THE SPIRIT OF ABSALOM

The Spirit of Absalom is Attacking the Body of Christ

I felt led to release a prophetic warning this morning to the Body of Christ who have ears to hear and who will respond in intercession. In prayer today I heard the Lord say “Pray against a spirit of Absalom that is being released upon the Body of Christ. Pray for spiritual discernment upon them.” You may scoff or you may believe, but it’s up to you to judge whether or not this is a word from the Lord, then act upon it if it is.

2 Samuel 15:16 says “So the king left, and all his household with him. But the king left behind ten women who were concubines to take care of the house (palace).”

This spirit works primarily through OFFENSE and SEPARATION (Proverbs 18: 19 & Proverbs 18: 1-respectively). It seeks out those whose souls have been wounded through becoming offended at their leaders for one reason or another. It seeks out those who have areas of their hearts that have not been fully surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It seeks to separate the sheep from the rest of the flock to form its own following. The reasons are excuses such as, “They don’t understand me, they don’t allow me to use my gift, they are controlling over my gift, they ignore me, they act like they know it all etc. etc.” This spirit gets people to center around “me” rather than the cross of Jesus Christ and the price of being a disciple i.e., laying down one’s life for the gospel.

The ones the spirit of Absalom preys upon are spiritually immature and undiscerning by wearing a mask of false humility and ‘self-appointed’ leadership. This is all cleverly cloaked by personal ‘charisma’. Remember, that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance. Therefore, one may have a strong gift, but it may not be refined in that individual and can be used for selfish reasons rather than Kingdom advancement!

It targets the emotionally underdeveloped, those weak and unstable in their faith and/ or those who have not overcome the spirit of double mindedness (James 1: 8). As a result, the spirit of Absalom is able to woo them to the wrong allegiance and even use them to lead an uprising (whether it be overt or covert) against God’s appointed leadership. At the very least, this spirit seeks to separate sheep from God’s plan and purpose for their life right where He has planted them! This uprising or offense can be against any leadership that has been appointed by Jesus Christ in ekklesia: over a church, a department within a church or any other leader within the Body of Christ.

The word church that Jesus used in Matthew 16: 13 needs to be clearly defined in order to be understood. Many times we use words out of habit but fail to understand the underlying message in the definition! Ekklesia in The Greek Lexicon means the following: “A gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly”

a. an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating
b. the assembly of the Israelites
c. any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously
d. in a Christian sense
1. an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting (local)
2. a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake
3. those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body (universal)
4. the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth
5. the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven (eternal)
Therefore we can deduce from its meaning that “church” or ekklesia is local, universal and eternal in nature and its structure. 1 Peter 2: 9 says that we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood and holy nation! A peculiar people who should show forth the praise of God who has “CALLED US OUT”, of darkness into His marvelous light!

The story of Absalom is found in 2 Samuel 15-18. Absalom was the son of David who was very handsome and charismatic. But, he was not anointed nor appointed by God as leader (king) over the people by the Prophet Samuel. He was jealous of his father’s influence and sought power and influence in a sphere that was not given to him by God. He used his gift to lead people away from the plan of God versus using his gift to lead them TO Him. He had a weak and faulty character. However, as a result of his charm and deception, he was able to lead a rebellion against King David, God’s appointed Leader. His plan was ultimately revealed and he ended up with three spears through his heart! (2 Samuel 18:14-15). I believe these three spears through Absalom’s heart represent the three ways he attempted to divide and conquer his own father’s leadership. He ultimately reaped what he sowed. I believe this spirit uses three swords to divide and separate the sheep from God appointed leaders…

The first way was through deception through agreement (2 Samuel 15: 1-6). Absalom would hear the people’s complaints and agree that they were warranted. He promised to ‘resolve’ these offenses through his way of leadership verses that of his father’s. Beware of those who ‘vent’ their offenses rather than taking them to the Lord first and/ or going directly to the person who is involved! We need to resolve conflicts the Biblical way or else the enemy takes them to seed! (Matthew 18: 15)

The second way was through deception through false humility (2 Samuel 15: 7-12). Absalom had a form of false allegiance and loyalty to his father David by pretending to want to pay a vow and asked for ‘permission’ to go to Hebron to fulfill it. However, he had ulterior motives. Beware of those who cloak themselves with the appearance of loyalty, yet the first chance they have they will throw their leaders under the bus with accusations or false innuendos! Their motives are not pure! “Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have made to the Lord at Hebron [my birthplace]. For your servant made a vow while I lived at Geshur in Aram (Syria), ‘If the Lord will in fact bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord [by offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving].’”And [David] the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’”

Lastly, Absalom and this insidious spirit worked and works by deception through treachery (2 Samuel 16: 20-23 & 17). Ahithophel was a trusted adviser to both David and Absalom. However, Absalom influenced this adviser through his fleshly witchcraft to get him to counsel against his father King David. Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me your advice. What should we do?” Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left behind to take care of the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself odious to your father. Then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened by your boldness and audacity.” So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof [of the king’s palace], and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel. The advice of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if a man had consulted the word of God; that is how all Ahithophel’s counsel was regarded by both David and Absalom…”

“Then, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men, and I will set out and pursue David tonight. I will strike while he is weary and exhausted, and terrify him; and all the people with him will flee [in terror]. Then I will attack the king alone, and I will bring all the people [who follow David] back to you. The return of everyone depends on the [death of the] man you are seeking; then all the people will be at peace [and accept you as king].” So the plan pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel.” 2 Samuel 17: 1-4

Ahithophel’s plan of treachery failed along with influencing David’s concubines (intercessors) against him and he ended up hanging himself after a faithful messenger named Hushai sent word and warned King David! God will warn His appointed servant leaders and vindicate them, but we all must be watchful or we may miss the warning! (2 Samuel 17: 23).

All scripture is given by The Holy Spirit for instruction and teaching! (2 Timothy 3: 16-17).

Ahithophel prostituted his gift through witchcraft and treachery. How sad this happens in the church today by those who allow the enemy to seduce them against God’s appointed leadership and prostitute the anointing for a piece of fame and faulty recognition.

Saints, we must arm and equip ourselves with the Word of God, and crucify our flesh (including our offenses) to the cross! The only rights we have as children of God is the right to be called His sons and daughters. Our rights are to further the gospel, live a crucified but resurrected life, and walk in the Spirit versus our flesh! This gives us the ultimate right of eternal life if we follow Jesus all the way to the end!

The Father is releasing a multi-generational anointing and blessing upon the Body of Christ (Joel 2) but the enemy wants to thwart it by releasing counterfeit spirits who oppose what the Spirit of Grace is doing. We must have a heightened sense of spiritual discernment and prayer in this hour if we want to make a generational impact. He who has ears to hear let us PRAY and intercede against this wicked spirit and pray for heightened awareness in the Body of Christ!

Yours for the Journey,
Pastor Mary Ann