Today I am here to talk about one of the greatest and possibly most drastic transformations known to man. I will attempt to dive deep into the life of one the most significant figures of the early Christian Church. This man had both a negative and positive impact when it came to the life and growth of Christians. We know this man as today as the Apostle Paul, but before his apostleship he was known as Saul of Tarsus. He is well known as the greatest evangelist of his day when spreading Christianity, but that wasn't until his radical encounter with Jesus Christ. Before becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, Saul was one of the biggest persecutors of Christians in his day. Sauls sole purpose in life was to seek out and abolish all Christianity in Israel. He was present at the time of the first martyred follower of Jesus, Stephen. Saul led the persecution of the Christian church in Jerusalem, and quickly began to destroy the church. Moving from door to door, he began to haul Christian men and women off to be punished. As Christianity began to grow, Sauls purpose grew as well. Not only was he seeking to repress the Christians in Israel, but now he was determined to pursue them wherever they had spread. Saul, hungry and eager to suppress the Christian faith eventually acquired letters from the Jewish religious leaders, enabling him to go into Damascus and seize all followers of the Way(Jesus Christ).(Acts 9:1) There was a very large population of Jews in Damascus as well as several synagogues. Damascus was the closest important city to Israel, still about one-hundred and fifty miles away leaving Saul a five to six day journey. In Saul's mind, he was going to change Christianity forever by continuing to subdue its growth. What he didn't know was that God had a completely different plan in store for his life. So the journey begins. Paul was nearing the city of Damascus, when God appeared to him in a bright light. Overwhelmed by the sheer beaut