Saint Bartholomew Nathanael
The readers of the Bible will never forget
the great wedding feast at Cana since the bridegroom was our dear saint
Nathanael. Even today Nathanael’s house has been converted as a church by the
name ‘the house of saint Bartholomew’ which is located behind the house where
the wedding feast in Cana was held. The key for this house is available in the
house where the wedding feast was held, and it will be given on request.
The apostle Philip told Nathanael about
the great works of Jesus Christ for which Nathanael replied, “Can anything good
come from Nazareth?” Since Nathanael could not believe the greatness of Jesus
Christ, Philip took Nathanael with him to meet Jesus so that Nathanael could
know for himself all about Jesus Christ. When Jesus met Nathanael He said,
“Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit. Nathanael said unto
him, where knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, before that
Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.” In this way
Jesus gave a good conduct certificate about Nathanael.
This Nathanael, who was certified by Jesus
Christ himself as an Israelite who has no deceit, was actually a childhood
friend of Jesus Christ. In their childhood days Jesus and Nathanael used to
share a lot of things. Once Nathanael asked Jesus, “it could have been a great
challenge for god to change this huge Nile River into blood during the times of
Moses.” For this Jesus replied, “Dear Nathanael this is an easy task for God.
In fact there is nothing difficult for God. But if there is something difficult
for God, then it is definitely to change the hearts of men towards him…..
For
the lord god who created all the heaven and earth and all that is in it, could
not change the hearts of men towards him and make them love him. For god has
given man a free will and does not force the divine nature of love on man. God
did not create any other creature in his own image and likeness, but he created
only man in that way. Just like how there is a trinity in God the Father, Jesus
Christ the son and Holy Spirit, so also there is a trinity in human being
namely, Spirit, soul and body. The human soul dwells within his body and so
also his Spirit. That is the reason God said, love your god with all you
spirit, soul and body. If a person understands this then he will be wise. All
those who do not understand this concept remain in the ordinary platform. If
god is to dwell within a man, then that person should open up his heart to God
and invite him to come and stay with him. Only then God will enter and dwell in
his heart. If you do not invite me to your house, then how can I come there? Do
you understand now Nathanael? I promise you today, I will be there at your
wedding feast and on that day you will understand the power and might of God.”
When Nathanael stood under the fig tree, he had recollected all this in his
heart.
As already foretold by Jesus, Jesus had
come to the wedding feast of Nathanael. When they ran out of wine, Jesus turned
water into wine according to the request of his dear mother. At that time Jesus
told Nathanael, “Do you remember what I told you the other day while we were
chatting along the Nile River? I will surely come for your wedding feast and on
that day you will see the power and might of God. You wondered about how God
turned the river water into blood, now did you see today God has turned water
into wine. Now what do you say for this? You will still see the greater works
and miracles of God.” As they were talking the master of the feast called
Nathanael and said, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have
drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.
Where did you buy this wine? As far as my knowledge I don’t remember any one of
our generation who have tasted such good wine. It was surely during the times
of the great king Solomon, such wine was available. Since the king Solomon
relished the taste of this wine so much he commanded his men not to prepare
such good wine after his time. He did not want anyone else to enjoy this taste.
So our ancestors also had hidden the method of preparing such wine and as days
passed by they actually forgot it altogether. I believe the taste of that wine
should have been like this.”
Then Jesus Christ gave a fruit to the
wedding bride and bridegroom, one each. The shape and appearance of the fruit
was totally new and rare and no one had ever seen it. The taste too was very
different. This fruit was none other than the forbidden fruit which the Lord
forbade Adam and Eve from eating. So the two people who ever knew or tasted
this fruit were Adam and Eve. After Adam and Eve tasted that fruit, then, the
purpose of the fruit to be forbidden was lost. When Adam and Eve sinned they
were driven out of the Garden of Eden and the garden was protected by two
Cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree
of life. God did not allow any other man to enter the garden from that day
onwards. In this way god shut the gates of the garden once for all.
But during
the wedding feast, Jesus Christ, the almighty god, gave the wedding couple this
fruit of knowledge and wisdom. All those who were gathered in the wedding feast
including the bride and the bridegroom looked at the fruit in great surprise.
