u/ITrCool

I've been studying about the 12 Apostles lately. Their lives, their ministries, how Jesus Christ changed them. Some seem more prominent in Scripture than others do, but all had unique purposes and ministries that Jesus (God) hand-selected them for and gave them to fulfill.

These 12 men, hand-selected by Christ and who personally talked with our Savior, had an amazing ministry as the 12 men who served to create the foundation of the Early Church. As we don't have Apostleship today, now that we have Christ's completed written Word and the foundation has been laid, we now have evangelists, pastors, and the responsibility to make disciples, sharing the Gospel with as many as we are given the chance to do so.

Nathanael Bartholomew has some interesting aspects of his life and Apostolic ministry. Here is some information I gathered on this man.

• He is always listed together with Philip, and it's likely they were close friends and co-workers
• "Nathanael" is a Hebrew name, meaning "God has given"
• "Bartholomew" is a Hebrew surname, meaning "Son of Talmai", which would have been his father's name. Kind of like a last name in western culture. So in formal Hebrew naming, his full name was Nathanael Bar-Tolmai (Bartholomew)

Before Nathanael met Christ:

• He was born and raised in Cana within Galilee (also the place where Jesus performed His first miracle, turning water into wine at the wedding feast)
• It's highly likely, just like many of his Apostolic colleagues, that he was a fisherman by trade (John 21:2)
• He knew the OT fairly well as evidenced in John 1:46
• He was religiously honest but skeptical, wanting proof of things before he would believe them (where does this sound familiar??!! Thomas...) as evidenced in John 1:46-47

His personal encounters with Christ included:

• Being introduced to Jesus by Philip (John 1:43-51)
• Being confronted by Jesus with His omniscience and omnipresence, causing him to believe (John 1:48-49) "How do you know me?"
• He was present at the wedding feast where Jesus performed His first miracle with the water to wine
• He was one of the eleven present at the Last Supper and in the Upper Room at Jesus' appearance after the Resurrection (John 20:19-25)
• He was present at the giving of the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20)
• He was also present at Jesus' ascension back into Heaven in Acts 1:8-9)

How Christ changed him:

• He gave leadership to the Church along with the other Apostles and helped lay the foundation for the Church (Acts 2, 4:33)
• He also suffered persecution like the others did, but never gave in, preaching the Gospel even to his horrible death (Acts 5:17-42)

His ministry had some big impacts similar to the other eleven Apostles:

• The Church of Armenia claims Nathanael Bartholomew as its founder
• Many think he also took the Gospel as far as Persia (modern day Iran) and even India

Regarding his death, there is no definite record, but mixed stories on how it happend:

- Some say he was skinned alive in Armenia

- Some say he was tied inside a sack and thrown into the sea to drown

- Yet others say he was cruicified

Either way, we know he died a brutal death in in persecution like all the others (except John) as a martyr for the Gospel.

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Nathanael Bartholomew is an example of someone who knows the Bible, but like everyone had to be personally confronted with the Truth of the Lord Jesus Christ before he could believe and be saved. Knowing Scripture well isn't enough. It's faith in Christ and Christ alone that saves us. Everything else is just the byproduct of that salvation and thusly proof of said salvation.

As one person put it: "knowing the Bible just makes one religious and skeptical. Knowing Christ transforms a life". A VERY true statement!!

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What have you gleaned from Nathanael Bartholomew's life and ministry?

For those who have worked for both, what did you enjoy more? Working for the county Sherriff? Or working for a city PD?

Just curious. I've got family who have done both and one who is working state HP right now and have heard mixed feedback. One started in county, went to their local city PD and decided they liked county better. An extended relative from the northeast started in their larger city PD, went to county and hated it and went back to the city PD eventually.

The relative who works state loves it but wants to eventually go federal (FBI) if it works out for them.

• Flying a freighter and doing space trucking for profit?
• Flying a fighter and going after bounties and combat/massacre missions?
• Installing passenger cabins and flying passengers to destinations?
• Surface ops?

