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The Revelation of Jesus Christ which were no drones, where every member was trying to make the Gospel of our Lord Jesus· Christ known. Conse quently, the Lord commended them. Again, He said unto them, "I know ... how thou canst not bear them which are evil" (2:2). They not only had faith; they had discipline also. If a member of the church was living a double life, he was not tolerated. If he professed the name of Christ, but conducted himself unbecomingly, the condemnation of the church came upon him. I think the church at Ephesus was not concerned so much with the number of members it secured as with the matter of securing holy members. It is a great pity that the church ever de parted from this desire and began to place emphasis upon numbers, rather than upon the spiritual condition of those belonging to it. We seldom hear of church discipline in these days. In fact, it is a sad but true state of affairs. that it ~s difficult to get together a body of people who are really in a position to discipline others. As we read further, we hear the words of the Lord to these Ephesian Christians: "Thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars" (2: 2). The members of this church were sound in the faith. Evidently there had come among them some who had revealed themselves as "liars." They claimed to be apostles, but were not. Therefore, they are not received by the Ephesian church. Would that all false teachers were refused by' thet church today! . Yet again, the risen Lord continued His words of com mendation: "Thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate" (2:6 ). Who were the Nicolaitanes? The two words "nikao," meaning '"to conquer," and "laos," mean ing "the people," or "the laity," form the root of the name "Nicolaitanes." The term was applied to those who origi nated the system which divided the church of Jesus Christ into two divisions-the clergy and the laity. When we com~ to the study of the situation existing in the churches of Per gamos and Thyatira, we shall find this system in full bloom, with bishops, archbishops. and other religious dignitaries domineering over the people, and claiming a unique place in the body of Christ, to which they were not justly entitled.
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