PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Bloody Theatre, or Martyrs Mirror of the Defenseless Christians
Braght, Thieleman J. van (Thieleman Janszoon) · 1,152,781 words · 1675 reading sections
The First Letter Of Jelis Strings.
Grace, mercy and peace from God our heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father in truth and in love. May he strengthen and confirm you people, who now have to suffer persecution for a little while, and may he grant you to be strengthened with might in the inner man, and that Jesus Christ may dwell…
1,010 wordsSECTION 962The First Letter Of Jelis Strings.
Dear brethren and sisters, let us not be disobedient, nor murmur against God, like Israel, who were rejected for it. 1 Cor. 10:10. If we have heard his voice to-day, let us not harden our hearts, but let us take care that we do not forsake the promise of entering into his rest, and that none of us be found to remain wi…
914 wordsSECTION 963The Second Letter Of Jelis Strings.
I, Peter, greet you much, and earnestly desire that you would see to my wife; she hopes to do her best, she told me. We ask you to pray for us, that we may finish our course to the praise of God and the salvation of our souls. We also enjoin you, that if Pauwels has not moved, he would better do so; we advise it for th…
809 wordsSECTION 964The Second Letter Of Jelis Strings.
He then asked: “What is your faith, then?” “I believe with all the apostles, that he is the Son of God, as Peter confessed (Matt. 16:16; John 20; 6:69), visible and invisible; that the Word by which all things were made became flesh in Mary, through the power of the Most High.” He asked whether the Word became flesh li…
659 wordsSECTION 965The Second Letter Of Jelis Strings.
Then he said: “Jelis, you err.” And they adduced Rom. 1:3; in their Testament where it read: “Who became of the seed of David according to the flesh, is declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit.” I said that in rendering it _became_ they had mistranslated the word; that it ought to read: _born …
520 wordsSECTION 966Heyndrick Eemkens, A. D. 1562.
In the year 1562 there was apprehended at Utrecht, for the testimony of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, a brother named Heyndrick Eemkens, a tailor, who, after all solicitations and pains suffered, finally received word that he was to die, at which he rejoiced that he should also have the privilege of being a witness for t…
706 wordsSECTION 967Heyndrick Eemkens, A. D. 1562.
The sentence having been read, many of the people, who pitied him, and did not wish to see him die, went away. But Heyndrick Eemkens fell upon his knees and face, on the scaffold, to pour out his earnest prayer before the Lord. When the executioner saw him fall down, he drew his cloak from his shoulders, and pulled him…
432 wordsSECTION 968George Friesen, A Cabinet-Maker, And William Van Keppel, A. D. 1562.
This George Friesen, a cabinet-maker, and William van Keppel, formerly a mass priest, were both apprehended at Cologne, A. D. 1562, for the evangelical truth. When William was sought and found he willingly went with his captors, who first took him into a tower of the city, where, however, he did not remain long, since …
695 wordsSECTION 969An Admonition Which George Friesen Sent From Prison.
When they came on shore, they set William at liberty. The executioner said to him: “Go your way.” Whether they did this because William had been a priest, and they would have had to desecrate him, before putting him to death, and whether they therefore rather released him, than go to such trouble is not known. I procl…
703 wordsSECTION 970An Admonition Which George Friesen Sent From Prison.
Betake yourselves now to the Lord, for now is the right time; and let not the world confound you, lest you be deceived. Watch, you that are on the ocean, lest you perish; believe in the Lord with all your heart, and you will weather the tempest. May the King of kings, to whom all things are known, uphold us with his mi…
298 wordsSECTION 971Nikasen Van Aelmeers, A. D. 1562.
In the year 1562 there was apprehended at Honschote, in Flanders, a young girl named Martijntgen Helmeers, of Steenwijcke, because she had been baptized upon her faith, and ordered her walk and conversation according to the doctrine of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. After great steadfastness she was sentenced to…
342 wordsSECTION 972Francis Van Der Sach And Anthony Welsch, A. D. 1562.
In the year 1562, a man named Jan Grendel, from Kortrijck, in Flanders, came from Oudewater to Goes, and was the same evening on which he arrived in town apprehended by bailiff Vijtwijck, who, upon having taken him to his house, interrogated him concerning his faith, of which he made open confession, whereupon he was p…
721 wordsSECTION 973Francis Van Der Sach And Anthony Welsch, A. D. 1562.
