Apostle James and Apostle John the Beloved

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The Apostle James

This is a new drawing in my series of drawings of the original 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ.  The Apostle James was the older brother of John the Beloved.  He is sometimes referred to as James the Elder.  James was known for fiery zeal and maybe a temper.  He was among the top Apostles of Christ.  He is also the only Apostle whose death or martyrdom is mentioned in the Bible...in Acts 8.  The Bible says little about the death of James, but tradition says the following:  James was killed by the sword in Greece by orders of a Roman leader who wanted to spare James.  Herod the King was persecuting the Christians.  The Roman leader in Greece told James that if  James would renounce his faith in Jesus Christ the James would be spared.  James refused to deny his faith and something remarkable happened.  The chief accuser of James was so impressed with the courage and faith of James that the accuser repented, begged forgiveness, and offered to die with James.  Both were executed.

Apostle John the Beloved Vision of a Fiery Mountain hitting the Sea

John the Beloved was the brother of James the Apostle.  He was also in the top tier of Apostles.  His love of Jesus is clear.  He eventually was banished to the Isle of Patmos.  There he saw one of  the greatest vision ever recorded in sacred scripture.  The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah also saw much of the end of the world.  The great visions were of the end of the world.  In my religion, (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) we have a scripture where the Prophet Nephi saw much of the vision but was forbidden to record the part that John was to record.  John wrote the Bible's Book of Revelations.   In Revelations Chapter 8 John saw a the second angel of 7 sound his trumpet and a great fiery mountain plunge into the sea.  1/3 of the sea turned to blood.  Now, thinking like the Geoscientist and amateur astronomer that I am. . . that sounds a lot like a very large meteorite hitting the ocean.  Meteorites are primarily made of iron so if one hit the ocean and exploded and atomized,  I wonder if the iron atoms would bond with oxygen from Earth and if that could turn the water red...like blood.  Did you know that the dinosaur killing meteorite is thought to have been the size of Mount Everest? So maybe both the Bible and modern Paleontologists and other scientists have compared a meteorite to a mountain.

We members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) believe that John the Beloved did not die, but that he was blessed to stay on Earth in a special state to be able to serve Mankind and teach truth until Jesus Christ's second coming happens...sometime in the future.   We also believe that Jesus had and additional 12 disciples in the New World or the Americas somewhere...and that three of them were permitted to stay on Earth as well...and not taste of death.  These three disciples could not be killed by wicked men and like John the Beloved, are on Earth now...somewhere serving God by teaching and helping out His children.