Who, what, and where is the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes? This doctrine was so prevalent in the church, so destructive in practice that Jesus had to point out why He hates this sect.

Revelation 2:6
“But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.”

Unfortunately, this same destructive path of faith is still alive and kicking today and yes, Jesus still hates it. So, what is the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes? And why are Christians vulnerable to accept it?

Believers want to use the law to correct their nature, which is a form of mental flagellation.

In this new apostolic season, God has been saying over and over again that you cannot learn doctrine by word study (word play). You must go to the steward to receive instruction in the doctrine of Christ. I want to use a recent example to show you why word study does not lead to truth.

In her article, Jennifer LeClaire dives head long into word study to define the deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Her quote from Rick Renner:

“The name “Nicolaitans” is derived from the Greek word nikolaos, a compound of the words nikos and laos. The word nikos is the Greek word that means “to conquer” or “to subdue.” The word laos is the Greek word for the people. It is also where we get the word “laity.” When these two words are compounded into one, they form the name Nicolas, which literally means one who conquers and subdues the people. It seems to suggest that the Nicolaitans were somehow conquering and subduing the people.”

As you can see, the problem with word study is that one arrives at a very tepid and ambiguous meaning. There is no wisdom in this study as it does not give direction for faith. You never really learn anything about the doctrine God is addressing.

Throughout the Bible, God uses negative role models to teach us what not to do, and every single one used false knowledge for control because control is one of the 12 facets of the God-Code. It is common to man, and Satan takes advantage of this vulnerability. (1 Cor. 10:13)

Let’s walk through one example from Revelation 2:20 where God warns the church to beware of Jezebel. Jezebel used false knowledge for control, but this was not the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. Jezebel was a control freak. She used her position to establish her own prophetic school and all her students copied her form of false prophecy. But Jezebel’s doctrine is seen in her prophetic practice. She taught the people to prophesy their aspirations, which is to honor the idol of the heart. This is the same doctrine and deeds God is addressing today in the false prophetic movement.

We couldn’t really get to the heart of Jezebel’s deeds by word study, could we? Breaking down the meaning of her name does not get to her deeds, nor show how she deviated from the covenant.

We can only know the reason for Jesus’ warning of her doctrine by comparing and contrasting her doctrine to the established truth, which all the apostles taught: Priesthood prophecy is the doctrine of Christ. The apostles instructed the church in this new spiritual tradition for our increase in Christ. When comparing the two models, the Jezebelian ministers can be identified and avoided.

You can now understand why word study fails to equip believers with the truth. Word study is the “strifes of words” which, Apostle Paul said leads to “evil surmising”. And in another place Apostle Paul said of those who used word study that they were, “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 6:4; 2 Tim. 3:7)

A final word about word study. Though the Lord will often give a word of knowledge or word of wisdom, these are reflected upon from a new covenant perspective to build upon Christ.

The word study God is addressing in this new apostolic season is the habit of ministers to present a conflict with strifes of words by which they try to impose their religious philosophy upon the church.

In truth, ministers who still operate in the wilderness want permission to remain independent in doctrine. They have cast off the restrictions of the covenant, claiming that the restored doctrine of Christ is controlling because it does not allow them to express themselves. They want to be free to prophesy their aspirations and free to control the outcome of their circumstances, which takes us to the heart of the Nicolaitan doctrine.

The doctrine of the Nicolaitanes is the black ink of false knowledge that has spread through the veins of the church, and it carries death everywhere it is accepted. At its core is the practice to resource scriptures for one’s desired goals.

Why are the deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitanes so profoundly attractive? It works the history found in the pages of the Bible (the text of scripture) into a present aspiration.

There are many Christian sects today who teach from the Old Testament scriptures that we can control the outcome of our circumstances by quoting scripture and making declarations. This is the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes that Jesus hates.

These trends all go back to the law for their strength. These go to the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes. All these are control methods put in place by ministers who want to step into the power of the resurrected Christ without His covenant terms and tools. They want the glory without the process of regeneration. They want to control their circumstances and call that faith.

Their faith is inverted, it’s an upside down faith. Instead of laboring with grace, they labor with their aspiration. So, this is the inverted faith of the Nicolaitanes.

Apostle Paul corrected this mindset in the Corinthian church when he stated, “Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.” (1 Corinthians 4:8)

In other words, “I wish you were conquerors, we would be in the millennial reign of Christ right now and I’d be there with you.” But we are not in the 9^th Week, we’re in the First 8^th Week, Paul was saying. And today we are in the Second 8^th Week, the season of restoration before the Tribulation (7^th Week).

Peter mirrored this same desire to step into the millennial reign of Christ in his question before he was converted, “Lord will you at this time restore Israel and give us our portions?” Jesus allowed the question to be asked to addresses the natural man whose faith follows these themes.

Ministers today also believe that God’s purpose is to create His kingdom on this physical earth right now, and their gospel is about showing the world Christ by outward, open signs to entice them into God’s kingdom by aspiration.

The Nicolaitan doctrine is a strong philosophical position of those of the Jews’ religion who wanted to perfect their faith with the deeds of the law. The trend began in the First 8^th Week when the apostles dealt with the sect of the Pharisees who insisted that the Gentile converts accept the law of Moses and perform the duties of the law to validate their faith.

A trend begins with a person or a group of people that Satan uses to redirect faith away from Christ. Hymenaeus, Alexander, Philetus, and Diotrephes are all confirmed by the apostles to have changed the truth of God into a lie (1 Tim. 1:20; 2 Tim. 2:17; 3 Jn. 9).

