Revelation 2:6 tells us that Jesus approves of the church in Ephesus because its members reject the teaching and practices of a group called the Nicolaitans. Jesus says he hates those same works, so the believers are standing with him against them. The words come from the risen Christ, delivered through the apostle John to the church in Ephesus, one of seven congregations addressed in the opening chapters of Revelation.
But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Revelation 2:6 (WEB)
What Revelation 2:6 Means
The verse begins with “But this you have,” which signals a note of praise after a longer passage of commendation and correction. Jesus has just noted the Ephesians’ endurance and their refusal to grow weary for his name. Now he names one more thing they are doing right: they hate what the Nicolaitans are doing. The word “hate” here does not describe a bad temper. It describes a settled moral refusal to take part in what is harmful and false.
The final phrase, “which I also hate,” gives the verse its weight. The believers’ judgment matches Christ’s own judgment. They are not simply disagreeing with a rival group out of personal preference. They are aligning themselves with what God himself opposes. The verse does not spell out the exact content of the Nicolaitans’ “works,” so it does not promise anything about how the church should treat individuals who hold those views. It names a posture of faithfulness and leaves the details to the surrounding text and the wider witness of Scripture.
The Context of Revelation 2:6
Revelation is written as a letter of prophecy, addressed to seven real churches in the province of Asia in the late first century. Traditionally the author is identified as the apostle John, who was exiled on the island of Patmos. The original readers were Christians living under social pressure and, at times, under threat from Roman authority. Many would have felt tempted to blend in, and some were being drawn toward teachings and practices that seemed to offer an easier path.
The verses just before Revelation 2:6 are not all praise. Jesus rebukes the Ephesians for having left their first love, and he calls them to repent. Verse 6 is part of a balanced message: the church has real strengths and real failings. Reading it this way keeps the verse from becoming a simple compliment. It is a mark of genuine faithfulness in a church that also needs to return to deeper love.
Key Phrases in Revelation 2:6
Romans 12:9
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.
(WEB)
Paul tells believers to let love be genuine and to hold fast to what is good while hating what is evil. It echoes the balance in Revelation 2:6, where genuine moral opposition to evil stands alongside a commitment to the good.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(WEB)
This verse reminds readers that faithfulness does not mean perfection, since God forgives those who confess their sins. It fits well with Revelation 2:6 because the church is commended for resisting error while still being called, elsewhere in the chapter, to return to deeper love and repentance.
A Short Prayer From Revelation 2:6
Lord Jesus, you see the places where I have held on to what is right, and you see the places where I have grown tired or drifted. Thank you for the way you notice faithfulness in your people, even when it is small and quiet. Give me a clear heart that recognizes what is false and harmful, and a steady love that refuses to join in it. Help me to hate what you hate, not out of pride, but out of loyalty to you. Keep my first love warm, and let my convictions reflect your own. Amen.
