If a believer has not met the resurrected Jesus in person then he surely cannot be an apostle.
The only apostles there will ever be are the Twelve (Apostles to the Jews) and Paul (Apostle to the Gentiles) — Galatians 2:9.
Paul wrote that the apostles are part of the foundation of the building (Ephesians 2:20-22) — No one lays foundation in-between the building as it is built upwards.
The foundation is placed at the beginning, at the very bottom.

Matthias took the Judas’ place as an apostle.
Jesus knows the hearts of all men, and possibly determined that Matthias would be faithful to Him even to death as a martyr, in contrast to Barsabbas.
Although it is a great honor to be chosen as an apostle, all the apostles had to endure severe persecution, and all of them, except for John, died as martyrs (according to church tradition).
For enduring great humiliation and suffering for Jesus’ sake, the Twelve will be exalted to the highest honor that a believer can receive: in the future they will sit on thrones to judge and govern the twelve tribes of Israel (Luke 22:30).

Paul’s role in eternity isn’t written, but he could possibly have a position of great authority over the saints who were once Gentiles, corresponding to his role as the apostle to the Gentiles.

Why didn’t John die a cruel death of martyr?
Jesus set John apart because he was the apostle with the greatest revelation of God’s love for him and therefore had no fear.
John was the only one standing at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified — he wasn’t fearful of being arrested and killed.
It seems like there is a revelation here: God’s protection is found in having a revelation of God’s perfect love for you.

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#persecution #apostle