Jacob van den Wege, in the Year 1573

This Jacob van den Wege, born at Ronse, in Flanders, was a nephew of Mr. Claes, who was a colleague of the Dean of Ronse, and in his time probably the most prominent and zealous inquisitor and persecutor of the Christians in that country. As Jacob had come to the knowledge of the truth, and followed it with ardent love, he was for this reason banished from all the dominions of the king of Spain. So, as a fugitive, for more than seven years he had to live very meagerly, earning a living and providing bread for his wife and children by making chests or trunks. Much of the time he stayed secretly with good friends, here and there in Flanders, as at Meenen, Halewijn and Wervick. From there, because of the severe persecution under the Duke of Alva, and because he was also an exile, he went to work in a shop at Rijssel, which was three leagues from the former place. [n1098-1]

Afterward he secretly took up his residence, with wife and children, at Ghent. It happened at a certain time that he went to the house of one Christoffel van Leuven, a minister of the Word of God, at the very time that the authorities of Ghent had sent to arrest this Christoffel. Not finding him, they laid hands on Jacob, taking him along and putting him into severe confinement, in a tower, guarded, and secured with seven doors. There, lying in great fear and distress, he earnestly called on the Lord his God in prayer, in spirit and in truth, that He would strengthen him in it, and graciously grant him the help he then greatly needed, since many strong enemies assailed him; for Satan, the envier of all that is good, exerted great power to make him fall away from the Lord his God, not resting day or night, but very subtly going about him to lead his soul astray. The emissaries of Satan also approached him very craftily, with plausible speeches, as though they sought to comfort and enlighten him; but if he had listened to them, they would have murdered his soul, from which God preserved him. His wife and children were also a source of great temptation to him, for it was very hard for him to leave them; but for the Lord's sake it had to be done.

After he had been imprisoned for a time, and had valiantly withstood many entreaties and torments, he was finally publicly burned at Ghent, for living according to the genuine truth, about three years after his brother Hans had been burned there for following Christ, as related before.

We have added here the letters of this Jacob van den Wege which have come into our hands, so that the reader may see from them in what faith he stood and died.