Quote:
Originally Posted by Igzy
The funny thing about these two words is that according to LC interpretation they are really at odds. Nicolaitans seems to say don't lord it over the people, which in practice would seem to mean to respect people's opinions. (How else would you practically apply not lording??)
But Laodicea means "opinion or rule of the people," which the LC took mean (in practice) that they should rule over the people.
So you have to put both together. No lording over the people, and no opinion of the people. So Laodicea probably has nothing to do with human leadership. It probably just means the people were following their own preferences, rather than submitting to the leading of the Holy Spirit, which is definitely a sign of degradation.
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The Lord Jesus, in many instances while He walked with His disciples, warned them about "ruling like the Gentiles." Peter calls this "lording it over" the flock. The Bible is filled with instructions about proper shepherding oversight and warnings to the contrary.
If we want to look at the etymological meaning of the word "Nicolaitans,"
i.e. conquering the common people, then we must conclude that the plain and obvious teachings of Jesus, the apostles, and the OT prophets are addressed in this word.
But Nee, and subsequently Lee, did the old "bait and switch." They used these teachings to attack the leadership in the body of Christ. They condemned all pastors, ministers, teachers, evangelists, etc., yet it was the Head of the body "who gave gifts" to men, and via the apostles, established church offices.
If Nee and Lee had given us a "purer" form of leadership and an ecclesiastical paradigm, as they promised us, then we would continue to listen to them. On the contrary, however, what they gave us was every bit as abusive and lording over as the one they condemned. In fact, it could be argued that the system of Nee and Lee was worse. The Blendeds for sure have done no better.
After being "restored" to his ministry, apparently without repentance for the reasons he was disciplined, Nee's first act of leadership was to demand that all the faithful "hand over" their lives and possessions to him. Even worse acts of abuse have been reported about Lee frequently on this forum. These acts of hypocrisy and corruption have caused their reputations to suffer, and not some unwarranted persecution as we have long been told.