What did Paul mean when he said the apostles were the "last appointed unto death"?
The Berean Call Podcast · Dave Hunt & T.A. McMahon
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Show Notes
Question: I have long wondered what Paul meant when he said that he and the other apostles were “the last appointed unto death.” Did that mean that no one else after them would ever be martyred for their faith? If so, he was wrong.
Response: Paul was not wrong when he wrote these words: “For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men” (1 Cor 4:9).
Some argue that Paul and the other apostles thought that the Rapture would occur in their day. Not so. Although he taught believers to expect the Rapture at any moment (Phil 3:20-21; 1 Thes 1:9-10; Titus 2:13, etc.), Paul knew that he would be martyred before it occurred: “For I know...that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in...” (Acts 20:29); “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” (2 Tim 4:6).
Likewise Peter wrote, “Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle...I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance [i.e., he was putting in writing what he had taught them orally]” (2 Pt 1:14-15). Thus we see that the Apostles did not expect to be raptured but knew they must each die for their Lord.