Paul shares who he was before having his eyes opened by Jesus Christ.

Acts 22:3-5

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“Then he said: “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.” Acts 22:3

Tarsus of Celicia was located in modern day Turkey, and that is where Paul was born as a Roman citizen. His father was Roman and his mother Jewish. Although Paul was born in Turkey, he was raised in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. Gamaliel was a prominent Pharisee and authority on Jewish laws and teachings. Paul grew to become a “Pharisee of all pharisees” and was rising up in the Jewish power structure. He was eager and motivated to enforce all the laws of Judaism. The Jewish people he was speaking to, who were trying to kill him just minutes before [Acts 21:31-32], were very willing to listen to this.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we can recall our life before coming to Jesus Christ, and people are willing to listen to that. They will listen to any part of our life that doesn’t include belief in God through Jesus Christ and embracing the Holy Spirit.

“I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.” 22:4-5

Before Paul met Jesus Christ, he persecuted the followers of Jesus, even to their death. He put them in chains to be sent to prisons, whether they were men or women. In fact, the high priests and “city council” of the Jewish leaders gave him arrest warrants for those to be imprisoned and possibly killed.

This is what today’s culture wants to hear us talk about, how we are part of what they are doing, living for today’s atheistic culture and doing our part to eliminate the presence of the Gospel of Christ from the community. They want to hear how we are supported by the community leaders, whether at the workplace, in school, community functions, etc. They want to hear how social approval is upon us. In other words, they want to hear from us that we are living for the entity that replaces the conscience and spirit [while oppressing the Holy Spirit] to give us what to speak, do, think, and feel. They want to see how the image of the beast is given life to speak and live through us. They want to hear how we are being groomed to the mark of the beast by what we are given to say and do.

The atheistic culture of today gets riled up when we speak how “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” Romans 3:23 They do not want to hear that “…God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8 They do not want to hear that “…by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God…” Ephesians 2:8 They do not want to hear that Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

Our born-again testimony is the contrast between our life without Jesus Christ and the way our life is with Him, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10

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“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,“
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’”
“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:1