The Geography of Colossae in the Times of Paul

Introduction

This essay will basically look at the geography of Colossae in the times of Paul, study on the word which is “handwriting” (Colossians 4:12) found in Pauls’ epistle and to apply the hermeneutics to the interpretation of the text.

Geography of Colossae

Colossae is also one of the church in Asia Minor which Paul did not visit or been there but he wrote epistle to the church. Colossae is about 100 miles east of Ephesus. It lay on the south bank of the Lycus River which is a tributary of the Maeander River, not far from the larger and wealthier towns of Laodicea and Hierapolis. It is 10 miles southeast of Laodicea and Hierapolis was 6 miles north of Laodicea , but Colossae is resting at the foot of Mount Cadmus . In the fourth and fifth centuries B.C Colossae was known as a city with large number of population, large and wealthy. And it is prosperous because it had olives and figs where they had succeed in making their wool industry from. However the city was also affected by the earthquake which simply can also affect their lifestyle and their industry. Later on, Colossae dropped in number, in wealth fare and it became a small town while Laodicea and Hierapolis getting wealthier. In relation, the people of Colossae are of Phrygian and Greek settles together with the Jewish families from Babylon and Mesopotamia who were transferred to provinces of Lydia in the time of Antiochus the Great . . So in the times of Paul, Colossians people are of different countries and so cultures and religions are mixed together .

Study of the Word

In the time of Paul missionary in Ephesus every people beside this city also pass by because it is the main trade place for business man and for any other business thing. While Paul trave...

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...ld life and lived in the light of Jesus, so they were lived according to what Jesus requires them to do in their personal lives (3: 15-17) and in the various special relationships of life (3: 18, 4: 6). Therefore in our life nowadays, we must not put our interest to the worldly things but we must put our mind just for heavenly things.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can see that Paul did not destroy the Law here in Colossians, nor did he undermine the Sabbath. Rather he uplifted them as he uplifted Jesus and His sacrifice. But Paul is referring to the record of our transgression of the law. Through Jesus Christ death, he wipes out the record of our transgression we learned as a result of our sins and attributes to us his righteousness. Therefore Jesus’ victory over the powers of darkness gives us a new hope to live in His light rather than doing our own will.