About St. Bartholomew, Apostle: St. Bartholomew (or Nathanael, as he is called in St. John’s Gospel) was one of the first of Jesus’ twelve disciples. His home was in the town of Cana, in Galilee (John 21:2), where Jesus’ performed His first miracle. He was invited to become one of the Twelve by Philip, who told him that they had found the Messiah in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. (John 1:45). Bartholomew’s initial hesitation to believe, because of Jesus’ Nazareth background, was quickly replaced by a clear, unequivocal declaration of faith, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). He was present with the other disciples (John 21:1-13) when they were privileged to see and converse and eat with their risen Lord and Savior. According to some Early Church Fathers, Bartholomew brought the Gospel to Armenia, where he was martyred by being flayed alive.
“Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
The apostle Bartholomew exclaimed after Jesus found and called him, and especially after He said, I saw you under the fig tree, with great enthusiasm, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” This is a clear confession but it is not complete. Bartholomew went from Rabbi to Son of God, and then to the “King of Israel” which would have meant for any devout Jew, as Bartholomew, a temporal kingdom here and now. Christ Jesus is, but not in a political sense. In John 6, when Jesus feeds the 5,000, the evangelist John alone tells us another reason the Lord went off to pray by Himself: the crowds were trying to make Him king. The Lord would have none of that. In the Bible 2 Kingdoms are described, ruled by God’s right and left hand. Left hand are the kingdoms, nations of this world by which the Lord rules (see Romans 13:4) and the Kingdom of His right hand, the reign of God in Jesus Christ coming spiritually in the preaching and teaching of the Gospel. When men confuse those two hands into one hand, tyranny is the result, even if it is ostensibly Christian. If you want see false faiths fusing religion with the state: See ISIS, for then a political kingdom can do anything in the Name of God with seeming impunity. The Lord will have none of that yet He will bring tyrants down from their thrones in this world with the sword, if needs be. And at great cost. See Hitler who proclaimed the 1,000 year kingdom.
The titulus, the plaque that Pilate put on the cross in 3 languages read, “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. When the Lord, after being beaten is brought before Pilate and John alone tells us more of the conversation they had and it centers on Jesus being King. Jesus does not deny that He is King but the scope of His kingdom is a temporal one: “My kingdom is not of this world.” This is the proof text showing the falsehood of the doctrine of the 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth. Jesus says to Bartholomew, You will see greater things, the angels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. Bartholomew, you will see upon the ladder of the Cross, God descending, the Word made flesh, the Lamb of God bearing the sin of the world into the depths of the darkness of iniquity. When Jacob had his dream of a ladder to heaven, and just as Jesus said, Jacob saw the angels ascending and descending on it and the Lord stood above it and with Jacob, the Lord coming down the patriarch Jacob. Jacob exclaims:
“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
Awesome means full of awe. Bartholomew would see something greater, the house of God , the gate of heaven, Jesus Himself in His crucifixion and resurrection. “The Kingdom of heaven is open to all believers” (Te Deum Laudamus). As Jesus said in John 10, I am the gate of sheep, the door. He is the key to the Father’s heart. “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” Golgotha was the ultimate awesome place and when the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection is preached for us tired, hiding, running away sinners (as Jacob did a lot of running), we see the Lord in His Word, the house of God and the gate of heaven. The vain idols of this world are seen for what they are: despotic, deathly and done for, desperately lashing out. This is why those who try to put God out of the public square can not tolerate those who do not go along, who are freed in Jesus Christ. Political tyrants can not tolerate the true King over men’s souls and bodies.
Bartholomew preached the sharp word of Law and Promise. He preached Christ for sinners. It was not well-received by the powers that be. According to tradition he was martyred by being flayed alive. In a congregation I served, has behind the altar the 12 plaques of the Apostles and 11 of them were martyred. The symbol is usually the means of their execution. A fellow member told me that those plaques disgusted her and could they be taken down. I said no, they are good reminders of the cost of faith in Christ Jesus. At the time, my problem was the opposite: I never thought anyone would be flayed alive, but after ISIS, I believe. The word of God is sharper than any two edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). He will reveal the thoughts of many (Luke 2:35). He will heal of the lives of even more (Revelation 7:9). The Lord sent Bartholomew was sent preaching and baptizing (Matthew 28). His Church is still so sent.
Concordia and Koinonia 
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