Is there a ship that's perfectly balanced to do all of the above? Right now, I'm flying a freighter (Type-6 Transporter) doing a lot of courier/supply/recovery missions, building up my rep as a guy "who can get the job done" when it comes to transporting goods and..."items" across the galaxy.

I’ve been watching documentaries on cults and people who managed to escape them, or survivors of cults that ended badly. What’s the most common factor in every one of them?

……they all say they are an apostle or prophet of God with a message from God…..

The Bible says that anyone who adds to or takes away from God’s Word is accursed and not to be heeded. People, who see what God’s Word says but decide they don’t like it and change it, fit within this category.

That kind of thinking is how cults are formed in the first place. At the fundamental level they’re created by people who saw what the Bible said, decided “yeah that’s what it says but that’s not what I think it means. I think it means this over here”. OR worse, they discard the Bible altogether and declare they have a whole new vision. (Jim Jones as a primary example)

Rev 22:18-19 ought to be a warning regarding these false apostles and prophets and teachers.

2 Tim 4:3-4 is another crystal clear warning. Jesus’ own words were clear in Matt 24. Especially verses 4-5.

In summary: if anyone comes into your church or up to you and says “I’m an apostle or prophet of God”, turn and run. They’re no such thing. No matter how good or convincing they may sound.

It definitely wasn’t God they heard from if they actually did have such an encounter (not likely at all), which means there’s only one other thing it could be…

I've been studying about the 12 Apostles lately. Their lives, their ministries, how Jesus Christ changed them. Some seem more prominent in Scripture than others do, but all had unique purposes and ministries that Jesus (God) hand-selected them for and gave them to fulfill.

These 12 men, hand-selected by Christ and who personally talked with our Savior, had an amazing ministry as the 12 men who served to create the foundation of the Early Church. As we don't have Apostleship today, now that we have Christ's completed written Word and the foundation has been laid, we now have evangelists, pastors, and the responsibility to make disciples, sharing the Gospel with as many as we are given the chance to do so.

Matthew (Also known as Levi) is one of the 12 who had infamy in his occupation before Christ came into his life and changed him. Below is some information I have gleaned about his life and Apostolic ministry:

• Matthew was infamous because he was a tax collector. In that century and time in Jewish history, tax collectors were basically scum and villainy to all. Their salary was basically to collect extra on top of what was due to the government, so they could basically write their own checks and live in comfort off dishonest gain. What's worse was he was working for the Roman Imperial government as a tax collector, so he was lower than scum to many.
• Matthew's name means "gift of Jahweh (Jehovah) and he was also known as Levi (Luke 5:29)

Before Matthew met Christ:

• He was a son of Alphaeus (likely brother to James also possibly a son of Alphaeus - Mark 2:14, 3:18)
• He lived in rural Capernaum (Mark 2:1)

His encounters with Christ:

• From his tax booth (that infamous spot he worked in day in and day out), Jesus called him to follow Him (Matt 9:9)
• He held a big feast to his tax collector (publican) friends, introducing Jesus as his Guest of honor (Luke 5:29-32)
• He was one of the many sent out by Jesus to preach
• He was one of the eleven present at the Last Supper and also in the Upper Room at Jesus' resurrection when Jesus appeared to them
• He was present at the Great Commission (Matt 28:16-20)
• He was there for Jesus' physical and literal ascension into Heaven (Acts 1:8-9)

Christ changed him:

• He gave leadership to the church with the other Apostles (Acts 2)
• Like the other 11, he suffered persecution for the Gospel, and never gave in, even to death (Acts 5:17-42)
• He was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write down the Gospel of Matthew, an account of Jesus' life and ministry on Earth. He used the perspective of Jesus as the promised Messiah, come to Earth, and as the King of the Jews, the fulfillment of prophecy in the OT

Some other things about him:

• Historical record says he possibly took the Gospel to Persia (Iran today), Macedonia (Greece today), Syria, and Ethiopia
• Like most others (except John) he died a brutal death as a martyr for Christ and the Gospel. Some old historical records imply he might have died being burned at a stake.

