The Twelve, Pt. 2

The following accounts of the apostles' travels and deaths are NOT scriptural.  The Bible is full of hidden meanings through symbolism and understanding the text from original languages can often bring revelation and new meaning.  It is always interesting to read other view points.  Let us always remember:  The Bible does interpret itself.  We must be careful accepting the opinion of authors who cannot validate their writings through the Bible.  The Bible contains all the information we need to have a fulfilled life through Jesus.  

All that said, we are always curious to go deeper and further as we seek to find truth.  The accounts listed below are from various historians and scholars; some Christian, others Hebrew.  I have also read other conflicting accounts.  I only list this writing as interesting literature and NOT absolute fact.

*My use of actors photos, is merely to encourage the image of their youth.

> Simon, AKA Peter:  Simon-Peter, who was appointed by Jesus as cornerstone of the Church, was eventually martyred in Rome during the reign of the emperor Nero.  As the story goes, Peter asked to be crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross because he was not worthy to die the same way as Jesus, and the Romans obliged.





 
> Andrew: The brother of Peter—went to Greece in 69 AD, where the Roman proconsul tried to convince Andrew to forsake Christianity, so that he would not have to torture and execute him. Andrew was scourged, and then tied rather than nailed to a cross of olive wood, so that he would suffer for a longer time before dying.   The story goes that he saluted the cross and stated, "I have long desired and expected this happy hour.  The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ."  Andrew lived for two days, during which he preached to passers by.



> James (son of Zebedee, AKA James the Greater):  Acts 12:19 says that James was killed with a sword in Jerusalem.  A detailed story goes: Because he was a strong leader of the church, James was convicted by Herod Agrippa as a political act to ingratiate himself with the Romans.  The Roman officer who guarded the apostle watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial.  Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution.  Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

 
> Philip: became a missionary in Asia.  Eventually, he traveled to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, where he was scourged, thrown into prison and crucified upside down in 54 AD.  Some sources record he was stoned.

> Bartholomew:  supposedly was a missionary to Asia and preached in several countries, including India, where he translated the Gospel of Matthew for believers.  In one account, he was flayed (skinned) to death by a whip and then beheaded.







> Thomas:  apparently preached the gospel in Greece and India.  On one of his missionary trips to establish the church in India, angry local religious authorities, martyred him by running him through the four members of his body, with a spear.  He died and was buried in Calamine India.



> Matthew:  Legend says the tax collector turned missionary was martyred in Ethiopia, where he was supposedly stabbed in the back by a swordsman sent by King Hertacus, after he criticized the king's morals.







> James (son of Alphaeus, AKA James the Less):  He was stoned, forced over a cliff, fell 100 feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.  When they discovered he survived, his enemies beat him to death with a club.  
* This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

> Thaddaeus (AKA Lebbaeus, Judas or Jude):  According to several stories, he was crucified in Edessa in 72 AD - the name of cities in both Turkey and Greece.















> Simon (the Canaanite, AKA the Zealot):  preached in Mauritania on the west coast of Africa and then went to England.  I find two separate accounts: one states he was sawed in half, the other that he was crucified in 74 AD.

> Judas Iscariot:  According to Matthew 27:3-6, the turncoat apostle felt remorse over his betrayal of Jesus and went to the Temple to recant.  The high priests ignored his plea so he threw down the 30 pieces of silver that he had been paid, went off and hanged himself.  But Acts 1:15-20 gives a grislier version of his demise.  It states Judas used the blood money to purchase a piece of land and then fell headlong from a high place so that "he burst asunder in the midst and all his bowels gushed out."  Residents of Jerusalem named the place Aceldama, which means "the field of blood."  
* I always  wondered, if he had not died, would Jesus have forgiven Judas as he did Peter?   


My sincere apologies to this young man for using his image for the traitor.  I chose him only for his expression.


> John:  was sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos.  He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on that isle.  He was later freed to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey.  He died, peacefully, as an old man, sometime around 100 AD.  (I recently read that he was miraculously delivered from death when boiled in a huge basin of oil, in Rome, THEN sent to the prison.  This was totally new to me.) 




Whether true accounts, or not, one thing that has been constant through history is that all but John suffered martyrdom.  They all suffered and stood true in their faith.  Death is but a moment in time; a doorway to eternal life.

Life is the dream from which we wake to the reality of death.
Amen