Geographist

Roman Empire Key Scripture: Acts 23:11 Figures: Caesar Augustus, Pontius Pilate, Nero, Aquila and Priscilla First, a quick note: I will be out of the country next week to celebrate my anniversary, so there will be a hiatus until the beginning of January.  I wish you all a very merry Christmas, and may 2025 become your best year ever!  Earlier in our study of biblical nations, we spent time with some of the major empires that ruled over the Hebrew people or that impacted them in significant ways.  You may have noticed that one particular entry was missing, and it's the biggest of them all.  Today, we fill that gap.  Rome, the greatest empire known to western civilization (and possibly the world), was the dominant superpower at the time of Jesus' birth and throughout the entire New Testament.  The empire itself lasted for over 500 years, not to mention the rise and remnants that spanned an additional millennium or more, and it likely has had more researc...

Spaniards Key Scripture: Romans 15:24-28 Figures: none Spain exists at the western extent of the Mediterranean Sea, and for many of the civilizations that surrounded this vital piece of water it represented the edge of the world.  In Scripture, we only get one definite reference to the location, but there are other verses that may well point to this far away point that was seen as an exotic and strange destination.  In each case, it is curious that it also seems to be somewhat unreachable, almost as if God were holding back His people from reaching these distant shores regardless of what their intentions may have been.  Unlike any of the previous locations or civilizations, I have a personal experience with this week's focus that gives it an extra dose of intrigue and appeal to me.  Let's take some time looking into what we know of Spain, and see if we can learn anything new.  The name of Spain only shows up in one chapter of the Bible, as Paul is writing to bel...

Cretans Key Scripture: Titus 1:12 Figures: none As we've been investigating some of the locations mentioned in the New Testament, we arrive this week at an island that is tied to two other nations that we've already investigated.  Today, Crete is the largest and most populated island of Greece, and in a previous study we looked at the possibility that the Philistines were a group that had their origins on the island.  But in the New Testament the apostle Paul found himself on the island, and while the circumstances seemed to be out of his control he still managed to fulfill his lifelong mission.  Let's dig in. The island of Crete, or Caphtor as many early writings suggest it was initially called, has been visited by mankind for as long as they have been travelling the Mediterranean, several millennia before the writings of the New Testament.  Caphtor was descended from Ham's son, Mizraim, who was also the ancestor of the Egyptian people.  Permanent settlements o...

Galatians Key Scripture: Galatians 3:1 Figures: Ethnic - none; resident - Timothy This week we continue looking through the people groups that were visited by Paul, among others, during the time of the New Testament.  The eastern neighbors to last week's focus group are the Galatians, a storied and fascinating people.  Unique among Paul's epistles, his letter to the Galatians was not written to a single city but to a group of churches he had planted.  A number of locations within the region of Galatia are among those he visited alongside Barnabas on his first missionary journey, so it is possible that the letter is the earliest chronological book written by Paul (although many scholars favor a later date that places it closer to the middle of his works).  Regardless of the timing, it is clear that Paul not only encountered the Jewish diaspora within the region but also Gentiles, including the very people who gave the area its name.  It is this ethnic group and t...