This was because no one had seen that fruit up to that time anywhere in the
country. Even the mandrake which was in use during the times of our forefather
Jacob is no longer in use….. In which case what is this new fruit? They thought
this could be the mandrake. Like this each one started to give various ideas
about the fruit.
At that time, the wedding couple ate the fruit and the next
moment they became unconscious and fell down to the ground. Dark smoke came out
of their nostrils, ears and mouth. They couples parents were terrified and all
those gathered there were also greatly alarmed. The wedding feast turned out to
be a funeral with the wailing and weeping of the people gathered there. Seeing
this Jesus said, “Do not fear. The hand of the Lord is upon this couple and a
great work of god is being fulfilled in them. So do not fear or worry about it.
They will be alright soon.”
In a few seconds the couple got up and bowed down
at the feet of Jesus and said, “Lord we thank thee for having chosen us for
your great ministry. We have now understood where we stand and what our
spiritual status is. Do command us and we will come behind you to do your
ministry.” But Jesus told them, “Wait for the time to come and then you will
fulfill your destiny.” But Nathanael said, “My Lord we still insist that we
will fast and pray for the next three years and only then we would start our
family life. I am sure in this.”
The gift which Jesus gave to this wedding
couple at Cana was the best gift and Jesus had never given such a gift to
anyone else, even to his dear apostles or brothers or friends. This was the
love which Jesus had on his childhood friend Nathanael. Nathanael too had known
Jesus from his childhood days and after the incident on his wedding, he came to
know all about Jesus clearly. So he loved and believed in Jesus to a very great
extent. That is the reason, Nathanael who had seen Jesus as one of his close
friends, bowed to Jesus calling him as God after he had recovered from his
unconscious state when he ate the fruit given by Jesus. From that day Nathanael
was prepared to join hands with Jesus to do his ministry.
True love is greater
than one’s life itself. That is why Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than
this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” the death of Nathanael is an
example of this kind of a love. The martyrdom of Nathanael was the worst kind
of death which Nathanael underwent to express his deep love and faith for his
dear friend, teacher and Lord Jesus Christ. No other apostle had undergone this
kind of a cruel experience which Nathanael underwent.
The great demon Astrate gave testimony
that Nathanael was the most favored and loved disciple of Jesus Christ. Let us
see how this incident took place. After the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ the apostles Nathanael, Judas Thaddaeus, and Philip started their
missionary work having Asia Minor (the modern Turkey) as their center of
operation. The reason for selecting Turkey as their center place of operation
was because of the geographic location of the place. Turkey is divided
as one half in Asia and the other half in Europe. Asia and Europe are divided
by a small strait called Bosphorus which forms a part of the boundary between
these two continents. There was a person called Christopher who used to travel
up and down this strait carrying people and cargo in his small boat. This was
the reason he was called as the guardian saint of drivers (of all vehicles).
The people, who lived during the times of
Jesus, around two thousand years ago, had a very limited knowledge of geography
or earth as such. In those days people used to believe that India was located
between Ethiopia up to East Asian countries. This means the people thought that
India was located at the far end of this earth. So Nathanael wanted to start
his missionary and preaching work in this far off country India. So he started
from Ethiopia and travelled around Arabia and reached India. There is a mention
in history which states that Nathanael reached Mumbai and preached in the city
of Kalyan. He gave a copy of the gospel of Mathew which was written in original
Hebrew by Mathew, to the Hindu pundits and preached about Jesus Christ.
To know
the validity of this data, let us look into the information provided by the
historians of those days namely Eusebius and saint Pantaenus. Eusebius lived in
Caesarea in the third century BC. He is believed to be the historian of the
Christians. According to his statement, Eusebius states, Saint Pantaenus had
come on missionary tour to India; he had landed in Mumbai and had met the Vedic
pundits namely the Brahmins. When he told them about Jesus and the Bible, they
had already known about Jesus from their forefathers who had in turn learnt it
from Saint Bartholomew. As a proof for this, they had shown the handwritten
copy of the gospel of Mathew. Pantaenus had written all this in his book and
the historian Eusebius shows this as a proof that Bartholomew had been in
India.
