Is Saul's persecution of believers unique, or has it happened throughout history?
Saul’s persecution was not unique; it reflects a recurring pattern. The context notes that Communists tried to stamp out opposition for seventy years, Hitler did the same, and every despotic totalitarian leader will seek to eliminate opposition by death, hoping to leave only pure followers.
Les teaches that Saul of Tarsus took the lead in persecuting Jewish believers who had recognized Christ as their Messiah, and he did everything he could to stamp them out. But Les explains that this is nothing new. He points to the communists, who tried to stamp out opposition for seventy years, and to Hitler, and says every other despotic totalitarian leader will do the same thing: get rid of the opposition by putting them to death, hoping that what remains are the pure followers. Paul writes in Acts 26 that he thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, shut up many saints in prison, and received authority from the chief priests; when those Jewish believers were put to death, Saul of Tarsus was at the head of it.