The Lost City of Colossae by Chris White

 

Author climbing the tell of Colossae

" Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father."   –Col. 1:1-2

  

Collossae is a city known to us today primarily because St. Paul wrote a letter to the church there in the first century.  We know from the text that Onesimus, the recipient of the letter in the New Testament known as Philemon, was a prominent citizen there and also that a key person if not the founder of this church was named Ephaphras.  From the text of Colossians there is the indication that there was some doctrinal confusion concerning the person of Jesus Christ as well as the mixture of folk religion that was the subject of Paul’s encouraging words to them.  The wonderful news to the Colossian church is that if you are connected to Jesus Christ, you are totally connected to God.  But also that our worship of Him should be reflected by a mental and moral renovation directed by the Holy Spirit, not by keeping certain religious rituals. 

Colossae was once an important city but by New Testament times it was in decline.  No concrete explanation is known, but it has been surmised that a more improved road bypassed Colossae and it simply wasn’t on the way to anywhere.  This is a common occurrence in the western United States where towns have simply disappeared because highways or railroads changed travel patterns and they were no longer convenient destinations.  Whatever the reason, Colossae’s nearby neighbors of Laodicea and Hierapolis remained on the map much longer.

Colossae today is nothing but an unexcavated tell which is a hill that conceals the remains of an ancient city.  The value of seeing it is just to get an idea of what an archaeological site looks like before it is opened up.  Money is the root of all sorts of evil but it is also the root of all archaeology.  Perhaps someday soon this town of Bible significance will be the subject of a future dig.

The Seven Churches of Revelation Pt. 11 by Chris White

The remains of the marketplace in Laodicea

“ Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.  He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”   ---Rev. 3:20-22

We come now to the last of the Seven Churches of Revelation with Laodicea.  The Christians of Laodicea faced much of the same type of temptations that Christians in America have today.  Laodicea was prosperous, was a shopping mecca, and placed a huge value on sports and entertainment.  It wasn’t enough for Laodicea to have one sports arena or amphitheatre, they had two of each and massive public baths as well.  Jesus pointed to Laodicea’s aqueduct system that didn’t work quite right, and said like their water, they were lukewarm Christians instead of hot or cold.  Like the minerals which corroded the pipes, the Laodicean brothers and sisters had become less effective because they were so distracted with their many opportunities.  Laodicea was also known for it’s great tolerance because it hosted people from every walk of life and nation who came there for the treatment of eye problems.  There was a mineral product they made called Phrygian Powder which was made into a balm for the eyes and sold for a high price.  Needless to say, the Laodiceans had seen everything and were quite comfortable even to the point of indifference.  In Britain today, a person possessing general indifference about philosophical and social issues is often called a “Laodicean” in the matter.  Perhaps the Lord saw his people had grown too comfortable and tolerant of sin and was wanting them to take such things with a greater seriousness than they were exhibiting.  Many years ago Holman Hunt painted a picture based on Jesus’ words to the Laodicean church “behold I stand at the door and knock”.  In the picture Christ stands at a door of a house without a doorknob on the outside (meaning it can only be opened on the inside by the owner) and waits for the occupant to answer his call.  In the city of Laodicea, the Roman emperor Domitia  But like Holman Hunt’s picture, this door could only be answered from the inside.  Jesus was crucified and died for our sins outside the city and there the Lord waits until we truly invite him in and let him rule our hearts.  The problem so many of us have is that we don’t hear the knock on the door because our minds are overly occupied with all the good things around us instead of setting our minds on the things above.  We need to dial those disctractions back that we can better hear and respond to the Lord’s call upon our lives.  The Lord is not to be an outsider or stranger to any of our lives!

n had erected a huge door that opened up to the city.

With you on the journey,

 Chris

The Churches of Revelation Pt. 10 by Chris White

Pillars are all that remain in Philadelphia

 “ Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”              --Rev. 3:10-13

Jesus had no correction for the church in Philadelphia, His word to them was carry on and persevere even in persecution and he would give them a permanent place of dwelling and safety in the kingdom.  What makes this interesting is that those who lived in Philadelphia suffered under the continual pressure of earthquakes for many centuries.  At one point earthquakes happened so often that the residents gave up building homes out of stone and went to stick and mud dwellings because they were so much easier to rebuild.  During the New Testament era, the Philadelphians came up with an idea that worked at least for a while to preserve their city.  They would add pillars to buildings as a means of strengthening the walls after they repaired them.  Although imperfect, much of what stood in Philadelphia did so because of pillars.  As a pillar in the church you would be more than an ornament, you would be an essential part that could be depended upon even when the church was being shaken with persecution.  It is a wonderful accident of history that the only remnants of that church in Turkey are the huge pillars that once held up sanctuary ceiling near the altar.  No matter where you attend church, endeavor to be a pillar for that congregation.  Support its ministries with your time, prayer, finances, and participation.  Stand with your church in its good times and hard times.  This is pleasing to the Lord and brings with it His reward.  Of all the churches of Revelation, Philadelphia lasted the longest and remained the very last of all these cities to be a Christian witness even when Asia Minor was being overrun by the Muslims.  Philadelphia was eventually conquered but only when it was betrayed by fellow Christians in Constantinople who were jealous of their prestige and strength.  Instead of brotherly love, it was the love that Cain had for Abel, the one that betrays and murders.  But that happened 1000 years after the writing of this letter and that is a pretty long record for any church hold.

