6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
you hate the deeds of the Nicolatians – Irenaeus (180 AD), a hearer of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John, is probably the most reliable source to understand the Nicolatians. In Against Heresies, [Book 1,26,3] Irenaeus wrote:
“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 you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.’ “
1
(Irenaeus equated the Spirit of Christ with “the Word.” Elsewhere, Irenaeus calls the Pentecostal Spirit – “the spirit of God.” Irenaeus understood the difference between the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of God. This understanding was lost through the creation of the Trinity doctrine.)
The Nicolatians did not heed the holy spirit’s warning in Acts 15:20, to keep themselves free from “the pollution of idols” or perhaps more properly the “contamination of false gods.” The exercise of sexual immorality, eating things offered to idols, things strangled and blood were likely all the part of pagan religious rituals. The mixture of paganism and the true religion are an abomination to God. This goes back to Deut 12:29-32. Eventually “the contamination of false gods” would lead the Gentiles away from the worship of God in spirit and back into the observance of religious days. See Gal 4:8-9.