The Entrance of the Cave

The False Prophetess

Revelation 2:20 ESV

20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

We are going to expose darkness tonight.

With exposure comes deliverance.

Elijah on the Run!

1 Kings 19:1–10 ESV

1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” 3 Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God. 9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

The First occurence of a Cave in the Bible.

Is found in...

Genesis 49:31–32 ESV

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.”

Faithlife Study Bible (Chapter 23) - The cave of Machpelah Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah were buried in this cave (25:9; 49:30–31; 50:13).

Tradition identifies it with the ḥaram el-khalil (“the sacred place of the friend [of God]”) in modern Hebron.

It was considered a resting place.

And a Hiding Place.

Hiding Places

Judges 6:2 ESV

2 And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds.

The Midianites’ oppression drove the Israelites to dwell in caves.

David was at the Cave of Adullam.

1 Samuel 22:1–4 ESV

1 David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. 2 And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. 3 And David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. And he said to the king of Moab, “Please let my father and my mother stay with you, till I know what God will do for me.” 4 And he left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.

What is the Significance of the Caves?

Caves are a sense of God’s preservation.

Caves were strongholds.

A place of refuge

1 Samuel 13:6 ESV

6 When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns,

Strongholds refer to natural shelters and hiding places in the wilderness, such as caves and outcroppings of rocks.

The a spiritual side to this a well.

Jezebel tries to attack the minds of prophetic people by creating strongholds in their minds.

Jezebel murdered the prophets, but Obadiah hid them.

Obadiah faithfully delivered bread and water to the caves to sustain these true prophetic voices

When Jezebel killed the prophets of the LORD, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them in groups of fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water.

The prophets were forced into the cave.

Jezebel Goes After the Heads of Prophets.

Talk about your cave experience in 2018.

Jezebel was on a murderous rampage, determined to slaughter the voice of the Lord in the land. God’s prophets had to go into hiding.

They could not minister. They could not flow. They could not give revelation to the people or the land because they were hiding in the cave.

The Jezebel spirit comes to push the prophetic anointing into the cave.

It comes to tear down prophetic ministries and overwhelm prophetic leaders.

It comes to steal the joy, rob the life, zap the strength, and quench the power.

Jezebel is a Witch.

The Devil Wears Prada.

She is also a seductress.

She rely’s heavily on control and manipulation.

This spirit sends waves of depression over prophets so that they end up alone, contemplating their demise. It releases words of witchcraft and spirits of fear to send the prophets and prophetic people running for their lives.

One of the primary functions of the Jezebel spirit is a false prophetic ministry. During the reign of Ahab, Jezebel murdered prophets of the Lord, released tremendous intimidation, and had the remaining prophets hiding in a cave.

Jezebel had authority in the kingdom of Israel unrivaled by any queen before or after her. We also know Ahab funds Jezebel’s idolatry and immorality.

The royal palace had 850 false prophets on its payroll who ate at Jezebel’s table (1 Kings 18:19) while true prophets were eating bread and drinking water in musky caves.

Some of you got that...

Boy that can preach!

Jezebel is a Principality.

“Principalities are the highest-ranking ruling spirits assigned to territories, regions, nations, and people groups. The Greek word indicates the primary or highest authority. These demonic forces are given charge to bind and hold territories. We see a picture of this in the Old Testament in Daniel 10 concerning the prince of Persia, who is a ruling spirit. Principalities will come in direct conflict with apostles and apostolic ministry because they are also assigned to regions and peoples.” - Ryan Lestrange

Notice that in 1 Kings, Jezebel was in a place of governmental authority.

There was a time of famine in Israel.

The purpose of sustaining these false prophets with food and water, she was winning their hearts through their bellies. Benson Commentary says, “This sufficiently shows the infatuation and zeal of Jezebel for these idolatrous priests, that in a time of such famine she should take upon her to provide for eight hundred and fifty of them.”

Jezebel imported from Phoenicia 850 pagan prophets of the demon god Baal when she married Ahab.

Jezebel sought to eradicate the worship of Yahweh.

Jezebel had persecuted and killed the prophets of Israel. During this time, a man named Obadiah helped to hide 100 prophets in a limestone cave and kept them nourished there.

Both was nourished???? One with Jezebel. The Other with Yahweh!

The spirit of Jezebel point of attack is rejection. She seeks to make you feel all alone, as if you are the only ones doing the right thing for Jesus.

On most occasions our self-pity is slightly overblown; but Elijah’s was accurate.

Jezebel had decimated the rest of God’s true prophets, forcing the ones who escaped death to hide in caves and keep silent.

Attempt to face down the Jezebel spirit and you may find yourself standing alone.

Expound on that..

The Broom Tree

1 Kings 19:4 ESV

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

A broom Tree is a desert shrub.

Jezebel reduces the prophets of God to a wilderness state.

When Jezebel attacks it’s not an ordinary state of discouragement.

Elijah was under demonic attack by evil spirits of Despair, Suicide, Death, and Defeat. He was suffering from spiritual oppression to the max. And those demons had been sent directly his way by Jezebel.

