Laodiceans

The Laodiceans were the inhabitants and Christian congregation of Laodicea, a prosperous city of the Lycus valley in the Roman province of Asia. The church at Laodicea receives the most severe of the seven letters in Revelation 3:14–22, addressed by the risen Christ as "the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation." The letter rebukes the Laodicean church for being "lukewarm" — neither cold nor hot — and threatens to spit them out of his mouth. The self-assessment of the church reflected its city's wealth: "I am rich and have prospered and need nothing." Christ's response is to commend "gold refined by fire" (true riches), "white garments" (righteousness), and "eye salve" (spiritual sight), contrasting with Laodicea's fame for banking, clothing manufacture, and its school of ophthalmology. The closing verse contains the celebrated image of Christ standing at the door and knocking (Rev. 3:20). Colossians 4:16 mentions a letter Paul sent to Laodicea; this lost letter was sought by early scribes and circulated in a spurious Latin version in the Western church.