The Original Document
DO YOU KNOW HOW THE
APOSTLES DIED?
Matthew:
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia , killed by a sword wound.
Mark: Died
in Alexandria , Egypt , after being dragged by horses through the
streets until he was dead.
Luke: was
hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.
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.
Peter:
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.
James: 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.
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.
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.
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.
Thomas:
Was
stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to
establish the church in the sub-continent.
Jude:
Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
Matthias:
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned
and then beheaded.
Barnabas:
One of the group of seventy disciples, wrote the Epistle of Barnabas.
He preached throughout Italy and Cyprus . Barnabas was stoned to death
at Salonica.
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.
Since receiving and
sending that document I have been doing some research myself and
probably the best site I have found is this one:
The Apostles.com
Not so much for the information that it contains but for the fantastic
links it has. Each of the apostles has 3 or 4 linked biographies (and
other links) with some very detailed information. Some of which will
contradict (with explanations) the information contained in the above
document.
Much of the life of those early Christians is the subject
of legend and, as you read through some of the biographies, there are
certainly contradictions and controversies about the lives of these
people that has been handed down through folklore.
As this site is strictly the Apostles as we know them,
follow up is needed on Paul, Barnabas, Mark and Luke. I will no doubt
also find
information on others of that era (such as Apollos).
The site did, of course reveal information about
Philip and
Simon the
Zealot, who are not mentioned in the above
document.
I recommend a look at this site and it's links.
