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"`Who art Thou, Lord?' I asked. "`I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied.
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`But rise, and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for the very purpose of appointing you My servant and My witness both as to the things you have already seen and as to those in which I will appear to you.
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I will save you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I send you to open their eyes,
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that they may turn from darkness to light and from the obedience to Satan to God, in order to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified through faith in Me.'
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"Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision;
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but I proceeded to preach first to the people in Damascus, and then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judaea, and to the Gentiles, that they must repent and turn to God, and live lives consistent with such repentance.
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"It was on this account that the Jews seized me in the Temple and tried to kill me.
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Having, however, obtained the help which is from God, I have stood firm until now, and have solemnly exhorted rich and poor alike, saying nothing except what the Prophets and Moses predicted as soon to happen,
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since the Christ was to be a suffering Christ, and by coming back from the dead was then to be the first to proclaim a message of light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles."
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As Paul thus made his defence, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, "You are raving mad, Paul; and great learning is driving you mad."
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"I am not mad, most noble Festus," replied Paul; "I am speaking words of sober truth.