Nicolaitans

Biblical Text

The Nicolaitans are mentioned only twice, both times in Revelation.

• The church at Ephesus: In Revelation 2:6, after rebuking the church at Ephesus, Christ adds a word of commendation: the church hates "the deeds of the Nicolaitanes," which Christ himself also hates.
• The church at Pergamum: Revelation 2:15 rebukes the church at Pergamum because some there hold "the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes." The preceding verse, Revelation 2:14, speaks of those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who led people to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. Because 2:15 begins with "So" (that is, "in like manner"), many interpreters conclude that the two groups were the same or similar in character.

The text does not specify their particular teachings or name their leaders.

Background

In the cities of the seven churches of Asia, temple sacrifices and the banquets of trade guilds (associations of people in the same occupation) were closely intertwined with everyday life. Eating meat offered to idols and taking part in pagan religious rites were therefore practical concerns for believers. The rebuke of "Jezebel" in the church at Thyatira in the same chapter (Revelation 2:20) addresses the same issue.

The name derives from the Greek Nikolaos, which is commonly explained as a compound of nikaō ("to conquer") and laos ("people"). The Hebrew name Balaam is sometimes explained as meaning "devourer of the people." On this basis, some have suggested that "Nicolaitans" is a symbolic name, a Greek rendering of Balaam. However, because the etymology of the name Balaam is itself uncertain, this view is not generally accepted.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

The passages concerning the Nicolaitans address the problem of compromise with pagan culture within the church. The Council of Jerusalem urged Gentile believers to abstain from things offered to idols and from fornication (Acts 15:28-29). Paul treated the question of food offered to idols in terms of the believer's conscience and love for one's neighbor (1 Corinthians 8; 10). The Nicolaitan passages are read within this broader New Testament context. In addition, the church at Ephesus is commended for guarding the truth yet rebuked for having left its "first love." This passage is often read as teaching that faithfulness to doctrine and love must be held together.

Interpretations and Issues

• Origin in Nicolas the deacon: The second-century church father Irenaeus connected the Nicolaitans with Nicolas of Antioch, one of the seven men chosen to serve in Acts 6:5. Clement of Alexandria, by contrast, held that Nicolas himself was blameless and that others later misunderstood his words. The biblical text offers no basis for linking the two, so this connection is treated as an early church tradition.
• Antinomian heresy: Many commentators regard the Nicolaitans as a group that permitted moral license, claiming that deeds done in the body have no bearing on salvation. Some connect them with an early form of Gnosticism. However, no known first-century source directly confirms this.
• Clerical hierarchy: Another interpretation takes the name to mean "conquerors of the people" and sees it as referring to a system in which clergy lord it over the laity. This view became known through Watchman Nee and some other interpreters. Mainstream commentaries generally do not accept it, regarding it as an inference resting on etymology.

What the text establishes is only that the "deeds" and "doctrine" of this group were rebuked. Claims that directly identify the Nicolaitans with a particular individual or with a specific church system of today should be recognized as interpretations that go beyond the text.