(Originally published September 2006)
“And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges; I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” Revelation 2:12–17 The Nicolaitans are only mentioned twice in Scripture. Once, when their deeds were hated (Revelation 2:6), and again where their doctrine was held (Revelation 2:15). Their doctrine was similar to the doctrine of Balaam, in that they taught that all Christians were free to eat things offered to idols and to commit fornication (Revelation 2:14–15). This leads us to understand that they taught total freedom of the flesh. They also held Gnostic tendencies, meaning they felt they had superior knowledge of spiritual things. The Nicolaitans caused a great controversy which threatened to destroy the unity of many churches and afterwards threatened to taint the purity of these churches. They did not simply follow the indulgence of appetite; they held to a “doctrine” which taught that this indulgence of the flesh was spiritual and right before God. Their doctrine was contrary to the decision of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:29). The two sins of eating meat sacrificed to idols and committing fornication were considered to be closely allied since both could and did occur at any of the local heathen temples. In the days of persecution, eating things offered to idols was more than ever a test of faithfulness to Christ. However, the Nicolaitans taught that it didn’t matter whether a believer was involved in these sins or not. They taught that the “spiritual” Christian would partake in these sins. And, not only did the Nicolaitans defile themselves with these pagan feasts and orgies, they brought this same filth into the churches where they were members. “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots (Jude 12).” Their Doctrine Permeates Our Churches It is sad to note that, in these last days, this same doctrine of the full freedom of the flesh is alive and well. Many of God’s churches are full of this doctrine, not only in the pew but even preached from the pulpit. Many different catchphrases are used to justify this doctrine and these deeds. For example, “Nothing matters except believing in Jesus.” This statement sounds good to the unsuspecting believer; however, it cannot stand up in light of Scripture. Those who hold this doctrine of the Nicolaitans believe that the places you go do not matter. When the individual believer chooses to frequent the movie theatre, go to dances or take dance lessons, attend an apostate church’s special events and services, or ecumenical prayer meetings, is he not practicing the doctrine of the Nicolaitans? Of course, churches are also guilty of this same thing. When a church group goes to the movie theatre to view a “religious” movie (i.e., The Passion of The Christ, C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, And the Wardrobe, etc.), takes part in ecumenical gatherings, or goes on lake or beach outings where godly dress standards are not followed, this church is involved in the doctrine and deeds of the Nicolaitans. Those who hold this doctrine also believe that the things you do are of no matter. Most of us have probably heard the argument that the outside doesn’t matter to God. This doctrine is used to justify such things as tattoos, body piercing, long hair on men/short hair on women, and sensual and immodest dress. We are told that we are “judging” if we dare to speak a word against these types of things. We are told that nothing matters to God but the heart. This argument, of course, is false doctrine since the Scripture teaches that what is outside reflects the heart. “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies (Matthew 15:18–19).” Churches, too, fall prey to this idea that the outside doesn’t matter to God. As a result, churches will seek ways in which they can emphasize the carnal man. There are many ways of doing this: church sports teams, hour-long meals before a church service, followed by a 30-minute message, and church workout centres, to name a few. Each of these things is geared to appeal to the carnal man, while there is nothing for the growth of the spiritual man. Churches also seek ways in which they can entertain the carnal man. They do this by allowing drums in the church, using dramas and plays in the place of preaching, promoting dancing in the aisles and calling it the Spirit of God, placing less importance on preaching or allowing no application of the preaching into church practice or daily life. These things are happening today in the name of “getting closer to God,” but no one can come closer to God by emphasizing or entertaining the carnal man while starving the spiritual man. The Bible must be the basis of all doctrine and practice. Those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans seek the support of Scripture, even though none can be found. The first Bible verse that those who adhere to this doctrine cling to is Galatians 5:1 : “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” The fact that they have to take this verse out of context to justify their doctrine and practice is of no importance to the Nicolaitans. All that matters is that they can point to some verse of Scripture to support their doctrine. Once they feel that they have justified themselves, they have no problem with performing anything contrary to Scripture (Galatians 5:17). This makes no sense but it is exactly what has happened in many good churches across our nation. How is it that the Lord would lead us to live contrary to His written Word? Of course, the Lord would not do that, but it is imperative to believe that He would do so to hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. These Nicolaitans feel they hold a “superior” knowledge of spiritual things because they have learned enough to be “free.” This knowledge gives them a condescending, superior attitude toward anyone who truly desires to follow any standard God has set. They will disbelieve anyone would be so naive as to choose to live a godly, separated life. They will ridicule and pity those who seek to maintain a godly life; those who are too “weak” to be “free,” in their estimation. Their false humility does not hide the pride and utter carnality of their position. The Nicolaitan is so busy being “free” that he will not listen to the clear teaching of God’s Word. “Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein (Jeremiah 6:16).” “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world (Titus 2:12);” When a godly preacher brings forth God’s message concerning standards and holiness, one of two things will happen. Either the Nicolaitan does not believe or receive the application (Ezekiel 33:32), or he becomes angry and leaves the church to find other “free” thinkers. It is sad to see people turn away from God’s Word so they can “grow closer” to the Lord. In the end, the Nicolaitan develops the attitude that “no one can tell me what to do.” This attitude is like a spoiled child. We remember the nation of