After his missionary tour to India, Bartholomew had gone up to
Heliopolis in Turkey. There he met Philip and then he had gone to Lycaonia and
Armenia. Saint Christhothome has confirmed this meeting of Philip and
Bartholomew and their missionary work together.
Bartholomew had
travelled on foot to all the places where he had carried on his missionary
works. If we have to take an account of all the countries and cities where he
had travelled, it will clearly prove to us the love that this saint had for his
friend, master and Lord Jesus Christ and also his thirst to carry on the work
of God on this earth. The places cities where Bartholomew did not visit were
very few but the sufferings which he endured in each place were enormous. Jesus
Christ wanted to glorify Bartholomew and his works and for this purpose Jesus
sent Bartholomew to Armenia.
In those days the city of Armenia was
under the bondage of Astrate and Baakir gods. These two gods are portrayed as
brothers in history. Astrate was connected with fertility, sexuality and war.
Her pictiroal representations often show her naked. This Astrate and Baakir
controlled the people of the city. They made the people to offer human
sacrifice by threatening them. They also caused great confusion, riots and
agony among the people. They were the cause for the spread of many dreadful
diseases which among the people, and through their power, they cured the
people. The people who had very little idea of all the tricks of these two gods
believed that these gods were really powerful enough to save them from the
disease. So they believed in these two gods and did not dare to do anything against
them and the two gods have the people in their control as their slaves. So
people used to gather in large numbers in the temple which was built for
Astrate which was located in Armenia.
Our dear Saint Bartholomew came to this
temple as a wanderer and stayed there. From the day our saint entered the
temple, the goddess Astrate became dumb. The people were greatly confused about
this and waited for a few days. Since nothing happened, they went to the nearby
city to the temple of Baakir to know the reason why the goddess Astrate had
become dumb.
When they approached the god Baakir, it said, “An apostle of the
true and living god Jesus Christ by the name Bartholomew has come and is
staying in the temple of Astrate. This saint has chained Astrate using burning
hot iron chains and has cast her into the deep pits of hell. Astrate is
undergoing a lot of torture in hell where she is not even able to breathe. I
could not bear to see that sight. This is the reason Astrate is dumb now.” Now
these words of Baakir made the people think a little and they said, “What a
surprise is there a god which can chain and send our powerful god Astrate to
hell? Then how great that god and his disciple should be? So Baakir, do tell us
more about this disciple Bartholomew.”
The truth from the mouth of a demon Baakir said, “Do you actually know about
this person Bartholomew? He is a supernatural person. He is the loving disciple
and friend of the true and living god Jesus Christ, who came down as man in
this world. Twenty six years have passed since Jesus Christ died and ascended
into heaven. In all these twenty six years this disciple Bartholomew has not
eaten, or slept, or had drank water, nor has he changed his clothes. He has not
even washed his clothes or had a bath, but they have never become dirty or torn
or even faded. A lot of angels always dwell around him. He knows many languages
and is well renowned in all the places where he has been to. He can talk to
anyone and in any language, because it is not he who talks, but it is God who
speaks through him. It is his almighty god Jesus Christ who speaks through him.
The Holy Spirit within him and the angels around him will reveal to him all our
thoughts. His Lord Jesus Christ will instruct him as to where he should go,
when he should go, whom he has to meet and what he has to talk. He worships his
god seven times in the morning and seven times in the night. He has a holy
countenance which glows with heavenly glory. He reflects the light of his
master Jesus Christ. In all situations you will never be able to see even the
slightest traces of pain or suffering on his face.”
The crowd who were listening to elaborate
introduction of our dear Saint Bartholomew were amazed and further questioned
Baakir, “Baakir…. We are greatly surprised to know that the true living god
dwells within him. All of us are eager to see this man of god. So can you
please let us know where we can find him? Also tell us how he will look so that
we can identify him correctly.”
Baakir replied, “can you find wind or tell in
which direction it blows or where we can exactly find it? It is exactly the
same with this Saint Bartholomew. He is like wind. No one knows where he goes
or from he will come. He will go to the place where his master commands him to
go and never fails to execute his master’s command. So even if you desire to
see him, you actually can’t. It is he who has to decide to see you, only then
it is possible. But since you are so much interested I will so you a favour. I
can tell you how he will look like. He is neither tall nor short but of normal
height. He is neither fat nor lean but of correct weight. He has long dark hair
which would have grown up to his ears. Long nose and large eyes, fair face,
broad forehead, short beard with few white lines of grey hair on it. He has a
long cloak and a dull colored shawl. In a nutshell he looks like a righteous
holy person from birth. But I have a request and I tell it to you right away.
