rhetoric of the Jezebel Spirit allows the movement to believe its message would be supported were it not for the spirit’s influence. As Wallnau implies, Harris isn’t actually popular, she just derives a sense of charisma and popularity from the demonic powers that support her. Were these powers to be “cast out,” America would agree with the NAR. Second, the group has a method to “cast out” this demon: spiritual warfare. As the tens of thousands of Million Women attendees can testify, one can battle the Jezebel Spirit directly. 
While the language of spiritual warfare that surrounds Harris is certainly concerning, what’s even more unsettling is the rhetoric of emasculation that arises whenever the Jezebel Spirit is invoked. In a recent video, for example, Wallnau says that American men have been ‘emasculated’ by the Jezebel Spirit, that LGBTQ+ “moves” are “all about emasculating men,” and that Satan is “mocking fathers.” A clear pattern in violent extremism is the correlation between male violence and the threat of emasculation. If Harris wins, it will take little effort for a group that has already called January 6th an “election fraud intervention” to push its constituency to violence to “correct” the results.
“Jesus didn’t reprimand Jezebel for her deception and seduction… He holds the one who tolerates Jezebel responsible,” writes Patterson in Bridging. Her message is clear: Jesus will punish those who tolerate the Jezebel Spirit. This quotation is being harnessed today by websites and videos warning followers to “Stop Tolerating the Jezebel Spirit.” If this is tolerating the Jezebel Spirit, what’ll happen when they stop?
