What does it mean to be Hot, Cold or Luke Warm?

"Six miles to the north lay Hiriepolis, famed for it's hot springs, ten miles to the east lay Colosse, known for it's cold, pure drinking water supply. As Hemer (1986: 187-91) points out, Hierapolis streams were so well known for their healing qualities that the city became a major health center, while the cold, life giving water of Colosse, the only place in the region it was available, may account for it;s original settlement. Laodicea had no water supply of it's own. It was founded at the junction of trade routes not for it's natural but for it's commercial and military advantages. When it piped in it's water from the hot springs of Denizli, the water did not have enough time to cool in the aqueducts but arrived "Lukewarm" (χλιαρός chliaros). Even today, people n the area place the water in jars to cool. Porter (1987: 144-46) shows that passages from Herodotus and Xenophon indicate that it was the temperature as well as the minerals (see below) that made the water undrinkable. In this sense it is their barren works rather than spirituality that is the focus, which fits the opening "I know your works." Of course, there is no radical difference between the two, for it's deeds showed it's spiritual barrenness... the water flowing over the cliffs of Hierapolis left spectacular deposits that were visible from Laodicea. Hemer (1986: 187) describes the scenic wonders well: "Hot sparkling waters rise from deep pools on the city plateau... The cliff ... is come 300 feet high and extends nearly a mile. It's ever changing reflections of light and color are unspeakably beautiful, especially when viewed against the backdrop of the snowy peak of Cadmus. Yet all this beauty also reminded Laudicea that their water was undrinkable. As such, it provided a perfect metaphor for the shallowness of that church: beautiful outwardly and sickening inwardly!"  "

- Grant R Osborne, Baker's exegetical commentary on the New Testament for Revelations, page 205, 206 on the Letters to the 7 Churches of Asia Minor.


"The basis (casual ,ὅτι, Hori, because)" of their lukewarm spirituality and GOd's imminent judgement is not given. The Laodiceans were immediately wealthy, and this led to self sufficiency and complacency, a deadly combination for the Christian. Their problem was, (λέγεις ὅτι Πλούσιος εἰμι, legeis hoti plousios eimi, you say, "I am rich"). Because they were materially "rich", they assumed that they were also spiritually "rich". Hemer(1986: 191-195) describes the wealth of the Laodicea in great detail. The entire region was rich, and Laodicea was often chosen as the major example of this wealth. A man from there depict cornucopias, a symbol of wealth and affluence. A man named Hiero bequeathed two thousand talents (several million dollars in today's terms) to the city, and the Zenonid family was so wealthy and powerful that several of their members achieved the status of royalty (Polemos was even named "King") under the Romans. The problem, however, was not wealth per se but the smug self satisfaction it engendered. They also said, (πλούσιος καί οὐδείς χρεία ἔχω, peplouteka, kai ouden chreian echo, I have wealth and need nothing). In AD 60 a devastating earthquake leveled their city, but they result it without the help from Rome. Moreover, the buildings that resulted from the reconstruction were remarkable; a gymnasium, a stadium with semicircular track nine hundred feet long, a triple gate and towers, and several beautiful buildings. In other words, the town was perhaps even more beautiful after the reconstruction. The church was like the city, believing that i'ts material wealth connoted spiritual wealth."

- Grant R Osborne, Baker's exegetical commentary on the New Testament for Revelations, page 206, 207 on the Letters to the 7 Churches of Asia Minor.