PETER

Simon Peter, also called "The Rock", has as his dominant spiritual quality, "Faith." His was a strong, unmovable faith that sustained him throughout his long and varied ministry.

When called to follow Jesus, Peter was a fiery and impulsive fisherman. It was not easy for him to overcome all obstacles and finally was chosen by Jesus to lead the Disciples in the work to be done after the Crucifixion.

Peter's name appears more in the Gospels and the book of Acts than any of the other Apostles.

Peter was present in the Upper Room with the 120 when the Holy Spirit descended. Having the Keys to the Kingdom, Peter preached the First Message after Pentecost which caused hearts to be stirred and added 5,000 souls to the church. He also preached the First Message to the Gentiles at Cornelius' house.

His faith kept him traveling widely into Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia and Asia.

It is said that he was crucified in the year 67 A.D., declaring that he was not worthy to be crucified as "My Lord", and was therefore crucified head downward in the final year of Nero's reign.


THADDAEUS

Thaddeus, also called Jude, Judas, or Labbeus, should not be confused with Judas Iscariot.

Very little is heard of this disciple, except indirectly. However, there are references of him in the Bible as "the brother of James, the Less". Therefore, we can assume that he was the son of Alphaeus, and probably a cousin of Jesus.

Thaddaeus, or Jude, had as his dominant spiritual attribute, "Loyalty". This loyalty to Christ after his conversion was evidenced throughout his ministry and is easily seen in his writing.

The Epistle Jude is one of exhortation for more faith and loyalty to Christ and a renunciation of the wicked.

He was present at the assembly which gathered in the Upper Room prior to Pentecost and we know that he traveled widely throughout Arabia, Syria, Mesopatamia, and Persia, proclaiming the Gospel Message to those who would hear.

Loyalty to Christ, whom he loved until the end, he was reportedly martyred while preaching in Persia.


MATTHEW

Matthew, also known as Levi, was a native of Galilee. He possessed in his spiritual life a strength of will that was powerful enough to guide him throughout his ministry for Christ. It was this strong will that made him leave his wealth and follow Jesus.

Known as a tax-collector and a money changer, Matthew was wealthier than the other disciples. It was he who gave us the exact words of Jesus.

His labors were varied, always evidencing the will necessary to do "His Will". He is reported to have labored in Jerusalem for fifteen years following Pentecost, also preaching in Ethiopia.

Tradition has it that he died in either Ethiopia or Macedonia of a natural death.


ANDREW

Andrew was known as a true friend to Christ; having in his spiritual life an outstanding strength of character that predominated his life.

He recognized Christ as the Messiah, even before his brother Peter. He, along with Peter, was a fisherman by trade. He was called the "Introducer" after introducing Peter to Christ.

It was Andrew who introduced to Jesus the boy with a small lunch of loaves and fishes from a multitude of hungry people.

Andrew made the introduction of the Greeks to Jesus and is believed to have seen the baptism of Christ by John in the river Jordan. Although his name is not mentioned in the New Testament after the post-resurrection assembly of the disciples in Jerusalem, tradition has Scythia and Greece as the scene of his ministry.

Refusing to worship a pagan God, he is said to have been crucified in Achaia on a cross shaped like a letter X. Even while dying, his great strength of character once again prevailed and he is reported to have said with his last breath - "Would that I had time to teach truth to my murderers" -


JUDAS

Judas is representative of life and our choice of redemption or destruction.

Judas probably had high hopes that Jesus would establish an "earthly kingdom", which would overthrow the Roman rule.

No doubt, Judas revealed high qualities or he would not have been chosen as a disciple. He was trusted enough to be chosen as the treasurer of the group - distributing the money, to provide for good and rooms to sleep during their travels.

At some point during his spiritual life, greed asserted itself and overcame his spiritual attributes.

At last, Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Because Jesus had saved so many others, he probably felt confident that Christ would redeem himself. Finally realizing that he was not going to perform a miracle in his own behalf, he repented and tried to return the silver to secure Jesus' release.

When the chief priests and elders rejected his pleas, Judas was filled with remorse and hanged himself.


THOMAS

Thomas, also known as Didymus, is known by man as "The Doubter" - yet, he reveals "persistence" as his dominant spiritual attribute.

As a fisherman, who worked with Peter and Andrew, he asserted a loyalty to Christ which made him willing to suffer for Christ's sake, yet he needed and demanded extraordinary evidence for extraordinary facts.

When he failed to comprehend the resurrection of a crucified Savior, he persisted in his desire to learn "how". When faced with Christ in person, his doubts fled and in his heart and mind was placed an understanding which is persistence had achieved for him.

He persisted in his ministry of laying on of hands and preaching the gospel in Farthia and Persia.

After organizing a Christian church in India, he was martyred while kneeling in prayer.


PAUL

Paul, also known as Saul, though of the purest Hebrew blood, was born in the Gentile city of Tarsus. His father, like himself, was a Pharisee.

He received his education in Jerusalem, where he sat "at the feet of Gamaliel", and was taught according to the perfect manner of the Law.

It was in Tarsus that Paul received his training as a tent maker, not because he was poor, but because Jewish custom required that each child, no matter how wealthy his parents, learn a trade.

Saul, or Paul, was very zealous in his endeavors for the "Law". It was he who led the way in persecuting the Christians. He stood and watched the stoning of Stephen with members of the crowd laying their coats at his feet.

We know it was the grace of our Lord which arrested Paul in the midst of his persecutions of the Church and caused him to be converted while traveling to Damascus. It was on the road to the city of Damascus that he was struck down by a light, "brighter than the noon-day sun".

Paul is known as the Apostle to the Gentiles, or the 13th Apostle. He referred to himself as "one born out of due time, the least of the apostles, not meet to be called an apostle."

