BE SUCH AS THE APOSTLE
VERSE NO. 14
The argument goes on, by putting the stress on attempting by wealth and person (MAN POWER), for the cause of Allah.
A nice example of such strife and effort is shown by a mention of the apostles, who were the near disciples of Jesus Christ:-
``When Jesus the son of Mary said to his disciples:-``Who is my helper in my way towards Allah? The disciples said:-`We are the Helper of Allah.''
The same thing happened with our prophet when he took a covenant from the representative group of Medinans in a resoluted place, called AGHABEH. They pledged to become the Helper of Allah and His Messenger; and hence they were called the Helpers throughout the history of Islam.
So was the case with the Helpers of Jesus who were a small group of the Jews, who are known as the Apostles or disciples.
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THE DISCIPLES OR 12 APOSTLES
The title of Apostles is given to twelve of the near disciples of Jesus who were sent forth to preach the gospel.
The original twelve, according to a harmonized list, include 1)SIMON PETER-2)ANDREW-3)JAMES and 4)JOHN(SONS OF ZEBEDEE)-5)PHILIP-6)BARTHOLOMEW-7)MATTHEW(OR LEVI)-8)THOMAS(OR DIDYMUS)-9) JAMES (SONS OF ALPHAEUS)-10)JUDE(OR THADDAEUS)-11) SIMON the Cananaen-12)AND JUDAS(who is accused of having betrayed Jesus). Therefore, MATTHEW was chosen by the lot to take the place of JUDAS.
There are the three important saints or apostles too namely; BARNABAS, PAULand JAMES (the brothers of Jesus)
These three are said to have seen the risen Jesus, and were sent out as his missionaries. (ICOR 9:1-GAL.1:11-12) They performed the unique task of witnessing to Christ's Resurrection, and also the HUMAN foundation of the church.
They also acted as the church leaders.
Although Paul, in contrary to Barnabas, was not a disciple of Jesus and his followers, and also helped and witnessed the martyrdom of the first Christian martyr (ESTEPHEN), before calling himself a Christian; he is considered equal with the apostles in office and dignity!! (ACTS. 6:4-8 AND 1:51)
BARNABAS is known to have been one of the disciples of Jesus the son of Mary; and has witnessed the raise of Jesus to the heavens before he could have been arrested (BARNABAS'S EPISTLE). In the second century, the GOSPEL or epistle written by Barnabas was widely preached among the Antiochs and Eastern Christians. The gospel is still read by many people, and I too have it. BARNABAS is the surname of JOSEPH who was a Levit, born in Cyprus, and became one of Jesus Disciples, and a leading member of the early Jerusalem Church after the ascention of Jesus Christ to the heavens.
Then, he became the representative of Jerusalem church in Antioch, when Christianity spread to the GENTILES there.
When Paul decided to convert and become a Christian, he was rejected in Jerusalem,but the said Barnabas sponsored him, and PAUL's conversion was accepted. After that, ST.BARNABAS, his cousin, MARK and the said PAUL, undertook a missionary journey to Cyprus, and to ASIA MINOR.(ACTS-13 14)
Soon in their way, BARNABAS fell in a religious disagreement, and severe differences with Paul. So he departed from his fellow-traveller or missioner and continued his work undependently. A couple of centuries later, Barnabas and his gospel was officially abrogated! In 325 A.D., a conference consisting of all the bishops of churches was held in NICEA, now a village called ISNIC. This great meeting was headed by the Emperor Constantine. In that conference, the doctrine of Trinity invented and supported by Paul became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Therefore, an awful massacre of Christians who did not accept trinity as the principle of their religion followed! It became a penal offence to have an epistle or Bible or even a book that was not authorized by the Roman Church. All the different versions of Bibles were burnt out. This was Paul's compromise with Roman religion and ideas.
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