The monk also said: “Tell me, who is the head of the church?” Francis replied: “Christ.” The monk said: “This, too, is an error.” Then Francis said: “You call us heretics, but you yourself are a heretic, and not we, for Christ is certainly the head of his church.” But the monk said: “The Pope is the head here on earth.…
689 wordsSECTION 974Francis Van Der Sach And Anthony Welsch, A. D. 1562.
When Jan de Swarte was apprehended, his two younger sons were not present, but came in the meantime. When they came to the house the neighbors warned them, that those who apprehended their father and mother were in the house. The one said to the other: “Do not let us flee, but let us die with father and mother.” In the…
748 wordsSECTION 975Joos Jans Put To Death, A. D. 1563.
At Ghent in Flanders there were apprehended, for the faith, three brethren, namely, Dirk Lamberts, Christian van Wetteren, and Antonijn de Wale, who contended valiantly and heroically for their faith and the truth, from which they would not depart for any temptation, pain or suffering, so that they were finally sentenc…
285 wordsSECTION 976Pieter Van Oosthove, A. D. 1564.
Daniel Kalvaert, a native of Thielt, in Flanders, was apprehended, A. D. 1564, at Armentiers, for the testimony of the truth, and thence taken to Rijssel, but after being subjected to some solicitations and torture, he was brought back to Armentiers, escorted by forty beadles, and there sentenced by the authorities, to…
258 wordsSECTION 977Pieter Van Der Meulen, A. D. 1564.
In the year 1564 there was apprehended at Ghent in Flanders, for the truth, a brother named Steven de Graet, with Sijntgen, his aged mother. They were both well confirmed in the faith, and continued in it amidst all solicitations and sufferings, even unto death, which they, for the name of Christ, had to suffer publicl…
737 wordsSECTION 978Pieter Van Der Meulen, A. D. 1564.
In the first place the commissary asked me how old I was when I was baptized. I replied: “About twenty-three or four years.” They asked me why I had it done. I said: “Because God had commanded it.” They asked me whether I did not know that I had been baptized previously. I said: “I know nothing of it; neither has God c…
754 wordsSECTION 979Pieter Van Der Meulen, A. D. 1564.
They asked whether I did not confess that there is a purgatory. I said: “I find two ways on record, the one very broad and leading to damnation, the other very narrow and leading to eternal life.” They also asked what I held in regard to the Pope. I said: “The Pope I do not know; but if this is his doctrine, which is o…
720 wordsSECTION 980Pieter Van Der Meulen, A. D. 1564.
My children, do according to the will of the Lord; I, your mother, hope to walk the way before you. Mark wherein and how I go before you, and regard not the honor of the world, but esteem it an honor, to suffer for the name of our God. For he who was King over all was not ashamed to leave his glory, and came into the w…
668 wordsSECTION 981Pieter Van Der Meulen, A. D. 1564.
_Another letter from Maeyken Boosers to her brethren and sisters._ O my dearest and much beloved brethren and sisters in the Lord, I greet you once more with the peace of the Lord, that the same may remain with you forever. Amen. I let you know that these my enemies still keep tormenting me about baptism; but of the …
783 wordsSECTION 982Pieter Van Der Meulen, A. D. 1564.
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 …
703 wordsSECTION 983Prijntgen And Martijntgen Maelbouts, In The Year 1564.
By me, WILLEBOORT CORNELISS. Written in bonds. On the 12th of November A. D. 1564, there was beheaded with the sword, at Ghent in Flanders, one Prijntgen Maelbouts, widow of Jacob de Backer, brother of Pauwels van Meenen, and with her, her sister, Martijntgen Maelbouts, a young girl, a native of Thielt; not for any r…
1,060 wordsSECTION 984Prijntgen And Martijntgen Maelbouts, In The Year 1564.
Therefore, my affectionately beloved sheep, in Christ Jesus, whose souls I love from the heart, and for whom I have a fatherly and godly care, I admonish and beseech you as a prisoner in the Lord, frequently to call to remembrance the day in which the merciful dear Father had compassion upon you, and took the vail from…
762 wordsSECTION 985Prijntgen And Martijntgen Maelbouts, In The Year 1564.
