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Revelation 2 · a question people ask

"the works of the Nicolaitans" (2:6). Who are the Nicolaitans?

In the text

The chapter names them twice. To Ephesus: "But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." (2:6). To Pergamum: "So also you likewise have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans." (2:15). The book doesn't say who they were or what their teaching was, and these notes don't either.

The verses

“But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
Revelation 2:6 · World English Bible
“So also you likewise have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.”
Revelation 2:15 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Revelation 2

Revelation 2: I know your works

To Smyrna the word says, "I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich)" (2:9). In one breath it names what the assembly lacks and what it has.

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Last reviewed October 12, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions