"I suspect that in 67 AD the city was still on the rebound and would not have been referred to as "rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing". I suspect that in 67 AD they were still in need of much."
I think we can safely say that between 62-64A.D. Laodicea was not in the spiritual decline that we find in Revelation.
Col 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. For I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them [that are] in Laodicea, and them in Hierapolis. Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas, greet you. Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house. 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."
Seems Paul did not have anything negative to say about the church.
According to the commentaries I have been consulting both Laodecia and Collossae were leveled by the same Earthquake about a year AFTER Paul's letter to the Collosians. Thus it would be literally impossible to believe that by the time John penned the book of Revelation in 66 or 67 that the Laodiceans had recovered from that earthquake to the point that they were "rich and in need of nothing." I suspect that it would have taken at least 10 years to re-establish their commerce base, which would then move the date of the book of Revelation out to at least 74 AD.
This of couse would be too late for the book of Revelation to be considered a prophecy of events in 70 AD. If it referenced the events of 70 AD it would have to be considered an allegorical history book.
Good find BD.
Argument from silence. In fact, Paul had very little to say about the church in that city at all. We do know he wrote them a letter. We don't know what it said.
As long as we are speculating, assuming Paul is projecting the rosy condition at Laodicea, and since the letter to the Colossians was probably written about AD60, before the earthquake of 61, it may be possible that the earthquake precipitated some sort of spiritual decline within the church there. A separation of the wheat and chaff so to speak. Remember, Revelation 3 says that Laodicea was "neither hot not cold." Not outright apostasy, just a loss of zeal for the Lord. Certainly we've all seen churches go from being on fire for the Lord to blandness is 5-6 years or less.