The Second Letter From Bartholomeus Panten, Being An Instruction From The Word Of The Lord, To All Lovers Of The Truth; Together With A Brief Account Of His Examination.

As the lily among thorns, so is my love, etc. Canticles 2:2.

Christ Jesus teaches us, Matt. 5:10–12: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Hence let us be patient, and rejoice in it, and bless them that curse us, and pray for them that despitefully use and persecute us; that we may be the children of our Father which is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Vs. 44–48.

Thus, my dear friends, let us show common love (charity), and also brotherly love, according to Peter’s teaching. 2 Pet. 1:7. And also according to the teaching of Paul: “Let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” Gal. 6:10. And; “See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.” 1 Thess. 5:15. Again, Peter also teaches us: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise, blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: let him eschew evil and do good: let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evil-doer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come 1027 that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? 1 Pet. 3:9–15; 4:15–18.

Wherefore, let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. V. 19. And let us look unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Heb. 12:2–4. And Peter also says: Christ suffered for us in the flesh, and left us an example, that we should follow his steps; who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. 1 Pet. 2:21–23.

Hence, dear friends, if we want to be of his servants, we must serve the Lord according to his divine will and demands. That is, we must suffer and bear here, and not resist; else we should live to ourselves, and not to the Lord, and so doing we should not follow the footsteps of Christ, for we must bless, and not curse, them that persecute us. As Paul teaches us: Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Rom. 12:17–21.

Hence, my dear friends, and all those that seek their salvation, learn from this to know the sheep from wolves, the doves from hawks. For Christ sent out his own like sheep in the midst of wolves, and admonished them, to be wise as serpents and simple as doves. Matt. 10:16. For all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 2 Tim. 3:12,13.

But when I told it to our persecutors, they said that they also had been persecuted; whereupon I told them, that they only suffered persecution when they were too weak and feeble; but when they had the ascendancy again, they were persecutors themselves, and took our goods, and tormented and threatened us, so that there is fulfilled the prophesy of Esdras: “They shall be like mad-men, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those that fear the Lord. For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of their houses. Then shall they be known who are my chosen; and they shall be tried as gold in the fire.” 2 Esdras 16:71–73. Also Christ says: “These things have I spoken unto you, that you should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them.” John 16:1–4.

But, my dear friends, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us; for ear hath not heard, nor eye seen, what God has prepared for them that love him; for the righteous shall live forever; the Lord is their reward, and the care of them is with the Most High; therefore they shall receive a glorious kingdom and a beautiful crown from the Lord’s hand. Wis. 5:15,16. Hence let us with the eyes of the spirit look at the beautiful promises, and with Moses rather choose to suffer affliction with the children of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward, and esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt. Hebrews 11:25,26.

Herewith, my dear friends, I will commend you to the Lord, and to the rich word of his grace; that thereby you may in this time grow up, blossom, be fruitful and flourishing. By me,

Bartholomeus Panten.

The following are some controversies which we prisoners had with the Jesuits. I have written them briefly, according to the best of my recollection; for to write them word for word would be impossible. If we could have been together, I could have written a little more fully, for quite a number of days have passed, since it took place. Again, for proof they quote much from Augustin, and other of their teachers, and also assert that they have existed so long. They know not or will not know, that they have possessed the earth for a long time with deceit, violence and tyranny, kept down the untarnished truth, and instead of the truth believed lies, as Paul declares how that God sends strong delusions, because they received not the love of the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness: Read 2 Thess. 2. There it is written of the man of sin and the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped.

I further inform you, that they have assailed me, and would have liked to bring me back to their doctrine. I would have liked to show them by the parable of the tares of the field (Matt. 13:24) that it is unbecoming and contrary to the doctrine of Christ, and also contrary to common love and propriety that any one should be apprehended for his faith (of misapprehension of the holy Scriptures), spoiled of their goods, tortured or put to death; and I partly presented to them the declaration of Christ, that the Father of the household commanded his servants, that they should permit the tares and the wheat to grow up together until the harvest, which is the end of the world, according to Christ’s own declaration. But they said: Jam marces est, that is: “It is now harvest.” I said: “The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels;” adding: “You assume the service of angels.”

1028

They wanted to excuse themselves with the authorities; but I warned them, seeing that they were the teachers and preachers of the authorities; that our blood should be required at their hands, if they teach the authorities this, and encourage, constrain or counsel them thereto, as they do according to my understanding, for it is contrary to the doctrine of Christ, and the command of God. When his servants asked him, whether they should root it out, he told them: Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. But they want to be wiser, and to rule over Christ; whereby they show that they are antichrist, that is, contrary to Christ and his doctrine. For if they were true Christians, and disciples of Christ, the bride, yea sheep, doves and members of Christ, or branches on the vine, they would not persecute or inflict suffering upon any one, but would rather suffer and bear persecution. “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” 2 Tim. 3:12,13.

