What did Paul mean when he claims to have seen the risen Christ?

[Dawnofhope]

It is more in a similar way how all the OT prophets encountered God. Paul is supposed to be the Moses of NT, with John the Baptist as the Elijah of OT. Moses is said to be with a face to face encounter with God. Paul is close to that extent. That's why Paul said he delivered his message not through other apostles but from Jesus Himself.


Acts 9:6 (NIV2011)
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”


All Paul meant to say is that he's an eyewitness of Jesus, just like all other apostles (but in a way of the OT prophets). This is not difficult to understand as all other apostles are chosen at the time when Jesus is a human, but Paul is chosen (to encounter Jesus) when Jesus is no longer in His human form. Naturally it must be in the same way as the OT prophets.

I would agree that Paul’s experience was similar to other Prophets in the Tanakh but would avoid the comparison between Paul and Moses. Paul did not produce Divine Revelation such as recorded in the Torah by Moses and the Gospel by Jesus. As the Prophets such as Isaiah and Ezekiel came under the shadow of Moses, Paul came under the shadow of Jesus.

I would see Jesus and Moses being more comparable and there is a clear effort on the part of the author of Matthew to link Jesus with Moses through the slaughter of the innocents instigated by Herod. I completely agree about the connection with Ezekiel and John the Baptist though.

 

[oldbadger]

It counts, but needed clarification. The belief Jesus was seen after being crucified because He wasn’t actually killed as opposed to resurrected is more similar to mainstream Islam than Christianity. The Baha’i belief that Christ wasn’t literally resurrected is clearly different from what many Christians believe too.

Fair enough.
Although I didn't come at these possibilities through Islam, but by gospel study and a very wonderful report from Flavius Josephus's 'Life', where three of his crucified friends were taken down, one surviving, after his appeal for them.

That spear thrust....... there was a tv program about an A&E unit in Britain. A young guy had fallen from his BMX bike and one of its rear foot stubs had bashed him in the side as he fell. His lung(s ?) was filling with blood and fluids and this young doctor decided to puncture his lung to drain off the fluids....... I never forgot it....... I expect that the lungs can fill during crucifixion although death can take 3 days rather than the 6 hours that Jesus was reported to have endured.

And the Pilate reprieve of a loved man who had 'been with Jesus'...... I forget which gospel mentioned that point about 'being with..'

 

[CG Didymus]

Well its hard to define mystical but I’ve attended many zoom meetings during the lockdown. They aren’t exactly the kind of experience that would turn me into a religious martyr.

Well back then a Zoom like meeting wouldn't be natural, but supernatural. All that matters is that with both you know that an actual person is on the other side. The realisation that he actually saw Jesus resurrected caused him to believe, make him regret past actions and become a religious martyr.

In the 70's there were Baha'is that said they knew of Baha'is that said they had visions of seeing Abdul Baha. Today we can read a story in the NT that says people saw Jesus alive. Because those people become martyrs, then I think we can guess that they really believed what they saw.

I think it's like if a friend comes to you and tells you they saw your ex-wife or girl friend and that she said that she is still thinking about you. It gives you hope and faith that, maybe, you will someday get together with her again. With people saying they saw a vision of Abdul Baha' it makes the Faith more real. People will believe he is there, in a spiritual world, watching and listening to you and is there to help and guide you. With Jesus, it is similar. He is alive and very real. But the gospel stories make him out to be physically alive and real... And... he's coming back. He's going to punish the wicked and reward the righteous.

So to go back to that ex-wife or girl friend analogy, it would be like if your friend said that she's been watching you from a far. And wants to make sure you've changed and are doing the things she asked you to do. If you want her back and know she's keeping an eye on you, you're going to do those things and show her that you have changed. So the results are the same with Jesus. You say you love him? Well then, do as he said. Prove you have faith by following his commandments.

And who knows what is going on with visions of Abdul Baha', but it could have easily caught on that those visions are real and possible, and that a "good" Baha'i, that obeys the laws, will be rewarded by have a spiritual vision of the "Master".

Now, back to the ex-wife and girlfriend, suppose your friend hates the way you've been acting. He'd want nothing better than for you to change. He knows you still love your ex, so he makes up the story about seeing her. He tells you she been keeping an eye on you in secret. You don't know. You look, but you never really see her. But, just in case, you try and do your best to change and do the things see wanted you to do. So... visions and stories of Jesus and Abbul Baha' don't have to be real to accomplish what they need to accomplish. They get the believer a stronger reason to do the right thing. They think they are being watched.

