The Sidonians believed Baal was the male aspect of their god and Asherah was the female aspect. Asherah was the goddess of fertility and the moon. The Sidonian goddess Asherah was closely linked to the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar (the name from which "Easter" is derived). Ishtar was also known as Venus.
Jezebel used her position as queen to intimidate, manipulate, and dominate others. We know that she dined with her 450 Baal prophets and 400 Asherah prophets (1 Kings 18:19). She even killed the prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4). Scripture also tells us that she knew how to be political and took leadership authority as King to get her way (1 Kings 21:7-8). When King Ahab was feeling sorry for himself because Naboth was not going to give his vineyard to the King, Jezebel told him "Do you not reign over Israel? Arise, eat, be merry, I will get it for you."
Do you notice the "I will" attitude of Jezebel? That is the same attitude that is attributed to HaSatan in Isaiah 14:12-15:
"How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations! But you said in your heart, 'I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God, And I will sit on the mount of assembly In the recesses of the north. 'I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.' Nevertheless you will be thrust down to Sheol, To the recesses of the pit.
Jezebel, in this attitude of pride and arrogance, has Naboth killed by having him falsely accused of cursing God and the King. As a result Naboth is stoned to death.
In Revelation 2, the Lord says to send a message to the angel [messenger] of the church of Thyatira. The congregation at Thyatira was known for their corruption. Yeshua tells Yochanan that He has something against them: they tolerate the woman Jezebel "who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and leads my bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eats meats sacrificed to idols." (Revelation 2:20) What did He mean by this? Jezebel lived hundreds of years before the congregation at Thyatira!
The issue was not that they allowed a person into their congregation it was that they allowed a teaching or doctrine into their congregation. Jezebel was a teaching that enticed people to do what is wrong. In the ancient pagan world, meat was often dedicated to gods or idols before it was sold in the market. Pagans would hold banquets and after eating and drinking, the diners would engage in sexually immoral acts. Jezebel condoned this type of behavior as part of Baal and Asherah worship and taught that nothing was wrong with it.
Yeshua mentions that he gave her time to repent. Why? In 2 Peter 3:9 Scripture says that God does not wish that any would perish but all to come to repentance.
In Revelation 18, Scripture speaks of Babylon using terms that would have easily been used to describe Jezebel's teachings: immorality and sensuality. God tells us that all the nations have drunk of the wine and passion of the immorality of Babylon, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.
God tells His people to "come out" and not be a part of "her sins and receive of her plagues". For her sins are as high as heaven and the cup of sin that she has mixed will be doubled again as a cup of wrath. To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously she will be given torment and mourning.
Sexual immorality is still a problem in our society and in all the nations of the world today. Companies and businesses have become wealthy because of the exploitation of women in a sexual manner. The spirit of Jezebel is still here among us... alive and kicking. We have to separate ourselves and be a holy people as God wants us to be holy when he comes back to live and reign in Jerusalem forever and ever. As women of faith we are to be princesses of the Holy and Righteous King.