Jumat, 17 September 2021.

 https://uploaddotwikimediadotorg/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/Above_Gothamdotjpg/1024px-Above_Gothamdotjpg

Namun, kota-kota sering kali disejajarkan melawan Allah. 

Kota-kota seperti itu dominan ketika Alkitab ditulis. Yesus, Musa, Daud, Daniel, dan sebagian besar nabi Alkitab lainnya berurusan dengan kota-kota, beberapa di antaranya sangat besar untuk zaman itu. 

Niniwe adalah “sebuah kota yang sangat besar, jaraknya tiga hari perjalanan” (Yunus 3:3, NKJV), memiliki “lebih dari seratus dua puluh ribu orang” (Yunus 4:11, NKJV). 

Babel memiliki sekitar 16 kilometer tembok yang mengelilingi sebuah populasi besar dan bangunan-bangunan monumental yang termasuk salah satu dari tujuh keajaiban dunia kuno. 

Kota Efesus di Perjanjian Baru memiliki penerangan jalan di sepanjang arteri utamanya, Arcadiane yang terkenal. Roma, Aleksandria, Antiokhia, Athena, Korintus, Susa, dan Thebes termasuk di antara kota-kota besar pada zaman Alkitab. {MTC 9.2}

Cities, though, have often been arrayed against God. Such cities were dominant when the Bible was written. Jesus, Moses, David, Daniel, and most of the other Bible prophets had to deal with cities, some of which were huge for that day. Nineveh was “an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent” (Jonah 3:3, NKJV), having “more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons” (Jonah 4:11, NKJV). Babylon had about 10 miles (16 kilometers) of walls surrounding a major populace and monumental buildings that included one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. New Testament Ephesus had street lighting along its main artery, the famed Arcadiane. Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, Athens, Corinth, Susa, and Thebes were among the great cities of Bible times. {MTC 9.2}