English · KJV

Revelation 2:6

“The Letter to the Church in Ephesus”Revelation 2:1–7

King James Version
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
But G235 this G5124 thou hast G2192, that G3754 thou hatest G3404 the deeds G2041 of the Nicolaitans G3531, which G3739 I also G2504 hate G3404.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
But you have this to your credit: You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the workes of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
but this thou hast, that thou dost hate the works of the Nicolaitans, that I also hate.

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
12 Greek words
  1. ἀλλὰallaButG235CONJConjunction
  2. τοῦτοtoutothisG3778D-ASNDemonstrative pronoun Accusative Singular Neuter
  3. ἔχειςecheisyou haveG2192V-PAI-2SVerb Present Active Indicative 2nd Singular
  4. ὅτιhotithatG3754CONJConjunction
  5. μισεῖςmiseisyou hateG3404V-PAI-2SVerb Present Active Indicative 2nd Singular
  6. τὰtatheG3588T-APNDefinite article Accusative Plural Neuter
  7. ἔργαergaworksG2041N-APNNoun Accusative Plural Neuter
  8. τῶνtōnof theG3588T-GPMDefinite article Genitive Plural Masculine
  9. ΝικολαϊτῶνNikolaitōnNicolaitansG3531N-GPM-LGNoun Genitive Plural Masculine Location Gentilic
  10. ἃhawhichG3739R-APNRelative pronoun Accusative Plural Neuter
  11. κἀγὼkagōI myself alsoG2532P-1NS + G2532=CONJ
  12. μισῶmisōhateG3404V-PAI-1SVerb Present Active Indicative 1st Singular
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

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This verse

Christ commends the Ephesians for hating the deeds of the Nicolaitans, deeds that he hates as well.

“But this thou hast,”

After the rebuke, one more thing Christ values in them.

“that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans,”

Their hatred was directed at specific sinful practices and the teaching behind them.

“which I also hate.”

Christ’s own word confirms their stand and shows how grave the Nicolaitans’ errors were.

Passage studyRevelation 2:1–7

The Church That Left Its First Love

1Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; 2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. 6But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Summary

The first of the seven letters in Revelation goes to the church at Ephesus, from the risen Christ who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden candlesticks. He knows this church well. It works hard and endures, it refuses to bear evil men, it has tested false apostles and found them liars, and it hates the deeds of the Nicolaitans, as he does. Yet he has one thing against it: it has left its first love. He calls it to remember how far it has fallen, to repent and to do the first works, and he warns that otherwise he will come and remove its candlestick. The letter closes with a word for every church and a promise that the one who overcomes will eat of the tree of life in the paradise of God.

Christ who holds the stars and walks among the candlesticks

This is the first of seven letters that the risen Christ sends through John to churches in the Roman province of Asia (Revelation 2–3). John has just seen him in glory (Revelation 1), standing among seven golden candlesticks with seven stars in his right hand (Revelation 1:12–20). Christ explained the vision himself. The stars are the angels of the seven churches, “and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches” (Revelation 1:20). Each letter follows a similar pattern. It is addressed to the angel of a church, Christ describes himself in words drawn from that first vision, he praises what he can and rebukes what he must, he calls the church to act, and he makes a promise to the one who overcomes.

“These things saith” is the formula of a prophet bringing a message from God, and it marks everything that follows as the word of Christ himself. He calls himself the one who “holdeth the seven stars in his right hand.” The verb kratéō means to use strength to take hold of something or to keep it. The right hand is the hand of power, so the leaders of the churches are held by Christ, under his authority and in his keeping, and they belong to him.

He also “walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.” The verb peripatéō means to walk or walk about, and figuratively to live or conduct oneself. Christ moves among his churches, present with them and watching over them, so he knows exactly how each one is doing. That is why his next words to Ephesus are “I know.” His presence is a comfort, because every church and every leader is under his eye and in his hand. It is also a summons to account, because all that a church does lies open before him.

Paul calls him “the head of the body, the church” (Colossians 1:18), and says that God gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body (Ephesians 1:22–23). He is the one who said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18), and who promised his disciples, “lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20). Here we see him keeping that promise, walking among his churches. He is the great shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 13:20–21), he makes intercession for his people (Romans 8:34), and he loved the church and gave himself for it, to present it to himself holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:25–27).

Who is the angel of the church?

