Revelation 2:15 is a short warning from the risen Christ to the church in Pergamum. He is saying that some believers there have adopted the teaching of a group called the Nicolaitans, and he treats that as a serious problem that needs to be addressed. The verse is spoken by Jesus, through the Apostle John, to the congregation in the city of Pergamum, one of seven churches in Asia Minor addressed in the opening chapters of Revelation.
So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans likewise.
Revelation 2:15 (WEB)
What Revelation 2:15 Means
The verse is brief, but it carries a clear message. “So you also” links this congregation to the warning given in the verses just before it, where Jesus described people in the church who held the teaching of Balaam. The word “likewise” tells us the Nicolaitan teaching was a second, parallel danger. Jesus is not saying that every member of the church had fallen into error. He is saying that some had, and that their influence was a real concern to him.
What the verse does not do is explain the Nicolaitan teaching in detail. Revelation names the group and the problem without spelling out every doctrine. Readers should be cautious about claiming more precision than the text gives. What the verse does promise, in the surrounding passage, is that Christ sees what is happening in his church and will act, calling the believers to repent. The warning is serious, but it is also an invitation to turn back.
The Context of Revelation 2:15
Revelation was written by John, traditionally identified as the Apostle John, while he was exiled on the island of Patmos, probably in the later first century. It is written as a letter to seven real churches in the Roman province of Asia, and its purpose is to strengthen believers facing pressure from both religious and political authorities. Pergamum was an important city, known for its impressive civic and religious buildings, and the church there lived with the constant reality of living alongside idol worship and the imperial cult.
The verses immediately before Revelation 2:15 describe the teaching of Balaam, an Old Testament figure who encouraged Israel to compromise with the surrounding nations. Setting the Nicolaitans beside Balaam shows that Jesus sees a pattern: believers being drawn toward eating food sacrificed to idols and toward sexual immorality. Reading the verse in that light helps us understand that the issue is not merely abstract doctrine but a practical pull toward accommodation with the culture around them.
Key Phrases in Revelation 2:15
1 John 4:1
Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
(WEB)
John urges believers to test the spirits and not accept every teaching at face value. This connects closely with Revelation 2:15, since the Pergamum church needed to recognize and reject the Nicolaitan teaching rather than tolerate it.
Jude 1:3
Beloved, while I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I was constrained to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
(WEB)
Jude calls believers to contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. That same concern for guarding sound teaching is at the heart of Christ’s warning to Pergamum.
A Short Prayer From Revelation 2:15
Lord Jesus, you see every part of my life and every decision I make, including the places where I have quietly drifted toward what is comfortable instead of what is faithful. Give me the courage to examine my heart honestly and the humility to repent when I find compromise there. Help me to hold firmly to your name and to recognize teaching that pulls away from your word. Keep your church faithful, and let your truth shape how we think, speak, and live. Amen.