Yet, people still cheat, steal and lie as if nobody is watching. Then something bad happens and the person thinks... "is that karma coming to get me and pay me back?" So the person tries to do good again. Maybe it was a total coincidence. But the person's guilty conscience won't let the blow it off that easy. Unless we start taking away the watchdogs.

If you don't care about what your ex thinks... If you don't believe in visions or care what Abdul Baha' says... If you don't believe in God or Jesus and think that his followers just made up a bunch of phony stories about him coming back to life, then you're not going to worry about how you act. You're going to see those followers of Jesus as a bunch of liars, along with all the preachers that say Jesus loves you and is watching you and is coming back... and then they go off and have an affair or cheat people out of their money.

The stories are vague enough already to be questioned and not believed. But now, with modern science, a point that you, Adrian, like to point out, dead bodies don't come back to life... and physical bodies don't float off into space. But the Baha'is don't want to destroy people's belief in the Bible and in Jesus, they just want to make it not so literal. But, there's a fine line there. If it's not "literally" true, then what is it? A lie? A fabrication? An embellished story of something real?

Baha'is tone it down and say that "no" it's real... but it is figurative. Still, the reality is... Jesus is dead. His body never came back to life. And, his body has since rotted away. Jesus' Spirit lives on. His Spirit is the same Spirit that is in all messengers from God. That Spirit can never die. The physical bodies of all messengers dies. It is their message and their Spirit that is important. And still, everything is vague enough for Christians to believe Jesus rose physically from the dead and for Baha'is to believe he didn't.

 

[Twilight Hue]

In St Paul’s first Epistle to the Greek Church of Corinth, he claims to have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Did St Paul really see the risen Christ as some of the other apostles had? If not, how else could we explain his words recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:4-9?

It would mean Christ already returned or that Paul fell Hook line & sinker for a false Christ and ignored the warnings not to believe.

If I was still a Christian I would say Pauline doctrine is an imposter and representative of what they would call a false Christ.

 

[Samael_Khan]

In the 70's there were Baha'is that said they knew of Baha'is that said they had visions of seeing Abdul Baha. Today we can read a story in the NT that says people saw Jesus alive. Because those people become martyrs, then I think we can guess that they really believed what they saw.

I think it's like if a friend comes to you and tells you they saw your ex-wife or girl friend and that she said that she is still thinking about you. It gives you hope and faith that, maybe, you will someday get together with her again. With people saying they saw a vision of Abdul Baha' it makes the Faith more real. People will believe he is there, in a spiritual world, watching and listening to you and is there to help and guide you. With Jesus, it is similar. He is alive and very real. But the gospel stories make him out to be physically alive and real... And... he's coming back. He's going to punish the wicked and reward the righteous.

So to go back to that ex-wife or girl friend analogy, it would be like if your friend said that she's been watching you from a far. And wants to make sure you've changed and are doing the things she asked you to do. If you want her back and know she's keeping an eye on you, you're going to do those things and show her that you have changed. So the results are the same with Jesus. You say you love him? Well then, do as he said. Prove you have faith by following his commandments.

And who knows what is going on with visions of Abdul Baha', but it could have easily caught on that those visions are real and possible, and that a "good" Baha'i, that obeys the laws, will be rewarded by have a spiritual vision of the "Master".

Now, back to the ex-wife and girlfriend, suppose your friend hates the way you've been acting. He'd want nothing better than for you to change. He knows you still love your ex, so he makes up the story about seeing her. He tells you she been keeping an eye on you in secret. You don't know. You look, but you never really see her. But, just in case, you try and do your best to change and do the things see wanted you to do. So... visions and stories of Jesus and Abbul Baha' don't have to be real to accomplish what they need to accomplish. They get the believer a stronger reason to do the right thing. They think they are being watched.

Yet, people still cheat, steal and lie as if nobody is watching. Then something bad happens and the person thinks... "is that karma coming to get me and pay me back?" So the person tries to do good again. Maybe it was a total coincidence. But the person's guilty conscience won't let the blow it off that easy. Unless we start taking away the watchdogs.

