Day 06 - Hierapolis, Colossae, Laodicea

Day 6 involved a visit to three cities that formed a triangle separated by only a few miles. Hieropolis, Colossae and Laodicea were home to roughly 40,000 to 80,000 Jews among these three towns that had a combined population of around 300,000.

We began in the necropolis of Hieropolis, which was akin to the Roman version of Arlington Cemetery due to the town’s strong military presence. In the Roman and Jewish world, the desire was to accelerate the decomposition process and not preserve the body, which is why sarcophagi were referred to as “flesh eaters”.  Tombs were to serve whole family, and there was a ceremony to store the bones on the one-year anniversary of a death. We were reminded that our God is the God of the living, not the dead. The mourning process lasted 40 days, serving as an invitation to others to participate in the grieving. Much thought went into choosing a place for family burials, and it was a more critical decision than where to live.

We passed by the ornate Gate of Domitian, which we later discovered was the site of the Apostle Philip’s gruesome death as his eldest daughter witnessed, later being executed along with her six sisters. John’s gospel was written specifically to this area, and Philip played a vital role in the expansion of the good news in the region.

Rome eventually came after Philip, but he followed his rabbi unto death. The sobering story of his execution was told in the octagon church, mere yards away from Philip’s tomb. We were challenged by Marty to have the kind of faith our children will believe in as Philip indeed finished well in spite of severe circumstances.

As we advanced to Colossae, we scaled the tel that concealed unknown history beneath our feet. We learned of the city’s destruction by an earthquake and no financial subsidy offered from Rome to rebuild. Colossae was known for its “secret knowledge” and connection to Gnosticism. Marty explained the dynamic between Onesimus and Philemon and Paul’s tongue-in-cheek letter to resolve their issues.

We finished at Laodicea, where the privately funded archaeological dig has revealed much of this city’s history. Known for its 60,000-seat stadium that served as the capital of gladiator competitions throughout the Roman Empire, it was also a banking center and producer of black wool and medicinal salve.

When leveled by an earthquake in 60 A.D., Laodicea refused help from Rome and was rebuilt from their own resources. Getting fresh water was an issue, their extensive pipeline from the mountains mixing with mineral water to produce a product that was “lukewarm”.

Amidst a sprawling field of artifacts in what was once the agora, we saw a rare glimpse of the religious tone of Laodicea in the third century A.D. There was discovered a cross anchored in a menorah, explaining the special existence of Jews and Christians living together.

In the letter John wrote to the Laodiceans, Marty dispelled the misconception of the passage on being “lukewarm.” The charge was for the people to be good for something, not waffling between selections. It seems that this church heard the challenge from Pastor John and corrected its course.

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