Mark 3: 13 – 19
The Inner Circle
13 And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14 Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15 and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16 Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17 James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, “Sons of Thunder”; 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19 and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.
Now, as you know there were two other documents in circulation and they were the Gospels of Luke and Matthew. As you know, Matthew was an apostle who was with our Lord Jesus Christ for over three years and was an eye witness to all that our Lord said and did. Luke, on the other hand was a friend and fellow traveler with the apostle Paul. He later came back to Israel and interviewed the eye witnesses to this event.
So, to get a full picture let us take a quick look at both Gospels and see if there is any other information that would bless us.
Luke 6: 12 – 16, “12 Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13 And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; 15 Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.
Matthew 10: 1 - 4, “1 And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 2 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.”
You will notice that the names do not match. In truth they are all the same 12 guys yet they are also known by other names. We are going to take a look and clear up whom the real twelve members are.
Peter (also known as Simon) was one of the original 12 apostles. Peter was originally from Bethsaida on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Peter was married. He was a fisherman with his brother Andrew. His home was in Capernaum. When Jesus called him to be an apostle, he was given the added name Cephas (Aramaic: "stone," Greek: "Petros," which in English is rendered as Peter).
Peter was one of the three main apostles, along with James and John, who were chosen by Jesus to be present during certain important moments of His ministry.
One trait of Peter’s character that stands out in the New Testament account, is his impetuosity.
Peter was famous for many things: For being at Jesus' transfiguration, for walking on water at Jesus' bidding, for rebuking Jesus for what seemed to him negative thinking (prompting Jesus' sharp reply "Get behind Me Satan"), for his statement to Jesus during the washing of feet during the Last Supper, for his denials of knowing Jesus when Peter was in the courtyard of the high priest, for drawing a sword when Jesus was being arrested, and for being granted the singular privilege of an individual post-resurrection appearance by Jesus.
When Jesus asked him "Who do you say I am?" Peter made that famous statement, "You are the Christ (Messiah) the Son of the Living God.”
Under the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter healed the sick and raised the dead. He made a trip to Antioch, and possibly Corinth. It is believed that Peter later traveled to Rome, and was martyred there by crucifixion in 64 AD. He is said to have requested that he be crucified upside down, because he said he wasn't worthy of dying in the same way as Jesus.
Peter wrote two Epistles, called Peter 1 and Peter 2, in the New Testament. Papias, a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote that Mark's Gospel was influenced by Peter's writings.
Andrew and Peter were fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. In fact, the apostles Andrew, Peter, James and John were all partners in a fishing business prior to being called by Jesus to follow Him.
Now, I want to share a truth with you. Peter was not the first Pope. When you look at the book of Acts you will find that actually Paul was the first apostle to go to Rome which at the time already had a body of believers living there. Remember that one of the New Testament books is Paul’s letter to the who? – Romans.
I will give you some history, however, I challenge you to take some time and investigate this information out for yourselves.
After our Lord Jesus Christ had ascended into Heaven there were three areas which became influential. These areas were Jerusalem, Constantinople, and Rome. As you are well aware of, Rome was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire. Constantinople was the Eastern capital city. Caesar was the secular leader of the Roman Empire. The Bishop of Rome was one of the Religious leaders.
Over 400 years had passed since the time of our Lord here on earth. A man who arose to the throne of Rome was a guy by the name of Constantine. He ultimately left Rome and went to live and rule in Constantinople.
The Bishop of Rome was left with Constantine’s palace. He assumed not only the dominance of all religious affairs but also took upon himself the title of Pontifus Maximus which was the title Constantine had. He now also became the secular ruler of the Western Roman Empire.
To claim that he should be the sole ruler of all religious affairs he very slickly used one verse to claim that there was an apostolic succession. In the Gospel of Matthew we read this regarding our Lord, “3 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” 20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.”
Now please tell me this, ‘From the Scripture above, where is there the information of ‘apostolic succession’? I see from the verse, that our Lord Jesus said to Peter regarding his confession of our Wonderful Lord and Savior was the Son of God, in the flesh. He, that Is, our Master Adoni Yeshua, The Lord Jesus Christ would build His Church. He didn’t say, “I leave you as the leader of My church and that from you there will be a line of rulers who will take charge for Me on earth.