The prophets were struggling and had little provision.

They survived but did not thrive.

Jezebel will try to cut off the finances of prophetic ministry and prophetic people.

Jezebel does not want you sowing into the prophetic voice of the Lord in the earth. It wants the prophets dead or hidden and struggling.

When the Jezebel spirit runs rampant, it pushes prophets into the cave.

It’s Dark In Here!

He’s the thing about Caves… It’s hard to see the light.

It’s the place where dreams die.

It’s the place where lesser prophets die.

What are you made of?

Talk about “the weight of a high calling...” 2018 story.

When prophetic people are severely attacked by Jezebel they transition from a “tree” type state to a cave experience.

The Elements

1 Kings 19:9–13 ESV

9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” 11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The elements especially the thunder and lighting were some of the notable powers of Baal.

Apostolic Study Bible: King James Version: Notes (Notes)

19:9–13 This encounter represents a revolution in historical conceptions of God. Ancient cultures had always conceived of the gods’ (and even God’s) presence as being manifested in displays of power: fire, wind, thunder, and earthquakes. Never before had the gods’, or God’s, presence been detected in something so subtle as a “still, small voice.” This new view of God gave coherence to the events that were taking place in Elijah’s life. Powerful nations were rising all around, Syria was a menace, dreaded Assyria was just on the horizon, Baal was being worshiped by the majority, the faithful few were in hiding (the 7,000 faithful pale in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants), and the rulers of Israel were arming the wrong side and betraying the covenant. Where was Jehovah in all of this? The answer was that while His worshipers may have been relatively few and His messengers scarce, He was there nevertheless. Jehovah spoke in the almost imperceptible murmur of a still, small voice.

Faithlife Study Bible 19:1–8.

The account of Elijah’s flight from Jezebel contains many allusions to traditions about Moses: 40 days and nights in the wilderness (Exod 24:18; 1 Kgs 19:8), the lack of bread and water (Exod 34:28; 1 Kgs 19:8), and waiting in a cave in anticipation of a theophany, or divine appearance (Exod 33:22; 1 Kgs 19:8).

The Cave Experience led to an encounter with Yahweh!

At the Entrance of the Cave.

It’s not looking in… It’s Looking Out!

You Cannot Control the Anointing.

Human hands can sustain it.

God is WILD! (EXPLAIN).

You must depend on him.

It’s out of your control!!!

John the baptist lived in the wilderness!

The Israelites were not able to touch the ark (anointing) of God!

Jezebel counter-fits the anointing.

2 Kings 9:35 ESV

35 But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands.

Talk about the palm of her hands (control, false anointings.)

The Dogs of Hell.

The Bible says in 2 Kings 9 that Jezebel was eaten by dogs.

Anubis - an Egyptian god that had the head of a jackal,

He was known as the god of dead.

He was also son of the demonic god Set.

Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Jezebel’s gruesome end is paralled in the Egyptian tale “The Two Brothers,” in which the elder brother killed his wife, casts her to the dogs, and then sits mourning for his young brother.

Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary. (2 Kings 9:10). No one will bury her. It was considered a terrible thing in Israel not to be afforded a proper burial (see Deut. 28:25–26; Jer. 16:4, which capture the horror well). A similar view of burial is reflected in a curse that concludes the inscription on a ninth-century B.C. boundary stone found at Sippar in Mesopotamia:Sippar boundary stone with curse inscription.

Michael Greenhalgh/ArtServe, courtesy of the British MuseumMay his name perish, may his seed be gathered up;In hunger and starvation may his life come to an end; May his corpse fall down, and may it not have someone to bury it! Certainly in Mesopotamia the importance of the burial of the body was connected with a belief that otherwise the etemmu or ghost of the deceased would not find its natural place among the community of the dead and would therefore have no rest. In addition, the lack of a burial prevented the ongoing care of the dead at the burial site in the form of mortuary rites—it dissolved community between the living and the dead.

One way to ensure that a dead individual did indeed lose his or her individual and social identity was, as 2 Kings 9:10 implies, to feed the body to animals—a reality envisaged in the following text containing an anti-witchcraft ritual:

Viewer Discretion Advised!!!

May eagle and vulture prey on your corpse, May silence and shivering fall upon you, May dog and bitch tear you apart, May dog and bitch tear apart your flesh. In such a case, some Mesopotamian texts suggest, the dead person was consigned to a formless and chaotic reality and perhaps even to the world of demons.

Talk about the John Ramirez Train Story.

The Wanderers

Hebrews 11:38 ESV

38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

The Passion Translation: New Testament Chapter 11

They wandered the earth living in the desert wilderness, in caves, on barren mountains and in holes in the earth. Truly, the world was not even worthy of them, not realizing who they were.

We are the Wanderers!

Wanderers don’t stay in caves!

Hold the Line

Tell the dream.

The Purpose of the Caves

Find God in it!

Get empowered!

Release Mantles!

You were only supposed to enter.

You were never supposed to stay.

Come out of Hiding!!!