The NATIONAL PRAYER ALTAR

MARATHON PRAYERS
Monday 28th July – Sunday 3rd August 2025

THE NICOLAITANES

So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me (Ez. 33:7).

In the Marathon Prayer call of Monday 30th June – Sunday 6th July 2025, reference was made to four diversionary groups in the early days of the Church. Those groups were initiated by the devil to dilute, distract, and discredit the gospel of Jesus. The four groups were the Epicureans, Stoicks, Gnostics, and the Nicolaitanes. Of the four, the Gnostics were not mentioned in the Scriptures. Below is a short summary of what each group represented.

 Epicureanism, founded by Epicurus, emphasized the pursuit of pleasure as the highest good, but defined it as the absence of pain and disturbance, rather than sensual indulgence. They were materialists who believed that the gods were not involved in human affairs and that the soul was mortal.

 Stoicism emphasized self-control and acceptance of fate, while Christianity focused on faith, love, and redemption through Jesus Christ. 

 Gnosticism is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, but it is a system of thought that emerged in the early centuries of the Christian era. Gnostics generally rejected the Biblical creation account, arguing that the material world was created by an imperfect, even evil, creator deity, distinct from the supreme, unknowable God. 

The Nicolaitanes were mentioned in the Bible, specifically in the Book of Revelation, where they are condemned for their teachings and actions. They are associated with compromising the Christian faith through practices that involved sexual immorality and eating food sacrificed to idols.

Those groups are no longer in existence, but their teachings and practices are very much around. They have evolved under different names, but their influence remains in the Church as well as in the society.

While Paul encountered the Epicureans and the Stoicks at Athens (Acts 17:18), the Lord directly mentioned the Nicolaitanes in Rev. 2:6 & 15. The Lord was against the Nicolaitanes and used the word, "hate” to express His dislike of their ways. That would be the only recorded instance in the Bible where Jesus directly stated that He hated something. As the disciples of the Lord, it should be of interest to us that the Lord, whose name is “Love”, emphatically declared twice that He hated something.

The Nicolaitanes were followers of Nicolaus, one of the seven deacons appointed by the Church in Acts 6:5. He was appointed by the Church to serve, just like Stephen and Philip. Seven of them were appointed to play a crucial role at a time of crisis in the early Church. While Stephen and Philip went on to excel in the service of the Lord, Nicolaus became the object of divine hatred. The first lesson that this generation should learn from this is that, because a man was appointed to leadership position in the Church does not immune the man from heresy, or from falling. Our generation, which exalts titles and positions above Godly character, should heed the warning of the Lord that “by their fruits, ye shall know them.”

The contention of the Lord against Nicolaus stemmed from his "doctrine." The Lord addressed the matter of the Nicolaitanes in His letters to the Church at Ephesus and the Church at Pergamos. The Christians at Ephesus were commended by the Lord for resisting the doctrines of the Nicolaitanes, while those of Pergamos were castigated for tolerating it. 

The Nicolaitanes are believed to have promoted a form of antinomianism, which is the belief that Christians are free from moral law and can engage in sin without consequence. They were associated with practices like eating food sacrificed to idols and engaging in sexual immorality. 

The first issue has entered the Church under a doctrine referred to as “OSAS”. This means, “Once Saved, Always Saved”. While Christians have grace for the atonement of sins, the Scriptures ask, “shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). The Scriptures answered with an emphatic, “God forbid"  (v. 2).
The second doctrine of the Nicolaitanes is the major concern of this prayer call. 

In the prayer call of 17th – 23rd March 2025, entitled "A CHURCH OF TWO OPINIONS," concern was expressed that a Church leader participated in the breaking of Ramadan fast with Muslims in March 2025 in Abuja. The National Prayer Altar red-flagged the action because of the realization that it is a direct violation of the Scriptures, and could provoke God to anger against the Church. That prayer bulletin highlighted the difference between Christianity and Islam, and stated unequivocally that Ramadan was a covenant meal in worship of a deity. That deity is not Jehovah, the Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. When Muslims fast, they do not do it to the Almighty God. The Scriptures make it clear, "But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?" (1 Cor. 10:20-22).

