As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
The high priest and all the church leaders can back me up on this, they're the ones who gave me the official letters to go after the believers. I was literally on my way to Damascus to arrest Christians and drag them back to Jerusalem to face punishment.
Paul's telling everyone he used to be the guy hunting down Christians with official permission.
📚 Historical Context
In the book of Acts, Paul is defending himself before a crowd in Jerusalem after being arrested, and he's recounting his life before his conversion to Christianity. As a zealous Pharisee named Saul, he had been authorized by the high priest and the Jewish elders to persecute followers of Jesus, receiving letters that gave him the power to arrest Christians in places like Damascus and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial and punishment. This reflects the early church's struggles with intense opposition from Jewish authorities who saw Christianity as a threat to their traditions.
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