Who Are the Two Witnesses of Rev 11?

Two Witnesses

kjv1611,

John was told by 2 voices speaking in unison: "You must prophesy again"!

John alone knows the content of the messeges of the "seven thunders"
which he was told to "seal up" and then that he must prophesy AGAIN in many languages so that "many peoples, nations and KINGS" may be convinced that what he has already prophesied will come to pass!

Only with present-day technology will it be possible to speak in many
languages at once to "many peoples, nations and KINGS".

Jesus allowed that John may "live until He comes" in kingdom power thru
the two Prophets; one of whom represents OT saints and the other who
represents NT saints. John 21:22.

It is true that even Elijah will only die once (leaving Enoch as an exception to dying at least once), but the overriding evidence for John to die is that
both Witnesses are among the "some who must taste death after they
have seen God's kingdom having come in power" for 1260 days! Rev.11:7.

Rev.12:10-14 will fulfill Mark 9:1 AND Matt.16:28 when Christ said He is "about to bring His rewards with Him". Matt.16:27.

Mel Miller www.lastday.net :wavey:

 

Two Witnesses

Friends,

I have wondered why no one has reacted to the following idea:

Quote:
____________________________________________________________
"John alone knows the content of the messages of the "seven thunders"
which he was told to `seal up' and then that he must prophesy AGAIN in many languages so that `many peoples, nations and KINGS' may be convinced that what he has already prophesied will come to pass"!
____________________________________________________________

How could John "prophesy again before many kings" and When would he
reveal the messages of the 7 thunders that he was told to seal ... other than by coming from heaven as one of the Two Witnesses?

Mel Miller www.lastday.net :wavey:

 

Amen, Brother Mel Miller -- Preach it!
(Good idea. Good extrapolation of Bible data!)

 

hi brothers and sisters. My I interject another viewpoint?

We are told in Isa. 40: 3 that john the Baptist would "prepare the way" for the Lord Jesus Christ. The only reason I bring this up is because in Mal. 3:1 it is said again.

But by the same accord, in Mal. 4:5-6 it also says:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."

Ask yourself this: Was the day Jesus born ever called "the great and dreadful day of the LORD:?"

No it was not. So logically, the day spoken of here must be the one in Revelation 11.

And because it also says:

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:" -Heb. 9:27

Both men, Enoch and Elijah must return in ordeer that they can suffer their death.

But hey, that is just how I see it.

 

Two Witnesses

DeaconDean,

Quote:
_____________________________________________________________
"Enoch and Elijah must return in ordeer that they can suffer their death".
_____________________________________________________________

What is your response to the evidence, already presented on this thread, that the Apostle John is the best one qualified to "not taste death, by any means, until they (Elijah and John who must prophesy again before many
nations, peoples, languages and kings) see the KINGDOM POWER of God having come" for 1260 days??!! Mark 9:1; Rev.12:10-14.

Mel Miller www.lastday.net

 

Good question Mel, each one standing there died did they not? Including Jesus himself. So what did he mean?

 

Two Witnesses

LeBuick, Good question from youself.

The context (in the Matt.16:27-28) verses is "when Jesus is ABOUT to come in glory with the angels" (Greek text!). This automatically places "those standing (T)HERE" in the 1260-day time-frame of the "NOW of God's Kingdom Power and Christ's Authority to come" during the Endtime when the Two Witnesses prophesy for 3 1/2 times. Rev.12:10-14.

Jesus did not say: "Some of YOU"; but "Some of those standing (t)here"!

The reason for interpreting it as "standing THERE" (a perfect participle) comes from the use of a 2nd perfect participle for seeing kingdom power having already come; not "still to come"! But that 2nd perfect participle is found only in the parallel account in Mark 8:38 to 9:1.

This Matt.16:27-28 and Mark 8:38-9:1 passage is the context, not only of His imminent coming in glory; but also the context for proving "they love not their life unto death" until He appears in PERSON. Please compare Mark 8:38; 9:1 with Rev.12:10-11 as the context for proving that His followers will not be ashamed of Christ ... loving not their life unto death!

LeBuick, it was June 22, 1995, upon reading Mark 9:1 in the NASB, that I suddenly realized why Robert Stephanus, in 1550, decided NOT to end
Mark 8 with verse 39 ... even though Jesus spoke the words of 9:1 a week earlier from when He took them after six ("about eight days") up to the Mt. of Transfiguration. It didn't make sense to him that "some would remain alive until Christ comes in POWER". He thought Christ's coming in POWER was the transfiguration a week later which typified His coming in PERSON. The disciples wrestled an entire week with what Jesus meant by saying "Elijah must come first"! That fact is hidden in the text.