The third class [he deceives], through the loss or spoiling of their goods, who do not rightly consider that, like the merchant-man, they have found the most beautiful pearl, which is certainly well worthy of all this, and far above comparison with it. The fourth, through crosses and suffering, namely, persecution. The…
794 wordsSECTION 986Prijntgen And Martijntgen Maelbouts, In The Year 1564.
I also beseech you, by the mercy of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, that you neglect not, to thank and praise God the merciful dear Father day and night, through Christ his dear Son, for the great, unspeakable benefits which he has shown us poor, miserable creatures; and has foreseen and chosen us from our mother’s womb, a…
843 wordsSECTION 987Prijntgen And Martijntgen Maelbouts, In The Year 1564.
For this reason also I was in great anxiety, fearing that through my daily mistakes and polluted walk I should not be able to stand at his coming; hence I often besought him with tears, that through his fatherly mercy he would make me, poor, miserable man, fit, that I might suffer for his name’s sake, to go into bonds …
734 wordsSECTION 988Prijntgen And Martijntgen Maelbouts, In The Year 1564.
Hence, my dear sheep, I beseech you yet, by the mercy of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, and also for the sake of the eternal salvation of your souls, that you forget not to do good and to communicate; for the administration of this service supplieth not only the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivin…
676 wordsSECTION 989Prijntgen And Martijntgen Maelbouts, In The Year 1564.
Herewith I will commend you to the great Shepherd of the sheep, who, I faithfully trust, will keep you under the shadow of his wings; if you only continue in his statutes and commandments, and depart on no account out of his hand, then I am certain that no one shall pluck you out of his hand. Once more I beseech you, a…
577 wordsSECTION 990Another Letter From Mr. Jelis Matthijss, Which He Wrote To His Wife.
I wish unto my flesh and blood, strength of spirit and a steadfast mind in all her tribulation and severe distress. Amen. My dear and beloved wife, whom I wedded before God and his church, as the time of my departure is now at hand, may you people know that my heart and mind are concerned about you, being indeed desir…
777 wordsSECTION 991Another Letter From Mr. Jelis Matthijss, Which He Wrote To His Wife.
O then it will be at an end with all our persecutors, executioners, and rackers, and with all destroyers; yea, then shall be fulfilled the word of the prophet Isaiah, where he says: O ye destroyers, think ye that ye shall not also be destroyed? and ye despisers, think ye that ye shall not also be despised? When ye shal…
836 wordsSECTION 992Another Letter From Mr. Jelis Matthijss, Which He Wrote To His Wife.
Therefore, my dearly beloved lamb, let the trying of your faith work patience, and let patience have her perfect work (Jas. 1:3,4), and remember the words of the wise man: A patient man is better than a strong man; and he that ruleth his spirit (mark) than he that taketh a city. Prov. 16:32. Further, the prophet Jeremi…
470 wordsSECTION 993Another Letter From Mr. Jelis Matthijss To His Wife.
My dearly beloved chosen wife and sister in the Lord, I wish you folks much strength and comfort from God the merciful dear Father, through the consolation of the Holy Ghost, whereby he comforts all afflicted, sorrowing hearts that are oppressed for his testimony, even as is the case with you at this present time, so t…
740 wordsSECTION 994Another Letter From Mr. Jelis Matthijss To His Wife.
I inform you further, that the next day, that is, this morning, the bailiff and the stadtholder summoned us down, and brought us both into a separate subterranean dungeon, which was very dark, and they had also darkened the window. They said: “You will have to remain here until it will be otherwise.” The stadtholder sa…
711 wordsSECTION 995Another Letter From Mr. Jelis Matthijss To His Wife.
But you, my faithful lamb, be courageous, this I heartily entreat you, and look not to the aforementioned, nor to those who now so unfaithfully depart from the Lord, whether through cross, or persecution, or false doctrine. O, if they previously had daily examined themselves, and had had a taste for heavenly things, th…
1,520 wordsSECTION 996Another Letter From Mr. Jelis Matthijss To His Wife.
JAN GERRITS, BURNT AT THE HAGUE, FOR THE TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, THE 15TH DAY OF DECEMBER, A. D. 1564. _A testament by Jan Gerrits, made while imprisoned at the Hague for the testimony of Jesus Christ, in December, A. D. 1564._ Grace and peace from God the heavenly Father, and his Son Jesus Christ, be with you. Am…
685 wordsSECTION 997Another Letter From Mr. Jelis Matthijss To His Wife.
