selfish, deceitful, and full of all manner of idolatry. And when I
attained maturity, and began to be my own master, I sought nothing but
what pleased my flesh, an indolent and luxurious life. I was greedy of
filthy lucre; I sought to bring my neighbor’s daughter to fall, as,
alas! appears from my work; and what I did in secret, is too shameful
to mention; yea, I was a vessel full of iniquity. But, my dear child,
when I betook myself to the Scriptures, and searched and perused them,
I found that my life tended to eternal death, yea, that everlasting woe
was hanging over me, and that the fiery pool which burns with brimstone
and pitch was prepared for me. This, I say, was approaching me,
according to the words of Paul, who says: “They which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” Gal. 5:21.
When I took this to heart, I began to be greatly alarmed and
frightened, and took the word of God for my counselor, as to which
should be the more advisable for me: to lead here, for a little while,
a voluptuous life, and to expect the everlasting pains of hell; or to
suffer here a little misery (if misery it can be called), and then to
enjoy eternal happiness. I found in the Scriptures: “What is a man
profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or,
what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Matt. 16:26. Hence,
my beloved son, I deemed it better, like Moses, to suffer affliction
with the children of God for a little while, than to live in every
luxury with the world, which will perish. Thus I abandoned my ease,
voluntarily and uncompelled, and entered upon the narrow way, to follow
Christ, my Head, well knowing that if I should follow him unto the end,
I should not walk in darkness. Now, when I had partly forsaken and
cast from me the old damnable practices, and wanted to be a new divine
creature, and to lead a pious, penitent, godly life, I was immediately,
like all the pious that had been before me, hated, yea, imprisoned in
Haarlem, in St. John’s gate.
This, my beloved son, was my life till the Lord enlightened me. First
of all, my dear child, I would affectionately warn, admonish and
entreat you, to beware of and shun all wickedness, and to walk from
infancy in the fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom; and
if God reveal his wisdom to you, hesitate not to walk in it, since
death pursues the young as well as the old. Improve the time given
you by God for repentance. Have your intercourse with the good, and
beware of the perverse. If sinners entice you, consent not, and have
no fellowship with them; refrain your foot from their path, for their
steps take hold on hell. Hence, touch not pitch, lest you be defiled;
for an evil end draws nigh to the wicked, which will bear the burden
everywhere. Of this and every evil, my dear son, beware, and remember
that Paul says, that we must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad (2 Cor.
5:10), but the flesh will advise you to nothing good. Hence Paul may
well say: “To be carnally minded is death, yea, they that are in the
flesh, cannot please God.” Rom. 8:6,8. Therefore, mortify your carnal
members here on earth. Read Paul, or have him read to you; he will tell
you, which are the works of the flesh. Gal. 5:19. If you have time and
opportunity, use diligence to learn to read and write, that you may
learn and know the better, what the Lord requires of you.
Beloved son, my heart’s desire and prayer to the Lord for you is, that
your soul may be protected from the deluge of God’s wrath, that shall
come upon all the ungodly who did not care for the Lord, and walked
not in his commandments. This impending wrath of God you can escape in
no better way than by looking to Jesus Christ, the Son of the Almighty
and eternal Father, who is the head and pattern of all believers, yea,
the captain and finisher of the faith, that is, Jesus Christ. Ask him
for counsel, as to what is best and most necessary for you to do, and
he will tell you, knock at the door of his Holy Trinity, and worship
him; he will open to you, and give you what is needful for you. Have
a desire and appetite for the truth, and you shall be satisfied. Seek
not high temporal things; though they that obtain them, are called and
commended as happy by the common people; they are nevertheless unhappy
and rejected before God. Hence humble yourself under the mighty hand of
God, that you may be exalted in eternity. 1 Peter 5:5.
Behold how he fared, and likewise all the pious before and after him;
his birth was poor and miserable; immediately he had to flee from
Herod, who sought his life; when he suffered, he had not where to rest
his head, and the thanks for all his great and glorious benefits were
that they called him a deceiver, wine-bibber, Samaritan, and one who
had a devil, besides, he had to expect being stoned by them, until
they, when the time was fulfilled, condemned him to the most shameful
death. And previous to the law, pious Abel had to suffer from his
brother Cain, who killed him, out of pure hatred and envy, because
his brother’s works were good and acceptable to God, and his own evil
and rejected. And all the dear prophets, who practiced and maintained
the word of God, had likewise to suffer much, without any respect of
persons. Micaiah, who alone was found true among four hundred false
prophets, in the days of King Ahab, was beaten by Zedekiah, and
afterwards cast into prison. 1 Kings 22:24. Elijah, the only true
prophet among the four hundred and fifty false priests of Jezebel (1
Kings 18:19), also had to suffer much; so that Paul may well say (for
he had experienced it himself) that all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus, shall suffer persecution. 2 Tim. 3:11.
