Laodicea was an extremely wealthy city, famous for medicine, clothing, and commerce. It had everything it needed including water, but by the time that water from the nearby hot springs reached Laodicea, it was lukewarm and nauseating to drink. It was so wealthy, it declined the help of the Roman emperor in rebuilding after it was destroyed by a massive earthquake around AD 60.
It was very close to Colosse, and they exchanged Paul's letters (Colossians 2:1; 4:16).
Colossians 1:15-18 sheds light on Revelation 3:14. Christ is the head over creation, not the first creature. He is the firstborn in the sense of the heir of all things. We can see this in Colossians 3:18, when our Lord is called the "firstborn" from the dead. This cannot be about chronology because many people were raised from the dead before the Lord Jesus, both by him and by Elijah and Elisha.
This refers to rank: the blessing of the firstborn, as in the case of Jacob over Esau, and Ephraim over Manasseh. In effect, the younger sons, Jacob and Ephraim, succeed their fathers, Isaac and Joseph.
As God, Jesus is the eternal Creator; as a human being, Jesus a creature, but not just any creature: He is the heir of the whole world, its sovereign.
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After serving Grace Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Louisiana, Bob was honorably retired on Sunday, September 27, 2015, and given the title "Pastor Emeritus." This was forty years to the day after he became their pastor.
He now works for the Presbytery of the Gulf South as...
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