Satan’s strategy against the church is not merely external persecution, but a subtle, internal corruption. He sows “tares”—counterfeit believers and false teachings—among the wheat, exploiting the church’s carelessness and lack of vigilance. This is not a theoretical risk; it is the very history of the visible church. The enemy’s work is not outside our walls, but within them, and the results are devastating unless discerned and rejected.
When John received the Revelation in 90 A.D., Christ Himself addressed the seven churches of Asia, exposing the very seeds of corruption already at work. These were not minor issues or secondary disagreements; they were the beginnings of a counterfeit system that would grow into a vast, institutionalized tree, overshadowing the true Body of Christ. Let us be clear: these are not mere historical curiosities, but the root of today’s spiritual crisis.
The Doctrine of the Nicolaitans: Usurping Christ’s Headship
To Ephesus and Pergamos, Jesus names the doctrine of the Nicolaitans—literally, “to conquer the laity.” He does not simply disapprove; He says, “which thing I also hate.” This is the introduction of abusive, hierarchical spiritual authority that replaces Christ’s headship with a clerical elite. The result? The church is paralyzed. The priesthood of all believers is suppressed, and the living function of the Body is replaced by a professional class who accumulate honor, titles, and power—eventually becoming popes, cardinals, and archbishops, exercising authority even over kings and nations.
This is not a neutral development. It is a direct assault on the finished work of Christ, who alone is Head, and who has made every believer a priest. Where this doctrine prevails, sonship is obscured, inheritance is withheld, and justification by faith is replaced by subjection to human mediators. If you accept this system, you lose the very ground of your assurance and the liberty of your access to God.
The Teaching of Balaam: Compromise for Gain
Pergamos is also rebuked for tolerating the teaching of Balaam. Balaam, in the Old Testament, sold his prophetic office for profit and taught Israel’s enemies how to seduce God’s people into idolatry and immorality. This is the spirit of those who commercialize spiritual gifts, who encourage the church to mix with the world, and who introduce pagan practices under Christian names. The effect is not mere “relevance” or “engagement,” but the weakening of the church’s purity and testimony. The church becomes indistinguishable from the world, its witness silenced by compromise.
The Teaching of Jezebel: Occult Infiltration and False Prophecy
To Thyatira, Christ exposes the teaching of Jezebel—a spirit that brings occult infiltration and false prophecy into the church. Jezebel seduces believers into idolatry and immorality, introducing what Christ calls “the deep things of Satan” under a Christian guise. This is not harmless mysticism; it is the importation of doctrines of demons, wrapped in Christian terminology, corrupting the church at its core.
Spiritual Deadness and Laodicean Blindness
To Sardis, Jesus points out their spiritual deadness and failure to watch for His return. This is not a passive state; it is a condition of unpreparedness, of stagnation, and of being caught off guard when Christ appears.
Laodicea, whose name means “rule of the people,” is the final and most damning picture. Here, the church is dominated by subjective human opinion, not the objective truth of Scripture. They boast of their riches and sufficiency, but Christ declares them “wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” In this environment, Christ stands outside, unwelcome, for there is no room for the convicting and illuminating work of the Spirit. The consensus-driven, dialogue-based approach to truth produces only lukewarmness—a mixture Christ promises to vomit out of His mouth.
The Full-Grown Tree of Corruption
If these were the seeds sown two thousand years ago, we now see the full-grown tree. The visible church is dominated by religious professionals, many living in luxury, while the saints are rendered passive and silent. The church is no longer separated from the world, but conformed to it—culturally, politically, and spiritually. False brethren have infiltrated, introducing New Age mysticism and doctrines of demons, all cloaked in Christian language.
The result is a counterfeit harvest—a system that looks Christian but denies the power and reality of the new covenant. The priesthood of all believers is buried under layers of hierarchy. Christ’s headship is usurped by men. The authority of Scripture is replaced by the shifting sands of human opinion. The conscience is no longer cleansed by the finished work, but is instead burdened by performance, ritual, and compromise.
What Is Lost If We Accept These Errors
If we accept these errors—if we tolerate the tares among the wheat without discernment—we lose everything that matters. We lose the assurance of justification by faith alone. We forfeit our inheritance as sons and daughters. We surrender the liberty of direct access to God. The finished work of Christ is rendered of no effect, replaced by a counterfeit system that cannot save, cannot sanctify, and cannot satisfy.
The Call to Discernment and Separation
This is not a call to nostalgia or to mere reform. It is a call to discernment—to recognize and separate the wheat from the tares. Christ’s body is not found in the institutional system, but in those who hold fast to the Head, who stand in the liberty of the new covenant, and who refuse to be brought under bondage to human authority, worldly compromise, or occult deception.
God has revealed the truth with authority in His Word. We do not arrive at truth by consensus or dialogue, but by receiving what God has spoken. The church must return to the simplicity of Christ, the authority of Scripture, and the reality of the Spirit. Anything less is to embrace the very corruption Christ warned against.
Let us be watchful. Let us judge these things by the Word. Let us separate ourselves unto Christ, lest we be found among the tares when the harvest comes.
