Since God rules from out of the wellspring of His bosom, God’s kingdom extends when we allow God to make our hearts His throne. And for those who allow Him to sit on the throne of our hearts, He raises us up as kings to sit beside Him, and rule out of the justice and righteousness of His ways and His nature. Which is a throne from which forever and for always proceeds both love and faithfulness. Which are the hallmarks of both a good throne and a righteous king.

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go before you.” — Psalm 89:14 (NIV).

However, the reluctance of the fallen nature is an unwillingness and disinclination to relinquish self from the rule of the throne of our hearts. And the strategy of the enemy, and all its servants, is to entice either man to not relinquish rulership of their hearts to God, or the man who has surrendered rulership unto God of their hearts, to fall into the trap of exalting self back onto the throne. Which is to make “self” an idol.

To the church of Thyatira, the Lord said, "But to you I say, and to the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine [teaching]..." (Rev. 2:24). The Jezebel of Thyatira led people astray through her doctrine — being the things that she taught. She violated their minds and their spirits with false teachings, being namely those teachings that would exalt “self”, especially that she might in turn gain rule over them.

The way in which she did this was by causing them to “eat things sacrificed to idols”. In this case, the idol was “self”. If self is the idol, by causing them to eat things sacrificed to idols, it means doing things that feed themselves by promoting and puffing up self. Whereas Jesus said that “the food that I eat is to do the will of My Father” (John 4:34), which is not to feed the desires of self, “eating the things of idols” means feeding off those things that satisfy the desire nature of the idol of self. And, by teaching them to exalt self, which is to place self back on the throne of one’s heart, she gains control of them.

Which explains why so much of the modern day church is infused and infiltrated with the spirit of Jezebel. The modern day church has fornicated with “other spirits” (1 John 4:1) and with the ways of the world, which is all to exalt self. And, as such, has made herself “the harlot”.

This fornication manifests in many ways. In divisions and denominations, which is the practice of effectively exalting “my doctrine” above the doctrine “of Christ”. For is it not written that they preach “another Jesus” (2 Cor. 11:4)? This becomes the spirit and mindset that “my way” is the right way, that “my church” is the right church. Which binds people not only to the error of division and denomination, but to “the name” of man (namely the pastor), or the name of the denomination, or the name of “my church”, and not the name of Jesus as it should.

And so Jezebel achieves her end goal. Which is to separate “the body” from “the Head”. Which is the primary pursuit of the kingdom of darkness in all that is going on in the world today — through the mass murder called abortion; the killings of Christians by massacre and ritual beheadings; the mass killings and atrocities of fanatics.

“Eating things sacrificed to idols” is what we do when we allow the old, arrogant, self-centered, self-promoting man of flesh and sin to rule rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to rule. It is the lordship of the harlot instead of the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Some at Thyatira were beguiled by the self-seeking, self-promoting "doctrine" advanced by "that woman Jezebel." Later, these doctrines also influenced the rise of “the clergy system”. Being another pursuit of exalting self. Which, even today, is the Jezebel system of man’s self-seeking traditions based on power, position, pomp, preeminence, riches, and domination.

Those in the churches today who violate God's way and sheep in order to increase themselves in power, position, and domination, are likewise causing the sheep to eat things sacrificed to idols — the idols of self-glorification. And as with the Pharisees, they are those who “shut up the kingdom of heaven against men”, not allowing those who are entering from going in. “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13).

But as with before, God will sweep His house clean. For He looks after His word to perform it. For He has always declared “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10). And in this way, His Word declares that “pride always goes before a fall, and a haughty spirit before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18).

For God, in His infinite wisdom, declares that He raises kings and He removes kings. Those who position God in the sovereignty of their hearts, He shall exalt to sit alongside Him and rule. For those who establish themselves as king on the throne of their lives, He shall remove. “And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.” (Daniel 2:21).