This also all other pious witnesses of Christ experienced, and remained
steadfast unto the end; wherefore, according to the Scriptures (James
1:12), the crown is prepared for them, since Christ’s own mouth
declares that he that shall endure unto the end, shall be saved; he
that overcometh shall inherit all things, shall be clothed in white,
and shall eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of paradise.
Matt. 24:13; Rev. 21:7; 2:7.
Consider this, my beloved son; meditate night and day, how to die unto
the world, and to fulfill the will of Christ. In the first place, and
before everything else, beware of all false prophets and hypocrites,
which in my time were the priests and monks, and who, I apprehend,
will not be lacking in your time, so long as rich emoluments follow
them. Do not believe them, for they deceive men, and murder their
souls. My son, he that wrote you this, learned it by his own experience
and investigation; he drank of this cup himself. Neither live among
any sect, of whom there were many in my time already, as Lutherans,
Zuinglians, and others, who, though they have a good semblance, yet,
in fact, are evil and deadly poison. Look for the little flock, whose
entire rule of life agrees with God’s commandments, and whose ordinance
or sacrament is in conformity with the command of Christ and the
practice of the apostles; this is the true church of Christ, without
spot or wrinkle; this church is flesh of his flesh, and bone of his
bones. These also have teachers according to the teaching of Paul (1
Tim. 3:2), blameless in everything, who have obedient children and
believing wives, who are strangers to litigations and processes, to
cursing and swearing, to hatred and envy, to lying and cheating, to
lasciviousness and adultery. There everything is love, peace, unity and
truth, as Paul will teach you, which are the fruits of the Spirit.
My dear son and beloved child, this is my chief and last will, my
testament to you, which I desire you to read diligently, to meditate
well upon it, and to compare it to the Scriptures, in order to govern
your steps in accordance with it. Mark well, my son, what I write:
many will appear in the garb of good teachers, saying that they have
medicine for your sick soul; but the ones that will profit you, are
those who have the truth; adhere to them. Water and fire are set before
you: stretch forth your hand unto whether you will, unto death or life.
Sirach 15:16. This, my dear son, will at first be very hard for you
to hear, since it is contrary to your first birth, which is of the
flesh; but you must be born again, and converted, if you would enter
into the kingdom of God. You cannot understand this so long as you are
carnally-minded, yea, so long as you do not become the fool and enemy
of the world. Dearly beloved son, I entreat you again, as I did before,
to consider this, and to govern yourself in accordance with it. Out of
a faithful father’s heart I have left you this, when about to depart
from this world, and to die for the word of the Lord. May the Lord
grant you, and all who read this, or hear it read, that they may take
it to heart, act according to it, and be eternally saved.
My son’s testament, written in the year 1557, the first Monday in
April, and confirmed by death, the 26th day of the same month.
THREE OTHER BRIEF ADMONITORY LETTERS BY JORIAEN SIMONS AND HIS
FELLOW-PRISONERS.
May God grant peace, joy and consolation in all trouble and suffering
to all those who have to suffer for his word, through his beloved Son,
in the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
We would inform our most beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord, and
all who seek to fear the Lord with the whole heart, that we are all
(the Lord be praised forever) of very good cheer, and hope to adhere to
the word of the Lord, and not to depart from it, for any visible thing,
yea, neither for life nor death, since there is nothing, we trust,
which shall be able to separate us from the love of God; we shall be
able to do all things through him who strengthens us; we trust by our
God to leap over walls. Rom. 8:35; Philip. 4:13; Ps. 18:29.