In Acts 15:5 we see the birth of the Nicolaitan trend. A confrontation arose among Christians who wanted to use Moses to support their faith in Jesus. This sect of the Pharisees tried to add to the gospel of Jesus Christ by resourcing the law of Moses.

Acts 15:5
“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

Underline the word “believed”. The Pharisees did believe in Jesus. They were sealed with the Spirit, but they wanted to include the law of Moses for their perfection, which is to mix God’s two great covenants.

They insisted that believers keep the law of Moses, which is to Judaize the Gentile believers. But, God did not design the covenants to be mixed, nor had He planned that there would be two faiths: one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles.

So, the apostles disagreed with this sect. And this is the reason for the word “disputing” in verse 7, “And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up”. As the Pharisees came forward to share many scriptures from the Old Testament about the covenants God made with His people, the blessings of Abraham that were ripe for the picking, the tools and articles Moses had made for their faith to be expressed, the apostles helped their understanding by teaching the difference between the physical and natural tools of Moses, and the spiritual tools of Jesus Christ and why the two cannot be mixed.

You’ll notice that the government of God was the deciding factor. The Pharisees were not the government of God, despite their education in the law. Their inability to transition into the new covenant meant that they did not understand Jesus at all.

Apostle Peter (a fisherman taught by the anointing) rose up to address them and put an end to this uprising of philosophical concern. Peter also brought out that to introduce this doctrine into the church was to despise government. God had placed apostles in the church to teach the doctrine of Christ and this sect of the Pharisees wanted to introduce doctrine that did not come from the apostles.

Government is the deciding factor because stewardship is the scale.  The stewardship bears that anointing – the anointing of the calling. We all bear the anointing of the priesthood for sacrifice, but the stewardship of the new season bears the anointing for the calling of government to teach the doctrine of Christ in truth.

The apostles and elders (those confirmed into the government of God by the chief apostles) discussed among themselves how to deal with the matter lest the faith of Jesus Christ should be compromised.

Yet, history tells us that many believers continued on in this course despite the warnings of the apostles. One such person arose in the ranks as their leader and his name no doubt was Nicolas. The followers of this man, coming out of his theology school, spread that gospel, which was inclusive: We can practice the law of Moses and be a follower of Jesus.

Nicolas was a spiritual cowbird. Satan used this man to spread false doctrine. He began laying his eggs in all the assemblies of the saints and the apostles had to follow behind him to clear up all his errors.

There’s interesting symbolism that God placed in the cowbird. It’s called a parasite because of its breeding strategy. It secretly lays its eggs in the nests of other birds so as to insure that its young are cared for at the expense of the resident offspring. It will either damage or remove eggs already present in the nest to substitute them with its own.

The cowbird’s egg is the first to hatch and grows bigger than the hatchlings that belong to the parent. It is the first to peep, the first to make its presence known and quickly dominates the nest, taking the nourishment and time of the parents. It just takes over. And this is what happens spiritually in the assemblies.

Those who are born of the law debate theology, they are loud and demanding, take up your time, and push true believers away. They teach their own brand of worship, their own brand of prophecy – their own brand of Jesus.

Interestingly, it’s said that the birds who are forced to raise the imposter cowbird cannot tell the difference between their own young and this strange intruder. And it is the same for ministers today who blindly accept the doctrine and philosophy of the Nicolaitanes. They cannot tell the difference between truth and error, they can’t tell the difference between Moses and Jesus.

We see the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes being addressed again by Apostle Paul in the book of Galatia. Paul confronted groups of people who got together to decide for themselves what they would accept as truth. They all claimed to love Jesus, but used the law for their justification. This is the other gospel. (Gal. 1:6-7)

Galatians 2:16
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Apostle Paul spoke of the “Jews’ Religion” in contrast to the new covenant (Gal.1:13-14). No building for faith is taking place when the law is used for one’s justification. Believers want to use the law to find Christ and to correct their nature, which is a form of mental flagellation. And this is the purpose of the cover image for this article.

The practice of the law does not lead to regeneration because the law does not allow Jesus to purge the conscience. Those under the law want to cleanse their conscience to pursue their desire.

You can’t perfect your faith by the works of the law, which points to the history, race, and culture of the Jews. God is not using the natural things of Moses to purge your  conscience. God is using the spiritual things of Jesus to represent Himself in your faith.

Antipas was martyred in Pergamos because he withstood those who wanted to control their own faith. These ministers wanted to get back to the law. Antipas was restoring them to the covenant, but they wanted to restore the history of the law.

You’ll notice that the government of God was the deciding factor. The Pharisees were not the government of God, despite their education in the law. Their inability to transition into the new covenant meant that they did not understand Jesus at all.

Apostle Peter (a fisherman taught by the anointing) rose up to address them and put an end to this uprising of philosophical concern. Peter also brought out that to introduce this doctrine into the church was to despise government. God had placed apostles in the church to teach the doctrine of Christ and this sect of the Pharisees wanted to introduce doctrine that did not come from the apostles.

Government is the deciding factor because stewardship is the scale.  The stewardship bears that anointing – the anointing of the calling. We all bear the anointing of the priesthood for sacrifice, but the stewardship of the new season bears the anointing for the calling of government to teach the doctrine of Christ in truth.

The apostles and elders (those confirmed into the government of God by the chief apostles) discussed among themselves how to deal with the matter lest the faith of Jesus Christ should be compromised.

Yet, history tells us that many believers continued on in this course despite the warnings of the apostles. One such person arose in the ranks as their leader and his name no doubt was Nicolas. The followers of this man, coming out of his theology school, spread that gospel, which was inclusive: We can practice the law of Moses and be a follower of Jesus.