The Nicolaitans.

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Ben C. Smith
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The Nicolaitans.

Post by Ben C. Smith »

I recently posted a list of ancient text sources for the story of Balaam, Balak, and the matter of Peor in the Jewish Texts and History forum, and thought I may as well go ahead and post what I have collected so far about the Nicolaitans, which was the original reason I was looking into Balaam:

Revelation 2.1-7: 1 To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. 5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place — unless you repent. 6 Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.'"

Revelation 2.12-17: 12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: "The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this: 13 'I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality. 15 Thus [οὕτως] you also [καὶ] have some who likewise [ὁμοίως] hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.'"

Revelation 2.18-29: 18 And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: "The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this: 19 'I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your deeds of late are greater than at first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds. 24 But I say to you, the rest who are in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they call them — I place no other burden on you. 25 Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. 26 He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; 27 and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; 28 and I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'"

Acts 6.1-7: 1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." 5 The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

Acts 15.19-21 (James speaking): 19 "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. 21 For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."

Irenaeus, Against Heresies 1.26.3: The Nicolaitanes are the followers of that Nicolas who was one of the seven first ordained to the diaconate by the apostles. They lead lives of unrestrained indulgence. The character of these men is very plainly pointed out in the Apocalypse of John, [when they are represented] as teaching that it is a matter of indifference to practise adultery, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. Wherefore the Word has also spoken of them thus: "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate."

Irenaeus, Against Heresies 3.11.1: John, the disciple of the Lord, preaches this faith, and seeks, by the proclamation of the Gospel, to remove that error which by Cerinthus had been disseminated among men, and a long time previously by those termed Nicolaitans, who are an offset of that "knowledge" falsely so called, that he might confound them, and persuade them that there is but one God, who made all things by His Word; and not, as they allege, that the Creator was one, but the Father of the Lord another; and that the Son of the Creator was, forsooth, one, but the Christ from above another, who also continued impossible, descending upon Jesus, the Son of the Creator, and flew back again into His Pleroma; and that Monogenes was the beginning, but Logos was the true son of Monogenes; and that this creation to which we belong was not made by the primary God, but by some power lying far below Him, and shut off from communion with the things invisible and ineffable.

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies 7.24: While, however, different questions have arisen among them, a certain (heretic), who himself also was styled Theodotus, and who was by trade a banker, attempted to establish (the doctrine), that a certain Melchisedek constitutes the greatest power, and that this one is greater than Christ. And they allege that Christ happens to be according to the likeness (of this Melchisedek). And they themselves, similarly with those who have been previously spoken of as adherents of Theodotus, assert that Jesus is a (mere) man, and that, in conformity with the same account (already given), Christ descended upon him. There are, however, among the Gnostics diversities of opinion; but we have decided that it would not be worth while to enumerate the silly doctrines of these (heretics), inasmuch as they are (too) numerous and devoid of reason, and full of blasphemy. Now, even those (of the heretics) who are of a more serious turn in regard of the Divinity, and have derived their systems of speculation from the Greeks, must stand convicted (of these charges). But Nicolaus has been a cause of the wide-spread combination of these wicked men. He, as one of the seven (that were chosen) for the diaconate, was appointed by the Apostles. (But Nicolaus) departed from correct doctrine, and was in the habit of inculcating indifference of both life and food. And when the disciples (of Nicolaus) continued to offer insult to the Holy Spirit, John reproved them in the Apocalypse as fornicators and eaters of things offered unto idols.

Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 2.20.117b-118a: οἶδα ἐγὼ αἱρέσει τινὶ ἐντυχών, καὶ ὁ ταύτης προϊστάμενος διὰ τῆς χρήσεως ἔφασκεν τῆς ἡδονῆς ἡδονῇ μάχεσθαι, αὐτομολῶν πρὸς ἡδονὴν διὰ προσποιητοῦ μάχης ὁ γενναῖος οὗτος γνωστικός (ἔφασκε γὰρ δὴ αὑτὸν καὶ γνωστικὸν εἶναι), ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ μέγα ἔλεγεν τὸ ἀπέχεσθαι ἡδονῆς μὴ πεπειραμένον, ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ γενόμενον μὴ κρατεῖσθαι, ὅθεν γυμνάζεσθαι δι' αὐτῆς ἐν αὐτῇ. ἐλάνθανεν δὲ ἑαυτὸν κατασοφιζόμενος ὁ ἄθλιος τῇ φιληδόνῳ τέχνῃ. ταύτῃ δηλονότι τῇ δόξῃ καὶ Ἀρίστιππος ὁ Κυρηναῖος προσέβαλλεν τοῦ τὴν ἀλήθειαν αὐχοῦντος σοφιστοῦ. ὀνειδιζόμενος γοῦν ἐπὶ τῷ συνεχῶς ὁμιλεῖν τῇ ἑταίρᾳ τῇ Κορινθίᾳ, «ἔχω γὰρ» ἔλεγεν «Λαΐδα καὶ οὐκ ἔχομαι ὑπ' αὐτῆς.» τοιοῦτοι δὲ καὶ οἱ φάσκοντες ἑαυτοὺς Νικολάῳ ἕπεσθαι, ἀπομνημόνευμά τι τἀνδρὸς φέροντες ἐκ παρατροπῆς τὸ «δεῖν παραχρῆσθαι τῇ σαρκί». ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν γενναῖος κολούειν δεῖν ἐδήλου τάς τε ἡδονὰς τάς τε ἐπιθυμίας καὶ τῇ ἀσκήσει ταύτῃ καταμαραίνειν τὰς τῆς σαρκὸς ὁρμάς τε καὶ ἐπιθέσεις. οἳ δὲ εἰς ἡδονὴν τράγων δίκην ἐκχυθέντες, οἷον ἐφυβρίζοντες τῷ σώματι, καθηδυπαθοῦσιν, οὐκ εἰδότες ὅτι τὸ μὲν ῥακοῦται φύσει ῥευστὸν ὄν, ἡ ψυχὴ δὲ αὐτῶν ἐν βορβόρῳ κακίας κατορώρυκται, δόγμα ἡδονῆς αὐτῆς, οὐχὶ δὲ ἀνδρὸς ἀποστολικοῦ μεταδιωκόντων. / I know that I have come upon a heresy; and its chief was wont to say that he fought with pleasure by pleasure, this worthy Gnostic advancing on pleasure in feigned combat, for he said he was a Gnostic; since he said it was no great thing for a man that had not tried pleasure to abstain from it, but for one who had mixed in it not to be overcome [was something]; and that therefore by means of it he trained himself in it. The wretched man knew not that he was deceiving himself by the artfulness of voluptuousness. To this opinion, then, manifestly Aristippus the Cyrenian adhered— that of the sophist who boasted of the truth. Accordingly, when reproached for continually cohabiting with the Corinthian courtezan, he said, I possess Lais, and am not possessed by her. Such also are those (who say that they follow Nicolaus, quoting an adage of the man, which they pervert, that the flesh must be abused. But the worthy man showed that it was necessary to check pleasures and lusts, and by such training to waste away the impulses and propensities of the flesh. But they, abandoning themselves to pleasure like goats, as if insulting the body, lead a life of self-indulgence; not knowing that the body is wasted, being by nature subject to dissolution; while their soul is buried in the mire of vice; following as they do the teaching of pleasure itself, not of the apostolic man.

Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 3.4.25b-26: περὶ δὲ τῆς Νικολάου ῥήσεως διαλεχθέντες ἐκεῖνο παρελίπομεν. ὡραίαν, φασί, γυναῖκα ἔχων οὗτος, μετὰ τὴν ἀνάληψιν τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος πρὸς τῶν ἀποστόλων ὀνειδισθεὶς ζηλοτυπίαν, εἰς μέσον ἀγαγὼν τὴν γυναῖκα γῆμαι τῷ βουλομένῳ ἐπέτρεψεν. ἀκόλουθον γὰρ εἶναί φασι τὴν πρᾶξιν ταύτην ἐκείνῃ τῇ φωνῇ τῇ ὅτι «παραχρήσασθαι τῇ σαρκὶ δεῖ», καὶ δὴ κατακολουθήσαντες τῷ <τε> γενομένῳ τῷ τε εἰρημένῳ ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀβασανίστως ἀνέδην ἐκπορνεύουσιν οἱ τὴν αἵρεσιν αὐτοῦ μετιόντες. πυνθάνομαι δ' ἔγωγε τὸν Νικόλαον μηδεμιᾷ ἑτέρᾳ παρ' ἣν ἔγημεν κεχρῆσθαι γυναικὶ τῶν τ' ἐκείνου τέκνων <τὰς> θηλείας μὲν καταγηρᾶσαι παρθένους, ἄφθορον δὲ διαμεῖναι τὸν υἱόν· ὧν οὕτως ἐχόντων ἀποβολὴ πάθους ἦν εἰς μέσον τῶν ἀποστόλων ἡ τῆς ζηλοτυπουμένης ἐκκύκλησις γυναικός, καὶ ἡ ἐγκράτεια τῶν περισπουδάστων ἡδονῶν τὸ «παραχρῆσθαι τῇ σαρκὶ» ἐδίδασκεν. οὐ γάρ, οἶμαι, ἐβούλετο κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐντολὴν «δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν», ἡδονῇ καὶ θεῷ. λέγουσι γοῦν καὶ τὸν Ματθίαν οὕτως διδάξαι, σαρκὶ μὲν μάχεσθαι καὶ παραχρῆσθαι μηθὲν αὐτῇ πρὸς ἡδονὴν ἀκόλαστον ἐνδιδόντα, ψυχὴν δὲ αὔξειν διὰ πίστεως καὶ γνώσεως. / 25b But when we spoke about the saying of Nicolaus we omitted to say this. Nicolaus, they say, had a lovely wife. When after the Saviour's ascension he was accused before the apostles of jealousy, he brought his wife into the concourse and allowed anyone who so desired to marry her. For, they say, this action was appropriate to the saying: "One must abuse the flesh." Those who share his heresy follow both his action and his words simply and without qualification by indulging in the gravest enormity. 26 I am informed, however, that Nicolaus never had relations with any woman other than the wife he married, and that of his children his daughters remained virgins to their old age, and his son remained uncorrupted. In view of this it was an act of suppression of passion when he brought before the apostles the wife on whose account he was jealous. He taught what it meant to "abuse the flesh" by restraining the distracting passions. For, as the Lord commanded, he did not wish to serve two masters, pleasure and God. It is said that Matthias also taught that one should fight the flesh and abuse it, never allowing it to give way to licentious pleasure, so that the soul might grow by faith and knowledge.

