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