I have already spoken of the behavior of the Nicolaitans and the teaching of the Nicolaitans in the church in Ephesus and the church in Pergamos. Moreover, I have indicated how they represent a class of priests. Among the Israelites the Levites could be the priests and the rest could not. But in the church all the children of God are priests. First Peter 2 and Revelation 5 tell us clearly that all who are bought with the blood are priests. Yet the Nicolaitans specifically created the office of the priest. The laity (common believers) must go to the world to take an occupation and perform secular affairs. The priests are above the laity and attend to the spiritual affairs. Now I will say something by way of repetition regarding the matter of the mediatorial class. The Jews have Judaism, and the Nicolaitans developed from a behavior to a teaching. We see the existence of a class of fathers. They attend to the spiritual affairs, while others take care of secular matters. The laying on of hands is their business; only they can bless. If we have to inquire concerning a certain matter, we cannot ask God ourselves; we must ask them to inquire of God for us. At the time of Sardis the condition improved. The system of the fathers was abolished, but the clergy system arose to take its place. In the Protestant churches there are the extremely strict state churches, and there are also the scattered private churches. However, whether it be a state or private church, the existence of the mediatorial class is always seen. The former has the clergy system while the latter has the pastoral system. Concerning the system of the priestly class, whether it is called fathers, clergy, or pastors, it is something which is rejected by the Lord. The Protestant churches are a change in form of the continuance of the Nicolaitan teaching found in Pergamos. Although in the Protestant churches no one is called a father, yet the clergy and pastors are exactly the same in principle. Even if we change their name and call them workers, as long as they are standing in the same position, they have the same flavor.

I have already brought forth much Scripture as a basis for showing that we are all priests. But now there is an argument between God and men. Since God says that everyone in the church is qualified to be a priest, why do men say that spiritual authority is only in the hands of the mediatorial class such as the fathers? I repeat, as many as are redeemed with the precious blood are priests. Why does the Lord not rebuke Philadelphia, but rather praise her? Remember that the beginning of the mediatorial class was at Pergamos and the practice of the mediatorial class was in Rome. They have the popes who exercise dominion over them, they have the high officials exercising authority over them, and they have the Vatican (the church-palace) high officials, etc. But the Lord says, “You all are brothers.” Hold fast to Matthew 23:8 and 20:26. The Bible does not have the system of pastors. The Lord said, “Do not call anyone on earth your father, for One is your Father…Neither be called instructors, because One is your Instructor” (23:9-10). But the Roman Catholic Church uses the term father, and the Protestant churches use the term pastor. In the nineteenth century there was a great revival which abolished the mediatorial class. A great recovery transpired after Sardis: The brothers loved one another, and the mediatorial class was abolished in the church. This is Philadelphia.

In 1825 in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, there were several believers whose hearts were moved by God to love all the children of the Lord, regardless of their denomination. This kind of love was not to be frustrated by the walls of denomination. They began to see that in the Scriptures God says there is but one Body of Christ, regardless of how many sects men may divide her into. They further read the Scriptures and saw that the system of one man administering the church and one man preaching was not scriptural. So they began to meet every Lord’s Day to break bread and pray. In 1825—after more than a thousand years of the Roman Catholic Church and several hundred years of the Protestant churches—there was the first return to the simple, free, and spiritual worship in the Scriptures. At the beginning there were but two persons; later, there were four or five.

In the world’s eyes these believers were lowly and unknown. But they had the Lord in their midst and the consolation of the Holy Spirit. They stood on the ground of two clear truths: First, the church is the Body of Christ and the Body is one, and second, there is no clergy system in the New Testament, that is, all the ministers of the Word set up by men are not scriptural. They believed that all true believers were the members of this one Body. They warmly welcomed all who came into their midst, regardless of their denomination. They did not have the consciousness of any sect. They believed that all true believers had the office of the priest and could freely enter into the Holy of Holies. They also believed the ascended Lord had given various gifts to the church for the perfecting of the saints, for the building up of the Body of Christ. Therefore, they were able to depart from the two sins of the clergy system—offering sacrifices and one man preaching the Word. These principles enabled them to welcome all who were in Christ as their brothers and to be open to all the ministers of the Word who were ordained by the Holy Spirit to serve.