He completed three missionary journeys, suffering much persecution. Paul's Roman citizenship exempted him from crucifixion and he was martyred outside the city, on the road to Ostia. He was killed by a military escort, with the sword, probably beheaded.


MATTHIAS

Matthias was elected to the Apostleship to replace Judas, the traitor. He was recorded as one "of those which accompanied Jesus' disciples all of the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among them."

The disciples nominated two, Joseph Barsabas and Matthias, having the necessary requirements. The choice between these two was committed in prayer, trusting that God would direct them. Lots were then cast in accordance with the traditions of that time and the lot fell upon Matthias and he was thus chosen as an Apostle. This was prior to Pentecost and the Apostles had not received the full gift of the "Holy Ghost". After his descent on Pentecost, casting of lots was never repeated as the "discerning of spirits" was present in the church.

Some theologians have placed Matthias with the original seventy disciples.

He is reported to have preached in various cities and suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia.


SIMON

Simon, who was surnamed Zelotes, was also called the "Zealot". He derived this name because of his association with the Zealot sect. His dominant spiritual attribute was zeal.

His was a zealous spirit for the cause in which he believed as a member of the Zealot sect. He moved in the spirit and power of the Maccabees and followed their general principles.

Once converted to Christianity, he moved with this same zeal and fervor toward helping establish the Kingdom of Christ.

There are few recorded facts concerning him, except that he was numbered among the apostles. We know that he was present at the Last Supper and in the Upper Room at Pentecost.

He is reported to have gone as a missionary to Babylon and the Black Sea after Pentecost, and that in his later life, he preached in North Africa.

Tradition has it that he died in Great Britain of a natural death.


JAMES

James, the brother of John, was the son of Zebedee. He, along with John and several of the other disciples, was a fisherman by trade.

He obtained in his quest for spiritual strength the dominant attribute of wisdom.

James was one of the three disciples that Jesus chose to be with him on three separate special occasions. The first being on the mountain of transfiguration, the second was at the healing of Jairus' daughter, and last in the Garden of Gethsemane. The other two disciples who accompanied James were John (Love) and Peter (Faith).

James did the largest part of his missionary work in Spain. He was the first disciple to suffer martyrdom. He was beheaded by Herod Agrippa I in 44 A.D. After his martyrdom, his body was returned to Spain and he has been the Patron Saint of Christian Spanish people.

The man who betrayed James was so impressed by the great faith and wisdom in James, that he later became a Christian and he, too, was martyred for his Christian beliefs.


JAMES, THE LESS

James was called "James, the Less" because he was younger than James, the brother of John.

The Bible refers to him as "James, the son of Alphaeus", and many scholars believe that he was a cousin to Jesus.

Although his true identity is still questioned, James had as his dominant spiritual attribute, "dependability". It was this strong and dependable quality that asserted itself throughout his ministry for Christ which caused him to become one of the leaders in the early Christian Church.

Paul refers to "James the Less" as being in Jerusalem as the first Bishop and wrote that he visited him there.

This dependable, orderly man was respected and esteemed for his vast knowledge of the law. He proved himself a worthy disciple for Christ and stood true to the cause he loved, even in the midst of adversities. Faithful until death, he was martyred for the gospel's sake in the year 62 A.D.

Tradition has it that he was killed in the temple at the instigation of the High Priest Annas II, being thrown down from the gallery and beaten to death.


BARTHOLOMEW

Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael, was one of the first six disciples chosen. He was known as one of the devoted disciples, having in his spiritual life a devotion that made him steadfast and dependable throughout his life.

Although, when first called to follow Jesus, he replied, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" After his first encounter with Christ, he was astounded and said "Thou art the Son of God; thou art King of Israel".

We know that his devotion kept him with the disciples even through the crucial time following the crucifixion of Christ.

He was with Peter and several of the other disciples when Christ appeared to them for the third time after His resurrection.

After Pentecost, he is reported to have traveled widely throughout the East with Philip.

Standing true to the devotion which motivated him throughout his ministry, he refused to deny the faith which he loved and tradition has it that during the course of his ministry in India, he was martyred by being flayed alive.


PHILIP

Philip, of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter, lived in Galilee as they did. He was so fluent in the Greek language that he was called "the Greek".

An energetic and powerful man, he is said to have been one of the first four disciples to follow Christ. It was he who brought Bartholomew (Nathanael) to Jesus.

He possessed as his dominant spiritual attribute "Power". Through his faith in Jesus, whom he loved and admired, and in the message he declared, his ministry was powerful in every respect.

He used the power of the word to heal the sick and cast out "unclean spirits" - though he had difficulty in understanding the spiritual meaning of Jesus' message at times, it did not hinder his power to use the wonderful virtue of Christ to the advantage of those in need.

After Pentecost, he is reported to have preached in Phrygia, Scythia and Lydia.

According to one tradition, he is said to have been martyred in Heirapolis in Syria.


JOHN

John, known as the "Beloved Disciple", was the brother of James, the son of Zebedee. He, like Peter, James, and Andrew, was a strong, brave fisherman. His dominant spiritual quality was the stronges and perhaps the greatest of all, "Love".

Jesus loved this disciple as a brother and it was to John that Jesus turned as he hang on the cross and said, "Woman, behold they Son".

John's love and devotion kept him near the foot of the cross, comforting Mary, the mother of Jesus. The strong love he had for Christ and His gospel message asserts itself in all of his writings.

It is reported that John remained in Jerusalem for several years for we are told of Paul's visit with him in the year 52 A.D.

He was reportedly in Ephesus when he was exiled to the isle of Patmos. It was on this isle that he received the inspired book of Revelation. There are various reports of attempts on his life, yet he is reported to have died a natural death at an old age.