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Damascus
Damascus, first settled in the second millennium B.C., is
the capital of modern Syria.
Around 1260 B.C. the city and region was the battleground
for a war between the Hittites and the Egyptians. At the end of the war, the
city was put under the control of Egypt's Pharaoh.
Damascus was eventually conquered by
Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. After the death of Alexander, the city
became the site of the struggle between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic empires.
In 64 B.C. Pompey, a Roman general,
annexes the western part of Syria which included Damascus.
The Romans soon occupy the city and incorporated it
into a ten-city league referred to, in the New Testament, as the Decapolis (Mark 4:25, 5:20, 7:31).
Before his conversion, the Apostle Paul actively persecuted
those who believed Jesus was the Messiah.
After the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 6 - 7),
Paul obtains direct permission from the High Priest to search for believers in
Damascus' synagogues.
Paul is also given authority to arrest any believers found
in the synagogues and bring them bound back to Jerusalem so that they can be
tried and punished (Acts 9:1-2).
On his way to Damascus Paul sees a
bright light from heaven surround him, hears the voice of Jesus who calls him
to repent, and is blinded.
He is taken into the city by his companions.
After three days without sight, Paul is healed by a man name
Ananias, a believer in God, who is inspired by Jesus to visit him.
After his repentance and healing Paul (Saul) is put under
the waters of baptism and receives the Holy Spirit.
“. . . as (Saul,
soon after renamed Paul) drew near to Damascus, that suddenly a light from
heaven shined round about him. And after falling to the ground, he heard a
voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’” (Acts 9:3-4).
God reveals to Ananias that Paul, who brought persecution
and suffering to countless believers, will himself suffer greatly for his faith
and for his efforts to serve the true God (Acts
9:3-6, 16-18).
Paul immediately starts to preach the
gospel in Damascus. His incredible ability to prove Jesus is the Christ
(Messiah) so angers Jews within the city that they plot to murder him in cold
blood (Acts 9:20-23).
Paul soon learns of the death threat against him.
Christians already in Damascus who fear
for Paul's life help him escape the city, at night, by putting him in a basket
and lowering him down the outside part of a city gate.
The Bab Kisan (The Kisan Gate) pictured
above, built during the Roman era, is believed to be the gate used to help Paul
flee the city.
The apostle, after leaving the city and
the threats against his life, goes to Arabia. He spends three years in Arabia
where he is taught, directly, by Jesus Christ (Galatians
1:11-12, 15-18).
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