If you happen to see this person, please do not bring him to me at any cost. I
don’t want to undergo any of those horrible sufferings which my sister Astrate
is undergoing. Then you will no longer have any gods for you to offer sacrifice
or to look up to ask for fortune telling.”
As the people were talking to this god Baakir, Bartholomew
was praying in the temple of Astrate. At that time a man who was possessed by
an evil spirit for a long time screamed out, “Bartholomew…. Oh you….
Bartholomew….. Stop it immediately….. Stop that prayer of yours… I can’t bear
it anymore…. My body burns as though it is set on fire. I beg you to stop
tormenting me anymore…. Stop your prayer….i will leave this person and his body
immediately… I can’t bear this torture anymore, please pardon me…. Have mercy
on me and leave me.”
Bartholomew looked at that demon and commanded it to leave
that man immediately. “Leave this man immediately and never comes back to him”
said Bartholomew. The next moment the unclean spirit left that man with a loud
scream. All those who were gathered there were greatly surprised and dumb folded
on seeing this incident and identified who Bartholomew was.
Among the people who witnessed this
incident in the Astrate temple was the king of that city, Polymius. This king
had a daughter who was possessed with a demon. It was a very dangerous demon and
whenever the demon manifested itself from within her, her face would turn
fierce. She will pounce on anyone who dares to go near her and tear them to
pieces. So they used to have her chained with huge iron chains even when she
was normal, because they did not know when the demon manifests itself. But the
demon was so powerful that when the demon would manifest itself, she would even
break the iron chain into pieces.
On seeing this incident in the temple of
Astrate, the king Polymius went up to Bartholomew and requested him to deliver
his daughter too from the attack of that fierce demon. With great compassion
Bartholomew agreed to accompany the king to the palace to see his daughter and
deliver her. When he saw her, he commanded, “You unclean spirit, in the name of
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, leave this girl immediately.” The demon left her
without making any noise. Bartholomew turned to the king and said, “Your
majesty, your daughter is completely alright. Once she regains consciousness,
give her good food and allow her to take good rest. I will come and meet you
tomorrow.”
When the king saw that his daughter was
completely delivered from the attack of that evil spirit, he wanted to thank
Bartholomew and so he set out to see him the next day. He loaded his camels
with gold, silver and diamond and came in search of him to the temple of
Astrate. But Bartholomew was not there. Polymius searched for three days and
became tired of searching but could not find Bartholomew.
On the fourth day,
Bartholomew came to the king’s palace to meet him early in the morning. He said
to the king, “Dear king, why did you bring gold and silver and came in search
of me? I am not interested in earthly riches, but I always long to be in
heaven, where my Lord Jesus Christ lives. As the dear longs for the waters in
the cool spring so my soul longs to be with my saviour Jesus Christ. All the
riches of this earth will be destroyed one day and become nothing. But the life
with my lord Jesus Christ is for eternity. It will never fade away nor will
become extinct.”
The king was amazed at these words of Bartholomew and said,
“Respected sir, the god Astrate whom I considered and believed to be the true
god was not able to help me to deliver my daughter. I lost my confidence that
it has any power at all. I also believe that your god is powerful than any
other god on this earth. So I am interested to know more about your true living
god. So tell me about your god, I am eager to know all about Him.”
This was the
reason God has sent Bartholomew to that city. So Bartholomew did not delay in
sharing all he knew about Jesus Christ. He told the king about Jesus Christ,
the trinity namely God the Father, God the Son and Holy Spirit, how they work,
about the only true god, how god created this world, how Adam and Eve were
created, how they sinned and how Satan gained control on this world. He also
told the king about how God planned to redeem man from sin and the slavery of
Satan. He explained how Virgin Mary conceived Jesus Christ through the power of
the Holy Spirit, the Immaculate Conception, and the birth of Jesus, the
ministry, life, preaching, miracles and wonders which Jesus performed. He also
told about the passion and suffering of Jesus Christ in his journey to mount
Calvary and how he died on the cross, the resurrection of Jesus on the third
day, his ascension into heaven after forty days. He narrated this whole history
to the king, his wife, his two sons and his daughter.
