HOW THE APOSTLES DIED

DO YOU KNOW HOW THE APOSTLES DIED ?

Matthewsuffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

Markdied in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streetsuntil he was dead.

Luke- was hanged in Greeceas a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

Johnfaced 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, The Just 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 ulti-mately beheaded in 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 Nathanielwas 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 Indiaduring one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.

Jude, was killed with arrowswhen he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

MatthiasThe 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.

Perhaps
this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor
com-pared 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