Stop Compromising or I will remove your Lampstands Malachi 1:4-14 4Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; thus says the LORD of hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant forever.” 5Your eyes will see this and you will say, “The LORD be magnified beyond the border of Israel!” Sin of the Priests       6“ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ 7“You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is to be despised.’ 8“But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. 9“But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts. 10“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you. 11“For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts. 12“But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’ 13“You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the LORD of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the LORD. 14“But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

The Lord, showed me that He is about to remove the lamp-stands from the churches who refuse to repent and remove wickedness from among them. A compromise here a move of acceptance and tolerance there to make it more comfortable and accepting of others (other cultures and pagan practices even allowing them into Christian Holidays) has given way to much sin and pulled many far from God and His ways, decrees, laws and God is angry.
I am reminded of a church building I recently saw which was an old brick building which was beautiful architecturally, but then I saw the sidewalk outside and I prayed, “Lord, this isn’t of You, please don’t let this stand.” The beautiful promise God gave Noah after the flood which swept away the evil of the world has been so perverted and twisted that it is hardly recognizable anymore and the ugly rainbow of perversion was painted down the length of that sidewalk. Sexual perversion has found its way into acceptance in many a church which are now openly accepting and even promoting it. Evil has returned and reared it’s ugly head once again and that serpent needs to have it’s head removed. After the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, God told them that there would always been enmity between them and the serpent and that he would bruise their heel and they would crush his head. It is time to not only crush his head, but to remove it.

Revelation 2:2-9 ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. 6‘Yet this you do have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.’ Message to Smyrna       8“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
      The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this:       9‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10‘Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.’       13‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days of Antipas,

Wicked Jezebel called herself a prophetess, and she taught and lead God’s people astray so that they committed acts of immorality and ate things sacrificed to idols. Though God gave her time to repent, she refused to repent of her immorality. Because of her refusal to repent God said that He would cause her and her children to suffer great Tribulation and He would cause her children to die. God said He would reward all who overcome and resist the temptation to fall into their evil practices and instead remain faithful to Him.

Nicolaitans =“conqueror” or “destroyer.” In Numbers, Followers of Balaam used Midianite women to seduce the men of Israel and lead them to worship other gods. This even happened with King Solomon, (the wisest of all kings) when his foreign wives who followed pagan religions led him astray and after other gods 1 Kings 11:1-5

God hated the practices of pagan groups, such as the child sacrifice of the Canaanites Leviticus 20:2-5

Revelations 2:14,15 Nicolaitans ate food that had been sacrificed to idols, however Acts 15:19,20 tells us to abstain from sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols which would hinder the possible faith of the Gentiles. They, united brave words with evil deeds. In a time of persecution, when the eating or not eating of things sacrificed to idols was more than ever a crucial test of faithfulness, they persuaded men more than ever that was a thing indifferent. In Revelation 2:13,14 This was bad enough, but there was a yet worse evil. Orgies and idolatry were impurities they introduced into the Christian Church, done under the guise of being prophetic whilst 2 Peter 2:1 false prophets and false teachers secretly introduced destructive doctrines and religious beliefs which went so far as to deny God which brought down swift destruction upon their own heads.
Hating their deeds, signified life in an otherwise weak and faithless Church. Revelation 2:6 Tolerating the Nicolations was the opposite of remaining faithful to God under persecution. Revelation 2:14,15 speaks of eating foods that had been sacrificed to idols of false gods. Roman law demanded that those who refused to participate in the sacrifices face execution.

The Nicolaitans adopted the Roman culture, and encouraged Christians in Ephesus to do the same in a time of dire persecution. 1 Corinthians 6:12 eating food sacrificed to idols, would have been in the temple where participation would have taken place to have access to the meat.

                                                        jWinters