Christians in some of the churches due to false teaching. John describes these false teachers with metaphorical titles drawn from the Old Testament (the followers of Balaam and Jezebel with her children). The false teachers apparently advocated compromise and assimilation with the surrounding culture and its idolatry to avoid the social embarrassment of Christianity, evade persecution, and get ahead economically. This is evident because some Christians, notably those in Laodicea and some within Pergamum,