Reading for April 20th

Read Revelation 3.14-22 In 3.14-22: The letter from the faithful witness to Laodicea: Eat with me. Laodicea was a prosperous trading city, orginally built as a military colony to protect inland trade routes. It lacked water supply and had to pipe in its water. The expression origin of God's creation is ambigous and could mean that the speaker was the first to be created, the source of the creation, or the ruler of creation. A similar exprssion at Col 1.15 links the resurrection with the beginning of the new creation. In verses 15-16: I am rich begins a series of mercantile allusions drawn from the local economy, which included a famous black wool and eye salve. In verse 16: The luke warm spiritual state of the Laodiceans is a taunt on their tepid water; niether hot (like Hieropolis to the North ) nor cold (like Colossae to the South). In verse 20:The imagery is close to the Jesus story in Luke 12.35-37. In verse 21: The throne image opens the door to the next scene, where God's throne is central. Comments or Questions..