Jesus indicated that not only Elijah, but that He Himself will come in POWER thru "some of those standing here" in the context of His being "about to come in glory"! Elijah, He said, would not only fulfill Mal.4:5-6; but also "begin the times (plural) to restore all things". Matt.17:11; Mark 9:11. Jesus will complete the "restoration of all things". Acts 3:21.

Here (there) will be those who do not "taste death by any means" until they have seen the "NOW of God's demonstration of Kingdom Power and Christ's Authority"...

including the Two Witnesses *BEFORE* (NIV) they taste death; and also "some who must still taste death" ... *AFTER* (NASB) they see God's Kingdom Power demonstrated during the final 3 1/2 days until the "last one who must be killed has been killed" and God avenges their blood. Rev.6:9-11.

This understanding led to many of 48 "MEDITATIONS" on my website.
Mel Miller www.lastday.net :wavey:

 

You saying they were seeing a preview of Christ coming to power at the Mt.?

 

Has anyone died more than once?

DeaconDean, this is indeed a view that is held by many, including many that I know personally. However, it is a view propagated by superficial reading of one portion of Scripture and applying a simple "connect-the-dots" theology.

Hebrews 9:27 can be taken as a matter of general principle. Generally speaking, everyone has one appointment with death, and all things being natural and without God's direct intervention, will face the judgment after this one death. Now, must the principle of this verse be extrapolated to absolutely every human being that has ever lived and will ever live? If that is the case, then such a view raises more questions than it answers.

If indeed absolutely every person who has ever lived must die once and only once, then you run into problems with people who most likely died twice. What about Lazarus, the widow of Nain's son, Jairus' daughter, Eutychus, and others who were raised from the dead? I can assure you that when the Bible says that these people were raised from the dead they were indeed raised from the dead! They were not recussitated from a near death experience: Lazarus was dead for four days without food and water, and Jesus was not deceiving people. I believe these individuals were miraculously brought back after rigor mortis, how about you? So, the question becomes did these people die again? If how you interpret Hebrews 9:27 is correct, what happened to these individuals? Were they "raptured"? Did they disappear? What happened? Since the Bible is silent about this, I would assume that they died again, because if something weird happened, it would sure make a lot of stirring.

For those who believe in this strict application of Hebrews 9:27 to define the two witnesses as Enoch and Elijah, I leave the earthly fates of these select individuals as an exercise for the reader.

 

What if the verse implies everyone must die at least once? Wouldn't that make twice ok?

 

Psalm 90:10

Ok, so we know that everyone who ever lives will either live to be seventy or eighty years old--nothing outside or in between.

Either that, or this must also be one of those "general principle" statements.

 

Two Witnesses

LeBuick,

In post #68 and #70 you asked:
Quote:
____________________________________________________________
"Were they seeing a preview of Christ coming to power at the Mt."?
"What if everyone must die at least once? Wouldn't that make twice ok?
____________________________________________________________

The 2nd question is irrelevant because many have already died twice.

You could argue that the Mt. of Transfiguration scene was a "preview" of Christ's coming in both Power and Person. But the context of Matt.16:27-28 requires the death of "some" when Jesus is "about to come in glory with the holy angels". He comes in Kingdom POWER before He comes in PERSON. "Some will not taste death until AFTER they see the POWER".

The hidden meaning of the Mt. of Transfiguration experience is that Elijah must come in the imminent context of Christ's return (before the Day of the Lord; Mal.4:5-6). That was the question on the minds of the disciples during the "8 days" between Mark 9:1 and Mark 9:2. The three disciples expressed that concern based on why the Scribes claimed that "Elijah must come first". They "kept this thought to themselves" for 8 days until after they saw Elijah and Moses transfigured with Jesus. Mark 9:10-11.

MARK 9:1 BELONGS WITH 8:38 AND THEIR QUESTION 8 DAYS EARLIER; NOT WITH THE TRANSFIGURATION SCENE IN MARK 9:2-12. JESUS USED THAT EXPERIENCE TO EXPLAIN WHY ELIJAH MUST COME "FIRST"!

Jesus answered their question of why the Scribes taught that Elijah must come "first" by affirming that "Elijah is indeed coming and will restore all things". That's a new thought to His having already allowed that John the Baptist fulfilled Elijah's role as projected in Mal.3 ... rather than Mal.4 !!
The allowance of Mark 9:13, that the Baptist was Elijah, is a repetition of what Jesus allowed in Matt.11:14 when John was still alive and in prison.