Tertullian, Against Marcion 1.29.2: 2 Let us see, then, whether it be a just one: not as if we aimed at destroying the happiness of sanctity, as do certain Nicolaitans in their maintenance of lust and luxury, but as those who have come to the knowledge of sanctity, and pursue it and prefer it, without detriment, however, to marriage; not as if we superseded a bad thing by a good, but only a good thing by a better. For we do not reject marriage, but simply refrain from it. Nor do we prescribe sanctity as the rule, but only recommend it, observing it as a good, yea, even the better state, if each man uses it carefully according to his ability; but at the same time earnestly vindicating marriage, whenever hostile attacks are made against it is a polluted thing, to the disparagement of the Creator. For He bestowed His blessing on matrimony also, as on an honourable estate, for the increase of the human race; as He did indeed on the whole of His creation, for wholesome and good uses.

Tertullian, On the Prescription of Heretics 33.10-12: 10 John, however, in the Apocalypse is charged to chastise those "who eat things sacrificed to idols," and "who commit fornication." There are even now another sort of Nicolaitans. Theirs is called the Gaian heresy. 11 But in his epistle he especially designates those as "Antichrists" who "denied that Christ was come in the flesh,"361 and who refused to think that Jesus was the Son of God. The one dogma Marcion maintained; the other, Hebion. 12 The doctrine, however, of Simon's sorcery, which inculcated the worship of angels, was itself actually reckoned amongst idolatries and condemned by the Apostle Peter in Simon's own person.

Tertullian, On Modesty 19.4-5: 4 This harmony of the Holy Spirit whoever observes, shall by Him be conducted into His meanings. For (the angel of the Thyatirene Church) was secretly introducing into the Church, and urging justly to repentance, an heretical woman, who had taken upon herself to teach what she had learnt from the Nicolaitans. 5 For who has a doubt that an heretic, deceived by (a spurious baptismal) rite, upon discovering his mischance, and expiating it by repentance, both attains pardon and is restored to the bosom of the Church? Whence even among us, as being on a par with an heathen, nay even more than heathen, an heretic likewise, (such an one) is purged through the baptism of truth from each character, and admitted (to the Church).

Pseudo-Tertullian, Against All Heresies 1.6: 6 A brother heretic emerged in Nicolaus. He was one of the seven deacons who were appointed in the Acts of the Apostles. He affirms that Darkness was seized with a concupiscence-and, indeed, a foul and obscene one-after Light: out of this permixture it is a shame to say what fetid and unclean (combinations arose). The rest (of his tenets), too, are obscene. For he tells of certain Aeons, sons of turpitude, and of conjunctions of execrable and obscene embraces and per-mixtures, and certain yet baser outcomes of these. He teaches that there were born, moreover, daemons, and gods, and spirits seven, and other things sufficiently sacrilegious. alike and foul, which we blush to recount, and at once pass them by. Enough it is for us that this heresy of the Nicolaitans has been condemned by the Apocalypse of the Lord with the weightiest authority attaching to a sentence, in saying "Because this thou holdest, thou hatest the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which I too hate."

