When I read the bible, it comes the sense of geography comes through. Whether in the old testament the different nations that Israel fights and the journeys the Israelites go on, or the New Testament with Paul's journeys from Jerusalem to Spain and Rome.
What really makes me think though is the vast size of countries, some people have never heard of. If you consider that the Democratic Republic of Congo is nearly a million square miles, put into persective, the land mass of DR Congo would cover most of Western Europe
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456977/html/nn2page1.stm). DR Congo is nearly 5 times the size of France and 10 times the size of the United Kingdom.
The really amazing issue is the correspondance between size and power, the UK and Europe exerts itself as a world power yet its size is dimunitive compared to whole countries like, Russia, China, USA, Brazil, Australia and Canada. Our power is rooted in tradition and history from the age of the early explorers, such as Columbus, Raleigh, Cook and Drake, but the most amazing thing is that we have maintained it. We rarely consider the luxury of being born in a country like the UK where a British passport gains us access to the majority of the world.
The roots of history still remain in maps, when you consider that maps are often atlantic centred and have the "northern hemisphere" at the top, early maps like the Mercator were distorted, increasing the perspective of Europe and reducing Africa.
I've included an upside-down map and a Pacific centred map to illustrate the point that there is no right way of looking at the world, potentially it could be mapped side on.
It really is interesting the amount of power and history a country as small as the UK can have, and tieing into the biblical perspective, it is amazing the influence Israel had, considering it was surrounded by Babylon, Egypt, Persia and Assyria, 4 ancient superpowers. Only God could have preserved a nation in such a hostile climate.
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