Again, we also had a controversy concerning baptism with the same Jesuits, and also with the Dean of St. John’s and their pastor, who defended infant baptism and considered it necessary for salvation. But I quoted to them divers Scriptures, that baptism pertains to believers, and that it is not enough, that the faith is confessed with the mouth, but that it must also be apprehended with the heart, as Philip said to the eunuch. Acts 8:37. “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” I also told them that Philip preached the word of God to those of Samaria, and when they believed Philip (who preached to them of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ), they were baptized both men and women. And Michiel quoted the Scripture from the Acts of the Apostles, in the second chapter: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart; and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren what shall we do? Then Peter said unto, them, Repent. Thereupon one of them said: What is it, to repent? That is: Be sorry for your sins, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. In the same chapter it is also written: And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added to them about three thousand souls.

And the Dean of St. John’s, and the pastor of the same church, when we talked with them, made a long speech from John 3, where Christ declares: Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. I said that he had spoken that to the adult; but he would claim, that it was spoken of every one, of children as well as adults; and wanted to conclude from it, that infants that died without baptism were lost, which is untrue, for the kingdom of God belongs to infants, according to Christ’s own promise; and the words which Christ speaks to Nicodemus do not concern infants, but only those that have ears to hear, and hearts to understand. But they insisted: Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. And they thought that water baptism constitutes the new birth, and that infants are thus regenerated; which is a great misapprehension; for, according to Peter’s words, it is as he says in his first epistle: “Purifying your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently; being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” 1 Pet. 1:22,23. And James says: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” James 1:18. And John says: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” 1 John 5:1. Christ also says: “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” John 3:6–8. Behold, thus, the new birth is effected by receiving the word of God; for the old man and his works must be put off, and the new man put on, and this is no child’s work. This I have added here as an explanation to you of the new birth.

We also spake with the Jesuits, and with others, about the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in which we did not agree, for they said that he had flesh and blood from Mary. And I said that he is the Son of God, who was born of the virgin Mary, since she had known no man: and I also said, that Paul says: For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Rom. 5:10. And in the Acts of the Apostles it is written: “Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.” Acts 3:26. And John says in his first epistle: The blood of Jesus Christ his Son, and not the blood of Mary. 1 John 1:7. The apostle Paul also says to the Corinthians: “The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.” 1 Corinthians 15:47. And in the gospel we read: “He that cometh from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth; he that cometh from heaven is above all. And what he hath seen and heard, that he testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. He that hath received his testimony, hath set his seal that God is true.” John 3:31–33. And unto the Hebrews it is written: “Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me.” Heb. 10:5. And Matt. 1:20 it is written: “Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is received (conceived) in her is of the Holy Ghost,” That which she received (mark well) did not come from her; else it would be of the 1029 earth, as was Mary, and as are all the children of Adam. Not that we had all these words with them, but that you might the better understand the foundation of our faith. The others used many more words than are put here, but I have not remembered them all. They asserted that he was of the natural seed of David. Thereupon we confess that he came forth from the seed of David, and that he is of the house of David, and born of the virgin Mary, through the power and operation of the Holy Ghost; for Mary herself was astonished at this work, when she received the message from the angel, and said to the angel: “How shall this be seeing I know not a man?” And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:34,35. In John it is written: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51. Mark well here, whence this bread, which he calls his flesh, came, whether it came from Mary, who was of the earth, or whether it came from heaven? We say with Christ: From heaven, and not from the earth, of which Mary was.

Again, I also inform you, that we spoke some concerning the Lord’s Supper and the breaking of the bread, with the Dean of St. John’s and their pastor, and their view was, that Christ’s flesh and blood were in their sacrament. Thereupon Michiel said: “If this was so, then they would be eating flesh on Fridays; which they took amiss, and said that it was not eaten like other flesh. And Kalleken said from John 6: “The flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” And I quoted to them the declaration of Paul, 1 Cor. 11:26: “As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew forth the Lord’s death till he come.” “Hence he is certainly not there,” said I. They said that he was everywhere; and there stood ink on the table at which we sat, and they, or one of them, said that he was in the ink. And one among them had a pen in his hand and said: “He is in the pen.” One of them also said that he was in hell. It did certainly seem, according to their saying, that God was everywhere; and I said: “Into a malicious soul wisdom shall not enter; nor dwell in the body that is subject unto sin; for the Holy Spirit flees from the froward. Wisdom 1:4,5. And there were many other words said, concerning their images and idols and their view was: That they might be made and set up, but that they might not be worshiped, and that if there were any one that did this, he should be reproved, as they said; and after this manner they spoke. I said to the Jesuits: “If candles are lighted or placed before them, and they are carried upon the shoulders, is that not honoring and serving them?” And I said: “The gods of the heathen are of silver and gold, and the work of men’s hands; they have ears, but hear not; they have eyes, but they see not.” Ps. 115:4–6. One of them, when he heard this, wanted to say, that they did not have any; but upon maturely considering the matter, they had some of silver and gold. And there was still more said about it between Michiel and them; but what I said I have remembered best.

Herewith adieu for this time; farewell; read with understanding, and keep it secret for the present, that the lords may not get to hear of it. By me,

Bartholomeus Panten.