From whom did Paul receive authority to imprison believers?
Paul received authority to imprison believers from the chief priests, not from Caesar or Rome. In Acts 8:1-3 he confesses that he shut up many saints in prison, having received that authority from the chief priests, under whose religious jurisdiction Rome permitted such actions.
Les explains that Paul, writing in the first person as the apostle and reflecting back, says he shut up many of the saints—Jewish believers—in prison. His authority did not come from Caesar or Rome, but from the chief priests. Les notes that Rome allowed the Jewish people to carry out capital punishment in the name of their religion without opposition. This explains why Paul could imprison believers under the chief priests’ jurisdiction.