All of them listened to
this history with great interest and caution. They did not want to miss
anything. Even after listening to all this, King Polymius was not able to get
himself detached from the love which he had for his former God Astrate. So he
asked Bartholomew, “I do accept all what you have said, it is good to listen
to. But I have a doubt. Is my God Astrate in hell right now? Can you prove this
to me? I want to hear it from the mouth of Astrate itself, a true confession
from Astrate. Also Astrate should confess in front of all gathered that your
god is the only true god. Can you do this? If you do so then I along with all
my people will accept your God Jesus Christ as our god and savior. I promise
this to you.”
Bartholomew was not disappointed to hear
this request of the king; he rather pitied him for his weak faith in Jesus
Christ. He looked at the king and said, “Your majesty, and come to the temple
of Astrate along with all your people early in the morning tomorrow. See for
yourself all that is going to take place tomorrow.” Saying this Bartholomew
left the palace.
The next day, early in the morning, the king and his family
members along with everyone in that city had gathered in the temple of Astrate.
The priests of the temple were also present there. These priests started to
offer sacrifice and chant all kinds of mantras to their god Astrate. But their
god never opened its mouth and remained still as just an ordinary stone statue.
When the priests were tired of calling, Bartholomew commanded Astrate to speak.
Immediately the god, which is actually a demon, spoke through the stone statue.
It said in a loud voice, “stop it… do stop all your sacrifice and your chanting
of mantras… stop offering sacrifices to me hear after. It is of no use. I have
lost all my power and I am now in the burning fires of hell. All this is because
of this disciple of Jesus, Bartholomew. He is the disciple of the true living
God, Jesus Christ and as per his command I am now in hell. Since he commanded
me to come here and speak I am now speaking through this statue. The God whom
Bartholomew is worshiping is the only true god. This dear disciple Bartholomew
is a true and dear person to the almighty God Jesus Christ. He is powerful as
his master Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ speaks through him. I am speaking the
truth.”
Bartholomew further commanded the demon
saying, “Now tell these people how you are deceiving them?” The statue further
spoke saying, “I deceive their mind and bring them into my control. I induce
lust and sexual appetite in their mind and there by push them into various
sins. Because of this they will go far away from God and end up in various
dreadful diseases. I will ask them or in-fact threatens them to offer
sacrifices and force them to worship me. When they do these, I will enter into
their soul and possess them and they will then never be able to get themselves
free from our bondage. In order to make them believe in us, we will heal them
in few diseases. Thus they will never doubt us.”
Now Bartholomew turned to the
king and said, “I think you have heard enough from your god as to who is the
true god. Is there anything else you want as proof to believe that Jesus Christ
is the true god? I am ready for anything.” The king bowed down in fear and
respect to Bartholomew and said, “I have heard enough and I doubt no more. My
people, my family and I will accept your god as the only true living god.”
Bartholomew turned to Astrate and said,
“Now you nasty demon Astrate, tell confess and prove to these people that you
have come from hell.” Once he had said this, there was an intolerable foul
smell all over the temple. The people could not bear it. It was the smell of
burning sulphur and acid along with other nasty smell. The people had never
before smelt such a nasty smell. This was the smell of hell. Now Bartholomew
looked at the statue and said, “Why don’t you show your sweet charming true
face to these people? Let them know for themselves what kind of a god they were
worshiping all these days of their life.”
On this command the statue of Astrate
started to shake. The statue which was designed according to the Greek culture
was a beautiful one made of pure marble. Now this statue rose to life and the
people were anxious as well as scared to know that the statue had got life. But
they were totally unprepared for the following horrors. The human head of the
statue turned into the head of a dog, with fierce teeth. Its eyes were pouring
out fire…. Huge cloud of smoke came out of its nose and the smell was
unbearable. Its hands opened wide and turned into wings. Its whole body from
head to foot was covered with thick hair which gave it an ugly look. On its
back were sharp spikes like that of a porcupine. With this ugly and fierce
look, the god Astrate gave a loud roar like a lion and it echoed all over the
city. On hearing this all the other small gods and goddess in that city too
shouted to the top of their voice. All the people of the city were terrified to
hear this voice and many of them fainted in fear.