Dear friends, rejoice with us; why should we fear, when there are so
many in the world, who, for a little gain, expose themselves to the
greatest danger, both of soul and body, on water and on the land,
not knowing withal, whether in case of success there will be gain or
loss? But we know that when we have completed this journey by the help
of the Lord, all is gain, and there can be no loss; for we run not
as uncertainly; we fight not as one that beats the air; but we are
assured by the grace of the Lord, that, if we fight through valiantly,
as we trust we shall do, we shall receive that which is promised us.
We intend to return to them four-fold; we shall not keep silence, but
proclaim aloud, what the Lord gives and reveals to us. Our sister
Mariken is also of very good cheer, and has rightfully confessed her
faith, to which she wants to adhere as long as there is breath in her;
she is of such courage and good cheer, that she delights and rejoices
us all. We exhort each other with the word of the Lord, as much as God
gives each to speak, now by words, now by hymns; yea, I have many hours
in which I never once think of it that I am a prisoner; such is the joy
which the Lord gives us. I thank you with all my heart, that you have
fulfilled my request, also for your affectionate exhortation. Do the
best you can as regards my H. F. I commend you to the Lord, and to the
word of his grace.
JORIAEN SIMONS IN BONDS.
_Our most beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord_, and all who desire
to fear and follow the Lord with all their heart, we, the prisoners
in the Lord, wish you a valiant and steadfast mind, and perseverance
in the truth, unto the end, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Savior and
Redeemer, in the power of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Greatly beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord, be it known to your
love, that through the grace of the Lord we all strive for the best,
seeking it with the whole heart, so that we want to offer ourselves up
into the hands of the Lord, whether it bring us life or death. We also
seek with the whole heart, that the Lord will magnify his glorious
name through us, and we keep before our eyes the author and finisher
of our faith, Jesus. We know that the servant is not greater than his
lord. It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that if
we suffer with him, we shall also rejoice with him. To this all the
pious witnesses of Christ had respect, and unto his great promises,
which we have in the Old Testament, and which were given to the pious
fathers, who hoped for the grace that should come, and therefore
valiantly fought for the law of God, and would have no intercourse
with the surrounding nations, and therefore voluntarily surrendered
their lives, because they would not worship or honor their molten
or carved images; even as pious Eleazar, who would not eat swine’s
flesh, contrary to the law. 2 Macc. 6:18. By the grace of the Lord we
hope to take his salutary words for our pattern, namely, that it is
best to adhere to the Lord; for though through hypocrisy (from which
God preserve us) we should save our lives, yet should we not escape
the Almighty hand of God, neither alive nor dead. Therefore we will
surrender ourselves entirely into the hands of the Lord, as did the
pious Maccabean mother and her seven sons (2 Macc. 7:1); and as did all
the pious witnesses of Christ, who even rejoiced that they were counted
worthy to suffer for the name of Christ. Acts 5:41. Thus, beloved
brethren, we are minded in the Lord, and not otherwise. We trust by the
grace of the Lord to be unto the weak babes that still feed on milk, an
example of piety and steadfastness.
This was written by me on Monday, after I had been before the lords
twice, and been interrogated whether I would adhere to my confession.
_Our greatly beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord_, and all
who want to fear and follow the Lord with the whole heart, we, the
prisoners in the Lord, wish you that the gracious heavenly Father will
preserve you from all harm from within and without, through his dear,
beloved Son Christ Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Dearly beloved brethren in the Lord; faint not, though you now have to
wander from friends and kindred, house and home, not knowing whither
you shall go, since the heat of the sun now begins everywhere to scorch
the seed that has sprung up. Matthew 13:6. Brethren, be not cast down;
let the seed in you get and retain moisture; sit under the shadow of
the Scriptures, and they will be a glorious protection unto you. We
know that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of
heaven. When the head suffers, all the members suffer with it; hence,
if we would be members of Christ, we must also be partakers of the
sufferings of the Head; if we, then, suffer with him, we shall also
rejoice with him.
Therefore, dear brethren, if the Lord suffer you to live for awhile
longer among this wicked generation, pass the time of your sojourning
here in fear; stand out as lights in this evil, wicked world, and let
your faith manifest itself in works, else it is dead. Keep your eyes
fixed on Jesus Christ, the captain and finisher of the faith; he is the
only corner-stone in Zion, and other foundation can no man lay, than
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Hold that fast which you have,
that no man take your crown. We commend you to the Lord; may he guide
you into all truth.
I, Joriaen Simons, your dear brother, and my dear fellow prisoners,
wish you every good thing, and we seek the best with all our heart.