No, by some slight of hand the Roman group took Peter and gave him the title of Pope and then added from him every guy who was bishop of Rome. Amazing! The whole world has bought into this charade.
Andrew was the first of the Apostles to follow Jesus and just as John the Baptist introduced Jesus to the nation of Israel, so Andrew is noted for having introduced Jesus to individuals.
The apostle Peter became the fisher of men in masse where Andrew was a fisher for individuals. In his latter ministry, it is believed that Andrew went to the foothills of the Caucasus mountains (present day Georgia in Russia.) While there, he preached to the Scythians as far as the Caspian Sea.
He also went to Byzantium which is present day Istanbul in Turkey and from there, to Greece. In fact, he traveled to Thrace and Macedonia, down through the Corinthian Gulf to Patros; it was in Patros that Andrew was martyred.
In the church of St. Andrew in Patros, Greece, there is a book written in Greek which sheds light on his martyrdom. The following is written: "Aigeatis who was the governor of Patros became enraged at Andrew for his preaching and ordered him to stand before the tribunal in his attempt to do away with the Christian Faith. When Andrew resisted the tribunal, the governor ordered him crucified. Andrew remained tied to the cross with thick tight ropes for three days and his last words were: "Accept me, O Christ Jesus, whom I saw, whom I love, and in whom I am; accept my spirit in peace in your eternal realm."
An ancient writer also speaks of the apostle's martyrdom as such: "Andrew hung upon the cross three whole days, suffering dreadful pain but continuing constantly to tell the people around him of the love of Jesus Christ. The people, as they listened to him, began to believe his words and asked the governor to let him be taken down from the cross. Not liking to refuse them, he at last ordered the ropes to be cut but when the last rope was severed, the body of the apostle fell to the ground quite dead."It is believed that Andrew died on the last day of November, 69 AD.
James the Apostle was one of the 12 original apostles. He was the son of a man named Zebedee and the older brother of John the Apostle. James was a fisherman, as was his father and brother. He was one of the first apostles to be called by Jesus. Together with Peter and John, James was a close confidant of Jesus, being present at many important events, including the resurrection of the daughter of Jairus, Jesus' transfiguration, and the agony in Gethsemane.
When it came time for Jesus to go to Jerusalem, Jesus sent messengers to enter into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. The Samaritans did not receive Jesus. James and his brother John saw this and asked Jesus if they should command fire to come down from heaven and consume them like Elias did. Their fiery disposition was rebuked by Jesus. Because of James and John we know that the Son of man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. Jesus gave John and James the surname of Boanerges, which means "sons of thunder."
James and John came to Jesus and asked that He grant them to sit, one on His right hand, the other on His left hand, in His glory. Jesus replied to sit on His right and left hand was not His to give, that it shall be given to them for whom it was prepared. The other ten disciples were displeased with James and John for asking such a thing. Jesus told them whosever will be the chief, shall be servant of all. Even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
James, John and Peter followed Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane.
James was with the other disciples who saw the risen Lord.
James was up in an upper room with Peter, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James who waited for the Holy Spirit.
James was imprisoned and later killed by king Herod by the sword when Herod tried to bring evil to bear on the church that was established on the foundation of Jesus Christ. This was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
John was the only disciple who was with Jesus Christ from the beginning of his ministry, present during His crucifixion, and witness to His Resurrection completely. He is the only Disciple that did not run away or hide from authorities when the times of persecution and conviction. He was loyal to Our Lord, and was loved greatly by Him. John is the only Disciple that lived a long life, and died a natural death.
John was the son of Zebedee the brother of James. He was a fisherman with both his father Zebedee and brother. He and his brother James were partners with Simon Peter as fishermen.
John was chosen by Jesus Christ to be a disciple along with his brother James after Peter, and Andrew the brother of Peter.
John, James and Peter were present at the transfiguration of Jesus. This makes John, James and Peter part of the inner circle of Jesus that gained His trust.
