Laodicea

Laodicea was a prosperous commercial city in the Lycus valley of Phrygia, about 40 miles east of Ephesus on the main road linking Ephesus with Syria. Founded under Antiochus II and named for his wife Laodice, it grew wealthy through trade in glossy black wool and maintained a renowned medical school known for its eye salve. Paul mentions the church at Laodicea in connection with Colossae (Col. 2:1; 4:13–16). The church receives the most severe of the seven letters in Revelation (Rev. 3:14–22), condemned for being "lukewarm" — neither hot nor cold — with Christ standing outside, knocking at its door. Its material prosperity had bred a self-sufficiency that left it spiritually impoverished, blind, and naked — a condition made ironic by its famous wealth in the very commodities (clothing, eye salve) it spiritually lacked.