If you don't care about what your ex thinks... If you don't believe in visions or care what Abdul Baha' says... If you don't believe in God or Jesus and think that his followers just made up a bunch of phony stories about him coming back to life, then you're not going to worry about how you act. You're going to see those followers of Jesus as a bunch of liars, along with all the preachers that say Jesus loves you and is watching you and is coming back... and then they go off and have an affair or cheat people out of their money.

The stories are vague enough already to be questioned and not believed. But now, with modern science, a point that you, Adrian, like to point out, dead bodies don't come back to life... and physical bodies don't float off into space. But the Baha'is don't want to destroy people's belief in the Bible and in Jesus, they just want to make it not so literal. But, there's a fine line there. If it's not "literally" true, then what is it? A lie? A fabrication? An embellished story of something real?

Baha'is tone it down and say that "no" it's real... but it is figurative. Still, the reality is... Jesus is dead. His body never came back to life. And, his body has since rotted away. Jesus' Spirit lives on. His Spirit is the same Spirit that is in all messengers from God. That Spirit can never die. The physical bodies of all messengers dies. It is their message and their Spirit that is important. And still, everything is vague enough for Christians to believe Jesus rose physically from the dead and for Baha'is to believe he didn't.

You explain things so much better than I attempt to do.

 

[pearl]

We only have Pauls own account of this and as much of his other writings it is a mess, you would assume that such event would be pretty important and memorable.

Paul's own account is rather short, giving little detail. The author of Luke and Acts seems to add his own embellishment to a tradition already known in the Jerusalem church. Paul never refers to this moment as an event nor a conversion, but a transformation. Paul's whole being was transformed not through some psychological process of maturing nor through some intellectual development, but more like a death and resurrection for Paul himself with one existence dying and another born with the risen Christ. Yet he did not turn from all that was good and true for him, his heritage, the Law, but now in a new way. In Galatians Paul states, "But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia and again returned to Damascus". He has received his own mission directly from Christ.

 

[Nimos]

In Galatians Paul states, "But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia and again returned to Damascus". He has received his own mission directly from Christ.

Well to be honest Peter were the apostle of the gentiles to begin with, im not really sure who or how Paul came to be it, as I don't recall it being said directly, as much as he seem to refer to himself as being it. (But might remember wrong).

But in acts we have the following...:

Acts 15:1-12
1 - Then some men came down from Judea and started to teach the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the Law of Moses, you can't be saved."
2 - Paul and Barnabas had quite a dispute and argument with them. So Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question.
3 - They were sent on their way by the church, and as they were going through Phoenicia and Samaria they told of the conversion of the gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers.
4 - When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported everything that God had done through them.
5 - But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The gentiles must be circumcised and ordered to keep the Law of Moses."
6 - So the apostles and the elders met to look into this claim.
7 - After a lengthy debate, Peter stood up and told them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose me to be the one among you through whom the gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe.
8 - God, who knows everyone's heart, showed them he approved by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.
9 - He made no distinction between them and us, because of their faith-cleansed hearts.
10 - So why do you test God by putting on the disciples' neck a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we could carry?
11 - We certainly believe that it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, that we are saved, just as they are."
12 - The whole crowd was silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell about all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles.
...

So at least Peter claim to be the apostle of the gentiles and we have other passages in acts also suggesting this. And to me it sounds more like Paul is "working" for him rather than actually being the apostle himself. Anyway its a bit confusing as I know that he also claim this himself. But then again, he seem to claim a lot of things that doesn't really seem to fit what Jesus or God said in my opinion.

 

[pearl]

So at least Peter claim to be the apostle of the gentiles and we have other passages in acts also suggesting this. And to me it sounds more like Paul is "working" for him rather than actually being the apostle himself. Anyway its a bit confusing as I know that he also claim this himself. But then again, he seem to claim a lot of things that doesn't really seem to fit what Jesus or God said in my opinion.

Peter and Paul take their disagreements over circumcision of the Gentiles to the so-called Jerusalem Council which decides in Paul's favor over this and the dietary laws and it is agreed that Paul's mission will be to the Gentiles.

 

[Muffled]

In St Paul’s first Epistle to the Greek Church of Corinth, he claims to have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Did St Paul really see the risen Christ as some of the other apostles had? If not, how else could we explain his words recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:4-9?

I don't believe it is clear exactly what Paul saw. He saw a bright light and heard Jesus speak to him. I suspect that Paul equates that to seeing Christ.