The angel is the church’s messenger, most likely the human leader or representative who would receive Christ’s letter and convey it to the whole congregation. The word ángelos comes from a verb meaning to bring tidings. It is the usual word for an angel, and it is also used of human messengers, and since these letters deal with the life of real congregations, a human messenger fits them well. Christ speaks to the church through its leader, and he holds that leader in his right hand, so the leader answers to him and is kept by him.

Ephesus and its church

Ephesus was among the greatest cities of the Roman province of Asia, in what is now Turkey. It was a major port and a centre of trade, and it was home to the huge temple of Artemis, the goddess the KJV calls Diana, whose worshippers cried out, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” Magic and the worship of the emperor were part of the city’s life as well.

The church there had a rich history. Paul preached in Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila and Apollos served there, and Paul later stayed for a long ministry in which the gospel won ground against the city’s idols and magic (Acts 18–19). Timothy later served there, guarding the church’s teaching (1 Timothy 1:3), and tradition holds that John himself lived in Ephesus in his later years. Revelation was most likely written in the late first century, under the emperor Domitian, when believers in the city faced growing pressure to take part in Roman religion. A city so full of ideas and religions also brought false teachers to the church’s door, and Christ commends the church for seeing through them.

What Christ praises in Ephesus

Christ begins with praise, and a good deal of it, before he says a word of rebuke. “I know thy works” uses the verb eídō, properly “to see”, and so to know. He has seen everything this church does, and he names it. Their works (érgon) are their deeds, the faith they put into practice, and James teaches that living faith is known by such works (James 2:17). Their labour (kópos) is toil that wears a person out. Their patience (hypomonḗ) is steadfast, hopeful endurance, the strength to stay under a load and keep going.

They also “canst not bear them which are evil.” The verb bastázō means to lift or carry, and so to bear or put up with. This church refused to tolerate wicked men in its fellowship and stood against the evil they practised, out of a commitment to holiness. The same verb comes back in verse 3, “and hast borne”, so the church that refused to bear evil men has borne a great deal for Christ.

Testing those who say they are apostles

Some men had come to Ephesus calling themselves apostles, and the church “tried” them. The verb peirázō means to test or try. The church examined these men, their teaching, their character and the fruit of their lives, and found them to be liars (pseudḗs). The early church had many such visitors, claiming authority from God while spreading false doctrine or using believers for gain, and testing them protected the church from error and from leaders who would have manipulated it.

Scripture warned of them repeatedly. Jesus spoke of false prophets who come in sheep’s clothing and are known by their fruits (Matthew 7:15–20), and Paul warned the elders of this very church that after he left, men would come in among them and arise from among them to draw disciples away (Acts 20:29–30). Paul wrote of false apostles who transform themselves into apostles of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13–15), Peter of false teachers who would arise among believers (2 Peter 2:1–3), and John told believers to try the spirits whether they are of God (1 John 4:1). Paul prayed that love would abound in knowledge and judgment, so that believers could approve things that are excellent (Philippians 1:9–10). The Ephesians did exactly that, and Christ praises them for it.

Christ himself is the measure of every claim to speak for God. He knew all men and what was in them (John 2:24–25), he exposed the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23), and Hebrews calls him “the Apostle and High Priest of our profession” (Hebrews 3:1). The discernment of this church was his own power at work in his people.

Labour for his name without fainting

Verse 3 gathers up the praise. They have borne hardship, they have patience, the same hypomonḗ as in verse 2, and they have laboured. The verb kopiáō means to grow tired, and so to work hard, to the point of weariness. The phrase ou kámnō, “hast not fainted”, says they have kept on without giving up. They worked until they were weary, and still they held on.

They did it “for my name’s sake” (diá to ónoma mou), out of devotion and loyalty to Jesus himself, for his honour and for the spread of his message. Jesus told his disciples they would be hated of all men for his name’s sake (Matthew 10:22). In a city given to Artemis and the emperor, following him brought social and economic pressure as well as the steady struggle against idolatry and false teaching.

Scripture speaks to such weary workers again and again. Paul promises that those who keep on in well doing will reap in due season (Galatians 6:9), and he calls believers to be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58). Hebrews says that we have need of patience, so that after doing the will of God we might receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36), and James says that the trying of our faith works patience (James 1:3–4). Hebrews also calls us to run with patience the race set before us, looking to Jesus, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross (Hebrews 12:1–2).

