Paul Leaves Damascus

As Paul preached Christ in Damascus, all who heard him were amazed.... The opposition grew so fierce that Paul was not allowed to continue his labors at Damascus. A messenger from heaven bade him leave for a time; and he “went into Arabia” (Galatians 1:17), where he found a safe retreat.TA 229.3

Here, in the solitude of the desert, Paul had ample opportunity for quiet study and meditation.... Jesus communed with him, and established him in the faith, bestowing upon him a rich measure of wisdom and grace.—The Acts of the Apostles, 124-126.TA 229.4

Paul's labors at Antioch, in association with Barnabas, strengthened him in his conviction that the Lord had called him to do a special work for the Gentile world. At the time of Paul's conversion, the Lord had declared that he was to be made a minister to the Gentiles, “to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive the forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in Me.” Acts 26:18. The angel that appeared to Ananias, had said of Paul, “He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.” Acts 9:15. And Paul himself, later in his Christian experience, while praying in the temple at Jerusalem, had been visited by an angel from heaven, who bade him, “Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” Acts 22:21.—The Acts of the Apostles, 159.TA 229.5