 

[Muffled]

The apostles saw him risen before he ascended to heaven.
Paul thought he saw the risen Jesus in a vision on the road to Damascus, which is why he believed after the encounter.
John would have also seen the risen Christ in symbolic form in the Revelation of John.

I believe that is likely the case. Jesus by the time of Paul's vision is long gone. What is here is the Holy Spirit.

 

[Muffled]

I like how the risen Christ is experienced in a number of ways, not just literally. Paul’s experiences on the road to Damascus would have happened several years after the post resurrection appearances and ascension so is unlikely to have been similar to the resurrection experience of the apostles...that is of course unless the apostles post resurrection experiences were of a mystical nature too.

I believe the evidence is that the apostles experienced a physical Jesus after the resurrection.

 

[Dawnofhope]

In the 70's there were Baha'is that said they knew of Baha'is that said they had visions of seeing Abdul Baha. Today we can read a story in the NT that says people saw Jesus alive. Because those people become martyrs, then I think we can guess that they really believed what they saw.

I think it's like if a friend comes to you and tells you they saw your ex-wife or girl friend and that she said that she is still thinking about you. It gives you hope and faith that, maybe, you will someday get together with her again. With people saying they saw a vision of Abdul Baha' it makes the Faith more real. People will believe he is there, in a spiritual world, watching and listening to you and is there to help and guide you. With Jesus, it is similar. He is alive and very real. But the gospel stories make him out to be physically alive and real... And... he's coming back. He's going to punish the wicked and reward the righteous.

So to go back to that ex-wife or girl friend analogy, it would be like if your friend said that she's been watching you from a far. And wants to make sure you've changed and are doing the things she asked you to do. If you want her back and know she's keeping an eye on you, you're going to do those things and show her that you have changed. So the results are the same with Jesus. You say you love him? Well then, do as he said. Prove you have faith by following his commandments.

And who knows what is going on with visions of Abdul Baha', but it could have easily caught on that those visions are real and possible, and that a "good" Baha'i, that obeys the laws, will be rewarded by have a spiritual vision of the "Master".

Now, back to the ex-wife and girlfriend, suppose your friend hates the way you've been acting. He'd want nothing better than for you to change. He knows you still love your ex, so he makes up the story about seeing her. He tells you she been keeping an eye on you in secret. You don't know. You look, but you never really see her. But, just in case, you try and do your best to change and do the things see wanted you to do. So... visions and stories of Jesus and Abbul Baha' don't have to be real to accomplish what they need to accomplish. They get the believer a stronger reason to do the right thing. They think they are being watched.

Yet, people still cheat, steal and lie as if nobody is watching. Then something bad happens and the person thinks... "is that karma coming to get me and pay me back?" So the person tries to do good again. Maybe it was a total coincidence. But the person's guilty conscience won't let the blow it off that easy. Unless we start taking away the watchdogs.

If you don't care about what your ex thinks... If you don't believe in visions or care what Abdul Baha' says... If you don't believe in God or Jesus and think that his followers just made up a bunch of phony stories about him coming back to life, then you're not going to worry about how you act. You're going to see those followers of Jesus as a bunch of liars, along with all the preachers that say Jesus loves you and is watching you and is coming back... and then they go off and have an affair or cheat people out of their money.

The stories are vague enough already to be questioned and not believed. But now, with modern science, a point that you, Adrian, like to point out, dead bodies don't come back to life... and physical bodies don't float off into space. But the Baha'is don't want to destroy people's belief in the Bible and in Jesus, they just want to make it not so literal. But, there's a fine line there. If it's not "literally" true, then what is it? A lie? A fabrication? An embellished story of something real?

Baha'is tone it down and say that "no" it's real... but it is figurative. Still, the reality is... Jesus is dead. His body never came back to life. And, his body has since rotted away. Jesus' Spirit lives on. His Spirit is the same Spirit that is in all messengers from God. That Spirit can never die. The physical bodies of all messengers dies. It is their message and their Spirit that is important. And still, everything is vague enough for Christians to believe Jesus rose physically from the dead and for Baha'is to believe he didn't.

The Gospels provide a theological narrative, not a literal historical one. Of course there was no literal resurrection from the dead and ascension through the stratosphere into outer space. That may have been plausible to the masses two thousand years ago but it certainly isn’t today. Modern Biblical Scholarship since the early nineteenth century has moved beyond biblical literalism too.

