Acts 6:5

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.

Stephen ... is mentioned first, as Luke's narrative was about to recount his martyrdom. The qualifications that he had as a man of faith and full of the Holy Spirit were not his alone but belonged to all of the group nominated by the multitude.

Philip ... Concerning this nominee, Johnson said:

He was distinguished as "Philip the Evangelist." He gave the gospel to Samaria, converted the eunuch, and afterward lived and labored at Caesarea (Acts 21:8).[9]

Nicolaus ... A great deal of interest attaches to this last named of the Seven. First, he is the only one designated a proselyte, and the only one whose native city is given, the latter fact calling forth this comment from Bruce:

That the only member of the Seven to have his place of origin named should belong to Antioch - Syrian Antioch, of course, is a mark of Luke's special interest in that city; and this helps to confirm the tradition that he himself was an Antiochene."[10]

Two of the Ante-Nicene writers connected the name of Nicolaus with the heresy named in Revelation 2:6. Irenaeus wrote:

The Nicolaitanes are the followers of that Nicolaus who was one of the seven first ordained to the diaconate by the apostles. They lead lives of unrestrained indulgence ... teaching that it is a matter of indifference to practice adultery, and to eat things sacrificed to idols.[11]

Of course, it is no greater wonder that one of the Seven should have proved to be unworthy than that one of the Twelve should have been a traitor. Nevertheless, serious doubt is cast upon Irenaeus' charge of heresy against Nicolaus, it being far more likely that a group of sinners pretending to be his followers adopted his name in an effort to further their evil teaching, as appears in this comment from Victorinus who wrote the first known commentary on Revelation. In his comment on Revelation 2:6, he said:

The Nicolaitanes were in that time false and troublesome men, who, as ministers under the name of Nicolaus, had made for themselves a heresy ... etc.Revelation 2:6 in the Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers), Vol. VII, p. 346.">[12]

Regarding the fact that all seven of this group had Greek names, the conclusions of scholars are contradictory. Some assume that all seven were members of the dissenting or complaining party.[13] Lange thought it probable that "some of the seven were Hebrews"[14] with Greek names; and Boles noted that some think that "three of the seven were Hebrews, three Grecians, and one a proselyte"![15] (Quite a political maneuver!) It is obvious that we simply do not know.

[9] B. W. Johnson, Notes on the New Testament (Delight, Arkansas: Gospel Light Publishing Company, n.d.), p. 439.

[10] F. F. Bruce, op. cit., p. 129.

[11] Irenaeus, Against Heresies in the Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers), Vol. I, p. 352.

Revelation 2:6 in the Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers), Vol. VII, p. 346.">[12] Victorious, Commentary on Revelation 2:6 in the Ante-Nicene Fathers (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers), Vol. VII, p. 346.

[13] E. A. Elam, op. cit., p. 190.

[14] John Peter Lange, Commentary on Acts (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1866), p. 105.

[15] H. Leo Boles, op. cit., p. 97.