Jacob the Cobbler and His Wife; Grietjen van Bruyssel; Anneken van Bruyssel, in the Year 1575

In the year 1575, on the eve of Whitsuntide, there were also burned alive, with their tongues screwed fast, at Antwerp, in Brabant, the following witnesses of Jesus: Jacob the Cobbler and his wife; Grietjen van Bruyssel, a widow; Anneken van Bruyssel, a young maiden; and Tanneken Walraven, the mother of Jacques Walraven, of Amsterdam. These died together, except the wife of Jacob the Cobbler, who, being pregnant, had to wait until her delivery; and so, following the footsteps of her husband, she willingly gave up her life for the testimony of Jesus.

Every reader should further notice how directly these papists followed the footsteps of the envious and truth-hating scribes and Pharisees, who stopped their ears, so that they would not hear the words of truth which were declared to them by that faithful witness of God, Stephen. So these scribes also, with still greater tyranny, dealt with these friends of God, taking instruments invented for this purpose by the monks, in which they screwed fast the tongues of these prisoners, to deprive them of the power of speech, so that on their way to death they would not be able to proclaim to the bystanding people the truth from the Word of God, and the innocence of their death. How will these persecutors answer for their course before the judgment seat of Christ? They knew that Christ pronounced so many woes upon the scribes and Pharisees, who killed and stoned the prophets sent to them, and yet they followed their works; so they may expect the same reward from the righteous judge, who will reward everyone according to his works.

On the other hand, these witnesses can truly comfort themselves that for them, whose tongues were bound here, and who had to suffer for the truth a little while, it will yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness, when at the revelation of Christ their mouths will be filled with laughter, and their tongues with praise, and they will stand in great boldness before the face of those who have afflicted them, and made no account of their labors, being thus under the blessed promise of Christ, who said,

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." And Peter: "If you are reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you." First Peter 1, verse 6; Hebrews 12, verse 11; Psalm 126, verse 2; Matthew 5, verse 10; First Peter 4, verse 14.

These witnesses wrote many letters from their prison, but they were lost through the Spanish insurrection, which took place at Antwerp on the 4th of November, in the year 1576.