# Another Letter From Jan Hendrickss To Pouwels And Aechtgen, His Brother And Sister, For An Admonition To Them, And Finally For A Farewell. 16th century (source section) · Historical source Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: ANOTHER LETTER FROM JAN HENDRICKSS TO POUWELS AND AECHTGEN, HIS BROTHER AND SISTER, FOR AN ADMONITION TO THEM, AND FINALLY FOR A FAREWELL. Century of containing source section; exact event date not assigned The God of all grace, who has called us from the power of darkness into his eternal kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord, grant you according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Col. 1:13; Ephesians 3:16–19. This, I Jan Hendrickss, a poor prisoner 897 for the word of the Lord, at Delft, wish Pouwels H. and Aechtgen H., for an affectionate salutation in the Lord. Amen. Further, after all proper salutation to you, my beloved brother Pouwels Hendrickss, and Aechtgen Hendrickss, daughter, whom I love much according to the flesh, and also after the spirit, I inform you, that I am still valiant and of good cheer in the Lord, as I hope that this is also the case with you. And as, according to human calculation, my departure, or time is near at hand, to put off my tabernacle, I cannot forbear, but must exhort you briefly, out of pure, faithful, brotherly love, to strive firmly, steadfastly and constantly in the faith once delivered to the saints, that you may through this faith receive God’s promises, so that we may meet together under the altar, with the great number robed in white, who are chosen and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb out of every kindred and nation under heaven, and have passed through the world through great tribulation, being burnt, pursued, beheaded, and the like; therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his presence. Rev. 7:14,15. See, dear brother, all these had to drink of this bitter cup, before they attained their present state; and they all had to walk this narrow, strait, slippery, and perilous way, and did not love their lives unto the death, and had to leave everything behind for the name of the Lord, whether it be lands, sand, house, home, wife, and children, before they reached this exceedingly glorious state. Yea, the Son of God himself entered into his Father’s kingdom through great affliction, being apprehended, mocked, scourged, crucified, and put to death, so that he said: “I am a worm, and no man.” Psalm 22:6. Hence let us take these for an example and pattern, lest we become slothful, drowsy, or faint on the way, and thus be taken captive by the wiles and snares of Satan, for a man that is asleep is easily caught. But be fervent in spirit, and seek to be the first in every good work, and not the least; and beware of the arrows of the devil, which he shoots in darkness; and pray to God day and night, for it is needful to pray always, lest we fall into temptation, for he that seeks to murder our soul neither sleeps nor slumbers, and is constantly walking about us as a roaring lion. And beware of pride, of spiritual as well as other pride, for it is the nature of man to be rather high-minded. Let all envy and hatred, railing and slandering, and all craftiness and malice be far from you, together with all murmuring of the heart. Covetousness or rapacity, ambition and selfishness, let these not be found with you, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and follow his example in everything, as well as you can. Have brotherly love, and endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Be patient in all tribulation and affliction that come upon you, and the God of peace will be with you; for we have great need of patience, as I have proved. For Sirach says: “Woe to him that has lost patience,” and well may he say so. In short, conduct yourselves so according to your weakness, that no one may justly have much to complain of you. And serve the Lord with all your heart and purpose; incline your thoughts to God, and let your eyes ever be upon him, even as the eyes of the servant are upon his master, and the eyes of a maiden upon her mistress. And work out your salvation with fear and trembling; moreover, think not that you always fall too short, not doing enough. And do not walk carelessly in the ways of the Lord, but pass the time of your sojourning here in fear, for the heedless and careless will soon have squandered all their substance; but exercise great care for the poor soul which has been redeemed with a great price, and will live forever, either in heaven or in hell. Fight valiantly against Satan with his manifold lusts and desires and false insinuations, and trample his head in pieces under your feet, with earnest supplication and prayer to God, with diligence and earnestness, for Satan comes down with great wrath, knowing that his time is brief. Rev. 12:17. Likewise