Editing Nicolaism (section)

=== Antinominism from John Henry Blunt ===
A common view holds that the Nicolaitans held the [[Antinomianism|antinomian]] heresy of [[1 Corinthians 6]].<ref name=CE1913>{{cite CE1913 |last= Healy |first= Patrick Joseph |wstitle= Nicolaites}}</ref>  One scholar who espouses this interpretation, [[John Henry Blunt]], maintains that the comparison between the Nicolaitans and [[Balaam]] "proves that the fornication spoken of is not that crime under ordinary circumstances, but fornication connected with religious rites".<ref name=Blunt/> Blunt points out that the Hebrews had a long history of preaching against or alternatively using cult prostitutes (Genesis 38:21–22; Deuteronomy 23:17–18; 1 Kings 14:24, 15:12, 22:46; 2 Kings 23:7; Ezekiel 16:16; Hosea 4:14). He also points out that the early Christians lived in a pagan culture where the worship of [[Aphrodite#Cult of Aphrodite|Aphrodite]] included ''hierodoule'' who engaged in [[ritual prostitution]] in her shrines and temples, and that the [[Dionysian Mysteries]] used intoxicants and other trance-inducing techniques to remove inhibitions and social constraints of believers to enter into an animalistic state of mind.

Blunt holds that the Nicolaitans either believed that the command against ritual sex was part of the [[Law of Moses|Mosaic law]] and it was licit for them, or that they went too far during Christian "[[Agape feast|love-feasts]]". Blunt sees echoes of this behavior in the admonitions which Paul gives the Corinthians, though he does not name them as such. Blunt also believes that similar echoes can be found in the admonitions of Jude 4-16 (which invokes both "Balaam's error" and "love feasts") and 2 Peter 2:2-21 (which repeats much of Jude's statements, including invoking Balaam).<ref name=Blunt/>

The trend began early in Christianity of applying the term "Nicolaitans" to describe other antinomian groups with no attachment to the historical Nicolaitans. [[Tertullian]] in his ''Prescription Against Heretics'', 33, is such an example: "John, however, in the Apocalypse is charged to chastise those 'who eat things sacrificed to idols,' and 'who commit sexual immorality.' There are even now another sort of Nicolaitans. Theirs is called the [[Cainites|Gaian heresy]]."

[[John Henry Blunt|Blunt]] pointed out that the Bible condemns the false teachings, and the use of a name to describe a group "shows that there was a distinct heretical party which held the doctrine." The letters which Jesus dictates for the churches in Revelation 2 "show that these heretics had neither formally separated themselves from the church nor had been excommunicated."<ref name="Blunt" />