WHILE miraculous in the means that effected it, Paul's conversion was no act of violence. There was an inward preparation for the revelation of Jesus, which brought to its issue a long struggle in the nature of Saul, and opened the door of escape from a moral situation that had become miserable beyond endurance to the proud and strict young Pharisee. The words of Jesus, "Hard is it for thee to kick against the goads," touched the secret of the hearer's heart. . . .
For three days Saul remained at Damascus as a man stunned by a sudden, heavy blow. His world of thought was turned upside down by the discovery that "this Jesus" was, after all, "the Son of God." A silent and profound revolution was going on in the persecutor's breast; God was revealing "his Son" within him. At the end of this time the penitent was prepared to welcome Ananias, who gave him the assurance of forgiveness and the right hand of Christian fellowship.
—From Hastings' "Dictionary of the Bible."
