Who was behind Saul's fierce persecution of the church?
Satan, the devil, was behind Saul’s fierce persecution of the church. Saul was not acting in the will of God but was energized and fostered by Satanic power, opposing everything Jesus had tried to do. The devil was directly energizing this man in his rebellion.
Les explains that Saul was like a raging bull, sincere and devout but putting his energy into stamping out believing Jews who had trusted Christ as their Messiah. Les points out that if we were in God's place, we might have simply removed Saul, but God's grace rose to the occasion. Yet in Saul's rebellion, the devil was fostering and energizing him, because he was not working in God's will but under the Satanic power of opposing everything Jesus had tried to do.