At that moment there was a roar in the sky saying, “Enough
and stop it right now.” When the people looked up they say four angels standing
in the sky. The sky above them opened and a voice was heard. It said, “Dear
citizens, the Lord was gracious to you and wanted to save you all from the
bondage of this demon Astrate. I hope all of you now saw with your own eyes the
true personality of this demon. Our Saint Bartholomew is the dear saint of
Jesus Christ. Listen to him and repent right now. If you want a new life free
from this demon Astrate, then turn to God with a true heart of repentance.
Confess that you have accepted Jesus Christ as your God and Saviour.
Believe in his holy blood which has washed away your sins. Draw the sign of the
cross on your foreheads.”
So saying the angel drew the sign of the cross for
them to see and do the same. All the people did as they were directed to do. By
that time Astrate had calmed down and there was no sound from it. All the
people praised Jesus Christ. The angels disappeared in the sky. Bartholomew
said, “Astrate I command you never to come to this city anymore. You better be
in your place, hell. Or go to the place which is abandoned by mankind and any
living creature and hide there. Don’t dare to come up once again. Let me not
see you up to the day of judgment.” On hearing this command, Astrate left the
temple with a loud noise and scream and disappeared.
After this, according to the command of
king Polymius, the statue of Astrate and all the other small statues of gods
and goddess were broken down. They also demolished the temple of Astrate. The
king was baptized along with his family. He commanded all his citizens to
accept Christianity and Jesus Christ. He declared his province as a Christian
Province. All the priests of Astrate cursed Bartholomew as much as they could.
As they cursed they left the city of Armenia and went to the nearby city which
was ruled by Polymius brother, Astyages. They brought forward their petition to
king Astyages. When the king came to know of all that happened in Armenia, his
anger reached its heights. He said, “My goodness… I just can’t believe what you
are saying…. Our god Astrate is chased out…. It is no longer there in the
city…. Who is that person who dared to do such a thing? If he is capable of
chasing the all-powerful god Astrate, then I need to know him. Who is he? From
which country has he come? Go and arrest him and bring him to me immediately. I
have to see him. Let me see what he could do to me….. Don’t delay go and bring
him here to me right now…”
But the priests calmed the anger of the king saying,
“Do not be in a hurry and take wrong decisions in your anger, your majesty.
First know all about your enemy and then jump into action. That Bartholomew who
did this treacherous thing is a magician. He excels in his magic skills. No one
can arrest him or even see him. It is the toughest thing on earth.” The king
replied stating, “If that is the case, then take all the skillful magicians in
our town and also take hundred soldiers with you and go and arrest him and
bring him to me. I will not entertain any more excuses. I want him here immediately.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ was gracious to his
dear servant and friend Bartholomew and wanted to glorify him. As a result of
the will of Christ, Bartholomew was arrested. He was nearing his death. But
Bartholomew was excited to know that his life on earth has come to an end and
soon he will be with his dear lord in heaven. Bartholomew was brought before
king Astyages. The king looked at him and asked him, “Oh so you are the
wanderer Bartholomew, are you? Are you the person behind the conversion of my brother
into a Christian? You did not stop with converting my brother, but are you the
reason for the banishment of all my dear gods from the city? Do you know the
punishment for all these offences… or rather crime? Speak up… why you are
silent…”
But Bartholomew gave a serene look and said, “Your majesty, your
brother understood the truth about the true living god. It is not who has
converted your brother into a Christian. It is the work of my lord and savior
Jesus Christ. Salvation belongs to my God, who sits on the throne, and to the
lamb. I am just his servant, an instrument through which my Lord does his work
in this world. Just because the flute produces sweet music doesn’t mean
the flute is to be praised, it is the person who plays the flute who is to
receive the honor. I just came to bear witness to the truth just like how my
God came down from heaven to this earth. He came down from his glory to this
earth to bear witness to truth and through his suffering and death he has
established the truth that he is the only true and living god. If you still
wish to carry the fake argument that your god is the true god, then why did
your god run away like a coward? If your magicians are full of power then
command them to go and search for your god and bring him here…. Come on and
give it a try… you will never succeed, for your god is in a place where no one
can save him.”