Eusebius, History of the Church 3.29.1-4: 1 Ἐπὶ τούτων δῆτα καὶ ἡ λεγομένη τῶν Νικολαϊτῶν αἵρεσις ἐπὶ σμικρότατον συνέστη χρόνον, ἧς δὴ καὶ ἡ τοῦ Ἰωάννου Ἀποκάλυψις μνημονεύει· οὗτοι Νικόλαον ἕνα τῶν ἀμφὶ τὸν Στέφανον διακόνων πρὸς τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν ἐνδεῶν θεραπείᾳ προκεχειρισμένων ηὔχουν. Ὅ γε μὴν Ἀλεξανδρεὺς Κλήμης ἐν τρίτῳ Στρωματεῖ ταῦτα περὶ αὐτοῦ κατὰ λέξιν ἱστορεῖ· 2 « Ὡραίαν, φασί, γυναῖκα ἔχων οὗτος, μετὰ τὴν ἀνάληψιν τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος πρὸς τῶν ἀποστόλων ὀνειδισθεὶς ζηλοτυπίαν, εἰς μέσον ἀγαγὼν τὴν γυναῖκα γῆμαι τῷ βουλομένῳ ἐπέτρεψεν. Ἀκόλουθον γὰρ εἶναί φασι τὴν πρᾶξιν ταύτην ἐκείνῃ τῇ φωνῇ τῇ ὅτι παραχρᾶσθαι τῇ σαρκὶ δεῖ, καὶ δὴ κατακολουθήσαντες τῷ γεγενημένῳ τῷ τε εἰρημένῳ ἁπλῶς καὶ ἀβασανίστως, ἀνέδην ἐκπορνεύουσιν οἱ τὴν αἵρεσιν αὐτοῦ μετιόντες. 3 Πυνθάνομαι δ' ἐγὼ τὸν Νικόλαον μηδεμιᾷ ἑτέρᾳ παρ' ἣν ἔγημε κεχρῆσθαι γυναικί, τῶν τε ἐκείνου τέκνων τὰς μὲν θηλείας καταγηρᾶσαι παρθένους, ἄφθορον δὲ διαμεῖναι τὸν υἱόν· ὧν οὕτως ἐχόντων ἀποβολὴ πάθους ἦν ἡ εἰς μέσον τῶν ἀποστόλων τῆς ζηλοτυπουμένης ἐκκύκλησις γυναικός, καὶ ἡ ἐγκράτεια τῶν περισπουδάστων ἡδονῶν τὸ παραχρᾶσθαι τῇ σαρκὶ ἐδίδασκεν. Οὐ γάρ, οἶμαι, ἐβούλετο κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐντολὴν δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν, ἡδονῇ καὶ κυρίῳ. 4 Λέγουσι δ' οὖν καὶ τὸν Ματθίαν οὕτω διδάξαι, σαρκὶ μὲν μάχεσθαι καὶ παραχρᾶσθαι μηδὲν αὐτῇ πρὸς ἡδονὴν ἐνδιδόντα, ψυχῆν δὲ αὔξειν διὰ πίστεως καὶ γνώσεως». Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τῶν κατὰ τοὺς δηλουμένους χρόνους παραβραβεῦσαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐγκεχειρηκότων, λόγου γε μὴν θᾶττον εἰς τὸ παντελὲς ἀπεσβηκότωνεἰρήσθω. / 1 At this time the so-called sect of the Nicolaitans made its appearance and lasted for a very short time. Mention is made of it in the Apocalypse of John. They boasted that the author of their sect was Nicolaus, one of the deacons who, with Stephen, were appointed by the apostles for the purpose of ministering to the poor. Clement of Alexandria, in the third book of his Stromata, relates the following things concerning him. 2 They say that he had a beautiful wife, and after the ascension of the Saviour, being accused by the apostles of jealousy, he led her into their midst and gave permission to any one that wished to marry her. For they say that this was in accord with that saying of his, that one ought to abuse the flesh. And those that have followed his heresy, imitating blindly and foolishly that which was done and said, commit fornication without shame. 3 But I understand that Nicolaus had to do with no other woman than her to whom he was married, and that, so far as his children are concerned, his daughters continued in a state of virginity until old age, and his son remained uncorrupt. If this is so, when he brought his wife, whom he jealously loved, into the midst of the apostles, he was evidently renouncing his passion; and when he used the expression, 'to abuse the flesh,' he was inculcating self-control in the face of those pleasures that are eagerly pursued. For I suppose that, in accordance with the command of the Saviour, he did not wish to serve two masters, pleasure and the Lord. 4 But they say that Matthias also taught in the same manner that we ought to fight against and abuse the flesh, and not give way to it for the sake of pleasure, but strengthen the soul by faith and knowledge. So much concerning those who then attempted to pervert the truth, but in less time than it has taken to tell it became entirely extinct.

