We have strongly pointed out that the Old Testament history is very much related to God's economy in the way of typology. If we read the books of history in the Old Testament without knowing the typology, we will not understand these books. In 2 Kings two persons—Elisha and Jezebel—are striking types of certain real things in the New Testament. Whereas Elisha was a very sweet person, Jezebel was most evil. In this message on the reigns of Jehoram and Ahaziah over Judah and the reign of Jehu over Israel, we will see the destruction of Jezebel.
Both the Old Testament in typology and the New Testament in fulfillment speak of Jezebel. The evil of Jezebel, a most hateful person, is like the evil of Satan. Many people have been poisoned, cheated, veiled, and usurped by her.
The Jezebel of the Old Testament was a type and a shadow. It is important for us to see who Jezebel is in the New Testament reality. Jezebel, the pagan wife of Ahab, is a type of the apostate church. Christianity is the biggest religion on earth, and the greatest part of this religion is today's Jezebel, the apostate Roman Catholic Church. In Revelation 2:24 the Lord Jesus said that Jezebel teaches the "deep things of Satan." In Matthew 13:33 this same woman mixed leaven, the element of Satan, with fine flour, which signifies the Lord Jesus as the meal offering for the satisfaction of God and man. Jezebel, the apostate church, teaches the deity of Christ but has mixed much leaven with the teaching of the divine person of Christ. With Jezebel, therefore, there is one part truth and many parts leaven. Vast regions of the earth are under her influence. In Revelation 17 this woman is the great harlot who mixes abominations with the divine things.
Let us now turn to 2 Kings 8:16—10:36 to see what is recorded here concerning Jehoram, Ahaziah, Jehu, and Jezebel.