“Paul began preaching in Damascus until he had to escape arrest by being lowered over the wall in a basket (Acts 9:20-25; 2 Cor. 11:32-33). Paul went to Arabia, then returned to Damascus for a time before he began his missionary travels (Gal 1:17). Damascus soon became a center for early Christianity. Today a chapel stands in the city, commemorating Paul’s conversion, and made out of the Roman gate believed to be the one Paul escaped through. Ephesus Greco-Roman city on the western coast of modern Turkey. It contained a busy artificial harbor during Paul’s time and sat at the intersection of several major roads, making it a strategic place for his missionary travels in Asia. Ephesus was at its height in the first century A.D., hosting a population as much as 500,000 people. Paul sailed there with Priscilla and Aquila on his second missionary trip after meeting them in Corinth and preached at the local synagogue, promising to soon return (Acts 18:18-21). The early Christian evangelist Apollos arrived in Ephesus soon afterwards and was discipled by Priscilla and Aquila, who had stayed in the city (Acts 18:24-26). Paul came back to Ephesus during his third missionary trip and stayed for several years, during which he wrote several of his New Testament letters (Acts 19:1,10; 1 Cor. 16:8). He left when a large riot formed at the local theater to protest him for threatening local businesses that supported the world-famous temple of the goddess Artemis at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41). Near the end of his life, Paul wrote a letter to Timothy instructing him to remain in the city (1 Tim. 1:3). Though the New Testament book of Ephesians bears the city’s name, a few important early manuscripts do not contain an address to Ephesus, casting doubt on whether the letter was written strictly to Christians there. It may be that the letter was intended for several churches in the region, of which Ephesus was the most important. The church in Ephesus is also one of seven who received letters in the book of Revelation, in which they are praised for being discerning, working for the name of Christ, and standing against the heretical Nicolaitans. But they are reprimanded for abandoning their first love for Christ (Rev. 2:1). It is possible that in their works and zeal for doctrine they had reduced Christianity to mere intellectual pursuit. Jericho (Ericha) Wealthy Canaanite city also known as “the city of palm trees” (2 Chron. 28:15). Jericho sat by the west bank of the Jordan River on open plains near the mountainous terrain of the Judean Wilderness and along the major route through the Jordan River Valley (connecting Galilee and Judea). Scripture first mentions it when the Israelite’s set up camp across from the city before entering Canaan on the east side of the Jordan (Num. 22:1). Moses climbed a mountain across from Jericho to see Canaan before his death (Deut. 34:1). Several Jewish spies sent to scout out the land were housed in the city by a local prostitute named Rahab, who is likely the mother of Boaz, the future kinsman redeemer husband of Ruth mentioned in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus (Josh. 2:1; Matt. 1:5). After following God’s instructions to march around the perimeter of the city seven consecutive days, the city walls crumbled (Josh. 6:15). The Israelite army attacked and plundered the city, sparing the lives of Rahab and her family as promised (Josh. 6:24-5). Both incidents are mentioned in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews as hallmarks of faith (Heb. 11:30-31). Joshua pronounced a curse on anyone who would attempt to rebuild Jericho’s walls (Josh. 6:26) which was later fulfilled by the attempts of a man named Hiel during King Ahab’s reign (1 Kings 16:34). Israel’s capture of Jericho set a precedence for their victory over other Canaanite peoples (Josh. 8:2; 10:28,30). The city was allotted to the tribe of Benjamin (Josh. 18:21).” Sent from Bible Study

“One of five Philistine strongholds located on the Mediterranean coast of Judah’s territory (Josh. 13:3; 15:47). Ashdod housed a temple to the Philistine god Dagon, where the Philistines took the captured Ark of the Covenant during Samuel’s priesthood, though the subsequent damage the ark caused to Dagon’s idol ensured that it did not remain there long (1 Sam. 5:1-8). The city is next mentioned during the reign of Judah’s King Uzziah, who campaigned against the Philistines and breached Ashdod’s walls (2 Chron. 