Apostolic Constitutions 6.8: 8 Ἡνίκα δὲ ἐξήλθομεν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν κηρύσσειν εἰς τὸν κόσμον τὸν λόγον τῆς ζωῆς, τότε ἐνήργησεν ὁ διάβολος εἰς τὸν λαόν, ἀποστεῖλαι ὀπίσω ἡμῶν ψευδαποστόλους εἰς βεβήλωσιν τοῦ λόγου· καὶ προεβάλοντο Κλεόβιόν τινα καὶ παρέζευξαν τῷ Σίμωνι, οὗτοι δὲ μαθητεύουσιν Δοσιθέῳ τινί, ὃν καὶ παρευδοκιμήσαντες ἐξώσαντο τῆς ἀρχῆς· εἶτα καὶ ἕτεροι ἑτέρων κατῆρξαν ἐκτόπων δογμάτων, Κήρινθος καὶ Μάρκος καὶ Μένανδρος καὶ Βασιλείδης καὶ Σατορνῖλος. Τούτων οἱ μὲν πολλοὺς θεούς, οἱ δὲ τρεῖς ἐναντίους, ἀνάρχους, ἀεὶ συνόντας ἑαυτοῖς, οἱ δὲ ἀπείρους καὶ ἀγνώστους δοξάζουσιν· καὶ οἱ μὲν τὸν γάμον ἀθετοῦσιν, οὐκ εἶναι τοῦ Θεοῦ ἔργον δοξάζοντες, ἄλλοι δέ τινα τῶν βρωμάτων βδελύσσονται, οἱ δὲ ἀναίδην ἐκπορνεύουσιν, οἷοι οἱ νῦν ψευδώνυμοι Νικολαῗται. / 8 But when we went forth among the Gentiles to preach the word of life, then the devil wrought in the people to send after us false apostles to the corrupting of the word; and they sent forth one Cleobius, and joined him with Simon, and these became disciples to one Dositheus, whom they despising, put him down from the principality. Afterwards also others were the authors of absurd doctrines: Cerinthus, and Marcus, and Menander, and Basilides, and Saturnilus. Of these some own the doctrine of many gods, some only of three, but contrary to each other, without beginning, and ever with one another, and some of an infinite number of them, and those unknown ones also. And some reject marriage; and their doctrine is, that it is not the appointment of God; and others abhor some kinds of food: some are impudent in uncleanness, such as those who are falsely called Nicolaitans.

Epiphanius 25.1.1-25.7.3 (fin):

1.1 Nicolaus was one of the seven deacons chosen by the apostles, together with the saint and first martyr Stephen, and Prochorus, Parmenas and the others. 2 He was from Antioch and became a proselyte. But after that he received the message of the proclamation of Christ, joined the disciples himself, and <was> at first ranked among the foremost. He was thus included among the ones who were chosen at the time to care for the widows. 3 Later, however, the devil slipped into him and deceived his heart with the same imposture of the ancients whom we have been discussing, so that he was more severely wounded than the ones before him. 4 Though he had a beautiful wife he had refrained from intercourse with her, as though in emulation of those whom he saw devoting themselves to God. He persevered for a while but could not bear to control his incontinence till the end. Instead, desiring to return like a dog to its vomit, he kept looking for poor excuses and inventing them in defense of his own intemperate passion. (<Being ashamed and repenting> would have done him more good!) Then, failing of his purpose, he simply began having sex with his wife. 5 But because he was ashamed of his defeat and suspected that he had been found out, he ventured to say, "Unless one copulates every day, he has no part in eternal life." 6 For he had shifted from one pretense to another. Seeing that his wife was unusually beautiful and yet bore herself with modesty, he envied her. And, supposing that everyone was as lascivious as he, he began by constantly being offensive to his wife and making certain slanderous charges against her in speeches. And at length he degraded himself not only to normal sexual activity but to a blasphemous opinion, the harm of perverse teaching, and the deceit of the covert introduction of wickedness.

2.1 And from this source the <founders> of what is falsely termed '"Knowledge" began their evil sprouting in the world — I mean the people who are called Gnostics and Phibionites, the so-called disciples of Epiphanes, the Stratiotics, Levitics, Borborites and the rest. For each of these, in attracting his own sect with his own passions, invented countless ways of doing evil. 2 For some of them glorify a Barbelo who they claim is on high in an eighth heaven, and say she has been emitted by the Father. For some of them say she is the mother of Ialdabaoth, others, of Sabaoth. 3 But her son has ruled the seventh heaven with a sort of insolence, and tyrannically. To the ones below him he says, "I am the first and I am the last, and there is none other God beside me." 4 But Barbelo has heard what he says, and weeps. And she keeps appearing in some beautiful form to the archons and stealing the seed which is generated by their climax and ejaculation — supposedly to recover her power which has been sown in various of them. 5 And so, on such a basis as this, he covertly brought his smutty mystery to the world. And as I said, some of the others too, with much turpitude, taught the practice — it is not right to say how they did it — of promiscuity with women and unnatural acts of intolerable perversity as the most holy apostle somewhere says, "It is a shame even to speak of the things that are done of them in secret."

