LAODICEA HISTORY

Laodicea (Col. 1:7, 4:12-13, 16; Rev. 1:11, 3:14-22)

INTRODUCTION:

The last of the seven churches of Revelation was that of Laodicea. People of Laodicea are accused for being lukewarm. They did nothing for the Lord and for the Satan. Because of that reason they drew no persecutions. As a crossroad of two important roads, this city had an important commercial and logistical position. The road that carried John's letter began at Ephesus, and moved north through Smyrna and Pergamon before turning east to Thyatira. Dropping due south, the letters were carried to Sardis, then southeast to Philadelphia and finally Laodicea. Evidence of the ancient road demonstrates that it continued to Colossae and eventually to the Mediterranean port at Attalia (Antalya). Intersecting with the Pergamon – Attalia road was an inland roadway from Cappadocia via Apamea (due east of Laodicea). This road gently eased down to the coast at Ephesus, some 160 kilometers away. Ten miles east of the city lay the remains of Colossae, an important city in the writing and ministry of the Apostle Paul.

LOCATION & HISTORY OF OCCUPATION:

Laodicea, which was located in a very fertile valley, was established in the Hellenistic period. It was established by the Syrian king , Antiochus. The city which is located on the major trade road, is surrounded by three major rivers. First name of the city was Diospolis and it was a great center for fashion and textiles. Laodiciea got under the control of Pergamon Kingdom in 188 BC and Roman Empire 129 BC. During the Mihridatic Wars, between Rome and Mihridates, the king of Pontus, the people of Laodicea took the Roman side. During the Roman centuries, it became one of the greatest and most powerful cities of the region. The citizens could restore their city to its former glory after the earthquake of 60 AD which destroyed the city completely. Before the Christian times, the most powerful divinity of was Zeus. A large Jewish community is mentioned by the ancient writers.

Established in the C3 BC by the Seleucid Antiochus II, the city was named after his wife Laodice. Built on the Lycus Tributary of the Meander River, it was surnamed “Laodicea on Lycus”, to distinguish it from other similarly named cities. The city was apparently addressed with the nearby cities of Hierapolis and Colossae (Col. 2:1; 4:13-16) and was no doubt linked in trade and commerce with those cities.

Though reasonably strong from the trade in what Strabo referred to as “raven-black wool” and its thriving agricultural base, the city did need the assistance of Rome after an earthquake disabled the city in 60 AD, according to Tacitus. The garment industry recovered, and competed with Hierapolis and Colossae for the textile manufacture and sale. There was also development of a medical industry, based on the eye salves and “Phrygian powders” used in eye treatment (cp. Rev. 3:15-16). The banking and money exchange industry also thrived in the city, an ironic reality of the city that was called “poor and naked and blind!”

Positioned in the Lycus Valley a few miles from the hot calcium waters of modern Pamukkale, the tell affords a view to the north and east of the hot waters that pour out of the earth, and the distant snow capped mountains to the south. Drawing the hot water from a distance of more than four miles away, the water would arrive to the city lukewarm, and need to be reheated. Many have noted the irony of Rev. 3:15.

The church of Laodicea was begun by Epaphras while Paul was at Ephesus (cp. Acts 19:10). The New Testament offers no direct evidence of a visit by Paul to the city, though he refers to believers there in the letter to Colossae. The “letter to Laodicea” did not survive (Col. 4:16).

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