Laodicea
• Laodicea was situated along the banks of a river
and stood at the junction of three great roads
traversing Asia Minor. The location of the city
was conducive to commercial enterprise, hence
it prospered as a large industrial administrative
center specializing in banking, textile
manufacturing and medicine. Many wealthy
people attended the Laodicean church which, of
course, caused the church to prosper.
Laodicea
• Evidence of this prosperity is found in the
present day ruins of three large church
buildings dating back to the early days of
Christianity. Laodicea's economy was
fueled by a textile industry that
manufactured from the wool of black
sheep, soft, sleek, black garments and
carpets that were popular both locally and
in the surrounding region.
Laodicea
• The medical school was likewise famous
for successfully mixing chemicals to cure
diseases. Its physicians, whose allegiance
was to the serpent god Asklepios,
produced an ointment for the ears and
eyes. Especially famous was the
Laodicean eye salve for healing certain
forms of blindness. The banking industry
likewise flourished in Laodicea because of
the city's prosperous economy.
To Church in Laodicea
• NIV Revelation 3:14 "To the angel of the
church in Laodicea write: These are the
words of the Amen, the faithful and true
witness, the ruler of God's creation. 15 I
know your deeds, that you are neither cold
nor hot. I wish you were either one or the
other!
To Church in Laodicea
• 16 So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-- I am about to spit
you out of my mouth.
To Church in Laodicea
• 17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired
wealth and do not need a thing.' But you
do not realize that you are wretched,
pitiful, poor, blind and naked.
To Church in Laodicea
• 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold
refined in the fire, so you can become rich;
and white clothes to wear, so you can
cover your shameful nakedness; and salve
to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19
Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline.
So be earnest, and repent.
To Church in Laodicea
• 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and
knock. If anyone hears my voice and
opens the door, I will come in and eat with
him, and he with me. 21 To him who
overcomes, I will give the right to sit with
me on my throne, just as I overcame and
sat down with my Father on his throne. 22
He who has an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit says to the churches."
The Proud Free Town
• Laodicea means "the people speak or the
people rule."
"I wish that you were cold or
hot" (3:15–16)
• It is thought that the Laodiceans were being critiqued for their
neutrality or lack of zeal (hence "lukewarm"). Based on this
understanding, the term Laodicean is used in some modern
Christian circles to derisively refer to the neutral or
indifferent.[However, some scholars have suggested that this
metaphor has been drawn from the water supply of the city, which
was lukewarm, in contrast to the hot springs at nearby Hierapolis
and the pure water of Colossae (Barclay). The archaeology shows
Laodicea had an aqueduct that probably carried water from hot
mineral springs some five miles south, which would have become
tepid before entering the city. An historian of the time that the water
was hard, though drinkable.
• The imagery of the Laodicean aqueduct suggests not that "hot" is
good and "cold" is bad, but that both hot and cold water are useful,
whereas lukewarm water is useless.
"Poor, blind, and naked" (3:17–
18)
• The words attributed to the Laodiceans obviously mark
an ironic over-confidence in regard to spiritual wealth.
They, unlike the Christ who knows, are unable to
recognise their bankruptcy. However the image may also
be drawing on the perceived worldly wealth of the city.
• The reference to eye medication is again often thought
to reflect the historical situation of Laodicea. According to
Strabo (12.8.20) there was a medical school in the city,
where a famous ophthalmologist practiced. The city also
lies within the boundaries of ancient Phrygia, from where
an ingredient of eye-lotions, the so-called "Phrygian
powder", was supposed to have originated.
"Behold, I stand at the door" (3:20)
• This is among the most famous images of the
Revelation, and is the subject of the famous painting The
Light of the World by Holman Hunt. It bears similarities to
a saying of Jesus in Mark 13:33–37, and Luke 12:35–38.
• Commentators variously view it as a metaphor of
intimate fellowship, and/or a reference to the
eschatological parousia of Christ. It is noted that the
theme of divine invitations to eat, are found both in the
New Testament (e.g. the Parable of the Wedding Feast)
and in Graeco-Roman religion. Various papyri, such as
POxy 3693, include invitations to attend a dinner with
gods such as Sarapis, however these are issued by
specified individuals to feasts at a temple of a god – and
do not suggest the visitation of the home by the divinity.
Laodicea printed their
own money that
they could back.
Laodicea
• The place often suffered from earthquakes, especially
from the great shock in the reign of Nero (60 AD), in
which it was completely destroyed. But the inhabitants
declined imperial assistance to rebuild the city and
restored it from their own means. (Tacitus, Annals. xiv.
27.) The wealth of its inhabitants created among them a
taste for the arts of the Greeks, as is manifest from its
ruins; and that it did not remain behind in science and
literature is attested by the names of the sceptics and ,
the successors of Aenesidemus (Diog. Laërt. ix. 11. §
106, 12. § 116), and by the existence of a great medical
school. (Strab. xii. p. 580.)
Laodicea
• Antiochus the Great transported 2000
Jewish families to Phrygia from Babylonia
(Joseph., Ant. Jud., xii.3.4). Many of
Laodicea's inhabitants were Jews. They
sent a sum of 20 pounds of gold annually
to Jerusalem for the Temple.
Don’t go through the motions
• Who can revive us when this happens?
• Don’t base a congregation’s health on
their wealth?