When it came time for Jesus to go to Jerusalem, Jesus sent messengers to enter into a village of the Samaritans to make ready for Him. The Samaritans did not receive Jesus. John and his brother James saw this and asked Jesus if they should command fire to come down from heaven and consume them like Elias did. Their fiery disposition was rebuked by Jesus.
Jesus sent John and Peter to go and prepare the Passover. They were to enter into the city and meet and follow a man bearing a pitcher of water and he showed them the house they were to prepare the Passover for Jesus and the twelve disciples.
John, James, and Peter followed Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Jesus committed His mother to the disciple He loved, John, when He was on the cross.
John was with the other disciples who saw the risen Lord. John was up in an upper room with Peter, and James, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James who waited for the Holy Spirit.
John is the disciple who wrote the Gospel of John as well as the three epistles I, II, and III John.
John witnessed the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
John and Peter went up together into the temple to pray and met a lame man and healed him.
John was imprisoned with Peter and they glorified God because they spoke in boldness even though they were perceived to be unlearned and ignorant men.
It is believed that John wrote the book of Revelation. The John in Revelation referred to himself as a servant of Christ, His brother, and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ from the isle of Patmos.
Philip was among the twelve apostles of Jesus. He was from Bethsaida, at the north of the Sea of Galilee. As Judas was the treasurer and took care of their financial matters, Philip was the one who was responsible for seeing to it that they always had food. Philip means horse lover.
Jesus invited Philip to become His disciple. Philip became the fifth disciple of Jesus, and introduced his friend Nathanael (Bartholomew) to Jesus, who also became an apostle.
Jesus went up into a mountain and sat with His disciples. The Passover was nigh. When Jesus lifted up His eyes and saw a great company come unto Him. Jesus asked Philip where they could buy bread for them to eat. Philip was tested by Jesus because Jesus already knew what He would do. Philip answered that Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.
Philip introduced Greeks to Christ close to the time the Son of man was to be glorified. Certain Greeks came up to worship at the feast and came to Philip telling Philip they desired to see Jesus. Philip told Andrew and they both told Jesus.
Jesus told His disciples of His betrayal and of His death. Jesus told the disciples not to let their hearts be troubled if they believed in God, to believe also in Him. If they knew Jesus they should know His Father also. Christ gently rebuked Philip when he asked Jesus to show the Father and it will satisfy them. Jesus asks Philip if he does not know Him since they have been together for a long time. Jesus told Philip that if Philip has seen Him then he has seen the Father.
The disciples witnessed the Ascension of Jesus Christ and returned unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet. They went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
Philip is said to have done missionary work in Phrygia, Scythia and Parthia and labored diligently in Upper Asia, suffering martyrdom at Heliopolis, Phrygia. He was scourged, thrown into prison, and afterwards crucified in AD 54.
Bartholomew is also known as Nathanael and was one of Christ's twelve original apostles. In John, Chapter 1, Philip tells Nathanael "We have found the Messiah! The very person Moses and the prophets told about! His name is Jesus, the Son of Joseph from Nazareth." "Nazareth!" exclaimed Nathanael, "can anything good come from there?" The two went to see Jesus, and as they approached Him, Jesus said, "Here comes an honest man, a true son of Israel". Nathanael then asked, "How do you know what I am like?" Jesus replied, "I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you". Nathanael then replied, "Sir, You are the Son of God - the King of Israel".
Being from Cana it may have been Nathaniel who invited Jesus and his disciples, Andrew, Peter, John and Philip to the wedding, which may have been his own or of some relative of his. The Mother of Jesus was there and there may be a connection with Mary and the wedding couple. They may have already been there in advance to help with preparations.
The Gospel of Bartholomew is one of the New Testament apocryphal gospels that is also called Questions of Bartholomew or Book of Resurrection. Copies written in Greek, with recessions of Coptic, Latin, and Slavonic have survived; they are all dated ca. A.D. 400. It contains numerous questions which Bartholomew asks about the Virgin Mary, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ, and Satan, and discusses Christ's descent into hell, the numbers of souls that are saved or lost each day, marriage, and virginity. It is mentioned in Jerome's commentary on Matthew as an apocryphal Gospel. Jerome says that Bartholomew "preached to the Indians and died in Albanopolis in Armenia." Thomas, and his son Siophanes (whom tradition says was raised from the dead by his father) is also mentioned in this book. Bartholomew commands his son to protect these stories with great care and keep them from heretics and unbelievers.
