In the first century, Jerusalem was one of the largest cities between Alexandria in Egypt and Damascus in Syria. Herod the Great had ushered in the city’s renaissance with his vast building projects. He reorganized the city’s serpentine streets into a paved grid. He built himself a palace with luxury bedrooms for 100 guests. In the midst of the crowded city, his palace was a walled resort.
In the late 1800’s, Dr. John Geddi went as a missionary to the South Pacific. For twenty four years, he worked on the island of Aneityum. When he left, the indigenous people put up a monument in his memory. On it were inscribed these words: “When he landed, in 1848, there were no Christians.