Listener Feedback - Priestcraft?

Listener Comment: As a fan & regular listener of Tsiyon.org I am also on the 6th chapter right now in your latest book called Messianic Revelation Series Vol 1 Announcing Judgment Day. I am really impressed with it. So many other teachers & commentators have seemed to miss the mark when it comes to the Book of Revelation. Your book has given me a fresh new look at the Book of Revelation with Hebraic eyes, which is needed in order to really understand it. After all, it was a Messianic Jew who wrote the book of Revelation. I am looking forward to reading the rest of this book. I had a question from chapter 2. I didn't understand what priestcraft (Nicolaitans) is/was. It is found here in Revelation 2:6(NASB): "Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate" [and in] Revelation 2:15(NASB) "So you also have some who in the same way hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans." But I don't have a grip on what that really means, or why it is considered sin. I was trying to explain this to some of my friends who also don't seem to understand what priestcraft /Nicolaitans is. Also, if you look up Nicolaitans in the Catholic encyclopedia, it seems to give a poor explanation of what it really is [see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11067a.htm]. In your book, you mentioned that priestcraft/Nicolaitans, is one of the sins that believers will be judged for. I was wondering if you could explain what priestcraft/Nicolaitans is in more detail. And this isn't the same thing as witchcraft, right? Thank you for your time.

Tsiyon Answer:   Thank you for your support of Tsiyon Radio and your kind comments regarding my new book on Revelation. Now, let's get to your question about why I say Nicolaitans of Revelation is synonymous with priestcraft, and why that's a sin that Messiah hates. In your question you quote the only two verses in Scripture that include the word Nicolaitans. In the first instance overcomers from the assembly in Ephesus are commended because they "hate the works of the Nicolaitans" which Messiah says "I also hate." By contrast, in Pergamos some were transgressing on that same point, and Messiah corrects them in these words:

“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the sons of Israel , to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication. 15 So you also have those who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.” Rev 2:14-15 MKJV

The English noun Nicolaitans derives from a compound of three Greek words. By examining these three words we can decipher its meaning.

Nikos means a conquest; victory; triumph; rulership of the conquered.

Laos means people - laymen, laity.

Ton in this case is roughly equivalent to the definite article "the."

This breaks down something like this: 

Nicolaitans = The conquerors/rulers of the people (i.e. laity).

The sense of the term "teaching of the Nicolaitans", then, is: the doctrine in support of a clergy/priesthood class ruling over the laity. This is the ancient doctrine of the pagan mystery religions which is well-defined as priestcraft. More about priestcraft in a moment.

Notice that the "teaching of the Nicolaitans" equates to "the teachings of Balaam" mentioned in the preceding verse. Nicolaitans and Balaam mean very close to the same thing in their respective languages. Balaam derives from two Hebrew words, bāla (he swallows) and ām (people). Thus we have "conquerors of the people" and "swallowers of the people" - two ways of saying exactly the same thing. Therefore, identifying the "teachings of Balaam" will add further definition to the meaning of Nicolaitans. Notice these facts about Balaam.

Balaam was a soothsayer, a practicer of divination for personal gain (Joshua 13:22). To secure customers Balaam was a "swallower of the people" - i.e. a religious con artist. He made people believe that he was closer to the "gods" (including YHWH) than they were.  That way, they would hire him to mediate the favor of the gods and would secure his services by payment of money and/or favors. Such soothsayers claimed knowledge of what I like to call religious mumbo-jumbo i.e. rites and rituals that only they are supposedly authorized to perform to secure the favor of the "gods." The occupation I have just described to you has been known from ancient times as a "priest." See these definitions:

A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. [Wikipedia]

Ritual, Noun 1. a religious or other ceremony involving a series of fixed actions performed in a certain order. [TheFreeDictionary.com]

Now, consider the definition of priestcraft:

Priestcraft n. 1. Priestly policy; the policy of a priesthood; esp., in an ill sense, fraud or imposition in religious concerns; management by priests to gain wealth and power by working upon the religious motives or credulity of others. [TheFreeDictionary.com]