Revelation 2:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

NIV: But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

NASB: But you have this, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

CSB: Yet you do have this: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

NLT: But this is in your favor: You hate the evil deeds of the Nicolaitans, just as I do.

KJV: But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

NKJV: But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

This verse points out that the church at Ephesus hated the works of the Nicolaitans. Jesus also hated their works. Although Scripture does not further identify the Nicolaitans, tradition and oral history provide possibilities. According to one possible history, Nicolaus, one of the seven deacons in the church at Jerusalem (Acts 6:5), fell away from the truth and founded the sect known as the Nicolaitans. The sect believed no law—at all—governed their behavior. So, they felt free to indulge in the idolatrous feasts of pagans and in sensuality.

Others believe the Nicolaitans were a group that advocated for the rule of the clergy over the laity. They derive this theory from the combination of two Greek words translated "Nicolaitans." One of the words means ruler, and the second word means people. Hence, the Nicolaitans might have favored the rule of the clergy over the laity. A wise pastor will not "rule" a congregation but adopt the motto primus inter pares, meaning, "first among equals."

Revelation 2:1–7 is the first letter Jesus dictated to John, intended for the church at Ephesus. This congregation is praised for patient endurance and for rightly rejecting false apostles. Despite such an excellent beginning, however, Ephesus had abandoned its first love. They were drifting into coldness and rote religiosity. Jesus instructs the church to remember its early days, repent, and conduct itself as it had done initially. He promises a reward to the victor.

The contents of Revelation 2 are miniature letters to four churches, dictated by Jesus to John. Ephesus and Smyrna were coastal cities, whereas Pergamum and Thyatira were inland cities. Three more such letters are in Revelation 3. Each of these messages contains a unique description of Jesus, a command, a promise. All but one—the church in Laodicea—receive some commendation. All but two of the seven letters—those to the churches in Smyrna and Philadelphia—also contain a critical rebuke. Like churches today, most of the congregations addressed by Jesus had both good characteristics and at least one point which needed correction.

In chapter 1, John introduced his order from Jesus Christ: to write out a message to seven churches in Asia (Revelation 1:9–11). Here in this chapter, John writes to the church in Ephesus, the church in Smyrna, the church in Pergamum, and the church in Thyatira. Chapter 3 will continue with messages to the other three churches. The rest of Revelation will explain future events connected to the ''end times.''

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 5/5/2024 4:40:21 PM