HOW the APOSTLES DIED
According to both tradition and church history...
_1_ Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia , killed by a sword wound.
_2_ Mark
Died in Alexandria , Egypt , after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.
_3_ Luke
Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.
_4_ John
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.
_5_ Peter
He was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.
_6_ James the Just
The leader of the church in Jerusalem, was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club. This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.*
_7_ James the Great
Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem . The Roman officer who guarded James 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.
_8_ Bartholomew
Also known as Nathaniel, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.
_9_ Andrew
Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras , Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.
_10_ Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.
_11_ Jude
Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
_12_ Matthias
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then beheaded.
_13_ Paul
Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.
Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles/disciples during their times for the sake of the Faith. "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:"
"But he that endureth to the end shall be saved." - Matthew 10:22. Yes those who are saved by grace through faith in Jesus will only have the endurance to stand faithful to the end by the power of God. It is God's strength working in us to make us stand faithful to what we are called for by God. My prayer for you today is that you might receive the awesome grace of God like the apostles did in the first century and live your life for HIS GLORY! Even in our death, the life of God within us should speak out loudly for JESUS who has given us His all for us.
Blessings.....
