March 12, 2020
Volume 50 - No. 11
By Friedrich Gomez
It is a grisly subject matter, to be sure. But how the thirteen apostles -- yes, there were thirteen, not twelve -- died is a most interesting question, nonetheless, especially in light of the fact that few people actually know the answers. THE ORIGINAL TWELVE, PLUS ONE REPLACEMENT. For the record, the thirteenth disciple was Matthias (Hebrew transliteration: Mattityahu), not to be confused with the apostle Matthew, a.k.a. The Paper - 760.747.7119
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Levi. Matthias was chosen by the remaining eleven after Judas Iscariot committed suicide by hanging himself after being overcome with personal guilt over betraying Jesus (Yeshua), known as the Christ, for thirty pieces of silver.
A RAGGLE-TAGGLE GROUP WITH QUESTIONABLE ETHICS. The original disciples who lived, followed, ate, and slept in the company of the historical Jesus were a most unlikely assemblage of human flesh: crude fishermen, a corrupt tax collector, simple
peasants and common tradesmen, all with questionable moral and ethical backgrounds.
Simply put, these original followers were – at best – a checkered group, even by the standards of their own day. A raggle-taggle compilation whose collective infidelity is well-known to biblical and secular scholars, alike. Their unofficial leader, Simon Peter (whom Jesus called ‘The Rock’), was anything but a rock when his faith was uprooted three times -- along with his integrity -- when Peter cowered
How the Apostles Died See Page 2
and quickly denied to his accusers that he had any affiliation with the Nazarene, Jesus -- not once -- but his denial was three times in succession within the span of thirty minutes.
Almost the entire group of disciples would eventually scatter, like chaff in the wind, when the ninth hour arrived for their Rabbi Jesus’ ignominious crucifixion at Calvary. MYSTERIOUS PHENOMENON. However, this period of vacillation