The Roman historian Tacitus writes: “Laodicea, one of the famous Asiatic cities, was laid in ruins by an earthquake but recovered by its own resources without assistance from ourselves” ( Annals 14:27). The textiles, banking and medical ointments made Laodicea an independent economic powerhouse.Īfter a major earthquake in 60 AD, Laodicea refused Nero’s offer to subsidize their rebuilding efforts. The resulting eye ointment would then be applied to the outside of the eyes to clear up infection. Doctors would shave off the outer layers of the rocks, grind them into a fine dust, and then submerge them into mineral water rich in calcium carbonate. A noted medical school at the temple of the Carian god, Men, produced eye ointment from local stone in the region. The commercial activity had made local banking centers noteworthy since the time of Cicero (~50 BC). The textile industry fueled the economy with significant export revenue coming from black wool products weaved so finely as to be rainproof. Multiple industries fueled economic prosperity. The city had all the trimmings of a boomtown in the Roman period with giant bathhouses, a stadium, and a theater. The population of Laodicean may have reached over 150,000 people at its height based on the size of the theater ruins. The Lycus River valley offered fertile soil to support a large agrarian population. The city rests on the hills south of the Lycus River valley opposite the city of Hierapolis on the north side. The seventh edict in Revelation 2-3 is written to the final city along the route a courier would take to deliver John’s apocalypse: Laodicea.
The imperial format implies Jesus is Lord not Caesar. Chapters 2-3 provide specific messages from Jesus in the form of 7 ancient Roman imperial edicts to remind each community to obey Jesus not Rome. John recorded his visions in the book of Revelation as a message for seven communities in the Roman province of Asia (think present-day Western Turkey). To understand Revelation 3:15-16, we have to understand John's audience (same is true for understanding the meaning of any Bible passage). In the popular passage of Revelation 3:15-16, Jesus says, “I wish you were cold or hot, but because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will vomit you out of my mouth.” Why does Jesus want people made of extreme temperatures, like hot or cold, or else he will discard them? So let's talk about a specific example: being lukewarm. Flattening the Bible's first meaning loosens the anchor that holds it from floating down the river of your imagination. We miss Jesus' personalized message for his first century audience in Asia Minor. The same miscommunication happens when we chase the futuristic relevance of the book of Revelation rather than the reason John recorded it for his ancient audience. They had very specific meanings for their original audience not just some generic meaning for everyone. Jesus' healing miracles, turning water into wine, feeding the 5,000 and calming a storm all lose their meaning when we reduce them to miraculous moments that revealed Jesus' divinity. If you haven't read it yet, Reenacting the Way (of Jesus) unwraps the commonly misunderstood messages of the Gospels. That's a big deal when it's the Word of God.Ī question that should push us all to study more carefully is: Are we mistaking the echo of our own assumptions for the meaning of God's Word?
But if you associate the words with the wrong meaning, you will misrepresent what someone means to say. If the first place your mind goes is to the same meaning someone intends, communication works.
Mental associations direct the way we interpret what people mean with their words.
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