Who was the twelfth apostle who took the place of Judas? Was it Matthias or Paul?
This is a good question about which Bible scholars disagree, and we cannot answer it dogmatically, but we can give an educated opinion. Let us begin with what we know from Scripture. We know that Judas Iscariot disqualified himself from his position as one of Christ s apostles and that his place was to be taken by another under Divine direction. Peter correctly quoted the prophetic Psalm 69:25 when he said: For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein; and his bishopric let another take, Acts 1:20. We also know that the Apostle Paul was later made an apostle by God Himself. In fact, he was the apostle of the Gentiles : For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I ain the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office, Romans 11:13. Paul clearly states at the beginning of many of his epistles that Jesus Christ and God the Father made him an apostle. Paul, an apostle (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Fathe