With you on the journey,

 Chris

The Seven Churches of Revelation Pt. 9 by Chris White

Wealthy Sardis had a large school and gynasium for youth

“ Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.  So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. ⁴ But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.  He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white. garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”   --Rev. 3:2-5

Sardis is where the legendary King Midas was supposed to have lived.  King Midas was given by the gods the unique power of turning everything he touched into gold (hence, the “midas touch”).  At first this was seen as a good thing because it created untold wealth for his city, but in time proved to be more of a curse than a blessing.  Imagine all the things you touch in a day turning to gold.  See any problems here?  Having had too much of a good thing, Midas begged to be released from this gift and was told to bathe in the nearby Pactolus river.  Upon entering the river, King Midas was instantly free of his power but the Pactolus river became full of gold dust.  By the Christian era, the gold in the Pactolus river had played out, but not before making Sardis a very wealthy city.  And it is in Sardis that the minting of gold coins was introduced to the Greek and Roman world as a means of purchase and paying debt.  The church of Sardis was born and lived in an environment plagued by affluence, Judaism, and paganism.  Their problem was that they were not struggling with temptation, but rather embracing and walking in it.  It is interesting to note that the community of Sardis had a very short attention span and were known in the ancient world for not finishing things they started.  When the Lord rebukes them, and frankly He doesn’t seem to have even one thing to commend them on, Jesus says even his church has not finished the deeds he has called them to do.  The church of Sardis was quite incomplete in their obedience to the Lord.  How easy it is for any of us to mistake our knowledge of Jesus for actually walking with Him in obedience.  The Gospel of Christ calls us to a totally new life and way of thinking that is oriented towards the Kingdom of God.  To be living for this world is the antithesis of embracing the Gospel of Christ.  To the few in Sardis who were obedient, the Lord says keep your garments clean.  In the ancient world all priests in pagan temples wore the whitest of robes and if they had even one stain they were not to be worn in the temple because it would be unworthy of the god.  What are Christians to do when they live in a corrupt and decadent place?  Ultimately, we must look to our own lives and our own relationship with the Lord, and seek to keep ourselves unstained by the world around us.  We are in the roll book of another kingdom which means we should all be cautious of becoming over invested in the ambient culture.

With you on the Journey,

 Chris

The Seven Churches of Revelation Pt. 8 by Chris White

Remains of Ancient Church in Thyatira

 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.  But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.  I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality.”

                                                                                                                                           --Rev. 2:19-21

Pliny the Elder, a Roman governor and historian living in Asia Minor during the early Christian era, wrote that the city of Thyatira was Inhonora Civitas or a city lacking any greatness.  In America we might call Thyatira a “wide spot in the road” or “Podunk U.S.A”.  We should all take comfort in the fact that Jesus has concern for all places, not just the important cities.   Thyatira is famous in the New Testament because one of its leading citizens named Lydia was on a business trip to Philippi and became one of St. Paul’s first converts when he preached the gospel there.  Lydia was known as a dyer of purple cloth which was quite desirable.  The purple dye came from the madder root which is a local plant in Thyatira.  This small town used so much water in the dying of fabrics that the Romans built them an aqueduct just to supplement their local river.  In the letter to Thyatira a direct rebuke is made by the Lord to an unnamed prophetess who is called Jezebel.  Jezebel in the Old Testament was not a prophetess, but was guilty of spending her wealth and energy convincing Israel to leave God and follow after Baal.  Apparently the Church of Thyatira was listening to this prophetess whose teaching included the freedom to join the local labor guilds.  It was as true in ancient times as it is today: if you want to succeed in business sometimes you have to go along to get along.  The first century Christians often faced a dilemma if they were in business.  You needed to be in a labor guild, but labor guilds sponsored community feasts dedicated to pagan gods and goddesses with sacrifices.  After the meal was over temple prostitutes were often brought in to help the participants properly celebrate.  Eating meat sacrificed to idols was often a much greater sin than eating food that has been defiled by idolatry.  The message to the church of Thyatira is that if they continue to heed and tolerate this kind of sin in the church, the Lord will chastise them with illness that the rest of the Body of Christ might be fearful about compromising with the world.  When the church teaches and acts like the world, like the world, it will come under the judgment of God.

With you on the Journey,

Chris