This man is someone who had sold out to financial success in his early life, making money a focal point for himself, living in luxury and comfort by dishonest gain through the Roman government. But Jesus radically transformed him into a spiritual giant, who spread the good news of the Gospel across the world! Showing us yet again that God can use ANYONE for His glory. Christ paid the price and did it all for us. Faith alone, by Grace alone in Christ alone is all it takes for us to be saved. Matthew believed that very Truth and made sure many others did up until the end of his life.

What do you glean from Matthew's (Levi's) Apostolic ministry and life?

In the Truman Show, we see the scene where Truman and Sylvia have their moment together, running away from the school and down to the beach front to have their kiss and time of romance. Just at that moment,>! a station wagon pulls up to the beach with a man portraying himself as Sylvia's "father" behind the wheel, who then gets out and drags Sylvia away while she's in the midst of trying to spill the beans to Truman about everything, revealing herself to be Lauren, an actor, and challenging Truman to come and find her, to escape. The guy gets her in the car and can be seen saying something to her as they drive away.!<

What do you think the guy was saying to Lauren as they were driving away?

I'd presume something like: "Christof says you're fired. Clean out your locker. You're done. You really blew it this time, Lauren. Why are you doing this to us? What makes you think you're so special?!"

I've been studying about the 12 Apostles lately. Their lives, their ministries, how Jesus Christ changed them. Some seem more prominent in Scripture than others do, but all had unique purposes and ministries that Jesus (God) hand-selected them for and gave them to fulfill.

These 12 men, hand-selected by Christ and who personally talked with our Savior, had an amazing ministry as the 12 men who served to create the foundation of the Early Church. As we don't have Apostleship today, now that we have Christ's completed written Word and the foundation has been laid, we now have evangelists, pastors, and the responsibility to make disciples, sharing the Gospel with as many as we are given the chance to do so.

Thomas is one of the 12 who is famous (or infamous depending on how you look at it) for being "doubting Thomas". Below is some information I have gleaned about his life and Apostolic ministry:

• He is mentioned only once in each of the four Gospels. Aside from that single time he is mentioned, they give us very little other information about him
• His name was also "Didymus" which means "Twin"
  • Based on this, we can presume he might've had a twin brother/sister

Before he met Christ:

• There are some historical claims that Thomas was a carpenter by trade (nothing confirmed)
• As mentioned above, he is nicknamed "doubting Thomas" because he seemed to be quite the pessimist as we will see below

In his encounters with Christ:

• He was, as the others were, sent out by Jesus to preach about the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 10:5-8)
• He was one of the eleven that was present with Jesus at the Last Supper (Matt 26:20)
• He was confused about what Jesus meant about going to "His Father's house" and had to get clarity (John 14:1-6)
• He was NOT present in the Upper Room the first time Jesus appeared after His resurrection (John 20:19-23)
  • When everyone tried to convince him Jesus was alive...he would NOT believe at first and stated that unless he personally saw and touched Jesus then it couldn't be true (how many people today seek physical proof rather than just choosing faith??!! (John 20:24-25))
  • When Jesus appeared that next week while Thomas was there and confronted Thomas, Thomas definitely had faith then and confess Jesus as his Lord and God (John 20:26-29)
• He was present at the Great Commission and Jesus' Ascension into Heaven (Matt 28:16-20, Acts 1:8-9)

How Christ changed him:

• He gave leadership to the Church along with the other Apostles (including Paul (Acts 2; 4:33))
• Like the others, he suffered persecution for the Gospel and never once gave in
• Early Church history says that he took the Gospel as far as India and in fact there is a small hill near the airport at Madras, India, where Thomas is said to be buried
• He was brutally martyred for his faith (like all but one Apostle was) by being run through with a spear

In summary:

Thomas was a man who one could call the "doomer" Apostle. A pessimist who always thought things would be terrible, but who the Lord transformed into a person who faithfully proclaimed the Gospel and that the Hope of believers is in Christ, that everything will be just fine and in fact GREAT when Jesus returns one day, even if things seem really bad now.

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What have you gleaned from Thomas' life and ministry?

Seems like they’ve been launching new ships every year, they’ve released news of their new port opening soon, and their fleet keeps growing at rapid pace, I’d presume soon to rival Carnival for “biggest fleet”.