Nathaniel is said to have preached in Armenia, Cilicia, and as far as India. Here he is to have died by being flayed. Three large knives, the instrument of his death, have become his symbol in church art. He preached in several countries, and having translated the Gospel of Matthew into the language of India, he propagated it in that country. He was at length cruelly beaten and then crucified by the impatient idolaters.
Matthew gives a detailed account of the ancestors of Jesus, and about His birth through the Virgin Mary, and about the beginning of His public ministry. Matthew's gospel includes a series of Jesus' speeches, including the Sermon on the Mount, the parables of the Kingdom, the discourse on Christian living, and the final end time warnings. Ten miracles by Jesus are recorded.
Matthew's work has been described as a textbook for Christian leaders. It is Gospel "to announce the good news"; a presentation of the birth of the Messiah; The Lord’s ministry of teaching and healing; and the death and resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ
Levi, called Matthew, was a disciple of Jesus and the writer of the first gospel. He was the son of Alpheus. Matthew published his gospel among the Hebrews in their own language while Peter and Paul were preaching and founding the church in Rome. The book was called in the original the "Logia" and written primarily for disciples of Jewish birth, more particularly for residents of Palestine and intended for Jewish readers and has a Jewish tone about it. Matthew was originally named Levi, Jesus changed his name to Matthew, which means in Hebrew 'the gift of Yahweh.' He was a native of Galilee and engaged in the town of Capernaum as a publican or tax-gatherer for Herod Antipas. He was sitting at the receipt of customs when Jesus, passing by, looked on him and said "follow me." Overjoyed he threw Jesus a banquet to which was invited many publicans friends of Matthew. For 15 years he preached the gospel to the Hebrews, and that, just before he went to other countries, he gave the Hebrews his gospel written in the mother tongue, Aramaic, the language that Jesus spoke.
His business as a tax-collector accustomed him to keeping records. Matthew stresses that Jesus is the fulfillment of Israelite hopes for a deliverer, the one who brings salvation and the perfecting of the Jewish Law. Matthew's gospel had an immeasurable wider field of influence and could reach out to a non-Jewish audience as well.
Thomas Didymus was one of the twelve disciples. It has been conjectured that Thomas was the twin brother of Matthew, and was originally called Jude; and that Jude was the son of James the Less, and therefore grandson of Alpheus. Some legends make Thomas the twin of James. Thomas whose other name is Didymus, in Greek "the twin".
Thomas earned the doubter name because he always looked on the gloomy side of things. He found it hard to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead because he was not present when Jesus made his appearance on the evening of the resurrection. When the others told Thomas, he made his famous statement: "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." Eight days later when Jesus appeared again, Thomas was convinced, "My Lord and my God." The hardheaded insistence of facts made the others call him doubting Thomas. Doubter he was, a man slow to make up his mind, one truly born with a thirst for honest inquiry and one who dearly loved a fact - yet once doubts were resolved, his loyalty was simple, fixed and unshakable. Thomas foresaw nothing but disaster; he wheeled on his companions and snapped, 'Let us also go! ‘That we may die with him.' Their hearts were heavy, but they backed up Thomas, all of them, from John to Judas.
Thomas is believed to have preached in Parthia, in Persia, and in India. They say that Thomas was a builder and helped to build a palace in India. St. Thomas is called the apostle of India, and is said to have founded the Christian communities in India who still call themselves by his name. This may be a mistake, there was another Thomas who was a Manichee. Origen says that the Apostle preached in Parthia.
The builder's square and the spear, the instrument of his death are his emblem. Another version of the story is that Thomas spent the money for the poor instead of using it to build the royal palace. When the King demanded his palace, Thomas told him that God had prepared one for him in heaven. Exiting the rage of the pagan priests Thomas was martyred by being thrust through with a spear and said to have been buried at Edessa.
