The Epistle To the Laodiceans

[ChristB4us]

 

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On 3/1/2023 at 8:02 AM, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Where is the epistle to Laodicea? Did I miss something?

 

@Mr. M  I think we all have...

To avoid derailing the other thread on the Thessalonians, I had thought to interject the subject here.

Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

Now I submit that this epistle from Laodicea is actually the epistle of Philemon.

I had learned this online but I cannot find the web site.  There are a bunch of websites offering speculation, and so I gave up finding it.  However. the Lord helped me to remember that it was a small epistle and so I looked at Philemon and that was it.

Look at the introduction to Philemon.

Philemon 1:11 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, 2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

So the epistle to Philemon addressed Archippus there.

Now look in context of this epistle of the Colossians to be sent to be read to the Laodiceans.

Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

So in addition to reading this epistle of the Colossians to the Laodiceans, they were to say that to Archippus there.

In Colossians we read this;

Colossians 4:7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: 8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; 9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

Tychicus and Onesimus are the ones responsible for the epistles to be read in these places.

In regards to who actually went to Laodicea to also read the epistle to the Colossians there...

Philemon 1:10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: 11 Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: 12 Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

Although Philemon does not mention the epistle to the Colossians, Archippus connects the two places.

Then there is this another connection between the two epistles;  how they salute each other from those places.

Philemon 1:22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. 23 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; 24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

In the epistle to Philemon, Paul requested that they prepare a lodging there for him that the Lord may deliver him unto them soon and to greet Epaphras, his fellow prisoner there, as well as saluting Demas & Lucas as his fellow laborers that were there also.

Below is in the epistles to the Colossians are the salutations and greetings from all that are in Laodicea, including Epaphras, Luke ( Lucas ), & Demas.

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Since they were to read the epistles in both place, this connects the epistle of Philemon as the Epistles to the Laodiceans.

I cannot take credit for this find because I had learned about it at another website about a decade ago which is buried seemingly by other websites offering speculations in that search list results on the internet, but the Lord brought it to memory that it was a small epistle and I looked at Philemon, remembering that they had connected it by the same names between the two places and so there it is.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ChristB4us said:

 

@Mr. M  I think we all have...

To avoid derailing the other thread on the Thessalonians, I had thought to interject the subject here.

Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

Now I submit that this epistle from Laodicea is actually the epistle of Philemon.

I had learned this online but I cannot find the web site.  There are a bunch of websites offering speculation, and so I gave up finding it.  However. the Lord helped me to remember that it was a small epistle and so I looked at Philemon and that was it.

Look at the introduction to Philemon.

Philemon 1:11 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, 2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

So the epistle to Philemon addressed Archippus there.

Now look in context of this epistle of the Colossians to be sent to be read to the Laodiceans.

Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

So in addition to reading this epistle of the Colossians to the Laodiceans, they were to say that to Archippus there.

In Colossians we read this;

Colossians 4:7 All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: 8 Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; 9 With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here.

Tychicus and Onesimus are the ones responsible for the epistles to be read in these places.

In regards to who actually went to Laodicea to also read the epistle to the Colossians there...

Philemon 1:10 I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds: 11 Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me: 12 Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

Although Philemon does not mention the epistle to the Colossians, Archippus connects the two places.

Then there is this another connection between the two epistles;  how they salute each other from those places.

Philemon 1:22 But withal prepare me also a lodging: for I trust that through your prayers I shall be given unto you. 23 There salute thee Epaphras, my fellowprisoner in Christ Jesus; 24 Marcus, Aristarchus, Demas, Lucas, my fellowlabourers.

In the epistle to Philemon, Paul requested that they prepare a lodging there for him that the Lord may deliver him unto them soon and to greet Epaphras, his fellow prisoner there, as well as saluting Demas & Lucas as his fellow laborers that were there also.

Below is in the epistles to the Colossians are the salutations and greetings from all that are in Laodicea, including Epaphras, Luke ( Lucas ), & Demas.

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you.

Since they were to read the epistles in both place, this connects the epistle of Philemon as the Epistles to the Laodiceans.

I cannot take credit for this find because I had learned about it at another website about a decade ago which is buried seemingly by other websites offering speculations in that search list results on the internet, but the Lord brought it to memory that it was a small epistle and I looked at Philemon, remembering that they had connected it by the same names between the two places and so there it is.

Wikipedia: Epistle to the Laodiceans

[ChristB4us]

4 hours ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Wikipedia: Epistle to the Laodiceans

Thanks for sharing.

@Mr. M

Although I am sure the epistle of the Ephesians were read to all the churches also, I do not believe that was the epistle of the Laodicean.

I tried connecting the names from Colossians and Philemon to Ephesians and there were no mention of them in Ephesians.  I searched for Laodiceans and Laodicea and got no result for it having been mentioned in Ephesians.  Unless there is another spelling for the Laodiceans, connecting Ephesians as the epistle of the Laodieans is a bust.

Aristarchus from both Philemon & the Colossians was mentioned as being of Macedonian of Thessalonica in Acts in 3 places.

Acs 27:3And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us.

Acts 20:4And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.

Acts 19:29And the whole city was filled with confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre.

Getting back to discerning that Philemon is the epistle to of the Laodiceans...

Archippus lived among the Laodiceans.  It stands to reason by the evidence found of the scriptures in the OP of the connecting Archippus in those verses from Colossians and Philemon that the epistle of the Laodiceans is the epistle of Philemon.

Philemon 1:11 Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer, 2 And to our beloved Apphia, and Archippus our fellowsoldier, and to the church in thy house:

So the epistle to Philemon addressed Archippus there.

Now look in context of this epistle of the Colossians to be sent to be read to the Laodiceans.

Colossians 4:16 And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

So in addition to reading this epistle of the Colossians to the Laodiceans, they were to say "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it" to Archippus there.

The epistle of Philemon IS the epistle of the Laodiceans when you read Colossians 4:16 & 17 because of Archippus.

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by ChristB4us