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The Story of the Apostle Paul Like You_ve Never Seen Before · truthunedited

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Speaker 1: You think you know the story of Paul the Apostle,
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think again. Before he wrote half the New Testament, before
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he became Christianity's greatest missionary, Paul was its most feared enemy.
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This brilliant young scholar didn't just disagree with Christians. He
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made it his mission to erase them from existence. House
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by house, family by family, He systematically hunted down believers
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and threw them into prison. Then, on one ordinary day,
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everything changed, a flash of light, a voice from heaven,
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and suddenly the man destroying the church became the man
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who would build it Across the Roman Empire. This is
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the incredible true story of how God took his greatest
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opponent and turned him into his most powerful ambassador, from
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the streets of Jerusalem to the courts of kings. This
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transformation will challenge everything you believe about second chances, divine purpose,
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and the power of redemption. Get ready to see Paul
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like never before. Picture a bustling city where East meets West,
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where ships from across the Mediterranean brought exotic goods and
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foreign ideas. Tarsus wasn't just any place. It was one
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of the most important cities in the Roman Empire. Across roads,
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where Roman soldiers marched alongside Greek merchants and Jewish families.
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The air was thick with different languages, the smell of
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spices from distant lands, and the sound of commerce that
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never stopped. Into this vibrant, cosmopolitan world came a baby
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named Saul, born into a family that had everything most
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people could only dream of. His family wasn't poor. They
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weren't outsiders scratching for survival. They were important people with money,
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connections and respect in the community. His father was a Pharisee,
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part of the strictest religious group in Judaism, and somehow
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through means will never fully know, the family had acquired
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something incredibly rare and valuable, Roman citizens. This wasn't something
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you could buy easily. It was a treasure that opened
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doors and provided protection that most people would never have.
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Years later, as Paul himself would tell a Roman commander
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in Acts twenty two twenty eight, I was born a citizen.
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When the commander bragged about paying a huge sum for
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his citizenship, Paul's simple response showed just how special his
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birthright was. This tiny detail would one day save his
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life again and again when angry mobs wanted to kill him,
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and Roman law became his shield. Young Saul grew up
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hearing three languages every day. Hebrew spoken at home during
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prayers and family discussions, Greek echoing through the market places
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and schools, and Latin barked by Roman officials conducting their
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imperial business. His world was like a mixing bowl of cultures, philosophies,
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and traditions, and he was soaking it all in with
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the eager mind of a child destined for greatness. When
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Saul reached the age where serious education began, his parents
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made a decision that would shape not just their son's future,
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but the future of the entire world. They decided to
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send their precious, brilliant boy far from the comfort of
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home to study in Jerusalem, the holy city that every
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Jewish heart longed for. This wasn't a decision made lightly.
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It meant separation, expense, and trusting their child to others.
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For years, in Jerusalem, Saul would learn from the most
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respected teacher in all of Israel, a man named Gamaliel.
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This wasn't just any rabbi or teacher. Gamaliel was like
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the supreme court justice of Jewish learning, a man so
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wise and respected that even his enemies listened when he spoke.
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His reputation stretched across the entire Roman world, and students
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came from everyone, hoping to learn at his feet. As
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Paul would later tell an angry crowd trying to kill
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him in Acts twenty two three, I am a Jew
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born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city.
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I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the
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law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for
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God as any of you are to day. These weren't
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empty words. They were the testimony of a man who
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had received the finest education available anywhere in the world.
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Day after day, young Saul sat with other brilliant students,
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memorizing the Hebrew scripture's word by word, until entire books
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lived in his mind. He learned to argue and debate
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with razor sharp logic, to see every angle of a problem,
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to defend his beliefs against any challenge. His mind was
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like a perfectly crafted sword, cutting through every question with
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precision and power. The other students watched him with a
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mixture of admir and jealousy. This young man from Tarsus
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was clearly special. Saul wasn't content to be just another
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student among many, just another face in the crowd of
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religious seekers. He had ambition burning in his chest and
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a determination to be the absolute best at everything he touched.
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Among all the Pharisees, the strictest, most dedicated, most religiously
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pure Jews in the world, Saul began to stand out
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like a brilliant star in a dark sky. He didn't
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just follow the rules, he exceeded them. He didn't just
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know the law, he lived it with a passion that
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amazed even the most dedicated religious leaders. While other young
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men his age were thinking about marriage, business, or worldly success,
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Saul was consumed with one thing, serving God with absolute perfection.
