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24. The Apostle Philip
The Apostle Philip stoned in Hierapolis, Phrygia, A.D. 54 The Holy Apostle Philip, Bound with His Head to a Pillar, and Stoned, at Hierapolis, in Phrygia, A.D. 54 Philip, a native of Bethsaida, in Galilee, had a wife and daughters of very honorable life. John 1:44; 12:21; Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. 3. cap. 30; 31. He was found of Christ, and called as His disciple to follow Him; which he did so faithfully, that when he found Nathanael, he brought him to Christ, declaring to him, that he had found Him of whom Moses and the prophets had written, namely, Jesus of Nazareth, the true Messiah. John 1:45. From that time on, Philip constantly followed Christ, listening to His admonitions, and beholding the miracles He…
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23. The Apostle James, the Major
The Apostle James (the major) beheaded in Jerusalem, A.D. 45 James, the Son of Zebedee, Put to Death with the Sword, by Herod Agrippa, in Jerusalem, A.D. 45 James, surnamed the Greater, was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and a fisherman by occupation; but, Christ having called him to be His disciple, he abandoned fishing, and followed Christ. Matt. 4:21; Mark 1:19. He was instructed for a considerable time together with the other disciples in the duties of the apostleship, until he was properly sent out in that capacity. Matt. 10:2; Mark 6:17; Luke 6:13. He was endowed with the gift of working signs and miracles, and on account of this special gift he was one of the three surnamed Boanerges, that is, sons…
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22. Stephen
Stephen stoned outside Jerusalem, A.D. 34. Stephen, One of the Seven Deacons of the Church at Jerusalem, Stoned without the Gate of the City, by the Libertines, A.D. 34, Shortly after the Death of Christ. Stephen, which in Greek signifies a crown, was one of the seven deacons of the church at Jerusalem, a man full of faith and the wisdom of God. Acts 6:5. He was well versed in the holy Scriptures of the Old Testament, and very eloquent. It happened that there arose certain of the sect of the Libertines, Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia, and disputed with Stephen; and they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned…
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21. John the Baptist
John the Baptist, Son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, Beheaded in the Castle of Machaerus, at the Command of Herod Antipas, A.D. 32 This John, surnamed the Baptist, because he was ordained of God to baptize the penitent, was the son of the priest Zacharias, and his wife Elizabeth; whose name was made known to his parents through the angel of God, before he was born. Luke 1:5, 13. When he was about thirty years old (about six months before the Lord Jesus Christ began to preach), in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberias Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor, and Annas and Caiaphas the high priests, he was called and sent of God, to preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins,…
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20. The Lord Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ Crucified Outside Jerusalem Jesus Christ the Son of God Crucified at Jerusalem About three thousand, nine hundred and seventy years after the creation of the world, in the forty-second year of the reign of Augustus, the second Roman emperor, when the whole world was at peace, Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary, in the little town of Bethlehem, being the only and eternal Son of God, the Word by which all things are made, yea, God blessed forever. Matt. 16:16; John 1:14; Rom. 9:5. But His entrance into this world, as well as His progress and end, was full of misery, distress and affliction, indeed it may be said: He was born under the cross; brought up under the cross! He…
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19. Martyrs of the First Century
An Account of the Holy Baptism of the Martyrs in the First Century, that is, from the first year of the ministry of Jesus Christ to the year 100. Summary of the Baptism in the First Century [We have begun with the baptism of John, who in Holy Scripture is properly called the Baptist, because he was the first and chief one who truly administered baptism with all that pertains to it; concerning which we have noted the time, place, persons, etc. From there we proceeded to Christ and the command which He gave concerning baptism; thence to the apostles, and how they fulfilled Christ's command. But, since the apostles who wrote of baptism did not live to the close of this century, we, in…
