I'm not sure what that might mean.
Of course, and thank you.
(At 6:5 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and
Nicolaus a proselyte of Antioch;
(At 11:19-20 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
¶They therefore that were scattered abroad upon the tribulation that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and
Antioch, speaking
the word to none save only to Jews. But there were some of them, men of
Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they were come to
Antioch, spake unto the
Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus.
(At 11:22 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
And the report concerning them came to the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth
Barnabas as far as
Antioch:
Barnabas (Cyprus, 1st century – Salamis, c. 61) was one of the first Christians considered in the New Testament. His
Hellenic Jewish parents gave him the name Joseph (in Byzantine Greek Ιὠσης), but when he sold all his possessions and gave the money to the apostles in Jerusalem, they gave him a new name, Barnabas, which originates from the Aramaic בר נביא, meaning "(the son of) exhortation". However, the Greek text of Acts of the Apostles 4:36 explains the name as υἱός παρακλήσεως (hyios paraklēseōs), which means "son of exhortation/consolation".
(At 11:22-23 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto
the Lord (κυρίῳ): for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and many people were added unto
the Lord (κυρίῳ).
Here it is necessary to make a choice that may seem trivial but is crucial in the unfolding of all these quotations: The term "
the Lord (κυρίῳ) " refers to the Hebrew term "Adonai," which also signifies, when addressing human beings, those who were their masters or lords.
The mission among the
Hellenists was complex, thus Paul was brought forth.
(At 11:25 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
And he went forth to Tarsus to seek for Saul;
Here begins with the Hellenists, the greatest abjunction with the circumcised Catholic Church of Jerusalem in Judea (Acts of the apostles 9:31; 21:20).
(At 11:26 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were gathered together with the church, and taught many people, and that the disciples were called
Christians first in
Antioch.
(At 11:26 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
Now there were at
Antioch, in the church that was [there],
prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
(At 15:22-24)
Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to
Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. And they sent this letter by them: 'The apostles and the elders and the brethren, to the brethren who are of the
Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, saying that you must be
circumcised and keep the law, we decided unanimously to select men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul.
What was decided?
(At 15:19-30)
"Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to
abstain from things contaminated by idols, from fornication, from what is strangled, and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to
Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. And they sent this letter by them: 'The apostles and the elders and the brethren, to the brethren who are of the Gentiles in
Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, saying that you must be circumcised and keep the law, we decided unanimously to select men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.' So when they were sent away, they went down to
Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter."
(At 21:25 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
But as touching the Gentiles that have believed, we wrote, giving judgment that |they observe no such thing, save only that| they should
keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what is strangled, and from fornication.
Did ideological differences arise afterward?
(Galatians 2:11-13)
But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, fearing those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
The
destruction of Jerusalem around 70 A.D. and the subsequent weakening of the Judean Jewish Christians occurred when they were accused of "high treason" for fleeing the Roman siege to the mountains, following Jesus' instructions. This event further strained the relationships between the circumcised Christian churches of Jerusalem and the converted Gentiles from other countries.
Let's go back to the figure of Nicolaus.
(Ap 2:6 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the
Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
(Ap 2:15 [New Testament with Variant Readings-ASRV])
So hast thou also some that hold the doctrine of [the] °
Nicolaitans in like manner.
What was the doctrine of the Nicolaitans?
We do not know precisely, and this refers to
Nicolaus in Antioch, however, if we analyze the book Revelations
95 (d.C) we will read the following:
(Revelations 3:10-13)
Because thou didst keep the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of testing, that [hour] which is to come upon the whole world, to test them that dwell upon the earth. |Behold|, I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown. He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the
temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more: and I will write upon him
the name of my God, and the
name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from
my God, and mine own new name. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
Considering that the
doctrine of the Nicolaitans is also within the scope of the seven letters sent to the churches of Asia, which also report that He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands; the first and the last, who was dead, and came to life; He who has the sharp two-edged sword; the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and feet like fine brass; He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars; He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David; He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens; the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God,
HAS A GOD, it is quite likely that the doctrine of the Nicolaitans emerged from the weakening of the relations of the Gentile church of Antioch with Jerusalem, utilizing texts from the Septuagint where many polysemous words like theos, Kyrios, were interpreted as the sacred Tetragrammaton, the Almighty God, when one could also have chosen to translate them as Elohim (a divine magistrate), a human lord over all, etc.
Just note that, for some Christians, characterizing their scripture as schizophrenicmay be seen as an affront as well.