James (son of Alphaeus) One of the 12 Apostles. James the Less was one of the 12, called the less because he was younger than the other James. His mother's name was Mary and she was one of the women who went to the tomb of Jesus, and found that it had been opened. James was also called "James the Less" and "James the Younger."
Because the Apostle Matthew also is the son of a man named Alphaeus, it has been thought that he and James were brothers. But the two were never referred to as brothers, whereas Peter and Andrew, and James (a different James) and John, were consistently referred to as being brothers. Nothing else is known about James except he was among those who went to the upper room to pray after the Ascension of Jesus.
Though strongly attached to the Jewish tradition, James was sentenced to death on a charge of having violated the law of Moses. He is said to have been crucified while preaching at Ostrakine in Lower Egypt. A carpenter’s saw is the symbol of James the Less in Christian art. It is believed that his body was sawed to pieces.
Simon Zelotes, called the Zealot was one of the twelve disciples. Simon had the words "the Zealot" added to his name. It helped to distinguish him from Simon Peter and showed that he was a member of an organization called the "Zealots". The Zealots were the political, violently anti-Roman, wing of the Pharisees.
Simon may have been 40 years old when he became a disciple. At first he may have thought that Jesus would lead an uprising to get rid of the Romans ruling their land. It turned out that Jesus changed him. He had been a man of violence and he became a man of peace. Jesus knew that the Zealots and Publicans were bitter enemies. One group worked against the Romans, the other for them. Even so, Jesus chose a disciple from both groups. They became friends in His work.
Simon was the co-worker of Jude, or Thaddeus. They traveled together in Mesopotamia which both of them were martyred. He was also said to have preached the gospel in Mauritania, Africa, and even in Britain, in which latter country he was crucified, AD 74.
Jude was one of the twelve disciples, also called Thaddeus. His real name seems to have been Judas Labbaeus, and his surname Thaddaeus, meaning praise and signifying his nature. Jude's name is always listed next to Simon's. They were brothers. Jesus may have sent these two together when he sent disciples two by two. Speaks once in the New Testament "How will you manifest yourself, unto us and not unto the world?".
It is hard to separate Jude the disciple from the records of Jude the brother of Jesus. Jude had done missionary work in Edessa, Syria, Arabia and Mesopotamia. Judas, Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus, is said to have been dispatched by St. Thomas to Abgar, king of Edessa, and to have been martyred at Berytus. Shot to death in Armenia 60 years after being chosen. Another source records that he was crucified at Edessa, AD 72.
Judas was the betraying disciple and one of the twelve. Not much is know of Judas before Jesus called him. "Iscariot" is generally thought to be taken from the Hebrew Ish Kerioth, which means "a man from Kerioth." His father's name was Simon, who was also surnamed Iscariot.
Jesus could see through the traitor Judas from the start. He was a thief and a liar and followed Jesus for the money. Judas was the steward of the resources for Jesus' ministry and had been consumed with avarice from the beginning. Looking forward to Jesus sitting on the throne of David, Judas expected a rich reward from an exalted position in the Kingdom. When the Kingdom turned out to be a spiritual one, disappointment turned to bitterness and Judas sold Jesus out.
Satan entered into the heart of Judas Iscariot and he went his way and counseled with the chief priests and captains how he might betray Jesus unto them. Judas said to them, "What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you?" They were glad, and contracted with Judas for thirty pieces of silver. Judas promised and sought opportunity to betray Jesus to them away from the crowds. As Jesus and the twelve began to eat at the last supper, Jesus said "You are not all clean, verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me." They all looked around but it was Judas who replied, "Lord is it I?" Jesus came back with what amounted to "You said it! What you do, do quickly" Judas went immediately out into the night.
The Romans did not want to get involved in religious matters and uphold the religious freedom of the Jews to preserve order but would get involved if civil power was at stake. From the mind of the Jew, Jesus had disrupted the established order and twice attacked the Temple market place. Our Lord and the disciples were now treated as a clandestine, subversive group. A member of the inner circle would guide the Jewish and Roman authorities to the leader of the circle by night and surprise a band of outlaws. By using the stealth of Judas in this way, the Jews were able to convince the Roman authorities that Jesus was a subversive, a revolutionary and a rebel that deserved to be executed under Roman law.
