Did the conversion of Paul occur before or after the Ascension? According to the Bible, the conversion of Paul occurs when he is walking on the road to Damascus and suddenly has an encounter with the resurrected Jesus.  My question is, did this encounter occur before or after the Ascension? The Ascension is where Jesus is said to have ascended bodily into Heaven 40 days after the Resurrection?

If it happened after the Ascension, how would it have happened?  I thought Christians believe that Jesus won't come back to Earth after the Ascension until the Second Coming.  Am I wrong about that?  Did Paul just have a vision of Jesus rather than having a physical encounter with Jesus' resurrected body?
Have you considered what the narrative in Acts, 9:1-9, records?

The Conversion of Saul [NRSV]
1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Paul, and those in whose company he was traveling, heard the Lord, but, as verse 7 makes clear, they saw no one. So it was not so much a vision, as it was like divine interactions with others of the prophets, such as those prophets in the Old Testament, and John in the new, who testified, &quot;The word of the Lord came to me ...&quot;.
Further, we know that Saul journeyed to Damascus after the stoning of Stephen the Martyred Deacon, who was elected after the election of Matthias, who which was after the appearance of Peter and John in the temple, all of which was after the Ascension of Our Lord, narrated at the close of the Gospel of St. Luke.