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Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
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"Indeed, I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
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And that is what I did in Jerusalem; with authority received from the chief priests, I not only locked up many of the saints in prison, but I also cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death.
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By punishing them often in all the synagogues I tried to force them to blaspheme; and since I was so furiously enraged at them, I pursued them even to foreign cities.
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"With this in mind, I was traveling to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests,
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when at midday along the road, your Excellency, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions.
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When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.'
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I asked, "Who are you, Lord?' The Lord answered, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
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But get up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and testify to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you.
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I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you
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to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'