Where did God take Paul instead of Jerusalem after his conversion?
Instead of Jerusalem, God took Paul out into Arabia, connected with Mount Sinai and the desert, alone. There, over three years, the Lord revealed to him the doctrines of grace, keeping him separate from the Twelve so the revelations would not be mixed with what they had already understood.
Les explains that the logical human step would have been for Saul to return to Jerusalem and consult Peter, James, and John, who had been with the Lord for three years. But Paul did not confer with flesh and blood, and he did not go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before him. Instead, God took him out into Arabia, which Les connects with Mount Sinai and the desert, and thinks he was there alone. For three years the Lord revealed to this man the tremendous doctrines of grace, which are found nowhere else in the Bible. God kept Paul separate from the Twelve so the revelations given to him would not be mixed with what the Twelve had already understood. Paul later refers to this wisdom as having been revealed to him as the apostle of the Gentiles.
Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.