# Another Letter By Jan Hendrickss, To Maerten Janss, His Fellow-Prisoner.

16th century (source section) · Historical source

Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: ANOTHER LETTER BY JAN HENDRICKSS, TO MAERTEN JANSS, HIS FELLOW-PRISONER.

Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned

The eternal God of all grace, who has called us
with a heavenly calling, from the power of Satan
into his eternal, marvelous kingdom, strengthen and
confirm you, my brother Maerten Janss, with his
holy word, and give you the power of the Spirit,
that you may be able to resist all the wicked wiles
of the Evil One, whether through himself, or through
his emissaries, so that you may be able to stand in
this grace; and grant you and me a valiant faith,
firmly rooted and grounded, that you may neither
be moved nor cast down by the great tempest of false
doctrine. This, I Jan Hendrickss, your weak fellow-brother
in imprisonment, tribulation and affliction,
wish Maerten Janss, my dear brother, in his
bonds and imprisonment, as a friendly salutation in
the Lord, for the refreshing of your mind. Amen.

Further, my dear brother, I inform you, that I
am still of good cheer in the Lord, and my heart
and mind have still no other purpose than to fear
him, and to adhere to his holy word, according to
my great weakness, with the help of God. Without
whose assistance I am utterly powerless to perform
the same. Thus I hope and am confident in my
heart, that it is also with you. I furthermore thank
you much for the comforting letters you have sent
me to refresh and console me in my tribulation, and
that you still remember me in your prayers, which I
also do for you, that we may help each other fight
in this great conflict, which we now have with the
great red dragon, which draws the third part of
the stars from heaven with his tail. Revelation
12:3,4. When I read your letters, it was no sorrow
for me to hear that you were of such good cheer
and courage in the Lord, but it rejoiced my spirit.
Hence, my dear brother, let us take good heed to,
and well consider, the teaching and admonition of
Paul, where he says: “As ye have therefore received
Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him, rooted
and built up in him.” Col. 2:6,7. Mark, dear
brother, it is needful that we attend to these words
and admonition of Paul. For since we have put on
Christ by baptism, and have become members of his
body, let us walk in him, rooted and built up in
him, and firmly abide in him, even as he says:
“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no
more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine,
ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I
in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without
me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in
me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire,
and they are burned.” John 15:4–6. Mark, dear
brother, how well it is with him that is in Christ,
and Christ in him: but he who has no consciousness
of Christ, is like a branch that is cut off and withered,
which receives no sap or strength, nor the
nature of the stem of the vine.

Dear brother, let us now earnestly consider the
matter, whether this is not the case with men. Let
us therefore abound in him with thanksgiving, and
by him offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually,
that is, the fruit of our lips, that we be not
spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit, after
the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the
world, and not after Christ. Heb. 13:15; Col. 2:8.
“For it is now an evil time, a time that searches
and tries Christians, whether they are firmly rooted
and built in the faith. For when a woman has conceived,
and the time of her delivery is drawing nigh,
before she is delivered, great pain comes upon her,
which is the forerunner and sign of her impending
delivery; but when she is delivered, she soon forgets
the great pain, because she has gotten a child.

896

Behold, my dear brother, thus it is also with us
now; the great temptation and vexation, conflicts
without, and fears within, which happen to us daily,
these are our pains which precede delivery, whereby
we may perceive, that the time of delivery is fast
approaching; but as soon as we are delivered, then
we shall remember it no more; namely, when we
shall have put off this tabernacle, the mortal clothing,
that shall be the last of our pain; then we may
say: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where
is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the
strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,
which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ, 1 Cor. 15:55–57. Then shall the last enemy,
death, be conquered. Then shall we no more
weep, mourn, or lament; all torment, pain and
affliction shall then have passed, like a vapor, that
endures for a little time. Then we shall no more be
tormented or tempted, apprehended or hunted; but
we shall rest from our heavy labor, and help keep
the eternal day of rest, with many thousand saints
under the altar, who are chosen out of every kindred
and nation, who have also sealed the word of
God with their blood, and have passed through the
world through many great tribulations, and not
loved their lives above their Creator unto the death.
Rev. 14:13; 7:14; 12:11.

Behold my dear brother Maerten Janss, what will
it matter then, whether we have lived in great luxury
and pleasure, or whether we have been persecuted,
imprisoned, tormented, tortured, burnt or
beheaded, yes, what will it matter when it is all
over? For then we shall all follow the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, with a great multitude
of saints, arrayed in fine linen clean and white,
palms in our hands, and crowns upon our heads.
O what a glorious work will that be for him that
will be able to endure here unto the end! Hence,
my dear brother, I say with tears, though I write it
to you, let us keep good courage; for in the world,
says Christ, ye shall have tribulation: But be of
good cheer; I have overcome the world. John
16:33. So doing let us hold fast the promise, without
wavering; for he is faithful that promised (Hebrews
10:23); though they say that we have the
devil of pride in us, and that he is too firmly seated
in us. But it will be found otherwise, when that
comes what shall come; there is no doubt about it.
Though we are here deprived of our right, when the
Judge of judges shall judge, we shall get it back, I
have no doubt at all. Herewith I will commend
you to the Lord, and to the rich word of his grace,
who is able to keep you unto the end. Amen.

Know, Maerten Janss, that the tormentors have
been with me all the week, except one day, and I
daily expect their return. Adrian Corneliss was also
here this week, with the chaplain. And on Saturday
the chaplain was here, with a steersman from
Egmont, named Jacob Meulenaer, who wanted to
prove to me, that however bad a man was, he might
teach the word of God aright, and save men; yea,
though it were the devil, he might teach men the
word of God aright. He took off his cap, and sat
there as though he was about to deliver an exhortation,
and made a speech almost a quarter of an hour
long, commencing at the very beginning. I could
not refrain from laughing, whenever I looked at
him, for I thought that his head was out of order.
When he had finished, all three of us fell in a dispute;
yet I did not intend to make many words,
but it is difficult for a man to keep silence. Hence
when they perceived that I would not listen to them
they assailed me very hard. The steersman said:
Had I been officer, you would not have lain here so
long; he would have made short work with me.
He said to the priest: The lords must put this man
to death secretly; he [the devil] was so firmly seated
in me, he said, that he could not come out; and
many other ugly words he said. I said: “The
plainer you make it the better I understand it.”
And the chaplain and I had many hard words, and
he was greatly incensed. I said that I did not desire
him so any more. He said that he marveled with
Paul, that I had so soon suffered myself to be led to
another gospel, when yet there was no other. I said;
“What other gospel have I accepted?” He said:
That I had not been willing to have my children
baptized. “Indeed,” said I, “you have not a single
letter of Scripture that they must be baptized.”
Observe, dear brother, his view: If Paul had ordained
it as a command and custom to baptize infants,
and we rejected the same, we had accepted
another gospel. I also had some words with the
steersman; what he said was neither rhyme nor reason,
and he was very abusive to me. I said: “Calling
names breaks no bones; one can do it seated as
well, and I offered him a chair. He said that he
knew more in one finger, than I in my whole body;
and many other things he said. Farewell, and acquit
yourself valiantly; I hope to do the same. And
let us remember each other in our prayers. Take
this my simple letter in good part, for it has been
written out of love; and excuse me for having waited
so long before writing, for I have many visitors, not
friends, however, since no one is allowed to come to
me except my father. Write me again, how it is
with you, for I hear nothing but good of you, God
be praised.

Written, A. D. 1572, in my bonds, by me,

Jan Hendrickss.





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