Acts 9:18

And straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he received his sight; and he arose and was baptized; and he took food and was strengthened.

Scales ... This expression makes it mandatory to understand Saul's blindness as the physical loss of his sight, a fact further proved by the necessity of his companions leading him into Damascus (Acts 9:8). "To say then that Ananias was sent to Saul to give him his spiritual sight is an absurdity."[21]

The significance of two clauses here is vital. This verse does not say that Saul received his sight and received the Holy Spirit, but that he received his sight and arose and was baptized, indicating that the gift of the Holy Spirit followed his baptism.