Sander Wouterss, Of Bommel And Evert Hendricks, Of Warendorp, Both Burnt Alive For The Testimony Of Jesus Christ At Amsterdam, On The 3d Of September, A. D. 1575.

The misery of the beloved children of God had not come to an end yet at this time, since the words spoken by the Lord: “They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service,” were still being fulfilled, which, among many other instances, also appeared in the year 1572, on the third day of September, at Amsterdam, in the case of two pious and valiant champions of Jesus Christ, named Sander Wouterss, of Bommel and Evert Hendricks of Warendorp, both of whom at that time, voluntarily exchanged their life for death, and surrendered it to the Lord as a burnt sacrifice, the Romanistic rulers effecting this through their malice, with fiery flames in the place of execution in front of the city hall at Amsterdam.

But between those who did this, and the others who suffered it, there shall hereafter be a great difference, when there shall be said to those who suffered it: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” but to those who did it (if they have not sincerely been converted from this wickedness); “Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels,” Matt. 25. O, what an exceeding great difference! our reason is utterly powerless to grasp this, our mortal and frail tongue cannot express it.

Note.—The sentence of death of the aforementioned two persons was sent us from the original book of criminal sentences of said city, through the instrumentality of the clerk of the court there: hence we will add the same here, just as it reads; in it may be seen how perfidiously the papistic rulers of that time misinterpreted the good confession of the pious witnesses of Jesus Christ, and how dreadfully and horribly they proceeded against and dealt with them.