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Paul would later describe this period of his life in
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Galatians one fourteen, saying, he was advancing in Judaism beyond
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many of my own age, among my people, and was
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extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. This wasn't
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just religious dedication. This was spiritual fire, burning so hot
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that everyone around him could feel the heat. When he
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spoke in the synagogues, older men leaned forward to listen
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when he debated points of law. His logic was flawless.
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When he prayed, his passion was unmistakable. The other Pharisees
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watched him and whispered among themselves, this young man will
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lead us all one day. He has the mind of
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a scholar, the heart of a warrior, and the dedication
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of a saint. They saw in him everything they hoped
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the next generation of Jewish leadership could become. Saul was
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their bright hope for the future, their proof that the
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ancient faith could produce brilliant young leaders who would carry
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tradition forward with both intelligence and zeal. Then something deeply
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disturbing began happening in the Holy City of Jerusalem. Strange
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stories started spreading through the streets, whispered conversations that made
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Saul's blood run cold. A group of people had appeared
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who claimed their dead teacher, a carpenter from the insignificant
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town of Nazareth, was actually alive again. Even worse, they
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were telling anyone who would listen that this Jesus was
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the promised Messiah, the one all Jews had been waiting for.
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To Saul, this wasn't just wrong, it was absolutely insane.
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The Messiah was supposed to be a powerful king who
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would march into Jerusalem with armies, defeat the Romans who
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occupied their land, and establish a kingdom that would rule
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the entire world. The Messiah would be glorious, victorious, unstoppable. Instead,
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these deluded people were talking about someone who had died
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the most shameful death possible, crucifixion reserved for the worst
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criminals and rebels. How could a dead man be the Messiah?
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How could someone who couldn't even save himself from a
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Roman cross save an entire nation. The very idea was
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not just ridiculous, it was blasphemous, dangerous, and threatening to
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everything Saul held sacred. These followers of Jesus weren't just confused.
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They were leading good Jewish people away from the truth
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that had been passed down for thousands of years. As
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Saul watched these Christians, that's what they called themselves, he
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felt something hot and angry rising in his chest. This
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was his moment. This was why God had given him
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such a brilliant mind, such perfect training, such burning passion
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for the truth. Some one had to stop these people
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before they destroyed everything that was holy and pure. Some
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one had to protect the faith of Israel from this
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dangerous infection, and Saul knew with absolute certainty that he
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was the man God had chosen for this crucial mission.
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The first time Saul encountered these Christians face to face,
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it happened during the trial of a young man named Stephen.
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This wasn't some uneducated peasant or confused old woman. Stephen
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was intelligent, articulate, and absolutely fearless. Instead of trembling before
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the most powerful religious court in Jerusalem, instead of begging
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for mercy or trying to escape, Stephen did something that
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shocked everyone in the room. He stood up and gave
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them a history lesson they would never forget. Starting with Abraham,
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Stephen walked through the entire story of Israel, showing how
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God's people had always rejected his messengers. His words were
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like arrows hitting their target with perfect precision. The religious
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leaders sat there, getting angrier and angrier as this young
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Christian systematically dismantled their arguments and exposed their hypocrisy. The
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beach recorded in Acts seven builds to a climax that
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exploded like thunder in the court room. Stephen looked at
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these powerful men and declared, you, stiff necked people, your
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hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like
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your ancestors. You always resist the Holy Spirit. Was there
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ever a prophet? Your ancestors did not persecute. They even
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killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One.
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And now you have betrayed and murdered him, You who
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have received the law that was given through angels, but
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have not obeyed it. The crowd exploded with rage unlike
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anything Jerusalem had ever seen. They grabbed Stephen, dragged him
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outside the city walls, and began hurling rocks at him
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with murderous fury. Saul was there watching everything unfold. As
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Acts seven fifty eight tells us, the witnesses laid their
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coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
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He didn't throw any stones himself, but his presence there
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holding those coats was his way of giving complete approval
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to everything that was happening. Yet something strange occurred in
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those final moments, something that would haunt Saul's dreams for
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years to come. As the stones crashed into Stephen's body,
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as his blood stained the ground, the young Christian looked
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up to heaven and cried out words that echoed Jesus's
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own prayer. From the cross, Lord, do not hold this
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sin against them. Then he died not with hatred or curses,
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but with forgiveness on his lips. Stephen's death was just
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the beginning for Saul. He had tasted blood, and now
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he wanted more. The execution hadn't satisfied his anger. It
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had only fed a hunger that seemed to grow with
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every passing day. As acts Ate one clearly records Saul
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approved of their killing him. But approval wasn't enough any more.
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Watching wasn't enough. Saul decided it was time to take
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charge of this Christian problem once and for all. He
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transformed himself into something like a hunter, tracking dangerous animals
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through the wilderness. His method was systematic,