THERE ARE NO MORE APOSTLES. PERIOD!

By Akin Ojumu

Anyone who calls himself an apostle today is a phony. It doesn’t take a doctorate degree in Theology or an angelic visitation to know that. For the diligent Bible student who is serious about knowing the truth of God, the qualifications for the office of an Apostle are plain to see. Just pick up your Bible and read. 

The Office of the Apostle is unique. Together with the Office of the Prophet, the Apostles laid the foundation of the Christian faith. Common sense tells us that you don’t lay the foundation of a building perpetually. Once the foundation of a house is laid, it is laid. What remains is to build on it. 

Ephesians 2:18-20

“For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.”

As soon as the Apostles laid the foundation of the Church, which culminated in the completion of the sacred writings of the New Testament and the closing of the Canon of Scriptures, their job was done. And they continue to build us up even today through their inspired writings.

The Bible clearly and explicitly teaches that there are specific criteria and qualifications that must be met before someone can be regarded as an Apostle.

Before anyone can lay claim to the Office of an Apostle:

1) The person must have been with Jesus during the whole three years of His ministry on earth. 

2) The person must be an eyewitness of the baptism of Jesus by John at the River Jordan when the Heavenly Father validated Jesus’ person and work, with the Holy Spirit descending on Him like a dove.

3) The person must have personally and directly heard Jesus’ life-changing teachings and must be an eyewitness to His healings and other miracles He performed all over Israel. 

4) The person must have witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion on the Cross by the Roman soldiers.

5) The person must have seen Jesus walk, talk, and eat among the disciples again after His resurrection. 

These qualifications can be found enunciated by Apostle Peter in Acts 1 when he proposed choosing a new Apostle to replace Judas Iscariot. 

Acts 1:21-22

“So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us – one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.”

The only exception to the above qualifications is Apostle Paul whom the Lord Jesus Christ personally called to be His chosen Apostle to the Gentiles when He appeared to him on the road to Damascus.

No other human being, dead or alive, meets any of these qualifications other than the original Twelve Apostles and Paul. Any other person who claims he is an apostle is a false apostle.

Additionally, what sets the Apostles apart and what makes them unique is their ability to perform signs, wonders, and miracles.

Acts 2:43

“And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the Apostles.”

2 Corinthians 12:12

“The marks of a true Apostle – signs, wonders, and miracles – were performed among you with great perseverance.”

The other thing that must be said is that those who are considered Apostles by biblical standards carried apostolic and canonical authority. What that means is that their words, utterances, and declarations are divinely inspired, authoritative, and equal to Scriptures which is why they wrote the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Apostle Paul met this particular criterion of being an author of Canonical writings in that it was Christ who personally taught him everything he preached and wrote.

Galatians 1:11-12

“For I would have you know, brothers, that the Gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

And Apostle Peter actually equates Paul’s writings to Scriptures.

2 Peter 3:16

“He writes this way in all his letters, speaking in them about such matters. Some parts of his letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

At the time of His death, the Lord Jesus had as many as five hundred disciples. The Gospels frequently mention massive crowds following him, and the Apostle Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 15 that the resurrected Jesus appeared to more than 500 of his followers at a single time.

1 Corinthians 15:5-7

“And that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.”

Except for the original Twelve Apostles, none of the 500 followers of Christ called themselves “Apostles.” Not a single one of the hundred and twenty people who were gathered in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost called themselves “Apostles,” with the exception of the original Twelve Apostles.

In the generations immediately following the original Twelve Apostles – a period led by figures known as the Apostolic Fathers (such as Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp of Smyrna) – church leaders strictly avoided calling themselves apostles. They believed the title was reserved exclusively for those who had been direct eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ or had received a unique, divine commission. 

Ignatius of Antioch famously wrote to the Romans:

“I do not command you as an apostle; I am a convict.”

The first well-documented historical figure to explicitly call himself an apostle after the death of Paul and the original Twelve Apostles was Mani (also known as Manes or Manichaeus), the 3rd-century Babylonian false prophet and founder of the eponymous heretical group, Manichaeism (c. 216–277 AD).

Here’s the historical context surrounding why this was so unusual and how Mani claimed the title.

When Mani began preaching his syncretic religion (which blended elements of Christianity, Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism) in the mid-250s AD, he deliberately broke the tradition that the apostolic office of the Twelve Apostles and Paul was unique.

Consciously mimicking the opening formula of the Apostle Paul’s New Testament letters, Mani opened his own canonical epistles and scriptures with the declaration:

“Mani, apostle of Jesus Christ...”

Mani claimed that his authority came from a divine revelation via his spiritual “Twin” (or alter-ego), positioning himself not only as a true apostle of Christ but also as the final prophet and the physical manifestation of the Paraclete (the Helper/Holy Spirit promised in the Gospel of John). He even went on to appoint twelve apostles of his own to lead his church.