 

[Thief]

In St Paul’s first Epistle to the Greek Church of Corinth, he claims to have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Did St Paul really see the risen Christ as some of the other apostles had? If not, how else could we explain his words recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:4-9?

I think Paul had a stroke
the description of the event has all the earmarks

a bright light takes him off of his horse
voices are heard
temporary blindness
and severe change of personality
even a name change

apparently his tongue was not impaired

 

[74x12]

In St Paul’s first Epistle to the Greek Church of Corinth, he claims to have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Did St Paul really see the risen Christ as some of the other apostles had? If not, how else could we explain his words recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:4-9?

He speaks of the encounter on the road. He physically saw the risen Christ and the proof is that he was blind until prayed for. In other words ... he didn't just see a vision of Christ. He literally saw Christ.

 

[lukethethird]

In St Paul’s first Epistle to the Greek Church of Corinth, he claims to have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Did St Paul really see the risen Christ as some of the other apostles had? If not, how else could we explain his words recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:4-9?

Paul got his info from reading his ancient scriptures, and by having visions of Christ. He describes others as having the same experiences that he did. The mistake is to read the gospels into Paul's epistles because the gospels weren't written yet. Joseph Smith had his angel Moroni, Muhammad had his angel Gabriel, and Paul had his angel Jesus Christ. It appears that there is a pattern here.

 

[e.r.m.]

In St Paul’s first Epistle to the Greek Church of Corinth, he claims to have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Did St Paul really see the risen Christ as some of the other apostles had? If not, how else could we explain his words recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:4-9?

NIV states it as
1 Corinthians 15:8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

The Greek for was seen in that verse is
ὁράω,v \{hor-ah'-o}
1) to see with the eyes 2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know 3) to see, i.e. become acquainted with by experience, to experience 4) to see, to look to 4a) to take heed, beware 4b) to care for, pay heed to 5) I was seen, showed myself, appeared

The word can be used in english as "visually seen", but is not limited by only that definition. Saul heard Jesus and saw the light from heaven flash around him Acts 9:3-6. That falls within the definition of ὁράω.

 

[Muffled]

He speaks of the encounter on the road. He physically saw the risen Christ and the proof is that he was blind until prayed for. In other words ... he didn't just see a vision of Christ. He literally saw Christ.

I believe that would take some doing since Jesus had already ascended and logically speaking must have gone elsewhere.

 

[Muffled]

Paul got his info from reading his ancient scriptures, and by having visions of Christ. He describes others as having the same experiences that he did. The mistake is to read the gospels into Paul's epistles because the gospels weren't written yet. Joseph Smith had his angel Moroni, Muhammad had his angel Gabriel, and Paul had his angel Jesus Christ. It appears that there is a pattern here.

I believe Moroni was a demon.

I believe that appears to be valid.

I believe there was no angel. It was most likely a vision and whether Jesus was actually pictured or not is hard to say. Paul might simply say he saw Jesus when he didn't because the bright light and the voice of Jesus would make him think that way.

I believe the pattern is that every religion has to have a source of some kind.

 

[Rise]

In St Paul’s first Epistle to the Greek Church of Corinth, he claims to have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Did St Paul really see the risen Christ as some of the other apostles had? If not, how else could we explain his words recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:4-9?

He very likely did. Given the gravity of what he was called to, it would only make sense that Jesus would appear to him.

You have to remember that after Paul's conversion he went away to Arabia where he was taught directly by revelation about the things he was to preach (Whether by the Holy Spirit, personal visitations by Jesus, or both). He did not get any of his information from the other followers of Jesus, and only was able to confirm the truth of what he had been preaching after 3 years when he finally did go to Jerusalem.
(and Mount Sinai is in Arabia, so he likely went there to meet with God in seclusion, just as Elijah had done in the past).

 

[Mark La Buda]

In St Paul’s first Epistle to the Greek Church of Corinth, he claims to have seen the risen Christ with his own eyes:

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Did St Paul really see the risen Christ as some of the other apostles had? If not, how else could we explain his words recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:4-9?

I read/understand this account as Paul being the last to whom Jesus appeared to. (1 Corinthians 15:8) For clarification, I understand that Paul did not literally see Jesus; however, being temporarily blinded, Paul was in the presence of Jesus-Acts 9;4-6.