While I thus spoke and they were getting ready to torture me, I felt neither fear nor apprehension; however, they handled me in a very severe and fierce manner, so that the president said: “Why will you not tell the truth?” _Ans._ “Because Christ spoke nothing but what tended to the glory of his Father, and what concer…
893 wordsSECTION 998A Letter From Jan Gerrits To The Lutheran Preacher.
I also send you here another letter; perhaps it may refresh you in the assault you suffer from the adversaries of baptism. [What prompted me to write it is a controversy] which I had with a Lutheran preacher. The following is a reply to his letter, which he sent me, since we had often conversed together. The Lord be wi…
859 wordsSECTION 999A Letter From Jan Gerrits To The Lutheran Preacher.
O men, men, it were well for you, that like Gamaliel you would leave the people of God in peace; for if this work is of men, it will come to naught, but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it; hence, take good heed, lest you run against the sword of the Lord, and be found even to fight against God. Persecute Jesus of…
868 wordsSECTION 1000A Letter From Jan Gerrits To The Lutheran Preacher.
This example is a great terror to my soul; for after deception, and transgression of the word of the Lord, he sends lions, dragons and bears, that they may get dominion of my soul, and kill it; for if my faith were feeble and wavering, I should be overcome and certainly be killed, but the anchor of my faith is steadfas…
691 wordsSECTION 1001A Letter From Jan Gerrits To The Lutheran Preacher.
Our second witness with regard to the figures of baptism is the great apostle Paul, who declared the counsel of God. Acts 20:27. He says that the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt, their passage through the Red Sea, and that they were baptized under the pillar of cloud, through Moses, was a figure, and for ou…
1,119 wordsSECTION 1002A Letter From Jan Gerrits To The Lutheran Preacher.
In the sixth place, as regards this, that I spoke tartly and insolently to you, I answer: Behold, my Lord and Master, taught me nothing else, when he says: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matt. 7:15. Seeing you came to me with so fair an appearance…
687 wordsSECTION 1003Another Letter From Jan Gerrits, To His Acquaintances.
After all affectionate greeting, dear brethren and sisters in the Lord, here is what you requested of me. I have complied with your wish, according to my feeble ability, as much as in me is; for which I most heartily thank God the Father and his beloved Son Jesus Christ, that he does not forsake his own, but always hel…
816 wordsSECTION 1004Another Letter From Jan Gerrits, To His Acquaintances.
Then the president said: “Have you no stout rods to drive out this dumb devil?” He replied: “No; but I have rope.” They would have blindfolded me again, but he said: “Let him see it.” When he struck, I thought: O Lord, thou seest it, and closed my eyes. Yea, my friends, if they had continued to beat as long as there wa…
349 wordsSECTION 1005Conrad Koch, A. D. 1565.
After manifold persecution and fearful tyranny against the flock of Christ, there was also apprehended, in the year 1565, at Oudenaerde, in Flanders, a faithful brother named Adriaen den Burry, who, after undergoing and enduring manifold temptations, and severe conflicts against the devil and his tools, was burnt at sa…
714 wordsSECTION 1006Conrad Koch, A. D. 1565.
Manifold wiles were employed against him with great deceitfulness. The sophists sang things sweet and sour, saying: “Go to church at least once a year and if they do not preach the pure and clear truth, stay away from it thenceforth.” One of these hypocrites said to Conrad: “My dear Conrad, though we be false, subtle a…
637 wordsSECTION 1007Here Follow Two Letters Which Conrad Koch Wrote From Prison.
_First Letter._ Grace, peace and mercy from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, is what I, Conrad Koch, a prisoner in the Lord, in Loewenburg, wish my dear brethren and sisters in the Lord. Amen. I herewith inform you, that I had a call from the executioner, and they tried me hard with words, but did not tortur…
477 wordsSECTION 1008The Second Letter, Written To His Brother A. Of B.
Grace, peace, and a heart steadfastly fixed upon the Lord, is what I wish you, A. of B., my dear brother in the Lord, and I thank the Lord for the letter you wrote me. Thanks to the Lord for it, and I also request of you, my dear brother, that you help me to entreat the Lord, that I may become worthy of what you wished…
403 wordsSECTION 1009Matthias Servaes, Of Kottenem, A. D. 1565.