As we, through the secretary of the city of Haarlem, have come into
possession of the sentence of death passed upon the aforementioned
friends Joriaen Simons and Clement Dirks, we deem it well, here to
adduce the same, so that every one may be fully assured with regard to
the foregoing account. It reads (except the title) as follows:
_Sentence of death of Joriaen Simons of Hallmen, and Clement Dirks of
Haarlem._
Whereas Joriaen Simons, of Hallmen, in Friesland, and Clement Dirks,
of Haarlem, both weavers, and now prisoners, have confessed, without
torture and iron bonds, to have been rebaptized, and to hold most
pernicious views with regard to the worthy, holy sacraments of the
altar and confession, and to the circumstances and ceremonies of
the holy church, and have also undertaken, said Joriaen to sell and
distribute divers false books, and Clement to read and teach them, and
since both continue stubborn, obstinate and hardened in said errors and
pernicious views, therefore, the lords of the court, having heard the
address and conclusion made by Pieter van Zouteland, Bailiff of this
city, against and concerning these persons, pursuant to the decrees
and edicts of his Royal Majesty, last confirmed by his Royal Majesty,
our gracious lord, have condemned said Joriaen Simons of Hallmen, and
Clement Dirks, as rebaptized heretics and disturbers of the common
peace and of the Christian religion, and hereby sentence them, each to
be placed at a stake, and executed with fire, pursuant to the aforesaid
decrees and edicts, and declare the entire property of said Joriaen,
and the property of said Clement Dirks to the sum of sixty pounds, and
no more, if it exceed said sum, confiscated and forfeited, according
to the privilege of this city, for the benefit of his Royal Majesty.
Thus resolved, the 26th of April, A. D. 1557, by Joost van Hitgem,
and Dirk van Berkerve, Burgomasters, Wilm Harmans Ramp, Jan Koninks,
Jan Matthijss, Jan Raet, and Adriaen Willems, Judges, and pronounced
in the court the same day, in the presence of the Bailiff and the
aforementioned Judges.
Extracted from the first book of criminal records, beginning the 29th
of November 1539, and ending the 27th of October 1582, in the keeping
of the secretary of the city of Haarlem, with which book this copy is
found to agree.
By me, the undersigned secretary of said city, the 10th of July, A. D.
1659.
VOLL.
SIX BRETHREN STRANGLED AT THE STAKE IN VOLEWIJK, NEAR AMSTERDAM, A. D.
1555.
It occurred A. D. 1555, when the first separation took place among
the Anabaptists, because Gillis of Aix-la-Chapelle and others began
to introduce that to which the other brethren of Waterland could not
subscribe or consent, that these brethren maintained themselves as a
separate people, without, however having been separated or banished
from the others; but they became a forgotten, yea, a lost people: so
that the Waterland brethren, on account of the severe persecution,
could not live in houses, but had to keep themselves in boats and in
the field, because they knew not where to hide themselves from the
constables, who were looking for them everywhere, and sought their
lives. It was at this time that six brethren, who were together in
a boat, were apprehended in the Oostsaner field, and brought to
Amsterdam, where they were sentenced to death. It was in the beginning
of the winter when they were brought in the Volewijk, and all strangled
at the stake. There was freezing weather for thirteen weeks from
this time on, and, what is remarkable, during all these thirteen
weeks a light like a candle stood over each stake to which the bodies
of the six brethren were fastened, and burned all night. After the
expiration of the thirteen weeks, a violent storm and rain arose, and,
consequently, a great thaw ensued so that the water rose very high,
and the ice was rent asunder by the wind. Around the body of one of
the six brethren the water stood so high, that the stake, through the
force of the ice pressing against it, was broken in two, and fell down
upon the ice. His body drifted hither and thither on the ice, with
the tide, between Sparendam and Volewijk. In that neighborhood there
were two persons, each in a boat, who were both novices in the church.
Passing along there in the night, they saw the aforesaid light like a
candle on the ice. Looking sharply, they thought it stood on Jaapje
Maet (so they called this brother). As soon as it was daylight they
went to two sisters that were concealed in the city, which was known
to these two novices. To them they related what they had seen in the
night. Thereupon they suffered themselves to be barred out, and each
entering a boat, they rowed to the most northern point, where they
waited for the ice to come. In the meantime said light came drifting
on the ice. They rowed up to it and saw that it stood on Jaapje Maet.
