HOW THE APOSTLES DIED.
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
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 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 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. He 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. He 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. He Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his
missionary trips to establish the church in the Subcontinent.
11. Jude. He Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in
Christ.
12. Matthias. The
apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. He was stoned and then
beheaded.
13. Paul. He 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 to compare to the
intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during
their times For the sake of the Faith.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: Matthew 24:13 “But he that endures to the end shall be saved”.