Letters to the Church in England:

Chapter One: Nicolatians [Rev 2:1-7]

Dear church, 

Watch out for the Nicolatians:

There is a tradition that Nicolaus the Deacon, the last recorded in Luke’s list of deacons in Acts 6, becomes the inspiration for the Nicolations – the group whose actions were ‘hated’ by Jesus himself  according to Revelation 2, and who he commends churches for ‘hating their practices’ as well. 

There’s a lot going on in that sentence: 

  • Jesus hates the practices of a group within a church 
  • Jesus commends churches for hating evil practices
  • A handpicked leader, once full of the Spirit, can become a direct or indirect inspiration for heresy. 

Probably both things we’d rather ignore today. 

Von Harnock describes the Nicolation teaching as ‘antinomian and libertine in character’ and that they were ‘gnostic radical dualists’ wittingly or unwittingly seduced into seeking ‘deep truths’ about God, when those ‘truths’ were actually about Satan. To put that in plainer English they had their thinking messed up, and their morals even worse. They were deluded by the devil into doing what they felt like, and Jesus himself hated it.  

So was Nicolaus the deacon their direct inspiration? Von Harnock he notes that both Ireaneus and Clement of Alexandria thought the deacon culpable. And even Luke the writer of the gospel may have seen Nicolaus as suspect. He lists Nicolaus last in his list of deacons in Acts 6:5 as ‘ a proselyte of Antioch. His last similar list occurs in Luke 6. There he lists the twelve apostles which finish with ‘…Judas Iscariot who became a traitor’. 

Could it be that the disciples’ choices for leaders shared the ‘failure rate’ our Lord had… one of their number went rogue? Ultimately von Harnock concludes that it is more likely that this sect claimed allegiance to him than they got their ideas directly from him. But the early church fathers from their long experience didn’t find it hard to believe that such a senior Christian leader could have led people astray. They knew that someone chosen because they were truly ‘full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom’ could over the course of a million little compromises or a big fat failing mess themselves and others up. 

And as we look around today’s church as well as back through church history we find it rather likely. People who began well, elevated to positions of influence, but end up leading others astray seems an old, old and very contemporary story. How many in today’s ranks of influencers, senior leaders and platformed people, lost their first love on the way and ended up ‘loving the world over Christ’? 

So whether the deacon of Acts 6:5 was the instigator or not, the warning remains… be careful for rallying around leaders who lead you into ‘deeper truths’ that are not evident from a plain reading of Scripture. Be careful if that resort to ‘additional’ revelation. Watch out if they lead you away from repentance and lead you away from a trust in Christ. Be aware: A handpicked leader once full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom can destroy us all. 

And that’s what Jesus hated and wanted others to hate. The actions of a person called to shepherd who becomes a wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing… who had lost their first love and calcified their heart with a love of this world…

Dear friends, do we have any like that today?