Christ is the great example of what this church did. He bore the weight of the world’s sin on the cross, he was obedient unto death (Philippians 2:8), he set his face toward Jerusalem, and he finished the work the Father gave him, saying, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The endurance he praises in Ephesus is a share in his own, and his Spirit is its source.

Thou hast left thy first love

Then comes the turn. “Nevertheless” translates allá, the ordinary word for “but”, here setting what follows sharply against all the praise before it. The Greek of “I have somewhat against thee” is echō kata sou, “I have against thee”, and the KJV supplies “somewhat” to make the English read. It is a charge, spoken by the one who walks among the churches and sees what lies beneath their works.

The charge is that “thou hast left thy first love.” The verb aphíēmi means to send away, let go, leave or forsake. The word for love is agápē, the love that seeks the good of the one loved, the love God shows us and calls us to show. The word for first is prōtos, the same word as in “the first works” of verse 5, and it means first in time or order and also foremost in rank. Both senses fit here. This was the love they had at the beginning, and it was the love that belongs first, ahead of everything else they did.

Their works, their labour, their patience and their testing of false teachers were all still going on. What had gone was the love that should have driven them. Faithful work and sound teaching matter to Christ, as verses 2 and 3 show, and he still holds the loss of love against a church that has them. Paul says that what avails in Christ is “faith which worketh by love” (Galatians 5:6), and the works of Ephesus had lost the love they were meant to work by.

What is the first love?

The first love is the devotion to Christ that marked this church when it first believed, a love full of gratitude and joy and a deep desire to please him, together with the love for one another that grew from it. It is a love of the heart, the mind and the will, set on Christ above all else. Jesus put love for God at the head of all the commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matthew 22:37–38).

That love was always a response to his. We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8), and the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5). Jesus said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), and he laid down his. His love for his people stays constant, and it is what calls Ephesus back.

How can a busy, faithful church lose its first love?

A church loses its first love when its work goes on while the love behind the work cools. The letter names the loss and leaves its cause unspoken, but the church’s own strengths point to the ways it can happen. Busyness in ministry can become an end in itself and crowd out time with God. Defending the truth, which Ephesus did so well, can harden into a critical spirit in which love for truth displaces love for the one who is the truth, and the long fight against false apostles and pagan pressure may have hardened hearts here. Prayer and service can settle into routine and duty. Comfort, success and security can quietly take the place in our affections that belongs to Christ. Through all of it the outward form remains, and Christ, who sees beneath it, names what is missing.

Remember, repent and do the first works

Christ gives a way back in three steps. “Remember” translates mnēmoneúō, to call to mind. The church is to look back and see “from whence thou art fallen”, and the verb there, ekpíptō, means to drop away or fall off. They had come down from a higher place, and they needed to see it. Paul once asked another church, “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” (Galatians 5:7).

“Repent” is metanoéō, to think differently afterwards, to reconsider. It is a change of mind that turns the whole person away from whatever has crowded Christ out and back to him, and it shows in changed priorities and conduct. Peter preached, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19). Repentance answers mercy. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9), so the way back is opened by his grace.

“Do the first works” puts repentance into practice. The works are érgon, the same word as the works Christ praised in verse 2. Ephesus still had works, and Christ asks for the first ones, the eager and loving deeds of its early days: devoted prayer and worship, service done out of love for Christ, and selfless love for others. Regaining the first love is an active turning back to Christ, made in the strength of his Spirit, and these works are where it shows.

Then comes the warning. “Or else” is ei dè mḗ(ge), “but if not”. “I will come unto thee quickly” joins érchomai, to come, with tachý, quickly. The words speak of a swift coming in judgment on this one church, which need not be his final return. He would “remove thy candlestick out of his place”. The verb kinéō means to move or remove, ek means out of, and tópos means place, so the candlestick would be taken right out of where it stands. Then he repeats the condition, “except thou repent.” The judgment can be averted, because what Christ wants is a church restored.

What would it mean to lose the candlestick?

Losing the candlestick would mean the church at Ephesus ceasing to stand before Christ as his light in that city. The candlestick, lychnía, is a lampstand, and Christ has said that the candlesticks are the churches. To remove it from its place would take away the church’s privilege of bearing his light there. That could mean the loss of its spiritual authority, of its influence and witness, or even of its life as a gathered church. Christ himself is the light of the world (John 8:12), and a lampstand holds a light that comes from elsewhere. A church that lets its love for him go has less and less of his light to show, so the warning concerns his glory and his mission as much as the church’s own life. A church’s place as a light bearer depends on its faithfulness to him.

