Almost everything printed about how the apostles died is tradition rather than Scripture, and almost nothing printed about them says so. This sheet does. Every entry is marked as a major Scripture event, a Scripture event, or post-biblical tradition, and each tradition carries its own tier: strongly attested, contested, or speculative.
So Peter’s death in Rome under Nero is there, labelled as tradition and strongly attested. Thomas going to India is there, labelled as contested but old and taken seriously. The flaying of Bartholomew is there, labelled speculative. James the Greater, beheaded by Herod Agrippa, is the one apostolic death Scripture actually records, and it is marked as confirmed.
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Twelve Apostles Timeline · PDF
17 pages · 1.0 MB · US Letter
Free to print, copy and share for teaching, classroom and personal study. No signup, nothing to buy, and no attribution required. There is also an interactive version that is searchable and links every reference through to the text.
What is on the sheet?
29 events across 13 sections, carrying 85 chapter-and-verse references.
- ✦Called, Trained, Commissioned, Empoweredc. AD 28 – 30
- IPeter — The RockFisherman of Bethsaida/Capernaum · d. Rome, c. AD 64–68
- IIAndrewFisherman of Bethsaida · Traditions point to Achaia
- IIIJames the GreaterFisherman of Galilee · d. Jerusalem, AD 44 — the only apostolic death recorded in Scripture
- IVJohnFisherman of Galilee · Patmos & Ephesus · the one apostle tradition says died of old age
- VPhilipTraditions point to Hierapolis in Phrygia
- VIBartholomewTraditions point to India & Armenia
- VIIThomasTraditions point to Parthia & India · Mar Thoma churches
- VIIIMatthewAuthor-traditions for the First Gospel · later traditions conflict
- IXJames the LessThe quietest of the Twelve — and a major identity myth to bust
- XThaddaeusOne question recorded · Edessa traditions
- XISimon the ZealotNo recorded words in Scripture · Persia traditions
- XIIJudas Iscariot & MatthiasThe office vacated and refilled — Ps 109:8
Who is it for?
For teaching where honesty about sources matters, and for anyone tired of resources that state a fifth-century legend in the same tone as Acts 12. If you have ever wanted to tell a class what is known and what is merely repeated, this is the sheet that lets you.
How does it print?
It is laid out for US Letter at 17 pages, portrait, on a light background so it does not drink a toner cartridge. It prints cleanly in black and white, though the section colours carry meaning and are worth having in colour if you can. Every page footer carries the source, so a copy handed round a class can always be traced back.