After His ascension, Jesus Christ gave a revelation by sending his angel to his servant John to show his servants what must soon take place. The revelation includes the spoken testimony of Jesus Christ, including these words: "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ... I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ... Repent and do the things you did at first. ... But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate." (Revelation 2:1-2, 5-6) My Bible footnotes describe the Nicolaitans as a heretical sect within the church that had worked out a compromise with the pagan society. They taught that spiritual liberty gave them sufficient leeway to practice idolatry and immorality — hateful practices that resulted from false doctrine. Jesus Christ hated the practices of the Nicolaitans and praised the Christians at Ephesus for joining Him in this hatred.