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You can ask the Chief Priest or anyone in the High Council to verify this; they all knew me well. Then I went off to our brothers in Damascus, armed with official documents authorizing me to hunt down the Christians there, arrest them, and bring them back to Jerusalem for sentencing.
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"As I arrived on the outskirts of Damascus about noon, a blinding light blazed out of the skies
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and I fell to the ground, dazed. I heard a voice: 'Saul, Saul, why are you out to get me?'
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"'Who are you, Master?' I asked.
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My companions saw the light, but they didn't hear the conversation.
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"Then I said, 'What do I do now, Master?'
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And so we entered Damascus, but nothing like the entrance I had planned - I was blind as a bat and my companions had to lead me in by the hand.
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"And that's when I met Ananias, a man with a sterling reputation in observing our laws - the Jewish community in Damascus is unanimous on that score.
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He came and put his arm on my shoulder. 'Look up,' he said. I looked, and found myself looking right into his eyes - I could see again!
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"Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors has handpicked you to be briefed on his plan of action. You've actually seen the Righteous Innocent and heard him speak.
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You are to be a key witness to everyone you meet of what you've seen and heard.