What kind of person was Saul of Tarsus before he became Paul?
Before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus was a religious zealot and fanatic for Judaism. He persecuted the church, the assembly of God, and was not fit to be called an apostle because of that persecution. He was miraculously saved on the road to Damascus, becoming Paul.
Les explains that Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul, was a religious zealot and a fanatic for Judaism. He persecuted the church, the assembly of God, referring to Jewish believers back in the book of Acts. In verse 9 Paul confesses he is the least of the apostles and not meet to be called an apostle because he persecuted the church. Les notes it never got off his mind. Saul was miraculously saved on the road to Damascus, and Les uses that as a picture of Israel's future salvation: Paul calls himself a preemie, one born before the due time, because the nation of Israel will yet be saved in a moment at the Second Coming, experiencing the same resurrection power.