What were the cities where Paul preached like spiritually and morally?
The cities where Paul preached, including Antioch, Derbe, Lystra, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth, were abject pagan idolaters who knew nothing of the God of creation. They were morally rotten and extremely corrupt, part of a Roman Empire whose moral corruption was unbelievable.
Les explains that Paul faced insurmountable odds when he went into absolute strange territory of pagan Gentiles who knew nothing of the God of the Bible. These cities, such as Antioch, Derbe, Lystra, Ephesus, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and Corinth, were abject pagan idolaters. They were not even very good people; they were rotten morally, and the moral corruption of most cities in the Roman Empire was unbelievable. Yet into that environment Paul walked and preached Christ crucified, and the people turned from their idols and became believers, so staunch that they were willing to be martyred by the hundreds.