It is in the last few years that I have been learning more about my faith, more about my brother Jesus who is the Christ and more about the disciples in the New Testament.
I believe in a man, Jesus. He was an outstanding man, so outstanding that he was arrested and then crucified by man. Think about it. He was tried as a criminal and then executed.
Paul who writes much of the new testament, well, we call him a saint. What happened to him? Well, we was arrested a few times, I think in four different countries. He was beaten and flogged, left in the streets to die. Finally, he was beheaded for his faith.
Peter, a disciple who is also called a saint. Well, he suffered much the same as Paul. Persecuted, arrested and according to tradition, crucified also, only upside down because he felt he wasn't holy enough to be crucified upright like Jesus.
Out of the 12 disciples. One betrayed Jesus, and the other 11 they all suffered and were beheaded or killed.
Only John had the pleasure of being thrown in a hot vat of oil. He lived and was put on the island of Patmos with other criminals, where he received revelations from God. It seems he died of old age.
This is what happened to those who believed in Christ. They were treated as criminals. Many were executed.
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It was the awesome love of God to send Jesus Christ onto earth for all people and the ongoing generations of new borns. Yes, the Son of God, came to live as a man with God's power to demonstrate his love and carry out God's plan for the sake of us. God's plan of sending Jesus Christ was already fully defined in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, the reality of the plan came to life and is written in detail.
For as little as I know, all Jesus' disciples had the greatest thing that could happen in anybody's life. They saw him, they followed him closely, they listened and learned from him, and they saw the personal care, interactions, miracles, kindness, and love Jesus showed the people walking on earth at that time. The disciples all witness this prior to Jesus' death on the cross. However, during the moment of crucifiction of Jesus, only one disciple was around the area or somewhat close. It has been suggested that the other disciples
were purposely staying afar so that they wouldn't be recognized and be put to death all because of their constant following of Jesus.
When Jesus resurrected (came back alive from his death), He approached his disciples face to face and talked with them to prove that He was who He said He was and He was alive. Jesus was also seen
by many other people before he ascended back with God.
This gives a lot of weight to why the disciples became instantly bold in telling everyone about their faith in Christ and what He said. They knew about the physical harm they would surely face from their opposition but that didn't get in the way of doing what Jesus/God wanted them to do - share about Christ. They knew they would eventually die one day, but to know what they knew and believed (salvation, heaven with Christ and God), to die earlier wouldn't matter much
This information has been documented by witnesses over 2000 years ago. The wonderful thing about this all is that it is fact...truth.
I believe Derrick's topic 'What happened to those in the New Testament' should help solidify the foundation of the faithful and
also bring up the question for those who may need a little more to believe in Christ, 'Do you have enought now to believe?'. And if not, now ask yourself, why not?
Indeed, the gift from God is yours to accept. Don't wait until the door closes before you get to the party.
In Faith,
Warren
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