The Names of the Apostles Part 5

“The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ”

— Revelation 21:14

The Colours of the Foundations of the Walls of the New Jerusalem

I painted the colours of the wall foundations for the New Jerusalem, but before I could go on, I needed more research into the names of the twelve apostles, which will be on each foundation.

In my research, I found different parts of Scripture had different lists of apostles! This is too important to get wrong, so I dug deeper before painting the names. Some New Testament authors listed Thaddeus as one of the Twelve, while others listed Judas Son of James. It wasn’t unusual for the apostles to have more than one name—Simon Son of Jonah was renamed by Jesus, as Peter, the rock. But I couldn’t paint both names—which was it? I discovered that while Thaddeus was mentioned in several places, Judas Son of James was only mentioned by Luke in his books, which were written later. So the name Thaddeus seems the most likely to be in the tribute.

As I mentioned in my previous post, http://www.joancthomsonart.com/blog/2020/4/16/the-names-of-the-apostles, I settled on Matthias as Judas Iscariot’s replacement, rather than Paul of Tarsus since Matthias was numbered among the Twelve and Paul never was.

The Names of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus printed and ready for transfer to the canvas.

I chose to use Luke’s order since he told us about Matthias, the newest addition to their number.

The first layer of gold—in ink.

I printed the names from my computer and traced them onto tracing paper and from there, onto the canvas, Peter the Rock, on the first or bottom foundation then followed the list upward with Matthias at the top.

The letters were too fine for the gilding I had planned so I painted each one with a fine brush. Since I’m left-handed, I found that turning the names (and the canvas) vertically helped me reach them without smearing. The first layer was in gold fibre-tipped marker so I could see the letters better as I painted. Then two layers of gold iridescent paint (at least). A final coat of a lighter gold iridescent paint gave it extra beauty.

The finished painting. The Foundations Joan C. Thomson Acrylic on Canvas

As I painted, I thought about all these men gave up to be in Jesus’ inner circle; they all reportedly suffered horrendous persecution, with all but John dying a violent death (though the Romans did try). Oh but what they gained—a close up look at the coming of the Kingdom of God to earth, the Son of God in person! They were trained by God himself to “heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.” What a privilege! As I painted their names, I thanked God for these men, who  passed on to us this Good News of Jesus coming to pay the price for our sin and inviting us to be a part of God’s family. The Twelve will be greatly honoured. What an honour to paint this tribute.

The Names of the Apostles New Jerusalem Foundation Part 4

“The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. ”

— Revelation 21:14

The names of the twelve apostles are written on the twelve foundations of the wall of the New Jerusalem, but which twelve apostles?  Who is the twelfth? Certainly not Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, since Peter declared that Judas left his ministry to “go where he belongs,” (Acts 1:25). Is it Matthias, chosen by lots to replace Judas (Acts 1:15-26)? But what about the Apostle Paul, hand-picked by Jesus in a supernatural overtaking when Saul (then named) was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians?  Many argue that this man, writer of most of the New Testament, called personally by Jesus like the other eleven—unlike Matthias, who only won the casting of the lots, must surely be the twelfth apostle.

As I pondered this question before the Lord—I had to know before I could finish this painting, and researched on the internet, the answer (and there definitely is one) initially became less clear.  A huge number of internet articles argued both sides—convincingly. We’ve never heard about Matthias again but without Paul, most of us would never have heard the good news of Jesus bringing the kingdom of heaven to us.  Surely he deserves great honor.

“Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ”

— Ephesians 2:19,20

And there’s the key; it’s not about what either of them deserves, though the right actions of followers of Jesus can bring them eternal rewards. I eventually came to see that there’s a bigger picture.  The naming of the foundations is about representing “The Twelve.” The Apostle Paul, great as he is, and for all the good things he’s brought to the world (yes, even to women—much of what he said about women has been abused and twisted) was never listed or reckoned as one of “the Twelve.” He was (often painfully) aware of this (2 Corinthians 11:5). However, Matthias was brought in as one of “The Twelve,” in response to the believers’ prayer (Acts 1:23,24).  Casting lots was a God honouring Hebrew tradition throughout the Old Testament for deciding matters “in the presence of the Lord our God” (Joshua 18:6).  As far as I can tell, while our brother Paul will certainly be honoured and rewarded—Matthias gets this one, his name emblazoned on the top foundation.

I’ve ordered the names based on a list in the Bible after finding that there were several lists—that didn’t immediately match up.  Thaddeus was listed sometimes and not others—why?  Because he had more than one name, rather like Simon, who was also called Peter. I studied and studied it, settling on this order only to find yet another list.  Sometimes more knowledge stalls, but I needed still more research before I could commit the names to gilding. This is too important to get wrong, yet in the end I can only “see through a glass darkly” (1 Corinthians 13:12), and do the best I can with what I can learn as I seek God.

I researched and painted then got hit with a (different) virus. Now that I’m recovering, I’ll delve back in to the research.  Meanwhile, since I work on more than one painting at a time, I’ll post next time about my The Light of God painting in this series.

Sometimes I hand draw my text. Being left-handed I’ve had to teach myself to draw letter forms and do calligraphy since my teachers didn’t know how to teach me.  Other times, I use printed text to trace and transfer either because of the size or the amount of lettering.

All the Colours of the Wall--New Jerusalem Foundation Part 3

“The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. ”

— Revelation 21:19,20 NIV

Twelve colourful stone foundations for the walls of the New Jerusalem—detail of painting by Joan C. Thomson

Progress!  All the gem colour “stripes” for the wall foundations in the New Jerusalem (in my painting series) along with their gold “mortar” are painted.  I’m struck with how contemporary the colours look.  Gorgeous!  Imagine the light of the glory of God shining through the stones and reflecting off them.  

I’ve also painted the detail of the bits of “gold” (pyrite) on the lapis lazuli or “sapphire” foundation.  Looking at pictures of the various stones on the internet was helpful but better still, is seeing the real stones.  I was pleased to find three of the stones at our local German Christmas Market: chrysoprase, carnelian and lapis.

Chrysoprase, carnelian and lapis lazuli—three of the stones in the wall foundations of the New Jerusalem.

Jasper, according to Pliny the Elder—a first century historian, was green. Sapphire was the name for lapis lazuli though the other stones seem to have kept their names.  There are different versions of the stones on the internet—and in various Bible translations, but I’ve tried to stick close to the literal Greek words and their meanings (biblehub.com).

Faceting of gemstones didn’t begin until much later, so it’s likely that the Apostle John saw smooth, highly polished stones.

With this series of paintings, I’m hoping to provide a glimpse into what this heaven-coming-to-earth looks like but even the best image falls short of seeing the real thing in person.  The New Jerusalem is the place that Jesus has prepared for those who follow him—believing is seeing.

The next stage in this painting will be to add the names of the apostles—one on each foundation colour, in gold leaf.

““Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

— John 14:1-3