Hello everyone. After many months of sweat and editing, the new book Nicolaitan: Lords of Hypocrisy is finished and ready to order. Here’s the cover:
And here’s the first few paragraphs:
On his last visit to Ephesus, Paul warns the congregation leaders about the future appearance of bad shepherds coming from within the congregation.
Acts 20:29–30, ESV. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.
About 30 years after this, Jesus warns the Ephesians (and Pergamum) about Nicolaitans in Revelation chapter two. Obviously, Nicolaitans were some of those wolves about which Paul warned. Did the wolves disappear after John wrote the Revelation, or have they survived to populate modern congregations? Did believers get rid of false teachers, or have they spread out from Ephesus and Pergamum in the last 2,000 years and continue to speak “twisted things?” The Church identifies wolves as those who don’t follow “orthodox” Church teachings. But what if those making that judgment are Nicolaitans in sheep’s clothing? Could the “orthodox” teachings be unbiblical? How do we tell? Jesus mentions the Nicolaitans in two of the letters He dictated to the seven congregations in Revelation 2 and 3. Their origin and exact teachings are not clear, but He groups them with other false teachers and those whose works He hates. This is important because Nicolaitans are, in fact, still around; just with different names. They might only be mentioned a couple of times in the Bible, but they have indeed spread throughout the Church/synagogue and have a lot of influence.
Shalom!
Bruce