Who were the Nicolaitans?

The Nicolaitans were a group within or close to the early church whose practices Christ hated. Scripture names them twice, here and in the letter to Pergamos, so their exact identity and teaching remain uncertain. Their name, Nikolaḯtēs, may come from the Greek words for “conquer” and “people”, giving “conqueror of the people”. Their deeds most likely involved compromise with pagan life: joining in idol feasts, eating food sacrificed to idols, sexual immorality, and the claim that believers are free from God’s moral law. In the letter to Pergamos they stand beside those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who led God’s people into idolatry and fornication (Revelation 2:14–15).

In a city like Ephesus, where festivals, trade guilds and social life were bound up with idol worship, such teaching blurred the line between faith in Christ and the city’s religion, and it could pass itself off as Christian liberty. Jesus warned that many would come to deceive (Matthew 24:4–5). Ephesus saw through this deception as it had seen through the false apostles.

Hating what Christ hates

The verb miséō means to hate or detest. What Christ hates, and the Ephesians with him, is the deeds of the Nicolaitans, their érgon, the same word as the works he praised in verse 2 and the first works he asked for in verse 5. Their hatred is aimed at what the Nicolaitans did, the sin and its fruit.

Christ’s words “which I also hate” show that there is a righteous hatred, one that matches God’s own holiness. Those who love the LORD hate evil (Psalm 97:10). Amos calls God’s people to hate the evil and love the good (Amos 5:15), and Paul tells believers to abhor what is evil and cleave to what is good (Romans 12:9). The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), and at the cross God made the sinless Christ to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21). There God’s hatred of sin and his love for sinners meet.

This praise comes right after the rebuke, and the two belong together. The church that hated what Christ hates had let go of the love it had at first, and the letter calls it to hold both, hating evil and loving him.

The tree of life in the paradise of God

He that hath an ear

This call is repeated in every one of the seven letters. To have an ear is to be able to hear, and Christ asks for listening that understands and obeys. The message comes from “the Spirit”, the Holy Spirit, who carries Christ’s words to his people and guides them into all truth (John 16:13). It goes “unto the churches”, in the plural, so what Christ says to Ephesus he says to every church, ours included.

To him that overcometh

The promise is to “him that overcometh”. The verb nikáō means to conquer, prevail or get the victory. It describes a struggle won against sin, the world, false teaching and persecution, and the victory comes through faith in Christ. John writes that whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world, and that our faith is the victory (1 John 5:4–5). The saints in Revelation overcame by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony (Revelation 12:11), and Christ promises the overcomer a place with him on his throne (Revelation 3:21).

Our victory is a share in his. He told his disciples that he had overcome the world (John 16:33), and on the cross he spoiled principalities and powers and triumphed over them (Colossians 2:15). For Ephesus, overcoming meant enduring as it already did, and also coming back to its first love.

What the overcomer is given

“Will I give” uses dídōmi, to give, and Christ himself is the giver. The overcomer eats “of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” The tree of life stood in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). After the fall God sent man out of the garden and set cherubims and a flaming sword to keep the way to the tree (Genesis 3:22–24). Now Christ promises to give back what was lost there. Eating of the tree pictures eternal life, God’s own provision for his people, and unbroken fellowship with him. The tree appears again at the end of the Bible, beside the river of the water of life in the new Jerusalem (Revelation 22:1–5).

Paradise, parádeisos, is a word of Eastern origin for a park or garden, and here it means an Eden-like place of delight. “The paradise of God” is his own garden, where his people live in his presence in peace and joy, and “in the midst” places the tree at its heart, open to the overcomer. What is promised restores Eden and surpasses it, with a perfected fellowship with God that Christ has made possible.

Christ is the source of this life as well as its giver. He said, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). By his blood we have boldness to enter the holiest by a new and living way (Hebrews 10:19–20), so the way to the tree that was shut in Eden is open again through him.

The Lord who walks among his churches

This letter shows us who Christ is to his church. He holds its leaders in his right hand and walks among its congregations, and he knows each one by its works. He sees the faithfulness of weary people who have laboured for his name, and he praises it before he says anything else. He also sees what lies beneath the work, and he cares enough to say so plainly. Speaking as the faithful and true witness (Revelation 3:14), he tells a hardworking, sound church that it has left its first love.

