What Vision Did Saul Receive at His Conversion in Acts 9:3-8?

     Saul's conversion in Acts 9 is incredible.  As one of the top opposers, he was hauling the believers off to jail (Acts 8:3).  The Bible tells us that he even got letters from the high priests so that he could go to other cities and bring them bound back to Jerusalem for sentencing (Acts 9:2)!  He actually thought he was doing God's will, but God had a plan up His sleeve to bring this Jew to his knees.  

Sunset picture I took at Crater Lake 2012

     The record of Saul's conversion still amazes me.  I can just picture it in my mind-- Saul and his men so determined to squelch these new upstarts.   And then all of a sudden as they're walking along the road to Damascus, a great light from heaven brings Saul to his knees.  

Suddenly out of heaven he hears a voice speaking to him:   And he fell on the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? And he said, Who are You, Lord?  And He said, I am Jesus, whom you persecute. Acts 9:4-5  

  I never knew the significance of the Lord's question to Saul until I heard Witness Lee speak on this when he gave the Life Study training on Acts. When I read this chapter last week, I  liked his explanation on page 206 in the Life-Study of Acts about the vision Saul saw that day:

This is a corporate Me comprising Jesus the Lord and all His believers.  Saul did not have this revelation, thinking that he was persecuting Stephen and other Jesus-followers in the way he considered heresy (24:14).  He did not know that when he persecuted these he persecuted Jesus, for they were one with Him by being united to Him through their faith in Him.  He considered that he was persecuting people on earth, never thinking that he touched anyone in heaven...To him this was a unique revelation in the entire universe.  By this he began to see that the Lord Jesus and His believers are one great person--the wonderful "Me" (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Acts. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1985, Print).

      This Saul was renamed Paul much like Simon was renamed Peter.  And when you read  Paul's other epistles in the New Testament, you see many references to the Body of Christ.  The more I  read the Bible and listen to these messages put out by Living Stream Ministry, I sense God's desire to gain the reality of this Body on earth today,     

Blog Update 8-27-12:  This afternoon while making dinner I listened to The Conversion of Saul on Life Study of the Bible by Living Stream Ministry.  It is Program 25, I liked how he described the revelation Saul saw on the road to Damascus.  He saw that he was just persecuting Jesus' followers and that Jesus was dead, but to his surprise Jesus made it clear to him that He is not only the Head in the heavens but also the Body on the earth.  

Blog Update 11-9-17  Here's a song I just heard that's about Saul and others called God Needs Overcomers

You can listen to excerpts from the Life Study of Acts along with excellent commentary by tuning into the Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Other Blogs on the Life Study of Acts:

In the Book of Acts What is Christ Doing in Ascension?
What Does the Early Church Look Like in the Book of Acts?
According to Acts 5:31 What is the Lord Doing as the Ruler of the Earth?
How Did the Lord Spread the Gospel in Acts 8?
What Vision Did Saul Have at His Conversion in Acts 9:3-8?
How Does the Gospel Reach the Gentiles in Acts 10?
How is Acts a Book on God's Move & Prayer?
Seeing God's Move & Satan's Frustration in Acts 14
Prayer, the Spirit, & the Word - The Way the Lord Carries out His Work in the Book of Acts
Seeing God's New Testament Economy in the Book of Acts - Part 1 of 2 
Seeing God's New Testament Economy in the Book of Acts - Part 2 of 2