3.1 But if anyone would like to see the Holy Spirit's rebuttal in the case of Nicolaus' sect, he must learn it from the Revelation of St. John. John writes in the Lord's name to one of the churches — that is, to the bishop appointed there with the power of the holy angel at the altar — and says, "One good thing thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." 2 But others honor one "Prunicus" and like these, when they consummate their own passions with this kind of disgusting behavior, they say in mythological language of this interpretation of their disgusting behavior, "We are gathering the power of Prunicus from our bodies, and through their emissions." That is, <they suppose they are gathering> the power of semen and menses. 3 A little later, whenever I undertake to speak of them by themselves, I shall describe them in detail — not to sully the ears of the listeners or readers, but to arouse enmity against these persons in the wise, and prevent the doing of their evil deeds. I shall not be accusing the guilty parties falsely, but truthfully making public the things that go on among them. 4 Others glorify the Ialdabaoth we spoke of and claim, as I said, that he is Barbelo's eldest son. And they say he is to be honored because he has revealed many things. 5 And so they fabricate certain books in Ialdabaoth's name and make up any number of outlandish names for archons — <as> they say — and authorities, which oppose the human soul in every heaven. And in a word, the plot which is hatched against mankind by their imposture is a serious one. 6 Others likewise glorify Kaulakau, giving this name to an archon, and do their best to impress the innocent with the frightfulness of this artificial name's barbarity. But to those who are experienced and have received grace from God about every name and subject of God's true knowledge, how can the <un>warranted teachings of their myth and imposture not be refutable at once?

4.1 For if they say, "Prunicus," this is just a belch of lustfulness and incontinence. Anything called "prunicus" suggests a thing named for copulation, and the enterprise of seduction. 2 For there is a Greek expression which is used of men who deflower slave women, "He seduced so-and-so." And the Greek swindlers who compose erotica also record the word in myths by saying that beauty is "seductive." 3 Furthermore, how can any knowledgeable person not laugh at Kaulakau? To plant their imposture in the simple by means of something imaginary, they turn the good Hebrew words, correctly rendered in Greek, <still> clear to those who read Hebrew, and containing nothing obscure, into images, shapes, real principles, practically statuary, for the sowing of their shameful art with its fi ctitious basis. 4 "Kaulakau," is in Isaiah, and is an expression in the twelfth vision, where he says, "Await tribulation upon tribulation, hope upon hope, a little more a little more." 5 I am going to give the Hebrew words themselves here in full, word for word as they are written. "Tsav l'tsav, tsav l'tsav," means "tribulation upon tribulation." "Qav l'qav, qav l'qav" means "hope upon hope." "Z'eir sham, z'eir sham" means, "Await a little more a little more." 6 Where does this leave their mythology? How did they conceive their fantasy? How did the world get these tares? Who forced men to draw destruction upon themselves? 7 For if they knowingly changed the terms into an illusion, they are obviously responsible for their own ruin. But if they ignorantly said things that they did not know, there is nothing more pathetic than they. For these things are really foolish, <as> anyone with God-inspired understanding can see. 8 For the sake of their lustfulness they have destroyed, and are destroying, both themselves and whomever they can convince. 9 For there is a spirit of imposture which, like breath in a flute, sets every fool in motion against the truth with its various movements. Indeed, the flute itself is a replica of the serpent through which the evil one spoke and deceived Eve. 10 For the flute was prepared to deceive mankind, on its model and in imitation of it. And see what the flutist himself represents as he plays his fl ute; he throws his head back as he plays and bends it forward, he leans right and leans left like the serpent. 11 For the devil makes these gestures too, to display blasphemy of the heavenly host and to destroy earth's creatures utterly while at the same time getting the world into his toils, wreaking havoc right and left on those who trust the imposture, and are charmed by it as by the notes of an instrument.

5.1 Certain others of them make up some new names, and say that there were Darkness, Depth and Water, and that the Spirit in between them formed their boundary. But Darkness was angry and enraged at Spirit, and this Darkness sprang up, embraced it, they say, and sired something called "Womb." After Womb was born it conceived by Spirit itself. 2 A certain four aeons were emitted from Womb, but fourteen others from the four, and this was the origin of "right" and "left," darkness and light. 3 But later, after all these, a certain ignoble aeon was emitted. It had intercourse with the Womb we mentioned above, and by this ignoble aeon and Womb gods, angels, demons and seven spirits were produced. 4 But it is easy to detect the cheap mime of their imposture. They have given it away by saying first that there is one "Father," and later designating many gods — to prove that error itself arms its falsehoods against itself and destroys itself, while the truth always proves <consistent> at every point.