His rebuke comes with a way home. “Remember”, “repent” and “do the first works” are the words of a Lord who wants his people back, and “except thou repent” leaves the door open. Our love for him began with his love for us, so the way back rests on his grace. The letter ends with a promise for every believer who has an ear to hear: the tree of life in the paradise of God, given by Christ himself to the one who overcomes.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Revelation 2:1–7. He set out his notes in a three-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 7 verses
Passage under commentRevelation 2:1–7
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details

We have here,

I.The inscription, where observe,

1.To whom the first of these epistles is directed: To the church of Ephesus, a famous church planted by the apostle Paul (Acts 19), and afterwards watered and governed by John, who had his residence very much there. We can hardly think that Timothy was the angel, or sole pastor and bishop, of this church at this time, - that he who was of a very excellent spirit, and naturally cared for the good state of the souls of the people, should become so remiss as to deserve the rebukes given to the ministry of this church. Observe,

2.From whom this epistle to Ephesus was sent; and here we have one of those titles that were given to Christ in his appearance to John in the chapter foregoing: He that holds the seven stars in his right hand, and walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, Revelation 1:13, Revelation 1:16. This title consists of two parts: - (1.) He that holds the stars in his right hand. The ministers of Christ are under his special care and protection. It is the honour of God that he knows the number of the stars, calls them by their names, binds the sweet influences of Pleiades and looses the bands of Orion; and it is the honour of the Lord Jesus Christ that the ministers of the gospel, who are greater blessings to the church than the stars are to the world, are in his hand. He directs all their motions; he disposes of them into their several orbs; he fills them with light and influence; he supports them, or else they would soon be falling stars; they are instruments in his hand, and all the good they do is done by his hand with them. (2.) He walks in the midst of the golden candlesticks. This intimates his relation to his churches, as the other his relation to his ministers. Christ is in an intimate manner present and conversant with his churches; he knows and observes their state; he takes pleasure in them, as a man does to walk in his garden. Though Christ is in heaven, he walks in the midst of his churches on earth, observing what is amiss in them and what it is that they want. This is a great encouragement to those who have the care of the churches, that the Lord Jesus has graven them upon the palms of his hands.

II.The contents of the epistle, in which, as in most of those that follow, we have,

1.The commendation Christ gave this church, ministers and members, which he always brings in by declaring that he knows their works, and therefore both his commendation and reprehension are to be strictly regarded; for he does not in either speak at a venture: he knows what he says. Now the church of Ephesus is commended,

(1.)For their diligence in duty: I know thy works, and thy labour, Revelation 2:2. This may more immediately relate to the ministry of this church, which had been laborious and diligent. Dignity calls for duty. Those that are stars in Christ's hand had need to be always in motion, dispensing light to all about them. For my name's sake thou hast laboured, and hast not fainted, Revelation 2:3. Christ keeps an account of every day's work, and every hour's work, his servants do for him, and their labour shall not be in vain in the Lord.

(2.)For their patience in suffering: Thy labour and thy patience, Revelation 2:2. It is not enough that we be diligent, but we must be patient, and endure hardness as good soldiers of Christ. Ministers must have and exercise great patience, and no Christian can be without it. There must be bearing patience, to endure the injuries of men and the rebukes of Providence; and there must be waiting patience, that, when they have done the will of God, they may receive the promise: Thou hast borne, and hast patience, Revelation 2:3. We shall meet with such difficulties in our way and work as require patience to go on and finish well.

(3.)For their zeal against what was evil: Thou canst not bear those that are evil, Revelation 2:2. It consists very well with Christian patience not to dispense with sin, much less allow it; though we must show all meekness to men, yet we must show a just zeal against their sins. This their zeal was the more to be commended because it was according to knowledge, a discreet zeal upon a previous trial made of the pretences, practices, and tenets of evil men: Thou hast tried those that say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars. True zeal proceeds with discretion; none should be cast off till they be tried. Some had risen up in this church that pretended to be not ordinary ministers, but apostles; and their pretensions had been examined but found to be vain and false. Those that impartially search after truth may come to the knowledge of it.

