# Another Letter Of Joost Verkindert, Written In His Bonds, To His Wife, On The 2nd Of September. · Page 1 of 2 [Previous page: ANOTHER LETTER OF JOOST VERKINDERT WRITTEN IN BONDS TO HIS WIFE ON THE 20TH OF AUGUST.](/en/stories/mm-another-letter-of-joost-verkindert-written-in-bonds-to-his-wife-on-the-20th-of-august/part-2/) · [Book contents](/en/sources/martyrs-mirror/#book-contents) · [Next page: ANOTHER LETTER OF JOOST VERKINDERT, WRITTEN IN HIS BONDS, TO HIS WIFE, ON THE 2ND OF SEPTEMBER.](/en/stories/mm-another-letter-of-joost-verkindert-written-in-his-bonds-to-his-wife-on-the-2nd-of-september/part-2/) The grace and peace of God the heavenly Father, the love of his beloved Son, together with the comfort joy, and gladness of the Holy Ghost, this I wish you as a friendly greeting, my very dear and beloved wife and sister in the Lord. Be pleased to know, that I am still tolerably well according to the time, for which I thank and praise the Lord for his great goodness and grace, trusting to hear the same from you. Know further, that I received your 822 letter, and thank you for your good exhortation and Christian solicitude for me in these my bonds. O my beloved, this indeed may truly be called the narrow way, for we are assailed from every side, namely, from flesh and blood; and Satan rests not day or night, by some means to bring us into error or unbelief; for the enemies of the cross of Christ approach us very subtilly. Now they have compassion for us, saying: “I will be innocent of your blood.” Then they say: “If you die in your belief, you must from this fire go into the eternal.” Thereupon I replied to him, that we had a better hope, and were not as those that beat the air. 1 Cor. 9:26. He said that we were possessed of the devil, and were so firmly bound or held of him, that we would not let ourselves be moved. We replied that the Jews also said to Christ, that he had a devil. John 7:20; 10:20. I wonder, said he, if it would do some good to exorcise you; and other blasphemous words. We told him to go and seek souls, and to reprove harlots and rogues, drunkards, and the ungodliness of the people, since to such the kingdom of heaven is denied. He answered, that he exhorted them to repentance. Lauwerens told him, that all their things and ceremonies were nothing but hypocrisy and abomination, and that they sold masses to the people by the dozen. He replied to Lauwerens, saying: “If you were a wise man, I should take this ill of you.” I asked him, where there was anything written [in the Bible] concerning his mass. He said it was a sacrifice, and made many words with regard to this matter, so that it was astonishing where he got it all; much of it had a fair semblance. Among other things he said, that he would shed his blood for us, to gain our souls. I told him, that he would nevertheless be loth to die for us, and set us free. He said that we were too pernicious to live. I said: “My lord, I am much surprised (since you say, that if we die in this belief we are damned) that you will not rather suffer us to live; for as long as a man lives, he has time for amendment and repentance.” But to this he had little inclination, saying, that we were of the worst persuasion on the earth; for the Calvinists and Martinists, he said, were more easily moved than we; so that we could not agree, but he said, that he daily prayed for us. O, said he, I remembered you this very day in my mass. We said, that we also prayed the Lord day and night for our greatest salvation. He said, that we sought salvation, but ignorantly. He would also have the flesh and blood of Christ really present in the bread or Supper. In regard to this we made but few words, but I said to him: “Even as Israel made a golden calf, which served as an idol, to whom they said, that these were their gods which had delivered them out of Egypt; so it is also with your people; for they say: This is our god which has redeemed us on the tree of the cross. He said, that if he were not present in the bread, it would be idolatry; but when the priest has pronounced the words over it, he comes sacramentally into it, and hence it is also not idolatry. And when he could not move us with Scriptures, he held out to us release and pardon, to lure us, so that my conflict thereby becomes the more grievous to me; yet I hope that the Lord will help us to triumph, for without the help of God it were impossible to stand. Hence, my beloved, help me heartily to entreat the Lord, that he will preserve me through his great goodness and long-suffering as the apple of his eye, that I may not be seduced through philosophy or carnal liberty, nor depart from my God, of which I have a great terror; but that he will comfort and strengthen me in my good purpose, to the praise of his holy name, and to the salvation of my soul. ## Original source [Read this passage on Project Gutenberg](https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65855/pg65855-images.html#Page_822) [Edition details](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/65855) [Previous page: ANOTHER LETTER OF JOOST VERKINDERT WRITTEN IN BONDS TO HIS WIFE ON THE 20TH OF AUGUST.](/en/stories/mm-another-letter-of-joost-verkindert-written-in-bonds-to-his-wife-on-the-20th-of-august/part-2/) · [Book contents](/en/sources/martyrs-mirror/#book-contents) · [Next page: ANOTHER LETTER OF JOOST VERKINDERT, WRITTEN IN HIS BONDS, TO HIS WIFE, ON THE 2ND OF SEPTEMBER.](/en/stories/mm-another-letter-of-joost-verkindert-written-in-his-bonds-to-his-wife-on-the-2nd-of-september/part-2/) --- Page: https://history.truechristian.church/en/stories/mm-another-letter-of-joost-verkindert-written-in-his-bonds-to-his-wife-on-the-2nd-of-september/ [Contribute a correction or addition](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/issues/new?title=Correction%3A+Another+Letter+Of+Joost+Verkindert%2C+Written+In+His+Bonds%2C+To+His+Wife%2C+On+The+2nd+Of+September.+%C2%B7+Page+1+of+2&body=%23%23+Page+or+topic%0AAnother+Letter+Of+Joost+Verkindert%2C+Written+In+His+Bonds%2C+To+His+Wife%2C+On+The+2nd+Of+September.+%C2%B7+Page+1+of+2%0A%0APage%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhistory.truechristian.church%2Fen%2Fstories%2Fmm-another-letter-of-joost-verkindert-written-in-his-bonds-to-his-wife-on-the-2nd-of-september%2F%0A%0ARecord%3A+mm-another-letter-of-joost-verkindert-written-in-his-bonds-to-his-wife-on-the-2nd-of-september%0A%0ADate+currently+shown%3A+16th+century+%28source+section%29%0A%0A%23%23+Correction+or+addition%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Sources+and+evidence%0APlease+include+book%2Fpage+references%2C+archive+links%2C+or+first-hand+documentation.%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Image+credit+%28if+applicable%29%0ACreator%2C+source%2C+and+permission+or+public-domain+basis.%0A%0A%0A%0ASubmitted+for+review%3B+this+issue+does+not+publish+changes+automatically.)