They triumphed over him
    by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
– Rev 12:11

The power of the gospel is the blood of the lamb, as in the death and sacrifice of Jesus for our sins, and the word of our testimony, the power of God that raised Jesus from the dead and the story of how Jesus raised us from the dead spiritually.

The crowd was hostile.  They were literally trying to kill him.  Paul asked if he could just share the gospel with them.  And so he told them his story.

He told them how he pursued God with all his heart, mind and strength in the way he knew how, and that meant killing Christians everywhere.  But one day God made him powerfully as the man in white.

It was Jesus.

Jesus asked why Paul was persecuting him.  Paul didn’t even know Jesus.  And yet to persecute Christians is the same as persecuting Jesus.

Paul was blinded.  Then a disciple, a devout observer of the law and a brother in Jesus, prayed and Paul was healed.

Then Paul was given a commission.  That commission was to preach the gospel throughout the known world.  Especially to the Gentiles.

The crowd had been glad to hear that Paul was killing Christians.  They hated him too.  But when Paul said that the Lord told him, “Go, I will send you to the Gentiles,” they erupted and tried to kill him again.

What was so infuriating about that?

1) He was going to the Gentiles.  They hated the Gentiles.

2) He was spreading the gospel of Jesus.  They felt like spreading this was evil.

When we read this chapter, it feels like it is no coincidence that it is Ramadan at the time of writing this.  Any Christians are praying that the muslim world would encounter the man in white and know the identity of that man – Jesus.

At the same time, there is conflict raging in places like Syria and around the world where people are killing one another thinking they this is what pleases God.  Jesus said this would happen:

in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God (John 16:2).

This has happened throughout history.  And is happening in this very moment today.

The answer is not violence back.  But to pray that many would see the man in white in a vision, just like the apostle Paul.  That they would encounter Jesus and follow after him.  And that they would see that the way of God is what Jesus spoke about as, “loving our enemies” (Matthew 5:43-48).

So if you are reading this right now.  Please pray that all who follow Islam would have dreams, visions and encounter Jesus in the night.  That he would come to them and reveal himself to them.  And that like Ananias, there would be brave Christians who would explain this vision to them.