always remember God’s severe judgment, and great day that shall come upon all the ungodly. For when we bear it well in mind, we can the better guard against it, because it will be most terrible; even as Sirach says: My son, remember your end, and you will never sin, for according to the Scriptures marvelous things indeed will take place when the great day of the Lord shall come; for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4:16,17. And the sea shall give up her dead; no one shall then remain hid that shall not rise again: but every one shall receive in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Rev. 20:13; 2 Cor. 5:10. Although our body is now placed to the stake, for food for the birds and beasts (Psalm 79:2), it shall therefore not remain lost, but the Lord shall raise it up again in due time, and make it like unto the image of his Son, and then shall we, through his grace, shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father, whereas the part and lot of all the ungodly shall be in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. Philip. 3:21; Matt. 13:43; Rev. 21:8. Therefore, my dear brethren and sisters, faint not at my tribulation which I now suffer, but let it be your glory. Eph. 3:13. For, who art thou, says the Lord by the prophet, that thou shouldest be afraid of man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass? Is. 51:12. Christ likewise says: I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him. Luke 12:4,5. For, my dear brethren and sisters, it is too wonderful how the Lord can work with his own, which I well experienced when I was tortured; for they first drew me up by the pully, and when I was suspended, they scourged me; and when I would betray no one, 898 they hung a weight to my feet; but as soon as I came up stairs again, I had but little pain, yea, the next day my limbs were no worse than if I had helped catch six or seven loads of herring. Hence keep good courage, and follow me; I hope now to go before you, and to wait for you under the altar of the Lord, with the marked dead of the Lord, who are already slain for the name of their God, and lie and wait for their fellow brethren, that shall be killed yet for the testimony of the Lord, until the time that the number is fulfilled. O that we might meet one another there! what great joy it would be for me, as I hope and have this confidence concerning you, that we shall yet go in and out there as calves of the stall, and help keep the eternal Sabbath; then we shall rest from all our great trouble, misery and torment that have been inflicted upon us, and from the heavy labor which we have done. To this end make you meet the great Shepherd of the sheep, who brought us from the dead through the blood of the everlasting testament. Amen. Hebrews 13:20. For I love your souls with all my heart, and would fain, that I might take you all before me. Herewith I will commend you to God, and to the rich word of his grace; may he keep you unto the end. Amen. Dear brother and sister, my heart’s great desire of you is, that you have an eye upon our brothers Cornelis H. and Jacob H., and our sister Leentgen H., and direct them in the fear of God as much as you can. But above all, have your eye upon my children, and show them and my wife as much love as you can; for my glass is almost run out, my watch is nearly over; day will soon break, for I have already seen the morning star in the sky. Herewith farewell; I greet Adrian H. and his wife and all dear friends much; bid my friends many adieus. Dear brother and sister, take my letter in good part; though I am somewhat solemn in my letters, it is because I love your souls so much. Written on the 23d of January 1572. Adieu for a little while, my dear brethren and sisters, till we meet again; acquit yourselves valiantly, this I pray you. By me, Jan Hendrickss. --- Page: http://history.truechristian.church/stories/mm-another-letter-from-jan-hendrickss-to-pouwels-and-aechtgen-his-brother-and-sister-for-an-admonition-to-them-and-finally/ [Contribute a correction or addition](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/issues/new?title=Correction%3A+Another+Letter+From+Jan+Hendrickss+To+Pouwels+And+Aechtgen%2C+His+Brother+And+Sister%2C+For+An+Admonition+To+Them%2C+And+Finally+For+A+Farewell.&body=%23%23+Page+or+topic%0AAnother+Letter+From+Jan+Hendrickss+To+Pouwels+And+Aechtgen%2C+His+Brother+And+Sister%2C+For+An+Admonition+To+Them%2C+And+Finally+For+A+Farewell.%0A%0APage%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fhistory.truechristian.church%2Fstories%2Fmm-another-letter-from-jan-hendrickss-to-pouwels-and-aechtgen-his-brother-and-sister-for-an-admonition-to-them-and-finally%2F%0A%0ARecord%3A+mm-another-letter-from-jan-hendrickss-to-pouwels-and-aechtgen-his-brother-and-sister-for-an-admonition-to-them-and-finally%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.)