Despite the disagreement of the National Prayer Altar with the action of that Church leader, heaven appears not satisfied with the response of the Church. There seems to be an urgent prodding for Christians to consider the long-term spiritual consequences of that seemingly unimportant action. Satan is very subtle and strategic in his attacks. There are things that must not be ignored.

After suffering years of desolation and indignation because of the idolatrous FESTAC '77 event, a prophecy came to Nigeria in 2024, that 50 years after FESTAC, the county will receive forgiveness for its sin of idolatry. As intercessors prayerfully look towards 2027, two years from now, Satan has engineered another act of idolatry worse than FESTAC '77. While the idolatry of 1977 was committed by the secular State, that of 2025 was done by a Church leader. The Idolatrous offense of the people of God is worse than that of a secular State. 

Satan knew that Christians will not participate in large scale act of idolatry, therefore he craftily ensnared the leader of the Church to engage in the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, the only thing Jesus declares that He hates. When the leader of the Church partook of the sacrifice offered to an idol, he is symbolic of the entire Body of Christ. As God was preparing to forgive and deliver the land, Satan was scheming to get the Church ensnared so that the land would remain in bondage. 

The Nigeria Church is counselled to review this matter with spiritual discernment. The timing is too strategic for it to be a coincidence. It should neither be ignored nor swept under the carpet. The Nigeria Church has been manipulated to commit the sin of the Nicolaitanes. If Nigeria Christians do not wish to suffer the consequence of an action, which they neither initiated nor approved, they have to deal with this matter and show the Lord that they have judged it, so that they would not be judged. "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged" (1 Cor. 10:31).  If the entire country suffered intensely for 50 years because of a state-sponsored idolatry, can we imagine what would happen if the Church were directly guilty of it?

One is not unaware that in incidents of this nature, most Christians would choose to bury the head in the sand and pretend to be unaware of what occurred, and its consequences.  When calamity breaks out later, they will then declare fasting and prayers. Taking preventive measures is not a popular response to issues in the Church. Most Christians will prefer to allow the sleeping dog to lie, even if it were lying on their bed. The inability of Christians to take preventive measures and confront issues is a major cause of the current distress in the country. Had the Church been in favour of preventive measures, the current calamities in Nigeria would have been prevented. 

The Scriptures warn that a “little leaven leaveneth the whole lump”. A Church that is gasping for breath and fervently in need of divine intervention has been craftily compromised in a manner that could provoke the Lord to anger. The Bible in 1 Cor. 10:22 refers to such acts as, “provoking the Lord to jealousy.”

May the Church awake to righteousness. Amen.

PRAYER POINTS

1).    Jer. 29:10-11    
Thank the Almighty God for His promise to forgive Nigeria of the sin of idolatry committed by the country through FESTAC ’77.

2).    Rev. 2:12-16
Confess the sins of compromise and corruption of some leaders of the Nigeria Church, and dissociate the Church from their actions. 

3).    Num. 18:1    
Plead the Blood of Jesus to make atonement for the national altar of the Nigeria Church. Pray that every iniquity of the sanctuary shall be cleansed by the Blood of Jesus.

4).    2 Pet. 2:1-2    
Pray that every false teaching and practice in the Church shall be exposed and destroyed by the truth of God.

5).    Is. 54:17    
Pray that every manipulation of Satan to return Nigeria into the wilderness shall not stand.

6).    Tit. 2:11-12    
Pray for the grace of repentance to come upon the leaders and members of the Nigeria Church.

7).    Acts 15: 6,12-13    
Pray that God will raise influential voices in the Church to address areas of compromise and corruption in the Body of Christ.