# Willeboort Corneliss, Put To Death For The Evangelical Truth, At Middelborgh In Zealand, The 14th Of September, In The Year 1564. 1564 · Historical source Source: Martyrs’ Mirror. Original heading: WILLEBOORT CORNELISS, PUT TO DEATH FOR THE EVANGELICAL TRUTH, AT MIDDELBORGH IN ZEALAND, THE 14TH OF SEPTEMBER, IN THE YEAR 1564. Source heading; not independently verified A letter of Willeboort Corneliss, written from his imprisonment at Middelborgh, and which he sealed with his blood. The grace and peace of God the heavenly Father, which have come to us through Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, comfort you in all your tribulation, my dearest sister in the Lord; and the Holy Ghost guide you into all truth and righteousness unto the end; and the mighty hand of God keep you and me in the straight way, that we may walk aright unto the end. Amen. For, my dearest and beloved sister in the Lord, in this miserable and sorrowful world we are counted a prey to every one, as the prophet tells us. Isaiah 59:15. Yea, Christ Jesus himself says: “Ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” Matthew 10:22. Yea, we are counted as deceivers, and yet are true; we are become a spectacle; we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. 2 Cor. 6:8; 1 Corinthians 4:9; 2 Cor. 4:8,9. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter; but in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Rom. 8:36,37. For, my dear lamb, we know that we must through much tribulation and suffering enter into the kingdom of heaven; knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord. Acts 14:22; 2 Cor. 5:6. Hence Peter says: “I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” 1 Pet. 2:11. Therefore, my dear lamb, though you have now with Abraham left our fatherland, be therefore not slothful in your business; but be fervent in spirit; redeeming the time; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; distributing to the necessity of saints; and see that you are given to hospitality. Romans 12:11–13. For, my dear lamb, though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed 644 day by day. “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.” 2 Cor. 4:16. Therefore, my dear sister, look constantly unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied in your distress, and faint in your mind. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he loveth and receiveth. Heb. 12:2, etc. For our Savior himself suffered so much for our sakes that Isaiah may well say: “He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him.” Is. 53:2,3. So that he may well say through the prophet: “They gave me gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me gall and vinegar to drink; and all men laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, and shake the head.” Yea, as he says through the prophet: “I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.” Ps. 69:21; 22:7,6. My dear sister in the Lord, if the head thus suffered, the members must follow. Grieve not that you must wander about yet in this world or wilderness; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do, according to the good purpose of your mind. Philip. 2:13. My dear lamb, always let your light shine among this wicked and perverse generation, that, whereas they speak against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:12. My dearest sister in the Lord, wait patiently for the time; be patient unto the coming of our Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Therefore be patient, and stablish your heart; for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. My dear sister, you have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. Jas. 5:7, etc. My dear lamb, let us keep unto the end that which we have; he is faithful that promised it us. Heb. 10:23. My dear sister, humble yourself always; cast all your care upon him, for he cares for you, and for us all (1 Peter 5:6,7); for we know our reward beforehand, if we hold fast his commandments unto the end, according to our weakness; and we wait for it with patience. Hence Paul says that love is the bond of perfectness. Col. 3:14. And Peter says: Have perfect charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 1 Pet. 4:8. My dear sister in the Lord, though we must now be the laughing stock of the world, and wander about in foreign lands, we will be none the worse for it when the Lord shall say: “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matt. 25:34. Then shall the child be born; then there shall be no more reviling; then shall all our enemies be conquered; then shall the tears be wiped from our eyes; then shall no harm happen to us any more; then shall we drink of the fountain of life, without price; for whatsoever things were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have before. Rom. 15:4. The God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: that ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us, to the glory of God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Farewell, my dear sister in the Lord. Amen. By me, Willeboort Corneliss. Written in bonds. --- Page: http://history.truechristian.church/stories/mm-willeboort-corneliss-put-to-death-for-the-evangelical-truth-at-middelborgh-in-zealand-the-14th-of-september-in-the-year/ [Contribute a correction or addition](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/issues/new?title=Correction%3A+Willeboort+Corneliss%2C+Put+To+Death+For+The+Evangelical+Truth%2C+At+Middelborgh+In+Zealand%2C+The+14th+Of+September%2C+In+The+Year+1564.&body=%23%23+Page+or+topic%0AWilleboort+Corneliss%2C+Put+To+Death+For+The+Evangelical+Truth%2C+At+Middelborgh+In+Zealand%2C+The+14th+Of+September%2C+In+The+Year+1564.%0A%0APage%3A+http%3A%2F%2Fhistory.truechristian.church%2Fstories%2Fmm-willeboort-corneliss-put-to-death-for-the-evangelical-truth-at-middelborgh-in-zealand-the-14th-of-september-in-the-year%2F%0A%0ARecord%3A+mm-willeboort-corneliss-put-to-death-for-the-evangelical-truth-at-middelborgh-in-zealand-the-14th-of-september-in-the-year%0A%0ADate+currently+shown%3A+1564%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.)