But Mark 9:12 (Matt.17:11) requires that "Elijah will come to restore ALL things". It was spoken after John the Baptist died!! Therefore Christ only inferred in Mark 9:13 (Matt.17:12) that Elijah had already come. (John came in the spirit and power of Elijah). AND Jesus inferred this only after affirming that Elijah must begin the "restoration of ALL things". Acts 3:21. Jesus does more than confirm Mal.4:5-6. Elijah is coming in the context of the Endtime period of 1260 days for the Two Prophets to demonstrate God's Kingdom Power ... but "some will still taste death" until Jesus comes in PERSON to complete the restoration!!

Jesus used the Mt. of Transfiguration experience to teach that Elijah will be one of the Two Witnesses to demonstrate the "NOW of God's Kingdom Power and Christ's Authority for 3 1/2 times" according to Rev.12:10-14.

The context of both Mark 8:38 to Mark 9:1 and Rev.12:10-14 is the Endtime period of Great Tribulation during which "some standing (t)here will not taste death, by any means, until AFTER they see the Kingdom of God having come in POWER" ... with a final 3 1/2 days remaining for SOME to suffer death when the Beast kills the Two Prophets. The last martyr to die, and therefore the last day, is known only to God the Father! Rev.6:9-11 reveals the relation of the last martyr to the Day of God's wrath!

Believers KNOW that God's vengeance is imminent (at any moment) as of 3 1/2 days before the 7th Trumpet sounds because "time shall be no longer (future tense) and because God's mystery was finished" (aorist indicative) when the Two Prophets finish their 1260-day task and the armies gather to Armageddon for the final slaughter on the Day of God Almighty. Rev.10:6-7; Rev.11:6-7; Rev.11:8-12.

The Two Prophets rise up on the Last Day since "all believers must be raised up on the last day". Jesus affirmed this fact FOUR times!

The Purpose of the Transfiguration experience was/is to prepare the final martyrs who "must be killed" to be faithful unto death and to earn the
highest possible reward offered to the Church ... "to serve God as Pillars in the Temple of heaven for 1000 years". Rev.3:12; Rev.7:14-17; Rev.20:4.

LeBuick, this post is a summary of 36 of 48 Meditations on my website.

Mel Miller www.lastday.net :type:

 

I got to thinking about this, how do you compare these two passages?

1 Cor 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
[51] Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
[52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
[53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
[54] So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
[28] So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

At one time I believed the passage in Hebrews was referring to the baptizm where we die to our old sinful man and are born in the newness of life?

 

And was good reading also. I admit, you made me think and grab my bible a couple of times. I too concur with, "John came in the spirit and power of Elijah".

 

Two Witnesses

LeBuick,

You are asking a pretty deep question about the relationship of I Cor.
15:50-54 and Heb.9:27-28. I am quite intrigued by the challenge!
_____________________________________________________________
"So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory". I Cor.15:54.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the 2nd time without sin unto salvation".
____________________________________________________________

I can see the parallel thought about victory over sin and DEATH ... victory and salvation over sin and death at the second coming when both will be accomplished for the Believer. In my attempt to answer, I noticed that Heb.9:26 also has a parallel thought about the "ONE TIME" suffering of Christ "at the end of the ages to PUT AWAY sin".

Our victory over death, still future, is also a "ONE TIME" event. That may be all that is intended by the appointment to die ONCE. It indicates that
the "second death" will have no power over us as stated in Rev.20:6.

The "First Resurrection" is the "appointed time", as indicated by the 7th Trumpet (the Last Trump which sounds the first of three times in Rev.11) when we will ALL be delivered from sin and death. While your idea of the victory over sin's power is already fulfilled by our spiritual Baptism in Christ, that victory will deliver us from the very presence of sin and from the "2nd death" as well!

It may be that Hebrews uses the word "once" in 9:26 as well as 9:27 to show that victory over spiritual death corresponds to the victory over physical death at the 2nd coming. Both passages, I Cor.15 and Heb.9, emphasize the victory of the Cross applies to the "completion of the ages" when the last enemy, death, will also be destroyed (I Cor.15:26) ... so that, like Jesus, Believers are not appointed do "die" more than once.

"The 2nd death has no power over us". Not even physical death needs to apply to everyone. That removes any suggestion that everyone, including
those who survive until Christ comes, are appointed to die once. Hebrews must refer to deliverance from physical death, not from sin, since death will be followed by "judgment" at the 7th Trumpet/or at the "end of the ages". Christ's resurrection encompasses victory over the last enemy, death, at the end of the age to come when "death is cast into Hell". Rev.20:14.