As this Matthias Servaes was an elder and teacher of the church, it happened, A. D. 1565, that one evening he had met with some friends at a certain place in Cologne, to minister unto them with the Gospel. But there was a Judas, to whom this was known; the same went and fetched the double watch, who immediately came fu…
925 wordsSECTION 1010Matthias Servaes, Of Kottenem, A. D. 1565.
Further, my L. B. H., and all that are appointed to watch over the souls of men, exercise your office with diligence, that you may not be found slothful, drowsy or negligent in it; but that you may be faithful watchmen, who truly and honestly lead out and feed the flock of Christ, and this with all humility and meeknes…
855 wordsSECTION 1011Matthias Servaes, Of Kottenem, A. D. 1565.
Dear brethren, I do not write you this as something new, but to remind you of the old; for I should like to see carefulness exercised, and that one Scripture should not be observed so strictly and rigidly as thereby to violate another. For sometimes some resort to avoidance all on a sudden, without the least discretion…
667 wordsSECTION 1012Matthias Servaes, Of Kottenem, A. D. 1565.
O my dear brethren, what liars I have had before me! Cassander, a man little and feeble of body, who led astray Joachim Suycherbacker, visited me, and laid many little snares, to take captive my mind. He read to me a book printed in Latin, which stated that infant baptism was considered a clear commandment and a unanim…
799 wordsSECTION 1013Matthias Servaes, Of Kottenem, A. D. 1565.
O my brethren, knowledge or talk is of no account here, but a living faith which is adorned with the power of love, patience, hope, and with obedience, and that through the power of faith one can say with the three men Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego: O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. I…
803 wordsSECTION 1014Matthias Servaes, Of Kottenem, A. D. 1565.
When I perceived this, I said: “We are nevertheless also human beings, and you no more; nor can I, from fear of God, esteem you more than men. Hence, consider the matter well, and do not deal so cruelly and tyrannically with us; for the Lord will visit and punish all violence, and he is the Judge over all this. Amos 5:…
462 wordsSECTION 1015The Third Letter Of Matthias Servaes, Written To J. N.
Peace and joy in the heart, through the operation of the Holy Ghost, be multiplied unto you, and unto all believers that are in Christ Jesus. Amen. Yea, also unto those who are willing to recognize God as the supreme good, and desire, solely from love, as an obedient child his father, to serve and follow him with a tru…
677 wordsSECTION 1016The Third Letter Of Matthias Servaes, Written To J. N.
MATTHIAS SERVAES, of Kottenem. THE FOURTH LETTER, WHICH MATTHIAS SERVAES WROTE FROM PRISON TO ALL BRETHREN AND SISTERS IN GENERAL. The grace of God that bringeth salvation, and the peace of Jesus Christ, be multiplied unto all believers that are scattered here and there, according to the foreknowledge of God the Fath…
1,038 wordsSECTION 1017The Third Letter Of Matthias Servaes, Written To J. N.
I write this, my brethren and sisters, in order that we may learn to know God, and why he created man, yea, what he requires of him that he shall do and not do, and why we are to show him love and obedience; so that we may not seek righteousness or salvation from our works, from what we do or not do; for by the works o…
726 wordsSECTION 1018The Third Letter Of Matthias Servaes, Written To J. N.
And I desire of the widows, that they be quiet and attend to their business, and not think that they are more than others. No, that is neither the meaning nor intention of Paul; (1 Tim. 5:3) but this is what is meant: That they should be watched over, and counsel and instruction given them, if they need such, and that …
802 wordsSECTION 1019The Third Letter Of Matthias Servaes, Written To J. N.
O my dear brethren, let it become manifest who dwells in you; (Rom. 8:9) let love and your faith become manifest before all men, and love one another, with a pure heart as members of one body, of which Christ is the head. And forgive one another, if any one have a complaint against any; and even as God, in Christ forga…
1,047 wordsSECTION 1020The Third Letter Of Matthias Servaes, Written To J. N.
This ought to be well considered by those whose daily business is that of trading, whom I would rather see engaged in some honest kind of labor, than in trafficking, and this not without reason. For as a nail sticketh fast between the joinings of the stones, so doth sin stick close between buying and selling, as Sirach…
778 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.