6.1 Well, what should I say to you, Nicolaus? Which arguments shall I use? Where have you come from, you, to bring us an ignoble aeon, a root of wickedness, a fertile Womb, and a whole lot of gods and demons? 2 When the apostle says, "Though there be so-called gods," he is implying that there are no such things. By the words, "so-called," he showed that they are gods in name only — not existent in actuality, but in the opinion of certain people. 3 "But to us," he says, obviously meaning, "to us who are acquainted with the knowledge of the truth," "there is one God." And he did not say, "so-called god," but actual "God." And if there is one God for us, there cannot be many gods. 4 And the Lord in the Gospel says, "that they might know thee, the only true God," to refute the notion of those who talk mythology and believe in polytheism. For our God is one — Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three subsistences, one Lordship, one Godhead, one Praise — and not many gods. 5 And on your terms, Nicolaus, where is the application of the Savior's saying, "There are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men, and there are some which were eunuchs from birth, and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake?" 6 If there are eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake, why have you deceived yourself and those who trust you, by holding God's truth in unrighteousness with your copulation and unnatural vice, and teaching <licentiousness>? 7 And where do you see the application of, "Concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give my judgment, as one that hath attained mercy, that it is good so to be"? And again, "The virgin careth for the things of the Lord, how she may please the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit." (8) And how much there is to say about purity, continence and celibacy — for the whole filth of uncleanness is brazenly spelled out by yourself! But with these two or three texts <which I put before> the reader in refutation of the absurd sect, my purpose is served here.

7.1 But next I shall go on and describe the sect which is closely associated with Nicolaus, like a wood overgrown with grass, a thicket of thorns tangled together in every direction, or a heap of dead trees and scrub in a fi eld, ready for burning — because of <its union> with this sect of the wretched Nicolaus. 2 <For> as bodies contract infection from other bodies through inoculation, a malignant itch, or leprosy, so the so-called <Gnostics> are partly united with <the Nicolaitans>, since they took their cues from Nicolaus himself and his predecessors — I mean Simon and the others. They are called "knowledgeable," but they are known all too well for the wickedness and obscenity in the transactions of their unclean trade. 3 For with the reed that was placed in Christ's hand we have truly struck and destroyed this man as well, who practiced continence for a short while and then abandoned it — like the creature called the newt, which comes from the water to land and returns to the water again. Let us move on to the sects which follow.

The story of Balaam may actually be completely unrelated to the Nicolaitan issue, to judge simply by the wording of the reference in Revelation 2.15, which is the sole source for the potential connection.

It seems possible to me that the story of the deacon Nicolas/Nicolaus (involving his offering his own wife to the apostles), as told by Clement of Alexandria, might be contrived from (A) an assumed conjunction of the Nicolaitans with the heresy of Balaam in Revelation 2.15, (B) the similarity of the name Nicolaitans to the name Nicolas in Acts 6.5, and (C) the reconstructed story of how Balaam used Midianite women to lead Israel astray in Numbers 25. But I am not yet sure what to make of the saying attributed to this Nicolaus, to the effect that "the flesh must be abused."

At any rate, the origins and beliefs of the sect known as the Nicolaitans are shrouded in mystery. I wonder what ideas the posters at this forum might have on them.

Ben.
Last edited by Ben C. Smith on Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:01 am, edited 4 times in total.
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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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This PhD Thesis by Frank, Patrik Immanuel may provide some answers (see page 36).
https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/bitstrea ... sAllowed=y
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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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arnoldo wrote:This PhD Thesis by Frank, Patrik Immanuel may provide some answers (see page 36).
https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/bitstrea ... sAllowed=y
Very interesting. Thank you.
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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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Ben C. Smith wrote:
arnoldo wrote:This PhD Thesis by Frank, Patrik Immanuel may provide some answers (see page 36).
https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/bitstrea ... sAllowed=y
Very interesting. Thank you.
I have read that section, and I think he is mainly correct. I was already leaning toward not considering Balaam (or Jezebel, for that matter) as having anything to do with the Nicolaitans, and I find myself even more convinced of that position. As Frank observes (following from Mackay), Balaam and Jezebel are both code names from the Hebrew scriptures, while the term Nicolaitans is Greek, possibly implying that the doctrines and practices of the former two could be found in scripture while the doctrines and practices of the latter could not. Even apart from that implication, however, the wording of Revelation 2.15 seems to imply that the Nicolaitans are another group which infests the church in Pergamum, not the same group under a different name.
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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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Maybe it was a small group that was significant enough for the author of Revelation to mention, but not important enough for it to get more discussion in contemporary Christian writings handed down to us (eg. in the Bible or in writings predating c. 150 AD).