2.The rebuke given to this church: Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, Revelation 2:4. Those that have much good in them may have something much amiss in them, and our Lord Jesus, as an impartial Master and Judge, takes notice of both; though he first observes what is good, and is most ready to mention this, yet he also observes what is amiss, and will faithfully reprove them for it. The sin that Christ charged this church with was their decay and declension in holy love and zeal: Thou hast left thy first love; not left and forsaken the object of it, but lost the fervent degree of it that at first appeared. Observe,

(1.)The first affections of men towards Christ, and holiness, and heaven, are usually lively and warm. God remembered the love of Israel's espousals, when she would follow him withersoever he went.

(2.)These lively affections will abate and cool if great care be not taken, and diligence used, to preserve them in constant exercise.

(3.)Christ is grieved and displeased with his people when he sees them grow remiss and cold towards him, and he will one way or other make them sensible that he does not take it well from them.

3.The advice and counsel given them from Christ: Remember therefore whence thou hast fallen, and repent, etc.

(1.)Those that have lost their first love must remember whence they have fallen; they must compare their present with their former state, and consider how much better it was with them then than now, how much peace, strength, purity, and pleasure they have lost, by leaving their first love, - how much more comfortably they could lie down and sleep at night, - how much more cheerfully they could awake in the morning, - how much better they could bear afflictions, and how much more becomingly they could enjoy the favours of Providence, - how much easier the thoughts of death were to them, and how much stronger their desires and hopes of heaven.

(2.)They must repent. They must be inwardly grieved and ashamed for their sinful declension; they must blame themselves, and shame themselves, for it, and humbly confess it in the sight of God, and judge and condemn themselves for it.

(3.)They must return and do their first works. They must as it were begin again, go back step by step, till they come to the place where they took the first false step; they must endeavour to revive and recover their first zeal, tenderness, and seriousness, and must pray as earnestly, and watch as diligently, as they did when they first set out in the ways of God.

4.This good advice is enforced and urged,

(1.)By a severe threatening, if it should be neglected: I will come unto thee quickly, and remove thy candlestick out of its place. If the presence of Christ's grace and Spirit be slighted, we may expect the presence of his displeasure. He will come in a way of judgment, and that suddenly and surprisingly, upon impenitent churches and sinners; he will unchurch them, take away his gospel, his ministers, and his ordinances from them, and what will the churches or the angels of the churches do when the gospel is removed?

(2.)By an encouraging mention that is made of what was yet good among them: This thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate, Revelation 2:6. "Though thou hast declined in thy love to what is good, yet thou retainest thy hatred to what is evil, especially to what is grossly so." The Nicolaitans were a loose sect who sheltered themselves under the name of Christianity. They held hateful doctrines, and they were guilty of hateful deeds, hateful to Christ and to all true Christians; and it is mentioned to the praise of the church of Ephesus that they had a just zeal and abhorrence of those wicked doctrines and practices. An indifference of spirit between truth and error, good and evil, may be called charity and meekness, but it is not pleasing to Christ. Our Saviour subjoins this kind commendation to his severe threatening, to make the advice more effectual.

III.We have the conclusion of this epistle, in which, as in those that follow, we have,

1.A call to attention: He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Observe,

(1.)What is written in the scriptures is spoken by the Spirit of God.

(2.)What is said to one church concerns all the churches, in every place and age.

(3.)We can never employ our faculty of hearing better than in hearkening to the word of God: and we deserve to lose it if we do not employ it to this purpose. Those who will not hear the call of God now will wish at length they had never had a capacity of hearing any thing at all.

2.A promise of great mercy to those who overcome. The Christian life is a warfare against sin, Satan, the world, and the flesh. It is not enough that we engage in this warfare, but we must pursue it to the end, we must never yield to our spiritual enemies, but fight the good fight, till we gain the victory, as all persevering Christians shall do; and the warfare and victory shall have a glorious triumph and reward. That which is here promised to the victors is that they shall eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God. They shall have that perfection of holiness, and that confirmation therein, which Adam would have had if he had gone well through the course of his trial: he would then have eaten of the tree of life which was in the midst of paradise, and this would have been the sacrament of confirmation to him in his holy and happy state; so all who persevere in their Christian trial and warfare shall derive from Christ, as the tree of life, perfection and confirmation in holiness and happiness in the paradise of God; not in the earthly paradise, but the heavenly, Revelation 22:1, Revelation 22:2.

