Revelation 2

Chapter 2 begins individual messages from Christ to each of the seven churches. The seven churches are representative of all churches. Each of the churches addressed in this chapter are commended for their faithfulness, but also warned. One warning to Ephesus and the other churches is to beware of the Nicolaitans who are amongst them. These are evidently people who teach a compromise between Christianity and pagan clubs and societies. They put Christ and Caesar Augustus on equal footing. They are warned against false prophets and apostles and immoral behavior. To all seven churches promises are made to every person who "overcometh." The verb "overcometh" comes from the Greek work Nike which means victory. All of the promises relate to temple worship: the tree of life, the crown of life, the hidden manna and the new name, the morning star, the white raiment, the pillar in the temple, the feast, the marriage supper of the Lamb. The promises include the receiving of "a white stone on which a new name is written, which no man knoweth saying he that receiveth it. As explained in D&"C 93:49, this is a Urim and Thumin that is given to all of those who enter the celestial kingdom.

It's amazing to me how much the warnings then are similar to what the prophets teach today. In the times of Roman rule, the people were commanded to worship Caesar and call him savior. Immorality wasn't just condoned but was a part of religious worship, it was a major part of their entertainment, and marriage and the family were disintegrating. Homosexuality was not only condoned but glorified. The "great" teachers preached rationalization and intellectualism that mocked Christian beliefs. In another one hundred years, the Roman empire, the greatest empire the world had ever seen, would collapse. I think it is naive to not see the parallels between history and our society today, and not realize that we are headed down the same path and will experience the same results. We have our own false prophets and teachers, many of whom are our government leaders. If we are wise, we will stand back and see things are they really are. We can't be like the Nicolaitans and have one foot in religion and one foot in the world.