[ZNPaaneah]

These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, he that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: 2 I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou canst not bear evil men, and didst try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and didst find them false; 3 and thou hast patience and didst bear for my name’s sake, and hast not grown weary. 4 But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love. 5 Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

The "first works" are not the issue with this church, and Jesus charges them to continue with them.

Their works, their toil, they can't bear with evil men, they tried those that call themselves apostles and are not and found them false.

These are the works that we are doing on this forum. We cannot bear with evil men like Phillip Lee, or those that rubber stamped his appointment like the elders in Anaheim. We are examining Witness Lee's claim to apostleship and the leaders of the LC claim that he was "the minister of the age" and we have found this claim to be false.

This work requires patience. We have had to bear slander and libel for the Lord's name. I would like to think that we have not grown weary.

The issue with this church is that they left their first love. [Please note, a church is a gathering of the called out ones. This forum is a gathering of the called out ones]. Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. The one who didn't come to judge the world but that through Him the world might be saved. The one who loved us and died for us. The good samaritan who tells us, once we have been nursed back to health, to "go and do likewise". That is the one they left.

They need to remember where they have fallen from, repent and do the first works. This is what we are doing on this forum. We remember where we have fallen from, we repent, we endeavor to do the first works again.

But what is true of all, those that need to repent and those that have repented and the Lord Jesus is that they all hate the works of the nicolaitans. Now I don't have to put my spin on what that is, I don't need to define what that is, because Jesus tells us what it is. They teach in like manner to Balaam who taught Balak to place a stumblingblock before the children of Israel. This refers back to Matt 18 where Jesus said it was better to put a millstone around your neck than to stumble the babes in Christ. This refers to Witness Lee's teaching on Deification, which in my mind is placing a stumbling block before the children of God.

The cause of a church becoming "degraded" is to "leave their first love". This is the strategy of the enemy. This is the temptation. Those that lead the church astray are "false prophets" who place stumbling blocks before the children of God.