They took him into their boat, and brought him to the other brethren
who also kept themselves in a boat in the field.[264] These took the
body into their own boat. But as soon as they touched it, in order to
take it to the place where they intended to bury it, the dried up and
frozen body, which had stood at the stake for thirteen weeks waiting to
be burned, burst, so that the blood flowed copiously into two or three
baskets which were at the bottom of the boat. The persons who saw all
this, and did as has been stated with his body, were his chief brethren
and associates, pious and credible persons, who related it to many, in
order that this miracle should never be forgotten, but be remembered,
to the edification of the pious.
[264] The reader will bear in mind that large portions of Holland are
traversed by numerous canals, in place of roads.
MAERTEN ZAEYWEVER, JORIS OUDKLEERKOOPER, WILLEM DROOGSCHEERDER, VICTOR
AND PIETER DE BACKER, A. D. 1557.
The bloodthirsty constrainers of conscience, not yet satiated,
apprehended at Antwerp, in the year 1557, five pious Christians,
namely, Maerten Zaeywever, Joris Oudkleerkooper, Willem Droogsheerder,
Victor and Pieter de Backer, whom they assailed with many wiles,
threats and tortures, in order to rob them of their precious treasure,
which they so faithfully kept in earthen vessels, to the honor of God,
that it could not be taken from them; on which account the others were
so filled with envy, that they inflicted an ignominious death upon
them, publicly in the market place; but God will crown them, together
with his faithful servants, with great honor and joy, when the others
will have to go with shame into everlasting misery.
A LETTER BY WILLEM DROOGSCHEERDER, WRITTEN IN PRISON AT ANTWERP, WHERE
HE, WITH FIVE OTHERS, WAS PUT TO DEATH FOR THE TESTIMONY OF OUR LORD
JESUS CHRIST, AS ALREADY STATED, A. D. 1557.
Grace, peace, and mercy from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has called us to his imperishable kingdom, and chosen us before the
foundation of the world, and cleansed us with the washing of water by
the word, in order that we should be blameless in his sight.
Written to you, my beloved brother N., and to my dear sister N.
Although I am here in fetters and bonds, for the testimony of Christ,
and am ready to seal it with my blood through the grace of the Lord,
yet I do not neglect or forget my fellow members in my prayers, which
I almost always offer with tears before the Lord, since you are still
traveling in the wilderness, among dragons, lions and bears, which
constantly run and seek to murder the innocent blood, which cries for
vengeance from the time of Abel. For they bring us to death, as the
Jews did Christ; for we are grievous unto them to behold; because we do
not conform to them; hence they counsel and say: “Let us condemn him
with a shameful death; for by his own sayings he shall be respected,”
Wis. 2:15.
Therefore, my chosen in the Lord, we will not be afraid of their
threats and blows, though they run like mad dogs. The Lord holds their
hearts in his hand; they cannot hurt a hair of our head without the
will of our Father. The Lord preserved the three young men in the fiery
furnace, Daniel in the den of lions, Hezekiah in Jerusalem, Moses in
Mesopotamia, Elijah in the mountains; yea, all that trusted in the
Lord, were never confounded; for his mighty hand, says the prophet,
is not shortened; and though a mother should forsake her own child,
yet will I not forget thee, saith the Lord; for he that toucheth you,
toucheth the apple of mine eye. Is. 59:1; 49:15; Zech. 2:8. Therefore
let us prepare our souls for temptation; our deliverance draweth
nigh, and the day of tribulation is at hand. 2 Esdr. 16:74. Hence let
us always sanctify and magnify our Lord, that we may inherit all the
beautiful promises which he has promised to the Christian people, so
that we may not become wearied or faint in our distress, but may be
fervent in spirit, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, and
continuing instant in prayer. Heb. 13:3; Rom. 12:11,12. When Israel
left Egypt, they rejoiced greatly, that they were delivered from
bondage; but when they came into the wilderness, where it did not
please the flesh, they were very discontented, and murmured, so that
they wanted to return, to which they had no right, since they had taken
all their possessions with them, that they should have no cause to
return. For this reason they were not permitted to enter the promised
land except Caleb and Joshua; for these were of good courage, so that
they destroyed their enemies like a piece of bread.