Laodicea

Laodicea, together with Ephesus is the only community that's mentioned in the New Testament (Col. 2:1 and 4:13-16). This city is known for its famous black whool ("i will give you white clothes" verse 18) ,embroided robes and a medicine for eyes, called Frygic Powder (see verse 18 also). She was a very arrogant town, when she had an earthquake, the habitants built up their own city, and refused all help! this city also contained hot and cold wells, which were used as some kind of sauna. Verse 15 illustrates this well.

The community of Laodicea stands for the present time till the rapture, beginning in 1948 (when Israel was restored). It speaks of worldliness, because they are lukewarm, which is even worse than cold... They love their richness and they're sell suffient, while one should be sufficient from God.--- Paul describes a bit of Laodicea, and it was known for it gnosticism (which is also very modern these days). Gnosticism is a bit like new age - that there is no good or evil in the original ways. There is the earthly, that's bad, and there is the spiritual, that's good. They cannot believe Jesus came to be in a real human body, that would be horrible, so they only believe that Christ came spiritually, and has not really died. They claim they have mysterious knowledge of this world. See the internet for more information, and see that it looks like the new age thoughts now...

--- "See I stand at the door and I knock" --- this mostly is seen as a personal call for repentance etc (which is not wrong), but what it also means, especially in this context, is that God is OUTSIDE the church. He stands outside, and knocks... This christian community doesn't have Jesus... Of course in the beginning Jesus was inside, but love for the "kosmos" (earth), He left, and they didn't even miss him... (recognisable? I can see a lot of churches doing the same today).

Created about 4 years ago