Judah that would rather hear lies than the truth (Isaiah 30:9–11). No one who cares enough to study the Scriptures can honestly believe that God will bless any Christian who develops this terrible attitude. If God were to let this attitude by without any response, He is not being true to His Word (Hebrews 12:5–11). We know that God is always faithful to fulfil His Word; therefore, we must be sure we do not allow this attitude to gain ground in our hearts. The Nicolaitans have put forth great effort to undermine those who seek to follow the Lord. “But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not (Amos 2:12).” They glory in the opportunity to cause another brother to fall into sin because they feel they have been able to help their brother to be “free.” Finally, the Nicolaitan brings judgment upon himself and his church (Revelation 2:16). When this doctrine is allowed entrance into the Lord’s church it will spread like wildfire, defiling the whole church (1 Corinthians 5:6). How sad to think that one person can be the cause of so much trouble and heartache in a church. It is sad to think; it does happen. This doctrine is dangerous because it is easy for the flesh to go along with this. If we are not watchful we and our churches will fall prey to this doctrine and bring upon ourselves the judgment of God before we even realize that we have strayed from the truth and the right. The Deeds and Doctrine of the Nicolaitans Must Be Exposed and Eradicated The Nicolaitan must realize that his “freedom” has caused him to worship another, not the Lord God. In the case of the original Nicolaitans, as they partook of meat offered to idols, they became partakers of the heathen worship that accompanied the sacrifice. “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds (2 John 10–11) .” In the case of the present-day Nicolaitans, when they seek to fulfill the desires of the flesh and hide their lust, impurity, and carnality behind “doctrine,” they worship themselves rather than the Lord God. In doing so, they actually ally the church of God with their idolatry (2 Corinthians 6:14–16). This alliance is certainly not the will of God and must be exposed for what it is. The “freedom” that the Nicolaitan speaks of is nothing more than total surrender to a carnal life. In this doctrine of the Nicolaitans, self is placed first and is called spiritual and right before God. There is no turning from sin but an embracing of sin. “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:17–24).” This “freedom” is contrary to God’s will for any believer. It is not God’s will for some believers to be holy while others are free to fulfill the desires of the flesh. No, it is God’s will for every true believer in Jesus Christ to be holy and separate from this world and the desires (lusts) of the flesh (Romans 6:6). Christ did not redeem us so that we might continue to serve the flesh (1 Peter 2:11–12). Instead, Christ redeemed us so that we might serve His desires (Romans 6:16–18; Ephesians 2:8–10). While it may seem easier to allow the old man complete control of our lives, it certainly is not better. For those who hold the doctrine and deeds of the Nicolaitans, there is a call to repentance (Revelation 2:16). The Lord does not simply turn a blind eye and allow His children to do as they please, thus bringing Him shame. He demands a change, not only inwardly, but outwardly (2 Corinthians 5:17). Repentance (in this context) is to change one’s mind about his sinful ways leading to a return to holiness. This means that the Nicolaitan must first accept his error (Proverbs 26:18–19). When the Nicolaitan will not accept his error, he will see no need to repent. Usually, we speak of repentance as something that the lost sinner must have to be saved, but there are times when the people of God must repent of their ungodly deeds and doctrines (Revelation 2:5, 16: 3:3, 19). And sometimes it takes sharp words to open the eyes and heart of the sin-hardened Nicolaitan (2 Corinthians 7:8–11). The sinner can never enjoy hard, direct preaching, but that is what he needs to recognize the need to repent. Preachers need to be direct and plain in their preaching so that people will be able to understand exactly where they have failed to follow the Lord and correct their errors. Woe to the preacher who does not preach against sin and false doctrine, because his people will never know or acknowledge the need for repentance. For those who hold the doctrine and deeds of the Nicolaitans, there is also a call to holiness. To heed the call to holiness, we must be separated from the world (2 Corinthians 6:17). This does not mean that we should seek to have no contact with the world. There are groups around that hold to this very philosophy. They seek to have no contact with anyone not associated with their group. While this may appeal to some, there is no way to seek isolation and reach the world with the Gospel at the same time (Luke 14:23). What this means is that we are to have no fellowship with the world in any area of our lives: in dress, in activity, in action, and speech (Ephesians 5:11). We must understand that as long as we retain ties with the world, we negatively affect our relationship with God (James 4:4). Anytime we are separated from one thing, we must be separated to another thing. When we separate from the world, we must not remain neutral, or we will fall back into the same carnal life. We must separate to God as we heed the call to holiness (1 Peter 1:15–16). To achieve this separation to God, we need to study and seek to understand His holiness. Also, we must imitate His holiness (Leviticus 11:44–45) so we are holy, as He is holy. Of course, this means we must put forth an effort to achieve true holiness in our daily lives. Holiness is not something that just comes naturally to us, but holiness is something that we must really work toward (2 Corinthians 7:1). In the days of the original Nicolaitans, eating meat offered to idols became a test of faithfulness to Christ. In these last days, with our own Nicolaitans to deal with, true repentance from carnality and a return to holiness are tests of our faithfulness to Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7–8). Many have failed in their faithfulness but can find restoration through repentance and renewed holiness. We must constantly be on our guard and monitor our faithfulness so that we might pass the test and be found free of the deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitans. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men (Titus 3:8).”
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About Jerry JacksonJerry has been writing for many years now. He has written tracts for several churches, as well as his ministries in Papua New Guinea and in Canada. He has had the opportunity to have many of his articles published in several Independent Baptist periodicals over the years. His main goals are to teach truth and lift up the Saviour. Archives
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