OLBGrk;
It will be no difficult thing for you to believe, that I had never preached the gospel without a Divine revelation of the truth of it, if you do but reflect upon my former conversation; for you cannot but have heard, that I was born a Jew, educated in the Jewish religion, and was a zealous defender of it, so as I persecuted the Christians beyond measure. This unmeasurable persecution is expressed by Luke more particularly, Acts 8:3: He made havoc of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women, committed them to prison; and Acts 9:1: He breathed out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, & c. He wasted the church like an enemy that useth fire and sword, and all means to destroy. The word here used is eporyoun, which signifies to make a devastation; the word used in Acts 8:3 is elumaineto both words signify the most ruinating hostile actions. And this he saith was his conversation, or constant practice, so as they might reasonably think that something more than human had made a change in him, that he should now be a preacher of that doctrine, which he had before so abominated as that his whole business was to root out those that professed it.