It could have been a local group in one or a handful of parishes that John the author had contact with or had heard of.

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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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So I know very little about the underlying Greek of names, but is there any possible connection between the Nicolai tins and Nicodemus of John fame?
The metric to judge if one is a good exegete: the way he/she deals with Barabbas.

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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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perseusomega9 wrote: Wed Jul 05, 2017 4:33 pm So I know very little about the underlying Greek of names, but is there any possible connection between the Nicolai tins and Nicodemus of John fame?
Possible? I guess. Νικόδημος = Nicodemus. Νικολαΐτης = Nicolaitan.

But with a name like Νικόλαος = Nicholas being closer, I would have to say the chances of it deriving from Nicodemus are probably pretty remote.
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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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It is worth noting that the last parts of both names are the same עַם = people, λαός = people. I don't know how you reconcile the bel part with 'victor'
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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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Oddly enough others have noticed the same thing:
Etymology[edit]
Those who view the account in Revelation 2 as not literal treat the word "Nicolaitan" not as based upon an individual's name, but as a compound descriptive word. Nico- means "victory" in Greek, and laos means "people" or, more specifically, "the laity". Hence they take the word to mean "lay conquerors" or "conquerors of the lay people".
However, "Nicolaitan" (Greek: Νικολαϊτῶν; Νικολαΐτης) is the name ostensibly given to followers of the heretic Nicolas (Greek: Νικόλαος).[citation needed] The name itself means "victorious over people" or "victory of the people", but it is a name that a person would have been given[citation needed] at birth.[10]
The name Balaam is perhaps capable of being interpreted as a Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Nicolas. Some commentators[11] think that John alludes to this in Revelation 2:14;[12] and C. Vitringa[13] argues forcibly in support of this opinion. However, Albert Barnes notes:
Vitringa supposes that the word is derived from νικος, victory, and λαος, people, and that thus it corresponds with the name Balaam, as meaning either lord of the people, or he destroyed the people; and that, as the same effect was produced by their doctrines as by those of Balaam, that the people were led to commit fornication and to join in idolatrous worship, they might be called Balaamites or Nicolaitanes—that is, corrupters of the people. But to this it may be replied,
(a) that it is far-fetched, and is adopted only to remove a difficulty;
(b) that there is every reason to suppose that the word here used refers to a class of people who bore that name, and who were well known in the two churches specified;
(c) that, in Rev 2:15 , they are expressly distinguished from those who held the doctrine of Balaam, Rev 2:14—"So hast thou also (και) those that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes."
— Albert Barnes, New Testament Notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaism
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Re: The Nicolaitans.

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Secret Alias wrote: Thu Jul 06, 2017 10:49 am Oddly enough others have noticed the same thing:
Etymology[edit]
Those who view the account in Revelation 2 as not literal treat the word "Nicolaitan" not as based upon an individual's name, but as a compound descriptive word. Nico- means "victory" in Greek, and laos means "people" or, more specifically, "the laity". Hence they take the word to mean "lay conquerors" or "conquerors of the lay people".
However, "Nicolaitan" (Greek: Νικολαϊτῶν; Νικολαΐτης) is the name ostensibly given to followers of the heretic Nicolas (Greek: Νικόλαος).[citation needed] The name itself means "victorious over people" or "victory of the people", but it is a name that a person would have been given[citation needed] at birth.[10]
The name Balaam is perhaps capable of being interpreted as a Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Nicolas. Some commentators[11] think that John alludes to this in Revelation 2:14;[12] and C. Vitringa[13] argues forcibly in support of this opinion. However, Albert Barnes notes:
Vitringa supposes that the word is derived from νικος, victory, and λαος, people, and that thus it corresponds with the name Balaam, as meaning either lord of the people, or he destroyed the people; and that, as the same effect was produced by their doctrines as by those of Balaam, that the people were led to commit fornication and to join in idolatrous worship, they might be called Balaamites or Nicolaitanes—that is, corrupters of the people. But to this it may be replied,
(a) that it is far-fetched, and is adopted only to remove a difficulty;
(b) that there is every reason to suppose that the word here used refers to a class of people who bore that name, and who were well known in the two churches specified;
(c) that, in Rev 2:15 , they are expressly distinguished from those who held the doctrine of Balaam, Rev 2:14—"So hast thou also (και) those that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes."
— Albert Barnes, New Testament Notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaism
I encountered that proposed etymology at some point, and it has its appeal, but wow, does it ever sound like a Protestant sort of thing (ecclesiastical overlords as immoral "conquerors of the laity").

Interesting that Nicodemus (Νῑκόδημος) can mean roughly the same thing as Nikolaus: νίκη ("victory") + δῆμος (a different word for "people").
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