Why did Paul go to Damascus?
Paul went to Damascus to seize Jewish believers in Jesus, drag them bound back to Jerusalem, and have them tried by the Sanhedrin and chief rulers, where he could vote to put them to death. His purpose was to persecute and eliminate the church.
Les teaches that Paul, then Saul, was exceedingly mad against Jewish believers and persecuted them even unto strange cities. As he went to Damascus, his purpose was to drag those Jewish believers bound back to Jerusalem so they could be put on trial by the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, and the chief rulers. There Paul or Saul could sit and say, put them to death, get rid of them. Earlier, he had received authority from the chief priests, punished them often, and compelled them to blaspheme, forcing them to renounce their faith in Jesus.
Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,