Historical interpretation

Six Centuries of Reception

8 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

8 quotes · AD 202–804
Ante-NicenePost-NiceneEarly Medieval
200300400500600700800

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 202IrenaeusAnte-NiceneSourceAgainst Heresies Book I
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."
d. AD 215Clement of AlexandriaAnte-NiceneSourceThe Stromata Book 2
Similar, too, are those who claim to be followers of Nicolaus. They keep one of the man’s sayings, forcing its meaning: “One must misuse the flesh.” But this admirable man showed that we ought to curtail pleasures and desires and to use this discipline to weaken the impulses and onset of the flesh. Those who wallow in pleasure like goats are (you might say) violating the body and are plunged in the delights of passion. They do not realize that the body, whose nature is fleeting, falls into rags, while the soul is buried in a slough of vice, when they follow the instructions of pleasure rather than a man of apostolic faith.
d. AD 220TertullianAnte-NiceneSourcePseudo-Tertullian Against All Heresies
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."
d. AD 235Hippolytus of RomeAnte-NiceneSourceHippolytus Refutation of All Heresies Book VII
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 indifferency 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.
d. AD 304Victorinus of PettauAnte-NiceneSourceCommentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John
"This thou hast also, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes." But because thou thyself hatest those who hold the doctrines of the Nicolaitanes, thou expectest praise. Moreover, to hate the works of the Nicolaitanes, which He Himself also hated, this tends to praise. But the works of the Nicolaitanes were in that time false and troublesome men, who, as ministers under the name of Nicolaus, had made for themselves a heresy, to the effect that what had been offered to idols might be exorcised and eaten, and that whoever should have committed fornication might receive peace on the eighth day. Therefore He extols those to whom He is writing; and to these men, being such and so great, He promised the tree of life, which is in the paradise of His God.
d. AD 550OecumeniusPost-NiceneSourceCommentary on Revelation
He says, nevertheless, you have this in your favor, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He placed the fault of the two achievements in the middle, so that from the praises at the extremes, he might console the blame in the middle, so that no one would be overwhelmed by the greater sorrow. Now, as for Nicolaus, the one for whom we are speaking, he became an arch-heretic, blasphemous and detestable. Therefore, those descended from him, turning away from those evils, found praise in Ephesus through Christ. Then, after the oracle, the evangelist sets forth his own, saying,
d. AD 600Apringius of BejaPost-NiceneSourceTRACTATE ON THE APOCALYPSE 2:6
Of the Nicolaitans, it is interpreted as “a pouring out” or “the folly of a fainting church.” And this is rightly said of heretics who have been poured out from the container of the truth and have tumbled headlong into the mud of deceit. And, concerning this pouring out, it is said in the Law: “You are poured out as water; you will not rise up.” Clearly, the foolishness of a fainting church is the perverse teaching of the heretics, for they do not bring healing to the wound of the people, but they afflict upon the people the greatest of weaknesses, thinking foolish thoughts about God and being themselves fully taken over by ridiculous ideas. Concerning such persons it is said: “They have restored the sorrow of my people to dishonor, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.”
d. AD 804Alcuin of YorkEarly MedievalSourceCOMMENTARY ON REVELATION
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate. As if the universal angel were told, “Not in the species that I have just frightened, but in another one, thou hast this, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaites, which I also hate.” As for what the specific deeds of the Nicolaites are, blessed Augustine explained it in his book on heresies, saying: “Nicolas, according to the story, was one of the seven deacons who were ordained by the apostles. [Cf. Acts 6] As he was censured for jealousy towards his wife, who was very beautiful, he is said, in order to exculpate himself, to have given permission for anyone who so wished to use her. This deed of his gave rise to a most shameful sect, which has as a principle the promiscuous use of women. Its followers also do not even keep their food free of things sacrificed to idols.” Moreover, all the heretics generally, are Nicolaites: indeed “Nicolas” translates to “foolish people.” Therefore all those who do not hold the right views concerning the Father's wisdom, which is the Son, even if they are wise for the world, show that they are fools for God. We find Nicolaites even in the Church: namely those we see foolishly amassing treasure in their love for the world. Finally, it is to be noted that he does not say “Thou hatest the Nicolaites,” but the deeds of the Nicolaites, because it is demonstrated that the Lord and those who are on his side do not hate in them the nature, which was created good in them, but their execrable deeds.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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