“Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.”
(Rev 2:15)
A Satanic priesthood is, per definition, not aware of the fact that they are serving the kingdom of darkness. In their religious fervour, even when they are killing prophets, they think that they are serving God (John 16:2). They become part of a faith system and obtained authority within it without God’s sanctioning. As a priesthood they therefore serve the system, but fulfil the agenda of the Evil One IN the church. Various counter-images can be found in the Scriptures (like the example of Saul in his later years), but let’s examine the one found in Rev 2:6 and 15, that of the Nicolaitans.
Historical proof has been found to validate the existence of such a sect. A number of early church fathers documented the doctrine of the group. Iranaeus, for instance, mentioned that “they lead lives of unrestrained indulgence”. Hippolytus and so too Alexandria, link the group to one of the seven deacons of the Acts church (see Acts 6:5), “Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch”, who had made himself guilty of extreme promiscuity. But this is clearly not only a historical group, but a prototypical one, of which John writes about on account of “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place” (Rev 1:1). The Nicolaitans thus also have bearing on what we experience in the church today. The word Nicolaitans has its origins in two Greek words – nikao which means conquer and lao which means laity, thus conquer the laity. Other declensions could read it as victors over the people or rulers over the world, even destruction of the people. The laity, the ordinary people, is seen as the opposite of the clergy, those who apparently possess learning of the Godhead. If spiritual positions were obtained through learning, the people could accordingly be controlled.
It is interesting to note that the doctrine of the Nicolaitans is linked to the doctrine of Balaam (Num 24-25), which can mean lord of the people, or he destroyed the people! The original Nicolas was of course Nimrod (see Gen 10:8), an evil man responsible for destroying many human beings. Nicolas is the Greek version of the name Nimrod! This violent dictator ruled the common man with an iron first, and brought about the first man-made dynasty. His subjects were required to address him as Baal (master or lord) and worship him instead of God.
What does all this mean for us? It is clear that Satan has entered the community of believers and instated a class system where individuals with specific religious education is given authority over ordinary believers. Thus gatherings of fellowship were formalised, organised, controlled and thus manipulated. “Intimidation,” says John Bevere, “is a spirit that gains expression through any person who will yield to it, even through a believer!” In this way the Holy Spirit withdraws from the community of believers, and a satanic priesthood comes into being. This, God says, is a system He hates.
- Sela: Use 2 Cor 3:17 as a guideline in examining the places where you worship.
- Read: 2 Sam 23; Prov 27; 1 Thess 3
- Memorise: 2 Sam 23:2
- For a deeper understanding: Read Arthur Pink’s Satan and his gospel.
