Remember folks, Ladygrady asked for MY assessment. So here it is.Ladygrady wrote: I think that Elizabeth would say " go for it" So what was the verse so that we can look it up? It was the moment that Saul had a revelation that he was dealing with something WAY beyond his personal life. The light gives him a message. Lindab your assesment? I understand that you are a strong Christian woman so I really would like to hear what you think of the possibilities here.
I don't think the light that I mentioned in reference to crop circles is the same light that Saul experienced on the road to Damascus, for two reasons:
1] Saul himself describes the light as very bright, brighter than the sun. The reference that I had quoted would probably have made mention of a light brighter than the sun.
2] This very unique experience of Saul's is documented in many other historical documents, but not all acknowledge the source of that experience. The ones that DO acknowledge the source are all very reputable historians - and all of those do point to a personal encounter that Saul had with Jesus Christ.
So I think, ladygrady, that it wasn't the same light. HOWEVER, in Saul's case, it was a very specific experience with something not of this world. But in the case of the example I gave with the crop circles, it may have been something other worldly as well, but I doubt it was God manifesting as Christ. Maybe it could have been other spiritual beings? Demons? Angels? Dunno.
SO here's some more information about Saul . . . called Paul:
He didn't change his name to Paul.
Tarsus was Saul's birthplace. He was born a citizen of that city as well as of Rome, so his family probably owned property or a business. (Only people with rank and/or property were citizens in their provincial towns, and Roman citizenship was even harder for non-Italians to obtain.) Tarsus was a prosperous city on the trade route from Syria to Ephesus. It was known for its schools of philosophy and liberal arts. If Saul's family were Greek-speaking Jews, he may have had some contact with Gentile schools.
As a Roman citizen, Saul had three Latin names: a first name, a family name, and a surname. (kind of like Chinese names). Like the proconsul of Cyprus, his surname happened to be Paullus (spelled "Paulus" in Greek). As a Jew, he also had a Hebrew name, Saul (spelled "Saulus" in Greek). Luke calls him by his Hebrew name when he is among Jews, but shifts to his Latin name when he goes among Gentiles. This was probably how Paul used his names as well.
Hope all that information helped. Ok, now I've got to go get lunch.
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