Woman “Pastor” Claims That Names in the Bible Have Been Changed to Hide All the Female Apostles - by Publisher

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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The unnamed "Publisher" cannot be bothered to quote or reference the Bible. He hyperventilates about some woman making various claims, but cannot seem to tell us exactly where in the Bible she goes wrong.

This is par for the course for "Publisher." No Bible verses and no biblical exposition or logical refutation.

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In a recent “sermon,” false teacher Ashley Wilkerson, the self-described “pastor” of Pacific Coast Church posited an extraordinary claim—that the early church was teeming with female apostles whose names were subsequently altered in Scripture to mask their identities and contributions as women. This assertion, while striking, is completely absurd and crumbles under the weight of scriptural fidelity, historical scrutiny, and orthodox understanding.

Firstly, the apostolic office, as delineated in the New Testament, is not a title bestowed lightly. It is marked by direct commissioning by Christ Himself or, as seen in Paul’s case, a clear, divine calling (Two categories offered by "Publisher," direct commissioning and divine calling. No Bible references supplied. 

So let's ask "Publisher" to tell us about the direct commissioning or divine calling of all the apostles named in the Bible. First, let's recount them.

Of course there were the original 12, commissioned by Christ Himself:

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Mt. 10:2-4 

Judas committed suicide and was replaced. Mathias (#13) was chosen by lot. 

Then according to these verses there were others:

Acts 14:14 “But when the apostles (apostolos) Barnabas (#14) and Paul (#15) heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: `Men, why are you doing this?"'

Romans 16:7 "Greet Andranicus #16) and Junias (#17), my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles (apostolos), and they were in Christ before I was."

We know of Paul's conversion and the "divine calling" he received, but there's nothing about how Barnabas became an apostle. There's some debate about Andranicus and Junias because of the language used to describe them. Were they outstanding as part of the apostles, or were they outstanding by being known amongst the apostles? We lean toward the former since there's no reason to exclude them given that there are many apostles named in the NT. 

There's more:

Ph. 2:25 But I think it is necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus (#18), my brother, fellow-worker and fellow-soldier, who is also your messenger (apostolos), whom you sent to take care of my needs. 

Ga. 1:19 I saw none of the other apostles (apostolos) — only James (#19), the Lord’s brother.   

It is interesting that there are two apostles named James in the twelve Jesus chose [James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus], but in Galatians 1:19 Jesus' brother James is identified as an apostle. There is no biblical record of how he became an apostle.

In addition, we might suppose that others might have been apostles: 

2Co. 8:23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow-worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives (apostolos) of the churches and an honor to Christ. 

2Pe. 3:2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles (apostolos).

These two references mentioning unnamed apostles suggest that many churches had local apostles. Peter, though an apostle himself, mentions "your apostles," which implies he wasn't their apostle. 

As a result, we would surmise there were many apostles in the early church. Thus to suggest that apostleship is limited to being directly chosen by Jesus, or by divine commissioning, is unbiblical.)

The primary roles of an apostle included witnessing Christ’s resurrection and teaching with authority conferred by Jesus. ("Publisher" is again unable to quote the Bible. Where in the Bible do we find these roles?

The first claim is referencing Ac. 1:21-22:

Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.

"Publisher" departs from the typical argument offered by opponents of contemporary apostleship, who claim that being a witness to the resurrection is a qualification for apostleship. "Publisher" describes it as a role, and we actually would agree. The verse is describing a duty, not a qualification.

As far as teaching with authority, this is a vague claim. What verses tell us the Apostles had a unique and higher level "authority" conferred by Jesus to teach? It's not that we doubt this, we just require this supposed Bible teacher to tell us where in the Bible his assertions are found.)

To suggest a widespread alteration of Scripture to exclude women from this office is just silly. (Well, perhaps. But as we mentioned, there is a debate about Junias [a female name] being an apostle. So the possibility exists there were female apostles. 

However, we agree with "Publisher" that it is doubtful someone altered Scripture in this manner.)

The office is God-ordained, not humanly manipulated. (What God ordains is not related to the idea of human manipulation. This is a Category Error.)

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