If it is your first time reading the book of revelation, is likely you will pause in the second chapter of the book when you encounter the word “Nicolaitanes” and ponder over it…

So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate (Revelation2:15).

Since the word is mentioned only in the book of revelation in the entire bible without an in-depth explanation, there are so many theological suggestions concerning what the Nicolaitanes represents, their deeds and their doctrine. One tradition suggested that the Nicolaitanes were heretical sect in the early church founded by Nicolas, supposing to be one of the seven deacons in Jerusalem Assembly (Act6:3-5). Some early scholars claimed that Nicolas deviated from the truth in his latter days and established a heretical Christian cult, but there is no concrete evidence that the Nicolas of Samaria who held the philosophies of Simon Magus was the same Deacon mentioned in the book of Acts.

WHO ARE THE NICOLAITANES: I can say that Nicolaitanes is more of a system than a heretical sect. The word “Nicolaitanes” is a combination of two Greek words “Nikao” to capture, conquer, overcome or enslave, and “Laos” which the word “laity” comes from meaning “lay people rather than clergy”. The two words together means conquerors of congregation, captivators of souls or slave masters. The Nicolaitanes represent the money conscious preachers “pastors and Bishops” who despised God’s principle of leadership and established their own leadership pattern; instead of them to remained humble servants of the Lord among other Christians they exalted themselves and became lords and masters, dominating and using young believers to achieve their selfish end. 99 percent of pastors and bishops in Nigeria are fully operating in the system of Niclaitanes of leadership; majority of the so called bishops and pastors in Nigerian are noting but slave masters!

THE DEEDS OF THE NICOLAITANES: There are deeds and doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, the Church of Ephesus was commended by the Lord for disliking the practices of the Nicolaitanes, which the Lord also hates….

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate (Revelation2:6).

The deeds Nicolaitanes stands for wrong principles in ministry: For the sake of monetary gain some people in the early church deviated from the apostolic traditions and established their own kind of church structure different from the spiritual pattern that Jesus Christ revealed….

DRAWING OF DISCIPLES AFTER ONE’S SELF

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them (Act20:28-30).

Paul in the above read scripture, apostle gave a prophetic warning to the Christians elders in the city of Ephesus Concerning the rising of Nicolaitanes. The early apostles of Jesus Christ were not preaching the Gospel to be famous or to win recognition of man. And they were not recruiting followers for themselves; instead the apostles were directing people to Christ; all their effort was to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Apostles were bringing sinners back into a direct fellowship with God so that the believers will not depend on them. To make Jesus Christ known the apostles and elders were down to earth men; they extremely humbled themselves, making themselves unpopular always to enable people fix their eyes on Jesus Christ. Also in the early church believers were taught to celebrate Jesus Christ alone, people were not allowed to celebrate preachers as Christians do today; we Christians talk about the greatness of our preachers more than we preach Christ. It was an abomination to praise a preacher instead of God who gives men the grace and the gift to work miracles (Act14:8-14).The Christians in the early church knew that it is only Jesus Christ who can save, there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved (Act4:12).

The Nicolaitanes preachers were working contrary to the apostolic mindset, they were proud; presenting themselves to the congregation instead of Christ, and that shifted the minds of the Christians from looking unto Jesus Christ to be depending on the pastors as the ultimate oracles. Some of us think that Nicolaitanism is the things of the past, however, Nicolaitanes system continue to live till this days, most Pastors and bishop’s today have absorbed the mediatorial seat in the church. Nowadays people go to church to watch pastors’ performance on stage, instead of Christians to become like Christ majority are conforming to the exact image of their pastors, bishops and so forth.

The reasons why some Christians talk and act more like their pastors instead of Jesus Christ is because majority of the present day pastors presents themselves to the congregation not of Jesus Christ. The structural church pastor are seen by the believers as the local almighty “a demi-god” , some of them in their congregation represents the eyes, ear and mount of the assembly; it is the pastors alone who hear from God un-behalf of the entire church and tell the people what God is saying. I have seen in a church where the leader alone dominated all the fivefold ministerial offices; apart from being the pastor, he is the only one who travels as an apostle to preach in different churches and in different nations, not even that he is reaching the unreached people group of where he goes to, as he goes out halve of the congregation will not attend the so called church service till pastor comes back and take his place as a teacher. The pastor also being the ultimate prophet will wait until the end of the year to give his congregation the new year prophecies, at the same time none of his church member can take the initiative to go out and hold crusades to convert sinners and make them disciples for Christ, only the pastor as well is call to do that, he have the power alone to organize and preach in crusade ground, run television, internet and radio ministries. All that the church members are good for is to give monetary offering and pay their tight to support pastor’s family and his ministries.

It is obvious that the church leaders nowadays have forgotten that every Christian has an assignment (2Corinthians3:6-7, 5:17-20). And the responsibility of the Christian Leaders is not to use their members and raise money to support their selfish religious business empires. The duty of any person who assumed office a leader in the church is to equip the people of God for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians4:11-13).