The dirty deed was accomplished when Judas led a multitude of soldiers and officers of the chief priests and Pharisees scribes and elders carrying torches, lanterns and weapons to the garden of Gethsemane, near the brook Cedron. Judas walked up to Jesus and betrayed Him with a prearranged signal, a kiss.
Ever since Judas "betrayed, innocent blood" by selling Jesus to the highest bidder, his name has been symbolic of the worst crime known to man.
After Jesus was crucified, Judas found out that his plan had backfired and Jesus had been condemned innocently. Not willing to keep blood money he repented of his evil. "I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood," to which they replied, "What's that to us, see to it yourself." Judas threw the silver back to the chief priests and elders in the Temple. The priests did not want blood money either and later used the price to buy the potter's field to bury foreigners in, fulfilling in part, the prophecy of Zechariah. The field was named ‘Aceldama’, which means the "field of blood." Judas had just betrayed the Messiah, the Son of God. Not willing to live with the guilt of what he had done, Judas went and hanged himself.
Judas’s name has popped up as a possible reincarnation to be the Antichrist. For we read in the Gospel of John in chapter 17 when our Lord Jesus prayed to The Father, He said this about Judas, “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”
Then we read in the book of 2 Thessalonians regarding the Antichrist this, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition”
It makes you stop and think, doesn’t it? What day are we talking about? Some people use this verse to say that the day is the ‘Rapture’. People who believe in this theory also claim that the ‘Antichrist will not be identified until after the ‘Rapture’. That cannot be true. Look again at the passage - Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.
Before ‘that day’ there will be a ‘falling away’. Those who profess a belief in our Lord Jesus Christ will turn away from Him. Perhaps it will be those who have believed the ‘Strong Delusion’ which our Lord said would come upon the world. Perhaps this strong delusion is the message that believers will be snatched out of this world?
And please notice that the man of sin, the son of perdition is revealed before that ‘day’. So, if the ‘day’ is the Rapture, then as we read in this verse the Antichrist will be revealed.
So, is the ‘day’ something else? Yes, it is. It is the ‘Second Coming’ of our Lord Jesus Christ to the earth as predicted in the Scriptures.
Before we end we need to mention one more apostles and that is Matthias.
Matthias was chosen to become the 12th Apostle after the death of Judas. In Acts, chapter 1, Peter explains to about 120 followers the need to replace Judas, as he recites a Psalm of David that states "Let his work be given to someone else to do," in reference to Judas.
Two men are nominated by the assembly, Joseph Justus, who was also called Barsabbas, and Matthias. The assembly prayed to God to make the right choice, and Matthias was chosen. Nothing more is written of him in the Bible.
Tradition states he was one of the 70 sent out by Jesus in Luke 10:1, that he preached in Judea, and that he died a martyr. Matthias means "Gift of God
Matthias was a disciple of Jesus, named among the twelve and chosen by lot to fill the Apostolate of Judas. The name is a variant of Mattathias, gift of Jehovah. Matthias was chosen over Joseph, called Barsabus the Just. Among the Jews it was the natural thing to do to cast lots, because all the offices and duties in the temple were settled by lot. The normal way was to write the names on stones, put them into a vessel and shake them until one stone fell out, the name on the first stone was elected to office. One tradition says that Matthias preached the gospel in Judea and was then stoned to death by the Jews at Jerusalem and then beheaded. Others make him a martyr by crucifixion in Ethiopia or Colchis.
Some people argue that Matthias is not an apostle according to God’s choosing. They say that the twelfth apostle is Paul.
Look with me at the book of Acts chapter 2 and note what it says in verse 14, “14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words.
In chapter 1 of Acts Matthias is selected. We read here in chapter 2 confirmation by our Wonderful Holy Spirit that Peter is with the other 11 Apostles. This would have to include Matthias since Paul has not come onto the scene yet.
