Paul the Apostle
Jewish convert and missionary, author of New Testament letters
- Born
- c. 4 BCE, Tarsus in Cilicia (modern Turkey)
- Died
- c. 62–64 CE, Rome (tradition: under Nero)
- Also called
- Saul of Tarsus
- Writings
- 13 letters attributed; about 7 undisputed
- Known for
- Conversion on the road to Damascus
Persecutor turned apostle whose letters are the earliest Christian writings; he describes a man caught up to the third heaven, in or out of the body.
What is Paul the Apostle known for?
Paul, also called Saul of Tarsus, was a Jew from Tarsus in what is now southern Turkey. By his own account he persecuted the first followers of Jesus until a vision changed him. Acts tells the story of his conversion on the road to Damascus three times, with small differences in detail: a light from heaven, a voice, and temporary blindness.
He became the most influential early Christian missionary, founding churches across Asia Minor and Greece. Thirteen New Testament letters bear his name; scholars generally accept about seven as genuinely his, written in the 50s CE, which makes them the earliest surviving Christian texts. Tradition says he was executed in Rome under Nero around 62 to 64 CE.
In 2 Corinthians 12, written around 55 CE, he describes a man in Christ, usually taken to be himself, who was caught up to the third heaven and into paradise fourteen years earlier. He says twice that he cannot tell whether this happened in the body or out of it.
His conversion vision and his ascent to the third heaven in 2 Corinthians 12 appear among the site's accounts of people taken up into the sky.
Mentioned on these pages
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Saint Paul the Apostle'Reference
- 2 Corinthians 12 (KJV), Bible GatewayPrimary text
- Acts 9:3–9 (KJV), Bible GatewayPrimary text
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