Robert M. Royalty, «Dwelling on Visions.On the Nature of the so-called ‘Colossians Heresy’», Vol. 83 (2002) 329-357
This paper argues that Revelation provides a social-historical, theological, and ideological context for the reconstruction of the Colossian opposition. The proposal is that the author of the Apocalypse arrived in Asia after the Jewish-Roman war; his "dwelling on visions" and prophetic activity challenged the emerging hierarchy within the churches, provoking a response in Paul’s name from the church leadership. Correspondences and parallels between the description of the opposition in Colossians and Revelation are developed exegetically, showing that eschatology and Christology were key issues in the dispute. This paper reexamines the heresiological rhetoric of Colossians, raising methodological questions about other scholarly reconstructions of the opposition as non-Christian.
Rev 1,5)25. Kti/sij is found most frequently in Paul (Rom 1,20.25; 8,19.20.21.22.39; 2 Cor 5,17; Gal 6,15), but in our two texts only in Col 1,15.23 and Rev 3,14 26.
Furthermore, Colossae was only ten miles from Laodicea and the two churches were closely associated27. Col 4,12-16 describes close associations between the churches of the Lycus valley (see also 2,1). Epaphras (sundou=loj of the author, Col 1,7) has worked in the nearby churches of Hierapolis and Laodicea as well (4,13)28. The Colossians apparently know the members of the church at Laodicea, including the woman who supports the church, Nympha (4,15)29. The author’s command to send this letter on to Laodicea to be read in Nympha’s church and to read another letter to the Laodiceans (Col 4,16) implies that the issues at stake for the author in Colossae and Laodicea are the same30.
There were obviously shared traditions among the Christian churches of the Lycus valley in Asia Minor31. The geographical proximity of Laodicea and Colossae, the references to exchange of letters, and the literary parallels suggest that the author of Revelation was aware of the Christ Hymn and other teachings of the Colossian church. R.H. Charles notes that it is significant that these literary references in Revelation occur only in the message to Laodicea, close to