The City Called Holy: A Place of Waters and Witness

Only once does the Holy Scripture speak the name of this city, yet that single utterance carries the weight of a world. The word Hierapolis (Ἱεράπολις) appears but a solitary time in the apostolic writings, a whisper from the pen of Paul to the assembly at Colossae. Yet what a whisper it is — a name that means "holy city," woven from hieros, meaning sacred or devoted to the divine, and polis, the ancient Greek word for a city of men. This is no earthly Jerusalem, no Zion of the prophets, but a city of Phrygia, a place of steaming waters and pagan temples, yet one that the Messiah's herald would call holy. The name itself is a prophecy: a city can be set apart not by its stones, but by the presence of those who bear the Name.

Sacred Geography: Where Earth and Heaven Meet

The rabbis of old observed that every place has a name that reveals its destiny. Hierapolis was known throughout the ancient world for its thermal springs, waters so rich in minerals that they cascaded over white terraces like frozen waterfalls of alabaster. The Greeks called these waters sacred, believing them to be the breath of the underworld gods. Yet the apostle Paul, writing to the Colossian believers, sends greetings from this very city — mentioning Epaphras, a beloved servant of Christ, who had labored there (Colossians 4:12-13). How strange that the place called "holy city" by pagans became a true holy city through the prayers of a man named Epaphras, whose name means "lovely" or "charming." The early church understood that it is not the geography that sanctifies a people, but the people who, by their faithfulness, sanctify a geography.

The City in the Story of Dispersion

Hierapolis stood in the region of Phrygia, a land where Jews had been scattered since the days of the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles. The apostolic tradition teaches that these diaspora communities, though far from Jerusalem, kept the oracles of God. Yet here, in this city of hot springs and cold marble, something new was happening. The Septuagint — that Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures — had already prepared the ground, for the word hieros in Greek had been used to translate the Hebrew qodesh, that which is set apart for the Lord. When the apostles spoke of a "holy city," they were not speaking of stones and temples, but of a people called out from the nations. In Hierapolis, the waters that pagans called sacred became a sign of the living water that Yeshua promised — water that springs up into eternal life (John 4:14).

The Prophetic Future of This Place

What was the destiny of this city called holy? The fathers of the faith observed that Hierapolis became a center of early Christian witness. Tradition holds that the apostle Philip — not the deacon, but Philip the evangelist — spent his final days in this city, and that his daughters, who had the gift of prophecy, were buried there. The city that once boasted a temple to Apollo and a sanctuary of Pluto — the so-called "gate to hell" where toxic vapors rose from the earth — became a gate to heaven through the testimony of the saints. The sages teach that a place can be redeemed when the Name of the Most High is spoken there with faith. Hierapolis, the holy city of the pagans, became a holy city of the Messiah. Its ruins still speak today: no temple, no theater, no bathhouse endures forever, but the word of the Lord endures forever (1 Peter 1:25).

The Septuagint Bridge: From Holy to Holiness

When the Greek translators of the Hebrew Scriptures rendered the word qodesh as hieros, they were making a profound theological claim. The Hebrew qodesh speaks of something cut off, separated, and devoted wholly to God — the sanctuary, the priesthood, the Sabbath. Yet the Greek hieros carried the weight of classical Greek religion, where sacred places were marked by temples and sacrifices. The apostles took this word and transformed it. In the New Testament, the holy city is no longer a geographical location but a spiritual reality — the New Jerusalem that comes down from heaven (Revelation 21:2). Hierapolis, with its pagan temples and healing waters, became a signpost pointing to that city whose builder and maker is God. The water that flowed there was not the water of life; but the witness of Epaphras and the Philippian evangelist pointed to the One who is the living water.

Messianic Fulfillment: Yeshua and the Holy City

How does this single mention of Hierapolis connect to the Messiah? The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, writes of Epaphras as one who "labors fervently for you in prayers" (Colossians 4:12). But the word for "labors" is agonizomenos — he agonizes, he struggles, he wrestles in the Spirit. This is the language of Gethsemane, where Yeshua Himself prayed with such intensity that His sweat became like drops of blood (Luke 22:44). The early church understood that the work of intercession is the work of the Messiah continued in His body. Hierapolis, the city of sacred waters, became a place where the agony of Christ was poured out again in the prayers of His servants. The holy city of the pagans was being reclaimed by the Holy One of Israel, not by sword or army, but by the suffering love of the Lamb. Yeshua said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matthew 5:9). In Hierapolis, peace was made through the blood of the cross.

The Apostolic Witness: A City Transformed

The early church fathers preserved the memory that Hierapolis became a center of apostolic authority and prophetic utterance. The daughters of Philip — four virgins who prophesied — bore witness in that place to the resurrection of Yeshua. This was no small thing in a city where the cult of the dead and the worship of chthonic deities held sway. The fathers of the faith observed that the very vapors that pagans believed came from the underworld were powerless before the name of Jesus. The one who holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18) had already conquered every gate of hell. Hierapolis, the city of Pluto's sanctuary, became a city of the resurrection. The apostolic tradition teaches that the power of the gospel is not in eloquence or philosophy, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power (1 Corinthians 2:4). In Hierapolis, that power was manifest.

Your Own Holy City: A Call to Become Sacred Ground

You, beloved reader, are also called to be a Hierapolis — a holy city. The place where you live, the streets you walk, the waters you drink — these can become sacred not by their nature, but by your presence as a dwelling place of the Most High. The sages teach that wherever a righteous person sets their foot, the Shekinah goes with them. You are not called to journey to a distant city of white terraces and steaming springs; you are called to make the ground beneath your own feet holy by the witness of your life. Let the prayers of Epaphras inspire you. Let the prophecy of Philip's daughters stir you. Let the agony of your intercession become the water that heals the land around you. For the Holy One has said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people" (2 Corinthians 6:16). Go now, and make your city a holy city. The waters of the Spirit are flowing, and you are the channel. Amen.