26:6). Amos prophesized against Ashdod (Amos 1:8), and it was later attacked and captured by the Assyrians (Isa. 20:1). The prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah alike also had foreboding words for Ashdod (Jer. 25:20, Zeph. 2:4, Zech. 9:6). After the Jewish return from exile in Babylon, the people of Ashdod took part in a plot to undermine the Jews’ temple rebuilding efforts (Neh. 4:7-8) and some of Ashdod’s women wedded Jews who failed to uphold Jewish-only marriage standards (Neh. 13:23-4). In the New Testament Ashdod is mentioned once by the name Azotus when Philip appeared there after his conversation with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:40). Babylon Prehistoric Mesopotamian city straddling the Euphrates River. It served as the capital of the ancient Babylonian kingdom and is considered one of the wonders of the ancient world (Dan. 4:30). Genesis records that it originally served as a center for the kingdom of Nimrod, a descendant of Noah’s second son Ham (Gen. 10:10). It may also be the site of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:2). Babylon is not mentioned again until the Assyrians exiled the Israelites in the 8th century BC and relocated some of Babylon’s citizens to repopulate Israel (2 Kings 17:24). King Hezekiah of the surviving tribe of Judah was chastised by Isaiah for showing off all his wealth to Babylon’s King Marduk-Baladan (2 Kings 20:13, called Merodach-Baladan and Berodach-Baladan in the Bible). As a consequence, Isaiah predicted that Hezekiah’s descendants would be exiled to Babylon (2 Kings 20:17-18; Isa. 39:6), though he also foretold Babylon’s own ruin (Isa. 21:9). Isaiah’s successors Jeremiah and Habakkuk made similar predictions of Judah’s downfall to the Babylonians (Jer. 20:4; Hab. 1:6), but Jeremiah assured that God would bring them back to their homeland (Jer. 29:10). Micah made parallel predictions of the Babylonian exile and of God’s rescue (Mic. 4:10). Just as was predicted, in the 6th century BC King Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem, deporting its inhabitants to Babylon (2 Kings 24:14) and destroying its temple (2 Kings 25:9). The writings of Ezekiel, Daniel, and Psalm 137 take place during the Israelite’s stay in Babylon. After the Persians conquered the Babylonians in the 6th century BC, King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to their homeland, making true the words of previous prophets (Ezra 1:1). In the New Testament, the Jewish exile to Babylon is used by Matthew to segment Jesus’ genealogy (Matt. 1:12, 17). Both Peter and John likely use the city as a metaphor for the Roman Empire in their writings to signify that though there are forces which oppose God’s chosen people, these forces ultimately do not last (1 Pet. 5:13; Rev. 18:2). Damascus City located north of Israel in modern Syria. In the Old Testament Damascus served as the capital city of the Aramean people, a rival of the Israelites. King David subdued the city during his reign(2 Sam. 8:5-6), but its King Rezon caused a headache for Solomon (1 Kings 11:25). King Jeroboam recaptured Damascus (2 Kings 14:28) but it was later taken by Assyria (2 Kings 16:9). While visiting the Assyrian King in Damascus, King Ahaz was enticed by an altar he saw and made sketches to construct a replacement for the temple in Jerusalem (2 Kings 16:10-12). Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, and Zechariah each prophesized against the city (Isa. 17:1; Jer. 49:23-27; Amos 1:3-5; Zech. 9:1). By New Testament times, Damascus was one of the cities of the “Decapolis” – a loose league of “Greek” cities in Galilee and southwestern Syria. It prospered under Greek, then Roman rule. While on his way to Damascus to deliver letters to synagogues with permission to arrest Christians, Paul encountered the risen Christ (Acts 9:1-9). He continued on to Damascus where he met with Ananias and other disciples (Acts 9:10-19). At around the same time, Damascus was given to the Nabateans under King Aretas IV (2 Cor 11:32). Paul began preaching in Damascus” Sent from Bible Study

“One of five Philistine strongholds located on the Mediterranean coast of Judah’s territory (Josh. 13:3; 15:47). Ashdod housed a temple to the Philistine god Dagon, where the Philistines took the captured Ark of the Covenant during Samuel’s priesthood, though the subsequent damage the ark caused to Dagon’s idol ensured that it did not remain there long (1 Sam. 5:1-8). The city is next mentioned during the reign of Judah’s King Uzziah, who campaigned against the Philistines and breached Ashdod’s walls (2 Chron. 26:6). Amos prophesized against Ashdod (Amos 1:8), and it was later attacked and captured by the Assyrians (Isa. 20:1). The prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah alike also had foreboding words for Ashdod (Jer. 25:20, Zeph. 2:4, Zech. 9:6). After the Jewish return from exile in Babylon, the people of Ashdod took part in a plot to undermine the Jews’ temple rebuilding efforts (Neh. 4:7-8) and some of Ashdod’s women” Sent from Bible Study