The king who never expected such mindboggling statements stood
speechless. The priests who noticed this situation spoke up and said, “Dear king,
do not listen to all what he says. He is a liar…. Do not allow him to speak at
all. He will take control of our mind with his words. He is a cheat. This is
exactly the way in which he converted your brother. So do not waste time
listening to him, kill him immediately.” This speech of the priest added fuel
to the burning heart of the king and the king shouted in a rage, “Bartholomew
you can’t flatter me with your honey soaked words. For the crime of converting
my brother into a Christian, and for banishing all my gods out of Armenia, do
you know what the punishment is? Why don’t you tell it? Has your god not
revealed it to you? What a pity? Listen carefully…. Ask for forgiveness to my
god Astrate and bring it back to the city and worship it. Then I too will
forgive you. What do you say?”
Bartholomew said, “Your majesty, I know my
destiny, but you are the one who is not aware of your destiny and also you are
not aware of the destiny of your so called god. Your god will never return. It
is ridiculous to even think of worshiping the god who has been defeated by me
and is being kept in chains in hell. Are you so foolish enough to expect me to
bring back the defeated enemy and ask for forgiveness? Come to my God, and
first ask him to give you wisdom, for He grants wisdom to anyone who asks him
for it. What do you say?”
The king could no longer bare this insult and so he
cried out, “Enough of your teasing…. Don’t dare to do it anymore. You have
still not understood where and in front of whom you are standing. I was patient
with you all this time, but I will not be so anymore. Here is my judgment. Take
this Christian beggar and whip him up to the time he dies and if he does not
die by whipping then cutoff his head and kill him. Let me see whether his god
will come to save him. He saved all the people in Armenia, now let me see
whether he could save himself.”
But to his surprise, Bartholomew just laughed
at this statement and said, “I am not afraid of all-this Lord. I will just
remind you of what my Lord Jesus Christ said, ‘You would have no power over me
at all unless it were given to you from above’ so go ahead and proceed. I am a
true follower of Christ in all that he did and now I am happy that I am his
true follower in death also. I am ready, go on and do what you want.”
Accordingly some historians state that
Bartholomew was given the more number of whips and then was beheaded and
killed. But some other historians state that Bartholomew was tied to a tree and
was flayed alive from head to foot. Even after that he did not die and so the
king commanded him to be crucified upside down on the cross. In this condition
also, Bartholomew kept on preaching the good news about the kingdom of God up
to the time of his last breath. This is the reason; Bartholomew is portrayed with
a sword in the pictures.
After his death, his disciples buried him and built a
monastery in that place. The king Astyages became angry when he came to know of
the monastery and so he took the skin and bones of this saint from the grave
and tied it up in as a bundle and threw it in to sea. (These relics were washed
ashore on the island of Lipari in Italy as per the will of God). In that place
a church was built in his name. Then his relics were kept in a church in an
island situated in Tiber, in Rome. The church was named as “Saint Bartholomew
church”.
A statue which portrays the body of Bartholomew after his skin was
flayed is kept in a church in the city of Milan, in Italy. The statue clearly
depicts each and every nerve and flesh of the body of Bartholomew after his
skin was removed. Anyone who has a look at the statue is sure to shed tears.
The statue is made of bronze and is black in color which attracts the attention
of any one who passes by.
In the picture painted by Michael Angelo about the
last judgment, the picture of Bartholomew peeling off his skin by himself is
clearly depicted. This picture is kept in the Vatican City, Rome. In this
picture Michael Angelo has painted his face in the place of the face of
Bartholomew.
The king Astyages, started his activity of
martyrdom in his brothers province. In this activity, the wife of king Polymius
and his children were killed. After a few years peace returned to the province.
King Polymius became captured his throne once again. But the king was not
at all happy in being a king and so he became a missionary of god. He became
the bishop. For the sake of his people, he accepted his country and his people
and ruled them.
But the fate of his brother Astyages was very pitiable, for he
went behind listening to the demon and was killed by the demon itself. But the
Bartholomew monastery where our dear Saint Bartholomew was buried cannot be
visited by anyone.
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