Thomas, in Greek, and Didymus, in Aramaic, both meaning "twin.

" Scripture does

not give the name of his twin, nor any other information about his family tree.
The Apostle Thomas was not present when the risen Jesus first appeared to the
disciples. When told by the others, "We have seen the Lord," Thomas replied that

he would not believe it unless he could actually touch Jesus'

wounds.
Although it is not used in the Bible, the nickname "Doubting Thomas" was given to
this disciple because of his disbelief about the resurrection. People who are skeptical
are sometimes referred to as a "Doubting Thomas."
DEATH: It is said that he was commissioned to build a palace for the king of India,
and he was killed with a spear as a martyr for his Lord. His symbol is a group of
spears, stones and arrows.

Thomas' Strengths:
When Jesus' life was at risk by returning to Judea after Lazarus had died, the Apostle Thomas
courageously told his fellow disciples they should go with Jesus, no matter what the danger.
John 11:16
Then Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also go, that
we may die with him." (NIV)
WEAKNESS:

(ACTUALLY HINDI LANG SI THOMAS AND DOUBTER)All of the disciples, except John,
deserted Jesus at the cross. They misunderstood and doubted Jesus, but the Apostle Thomas is
singled out in the gospels because he put his doubt into words.
It is worth noting that Jesus did not scold Thomas for his doubt. In fact, Jesus invited
Thomas to touch his wounds and see for himself.
Today, millions of people stubbornly want to witness miracles or see Jesus in person before they
will believe in him, but God asks us to come to him in faith. God provides the Bible, with
eyewitness accounts of Jesus' life, crucifixion and resurrection to strengthen our faith.
In response to the Apostle Thomas' doubts, Jesus said that those who believe in Christ as Savior
without seeing himthat's usare blessed.
John 20:29
Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have believed."

Simon the Zealot, one of Jesus Christ's 12 apostles, is a mystery character in the Bible. We
have one tantalizing bit of information about him, which has led to ongoing debate among Bible
scholars.
In some versions of the Bible (Amplified Bible), he is called Simon the Cananaean. In the King
James Version and New King James Version, he is called Simon the Canaanite or Cananite. In
the English Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, New International Version, and
New Living Translation he is called Simon the Zealot.

Zealous defenders of the Law and of the national life of the Jewish people;
name of a party opposing with relentless rigor any attempt to bring Judea under the
dominion of idolatrous Rome, and especially of the aggressive and fanatical war
party from the time of Herod until the fall of Jerusalem and Masada. The
members of this party bore also the name Sicarii, from their custom of going
about with daggers ("sic") hidden beneath their cloaks, with which they
would stab any one found committing a sacrilegious act or anything
provoking anti-Jewish feeling.

Simon clearly emerged as a man of faith. He abandoned all his hatred for the faith
that he showed toward his Master and the love that he was willing to share
with the rest of the disciples and especially Matthew, the Roman tax
collector.

JUDE THADDUES asked Jesus at the Last Supper, "But Lord, why do you intend to
show yourself to us and not to the world?" Judas Thaddeus was interested in making
Christ known to the world. Not as a suffering Saviour, however, but as ruling King.
We can see plainly from the answer Jesus gave him, that the way of power can
never be substituted for the way of love.

Judas Iscariot, the traitor, was the son of Simon who lived in Kerioth of Judah. He betrayed Jesus
for thirty pieces of silver and afterwards hanged himself (Matthew 26:14,16).
Judas, the man who became the traitor, is the supreme enigma of the New Testament because it is
so hard to see how anyone who was so close to Jesus, who saw so many miracles and heard so
much of the Master's teaching could ever betray him into the hands of his enemies.
His name appears in three lists of the 12 Apostles (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:19; Luke 6:19). It is
said that Judas came from Judah near Jericho. He was a Judean and the rest of the disciples were
Galileans. He was the treasurer of the band and among the outspoken leaders.

Sabi nila Judas was a violent Jewish Nationalist who had followed Jesus in hope that through
Him his nationalistic flame and dreams might be realized. No one can deny that Judas was a
covetous man and at times he used his position as treasurer of the band to pilfer from the
common purse. There is no certain reason as to why Judas betrayed his master; but it is not his
betrayal that put Jesus on the cross-it was our sins. His apostolic symbol is a hangman's noose, or
a money purse with pieces of silver falling from it.
As long as we are alive and have breath, it's never too late to come to God for
forgiveness and cleansing from sin.
Believers can benefit from thinking about Judas Iscariot's life and considering their
own commitment to the Lord. Are we true followers of Christ or secret pretenders?
And if we fail, do we give up all hope, or do we accept his forgiveness and seek
restoration?
Matthew 5:1-10 Luke 6:20-23

What exactly does it mean to be poor in spirit, and why does being poor in spirit
result in the kingdom of heaven? Why is poor in spirit something God wants us to
be? Why would God want us to be poor at anything?
Some propose that Jesus is speaking of financial poverty, that He is advocating
being poor so that riches and possession dont come between us and God. While it
is true that Jesus elsewhere warned against seeking riches (Matthew 6:24), that
does not seem to be Jesus point in Matthew 5:3. Jesus is speaking of being poor in
spirit; i.e., being spiritually poor. In the beatitudes, Jesus is concerned with
spiritual realities, not material possessions. What, then, does it mean to be
spiritually poor?
To be poor in spirit is to recognize your utter spiritual bankruptcy before God. It is
understanding that you have absolutely nothing of worth to offer God. Being poor in
spirit is admitting that, because of your sin, you are completely destitute spiritually
and can do nothing to deliver yourself from your dire situation. Jesus is saying that,
no matter your status in life, you must recognize your spiritual poverty before you
can come to God in faith to receive the salvation He offers.
Why and how does being poor in spirit result in the kingdom of heaven? While the
phrase can be broad in meaning, kingdom of heaven essentially refers to
salvation. The kingdom of heaven is both eternity in heaven with God after death
(Romans 6:23) and the eternal quality of life with God before death (John 10:10).
God offers us salvation as a gift, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross,
the full payment for sins penalty. Before we can receive this gift, we must
understand that we cannot make ourselves worthy of it. Salvation is by grace
through faith, not of works (Ephesians 2:8-9). We must recognize our sinfulness
before we can understand our need for a Savior. We must admit our spiritual
poverty before we can receive the spiritual riches God offers (Ephesians 1:3). We

must, in short, be poor in spirit.

When Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven, He is declaring that, before we can enter Gods kingdom, we must
recognize the utter worthlessness of our own spiritual currency and the inability of
our own works to save us.