What do you think?
Mel Miller www.lastday.net :wavey:

 

First off, thanks for not bashing.

Secondly, everybody who was risen from the dead for whatever reason was done so, so that:

"Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples:" -1 Cor. 10:11

And also:

"But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power" -Matt. 9:6

And the fact that Jesus purposely delayed until the fourth day to go to Lazarus was to show His power. The Jews did not believe a person was fully dead until after the fourth day. By waiting until the fourth day to go and raise Lazarus from the grave, He showed that He was indeed the Messiah, and had power given to Him from the Lord.

And regardless, according to scripture, at least one of the two witnesses will be Elijah:

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:" -Mal. 4:5

Elijah did not come when Jesus was born in that stable.

Now we can debate who the other witness is until the cows come home. But all I know is that man has to die. It is ordained from time eternal. And the only two people who ever lived who did not die are Enoch and Elijah. And since scriptures show beyond a shadow of a doubt that Elijah will come back before the "great and dreadful day of the Lord", Enoch locically must be the other.

And we have this prophesy which Enoch must deliver before that "great and dreadful day of the Lord:"

"And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints," -Jude 1:14

I will not debate, I simply state what I believe to be true.

And yes I did read the posts before. But it seems that all some want is a debate.

I had enough of the debates and backstabbing at CF. I thought since we were all baptists here, we could talk rationally. But I guess that isn't the case.

I tell you what, since you all have all the answers, I'll withdraw from this thread, and I'll ask for your forgiveness for my short comings.

I'll not post here again.

Goodbye and God bless you all richly.

 

Helping each other think

I hope I didn't sound like I was. This is not a subject that merits "bashing." I just like to throw out ideas and see if anything sticks. If my post made you think, then praise God! It's always good to think things through that we have often taken by faith for most of our lives. Believe me, I had taken the Enoch and Elijah answer for granted until quite recently, when this question came up. I decided to search the Scriptures and search the 'net for as many possible answers to this question. I have found that there are many compelling answers, but I myself would conclude that we can't really be sure, that we don't have to be sure, and that if God really deemed such a thing as necessary the Bible would have spelled it out much more clearly. In fact, many of the people I know believe this dogmatically to point where if I tried to argue you would swear that I was some kind of Christ-denying heretic!

Amen, and Amen!

There is good reason to believe that Elijah may be one of them. It all depends upon whether you interpret Malachi 4:5 as in reference to the second coming of Christ or His first coming.

Malachi 4:5 may have been fulfilled in whole by John the Baptist, or it may have been fulfilled in part, or maybe the fulfillment is in Revelation. I don't know for sure, but it's good to know some options.

Yes. There is good reason to believe that Enoch and Elijah can be the two witnesses. As in my opinion it is not a super important subject, it is not necessary (or possible) to be absolutely dogmatic. I believe that you have given good arguments for Enoch and Elijah. I in know way said they couldn't be, but yet knowing where you are coming from as one who used to be similarly dogmatic about it, I just wanted to give you the arguments that got me thinking also.

If I do any "debating" here I hope only to splash some water on the fires of those here who may have an axe to grind, to think rationally, and to ultimately come to the conclusion that we don't really know 100% sure who they will be. They may be Enoch and Elijah, Moses and Elijah, the Apostle John and Elijah, Moses and John the Baptist (in the spirit of Elijah), or even two modern-day people who have no connection in the Old Testament. That's what makes these "debates" so fun is to hash out arguments looking for compelling reasons to believe something that isn't spelled out clearly.

I hope no one here has been backstabbing and talking irrationally. If we have then maybe you have read too much into the disagreements and the ideas thrown around. Try not to take "opposition" personally. This will take you a long way. I can't tell you the number of times I piped up with something I was sure about only to be embarassed immediately with something that left me like "duh!"

I hope after reading the posts on this thread that no one here really has all the answers. There are so many different answers to this question on this thread, that it proves how "Baptist" we all are. I mean, if you ask two Baptists a question, you'll probably get four different answers. Since when do any two Baptists agree?
I ask you for my forgiveness if I came across at all if my posts were taken personally and as not becoming the spirit as a loving brother in Christ.

God bless you. I hope you read this post and maybe supply more of your thoughts.

 

Mal 4:5 (KJV1611 Edition):
Beholde, I will send you Eliiah the Prophet,
before the comming of the great and dreadfull
day of the Lord.

IMHO Elijah the Prophet will come
before 'the great day of the Lord' and again
before 'the dreadfull day of the Lord'.