While other early heretical or Gnostic teachers (like Marcion or Montanus) claimed special spiritual insight, they did not take the literal title of “apostle” for themselves. Mani was the first to boldly re-appropriate the title for himself to launch a global movement.

For more than a millennium after Mani’s death in the 3rd century, the concept of a living “apostle” virtually disappeared from the Christian world. Mainstream Christian traditions –Catholic, Orthodox, and later Protestant – firmly believed that the office of the Apostle was closed permanently after the first century.

However, starting in the 19th century, a wave of “Restorationist” movements emerged. These groups believed that Christ’s true church had fallen into total apostasy and that God was literally restoring the original New Testament offices – including prophets and apostles – in preparation for the end times.

Several prominent individuals and movements explicitly claimed the title of apostle:

1. Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery (1829)

In the United States, Joseph Smith (the founder of the Latter-day Saint movement, i.e., the Mormons) and his associate Oliver Cowdery made one of the most famous modern claims to apostleship.

Smith and Cowdery testified that in May or June of 1829, the resurrected biblical apostles Peter, James, and John physically appeared to them along the Susquehanna River. They claimed these ancient apostles laid hands on them, conferring the Melchizedek Priesthood and ordaining them as the first modern apostles.

In 1835, Smith formally organized a “Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.” To this day, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is governed by a presidency and twelve men who are explicitly sustained by their followers as literal prophets, seers, and apostles.

2. John Bate Cardale (1832)

Around the same time in England, a massive charismatic revival was taking place around the fiery Presbyterian preacher Edward Irving.

During a prayer meeting on Christmas Day in 1832, a member of the congregation spoke out in a prophetic utterance, declaring a lawyer named John Bate Cardale to be an “Apostle.” Cardale accepted the call, believing God was reviving the office to prepare the world for the Second Coming.

Over the next three years, further prophecies identified eleven more men, forming a new council of 12 apostles. This group founded the Catholic Apostolic Church. They divided the world into 12 tribal regions to spread their message. Because they believed Christ would return before they died, they did not ordain successors; when the last apostle died in 1901, the church’s unique structure essentially froze.

3. The “Chief Apostles” of the New Apostolic Church (1863–Present)

When the Catholic Apostolic Church refused to appoint new apostles to replace those who were dying, a schism occurred in Germany.

Led by church figures like Friedrich Wilhelm Schwarz and later Hermann Niehaus, this breakaway group argued that the apostolic office must be continuous until Christ’s return. They established the office of the “Chief Apostle.”

This evolved into the New Apostolic Church, which currently has millions of members globally. The church is led by a singular Chief Apostle (regarded by members as the spiritual equivalent of Saint Peter) who oversees a global college of hundreds of subordinate apostles.

4. John Alexander Dowie (1904)

A Scottish-Australian faith healer, Dowie moved to the United States and built a massively successful independent ministry, culminating in the creation of “Zion City” in Illinois – a strictly run, theocratic utopian community of thousands of followers.

Dowie’s claims grew grander over time. In 1901, he declared himself to be “Elijah the Restorer.” By 1904, he formally announced to his followers that he was the “First Apostle” of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church.

Dowie began wearing elaborate, self-designed priestly vestments modeled after Old Testament high priests. His autocratic rule and financial mismanagement eventually caused his followers to revolt, and he was deposed shortly before his death in 1907.

5. The Modern “New Apostolic Reformation” (Late 20th Century–Present)

In the 1990s, a theological movement began spreading through independent Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, championed by a theologian named C. Peter Wagner. Dubbed the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR), this movement teaches that God is currently restoring the “Five-Fold Ministry” outlined in Ephesians 4:11 (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers).

Unlike historical restorationists who claimed a singular, exclusive restoration, NAR theology holds that anyone who exhibits certain spiritual authority, acts as a “spiritual father” to multiple ministries, and demonstrates signs and wonders can be an apostle.

Today, thousands of independent charismatic pastors worldwide – such as Guillermo Maldonado, Ché Ahn, and several others religious riffraffs and scoundrels in Africa, especially in Nigeria – brazenly use “Apostle” as their formal ecclesiastical title, claiming direct spiritual authority over vast networks of churches.

There is no such thing as apostolic succession. Those who promote the idea that the original Apostles appointed and handed over to new generation of Apostles are hucksters selling a bill of goods. Other than the election of Matthias to replace Judas Iscariot in Acts 1, which was done to restore the original number of the Apostles back to 12, nowhere else in the New Testament will you find that the Apostles elected or appointed anyone else to the office of an Apostle.

Isaiah 8:20

“To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this Word, it is because they have no dawn.”

John 8:31-32

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””

John 10:27

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

If you do not abide in the accurate teachings of Christ, i.e., in sound doctrines, you do not belong to Christ. You can’t claim to be a follower of Christ and be a consumer of false teachings at the same time. These are mutually exclusive.

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Attribution & References: This commentary used information from AI sources.