Rev 2:1,2,4-5, 7 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write...I 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. ...Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember 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....To him that overcometh will I give to eat...
Rev 2:8, 10, 11 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Rev 2:12,13,16,17 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write...I know thy works...Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth...To him that overcometh will I give...He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat
Rev 2:18,19,23,25-26, 29 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write...I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, ; and the last to be more than the first. ... And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. ... But that which ye have already hold fast till I come. And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations...He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:1,2,3; 5; 6 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write...Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. ... He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,...He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:7, 8; 10, 11, 12, 13 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write...I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. ... Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, ... hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, ... He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Rev 3:14-17, 19,20, 21, 22 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write...I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich,... As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent....Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne...He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
The answer to the question is all here, and repeated seven times in a row, by Jesus Christ, ascended, from the very throne room of Heaven. Moreover, this is direct dictation. There is nothing more authoritative or final than this in the Bible.
First, he is speaking to CHURCHES. He is not speaking to acolytes, to those who are just coming into the faith. He is speaking to the established Christians, to people who are the organized body of Christ. He's not speaking to false churches, but to the REAL churches, the ones that he himself CALLS "churches" without qualification. He calls false organizations "the synagogues of Satan" in some places here. He's not being coy. These are REAL Christians he is addressing.
The first thing that is clear - because he repeats it over and over and over again, is that he, God, judges men, CHRISTIAN men, people already in the faith BY THEIR WORKS. That is the standard by which he is judging these Christians throughout the entirety of this long and detailed passages. Jesus Christ judges seven Churches by their works. He speaks of their faith, but it is NOT ENOUGH. He is judging them by their WORKS, by what they DO, not simply by what they believe.
Let he who has ears, hear.
The next thing that is crystal clear, and repetitively hammered forth here, by Jesus, giving dictation, from the Throne Room of Heaven, as the LAST WORD in the Bible - is that these real churches had real faith, but they are falling away from it. And they are in danger of being cast down, cast aside, spewed out of the mouth. Jesus exhorts them to OVERCOME, and says that IF, but ONLY IF, they overcome, THEN they will have the various rewards.
So real Christians, in real Churches, really pleasing to God, have become DISPLEASING to God, BECAUSE their WORKS are not good, and they are not persisting in doing the WORKS, and SO THEREFORE, because of the bad works, because of what they are doing, they are in danger of losing their salvation and being cast out. Only if they - those men - of their OWN will and effort, DO something: OVERCOME, only then will they have their heavenly rewards that he promises. If they don't do that work that he commands, to persevere and overcome, they will lose their salvation.
They WERE saved, but they have to KEEP THE WORKS in order to STAY saved.
Jesus says this so very clearly, really HAMMERS IT HOME again, and again and again and again and again. Seven times in a row, with repetitive language.
And he exhorts everybody: He who has ears, HEAR.
I cannot understand how anybody has even the slightest doubt about the necessity of works, or the need to endure in the faith and works TO THE END, or the fact that if a man falls away, he loses salvation. Jesus Christ, enthroned as God SAYS IT seven times in a row, in as many different ways as it is possible to say.
I cannot understand why men even WANT to presume to put up an argument against this.
I do wonder who the "Nikolaitans" are, that he hates so much. I know that "Niko-", and "Nike" mean "victory" or "triumphant" in Greek, and "laitans" are generally the "people of". So, Nikolaitans, read as a word that doesn't refer to a place, means "Victory People" or "People of Triumph".
Given that Jesus, in Heaven, giving dictation, so RELENTLESSLY pounds down the doctrine of the necessity of works, and the ability to lose salvation and be cast aside if one does not persist in the works to overcome, I do wonder if the "Nikolaitans" whom he detests are the ones who say that they've ALREADY won the victory, ALREADY won the crown, merely by being his follower, by becoming part of the Church, by coming to believe in him.
All of the true Churches DID believe in them, that's why we doesn't call them liars. But he makes it crystal clear that belief and faith are BY NO MEANS ENOUGH. Without works, and overcoming TO THE END, Jesus says he will spit you out and you will lose your salvation.
So don't be one of those out there preaching that you've ALREADY WON THE VICTORY - a "Niko-layman" - simply because you recognize the rather obvious reality that Jesus is the Son of God, and that following him means that you will have eternally life.
He says point blank here, seven times, to thousands of people, that that is not true. Only if you continue your works, all the way to the end, is that true.
There is no other way to read this plain text. I am amazed that people are so stubborn about it. But those who have hears really do need to HEAR what Jesus is saying here. It's not subtle.
No, if you're saved, it is not enough. You have to keep working at it all the way to the end of your life.
Elsewhere, he said "What good does it do you to say you follow me if you do not keep my commandments?"
Here, he answers the question: None. He says out loud that he BLOTS NAMES OUT of the Book of Life. Those names WERE there, but HE blots them out, because of their works or lack thereof! Because of what they do!
So, don't be a Nikolaitan. Do what he said. Check your pride and correct your doctrine to conform with what he said.
(And please don't quote Paul to try to overrule God Jesus, enthroned in Heaven, giving dictation to the last living Apostle. Please, just submit to God and take his words at face value. Don't kill yourself through pride, submit, repent, obey and win the crown, the stone, the manna, the log of life.)
Jesus is the Passover Lamb. Those who look on him and believe are safe, just as Moses held up the bronze serpent in the desert and those who looked on him were healed.