The great day of the Lord is the first advent of Jesus
The dreadfull day of the Lord is the second advent of Jesus

So I believe that the the two witnesses of Revelation 11
are
1) Elijah the Prophet
2) John the Revelator/Apostle/Disciple

(the second is shown above, and shown well I might add,
by Bro. Mel Miller).

These two witnesses of Revelation 11 are present
during the first half (3½-years) of the Wrath Period (Tribulation
Period) when the Beast of the Sea (man of sin, Antichrist, etc)
is gaining world-influending domination.

 

Sorry to leave you hanging Mel but I had to give this a lot of thought.

I believe Paul is describing two versions of the same event. Yes, Heb 9:27 clearly tells us a truth that each of us will die at least once. I Cor 15:51 aligns and agrees with 1 Thes 4:17 "Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."

As I understand the rapture, when Christ comes those who remain alive will be transformed at that time from mortal to immortal in order to meet Christ in the air. In Cor, when Paul says we shall not all sleep, he is saying we shall not all be sleep when Christ comes again (this agrees with 1 Thes4:17). The transformation from mortal to immortal is death so makes Heb 9:27 100% correct that each of us will die.

The interesting footnote here is Paul believed he would live until Christ's return which accounts for why he said, "WE shall not all sleep".

 

Like I said before, as the writer of Hebrews said, all men must die, then comes the judgment. Some here have argued for John the apostle as one of the two witnesses. I reject that based on Heb. 9:27. John the apostle died a natural death at a ripe old age. The only two men in the entire Bible who did not die were Enoch and Elijah. And based on Heb. 9:27 these men must come back in order that they should taste death. To see how the Apostles died read this:

The Martyrdom of the Apostles
by Grant R. Jeffrey (from his book "The Signature of God")
Some atheists have suggested that the disciples, during the decades following His death, simply invented their accounts of Jesus. These Bible critics say that the disciples, in an attempt to enhance His authority, then published the story that Jesus claimed to be God and was resurrected. Any fair-minded reader should consider the historical evidence. First, the apostles were continually threatened and pressured to deny their Lord during their ministry; especially as they faced torture and martyrdom. However, none of these men who spent time with Jesus chose to save their lives by denying their faith in Him. Consider this hypothetical situation: Suppose these men had conspired to form a new religion based on their imagination. How long would anyone continue to proclaim something they knew was a lie when faced with lengthy tortures and an inescapable, painful death? All they had to do to escape martyrdom was to admit they had concocted a lie and simply deny their faith and claims about Jesus as God. It defies both common sense and the evidence of history that anyone, let alone a group of twelve men, would persist in proclaiming a lie when they could walk away by admitting that it was a fraud.

Yet, history reveals that not one of these men, who knew Jesus personally, ever denied their testimony about Him despite the threat and reality of imminent death. This proves to any fair-minded observer that these men possessed an absolute unshakable personal knowledge about the truth of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Each of the apostles were called upon to pay the ultimate price to prove their faith in Jesus, affirming with their life's blood that Jesus was the true Messiah, the Son of God, and the only hope of salvation for a sinful humanity.

Most of our information about the deaths of the apostles is derived from early church traditions. While tradition is unreliable as to small details, it very seldom contains outright inventions. Eusebius, the most important of the early church historians wrote his history of the early church in A.D. 325. He wrote, "The apostles and disciples of the Savior scattered over the whole world, preached the Gospel everywhere." The Church historian Schumacher researched the lives of the apostles and recounted the history of their martyrdoms.

Matthew suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, killed by a sword wound.

Mark died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses through the streets until he was dead.

Luke was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a 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 because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

James the Just, the 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 Greater, a 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 ultimately beheaded at 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 know as Nathanael, was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed to our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia when 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.

The apostle Thomas was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the subcontinent.

Jude, the brother of Jesus, was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

Matthias, the 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.

The apostle 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.

The details of the martyrdoms of the disciples and apostles are found in traditional early church sources. These traditions were recounted in the writings of the church fathers and the first official church history written by the historian Eusebius in A.D. 325. Although we can not at this time verify every detail historically, the universal belief of the early Christian writers was that each of the apostles had faced martyrdom faithfully without denying their faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Reference: Jeffrey, Grant R., "The Signature of God", Frontier Research Publications, Inc. (1996), p.254-257


So forgive me posting in here. I beg your forgiveness, and even though I said I wouldn't, I did. But I do promise from here on I will not.

So let the debate continue on, I'm outta here.

Till all are one.