The Second Letter from Bartholomeus Panten

As the lily among thorns, so is my love, and so on. Song of Songs 2, verse 2.

Christ Jesus teaches us, Matthew 5, verses 10 to 12: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." So let us be patient, and rejoice in it, and bless those who curse us, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute us, so that we may be the children of our Father in heaven, who makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the publicans do the same? Be therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Verses 44 to 48.

Thus, my dear friends, let us show common love (charity), and also brotherly love, according to Peter's teaching. Second Peter 1, verse 7. And also according to the teaching of Paul: "Let us do good to all men, especially to those who are of the household of faith." Galatians 6, verse 10. And: "See that no one repays evil for evil to any man, but always follow what is good, both among yourselves and to all men." First Thessalonians 5, verse 15. Again, Peter also teaches us: "Not repaying evil for evil, or railing for railing, but on the contrary, blessing; knowing that you are called to this, that you should inherit a blessing. For he who would love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. And who is he who will harm you, if you are followers of what is good? But if you suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are you; and do not be afraid of their terror, and do not 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 evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. Yet if any man suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God on this account. For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God; and if it begins first with us, what shall the end be of those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if the righteous are scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" First Peter 3, verses 9 to 15; chapter 4, verses 15 to 18.

"Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator." Verse 19. "And let us look to 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 seated at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, so that you may not be wearied and faint in your minds. You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin." Hebrews 12, verses 2 to 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, and no guile was found in his mouth; who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously." First Peter 2, verses 21 to 23.

Therefore, dear friends, if we want to be among 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; otherwise we would live to ourselves, and not to the Lord, and in doing so we would not follow the footsteps of Christ, for we must bless, and not curse, those who persecute us. As Paul teaches us: "Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirsts, give him drink; for in so doing you shall heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12, verses 17 to 21.

So, my dear friends, and all those who 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 told them to be wise as serpents and simple as doves. Matthew 10, verse 16. For all who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Second Timothy 3, verses 12 and 13.

But when I told this to our persecutors, they said that they also had been persecuted. I told them they suffered persecution only when they were too weak and feeble; but once they had the upper hand again, they were persecutors themselves, took our goods, and tormented and threatened us. So the prophecy of Esdras is fulfilled: "They shall be like madmen, sparing none, but still spoiling and destroying those who fear the Lord. For they shall waste and take away their goods, and cast them out of their houses. Then those who are my chosen shall be known; and they shall be tried as gold in the fire." Second Esdras 16, verses 71 to 73. Also Christ says: "These things I have spoken to you, so that you should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the time is coming when whoever kills you will think that he is doing God service. And they will do these things to you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have told you these things, so that when the time comes you may remember that I told you of them." John 16, verses 1 to 4.

But, my dear friends, the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that shall be revealed in us; for ear has not heard, nor eye seen, what God has prepared for those who love Him. For the righteous shall live forever; the Lord is their reward, and their care is with the Most High; therefore they shall receive a glorious kingdom and a beautiful crown from the Lord's hand. Wisdom 5, verses 15 and 16. So let us look with the eyes of the spirit 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 looked to the recompense of the reward, and counted the reproach of Christ greater than all the treasures of Egypt. Hebrews 11, verses 25 and 26.

With this, my dear friends, I will commend you to the Lord, and to the rich Word of His grace, so that by it you may in this time grow up, blossom, and 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, as well as I can recollect, 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 Augustine and others of their teachers, and also assert that they have existed so long. They do not know, or will not know, that they have held 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 that God sends strong delusions, because they did not receive the love of the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Read Second Thessalonians 2. There it is written of the man of sin and the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped.

I further inform you that they assailed me, and would have liked to bring me back to their doctrine. I wanted to show them from the parable of the tares of the field (Matthew 13, verse 24) that it is unbecoming and contrary to the doctrine of Christ, and also contrary to common love and propriety, that anyone should be arrested for his faith (of misunderstanding of the holy Scriptures), robbed of their goods, tortured or put to death; and I partly laid before them the declaration of Christ, that the Father of the household commanded His servants to let the tares and the wheat grow up together until the harvest, which is the end of the world, according to Christ's own declaration. But they said: Jam messis est, that is: [n1202-1] "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."

They wanted to excuse themselves by the authorities; but I warned them, since they were the teachers and preachers of the authorities, that our blood would be required at their hands if they teach the authorities this, and encourage, compel or counsel them to it, 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: "No, lest while you gather up the tares, you also root up the wheat with them." But they want to be wiser, and to rule over Christ; by this 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, indeed sheep, doves and members of Christ, or branches on the vine, they would not persecute or inflict suffering upon anyone, but would rather suffer and bear persecution. But evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. Second Timothy 3, verses 12 and 13.

Again, we also had a controversy concerning baptism with the same Jesuits, and also with the Dean of Saint John's and their pastor, who defended infant baptism and considered it necessary for salvation. But I quoted to them various 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 grasped with the heart, as Philip said to the eunuch. Acts 8, verse 37. "If you believe with all your heart, you may." 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 has made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said to Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brothers, what shall we do? Then Peter said to them, Repent." Then 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 you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." In the same chapter it is also written: "And with many other words he testified and exhorted, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added to them about three thousand souls."

And the Dean of Saint John's, and the pastor of the same church, when we talked with them, made a long speech from John 3, where Christ declares

"Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." I said that He had spoken that to adults; but he would claim that it was spoken of everyone, of children as well as adults, and wanted to conclude from it that infants who 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 who have ears to hear and hearts to understand. But they insisted: "Unless a man is 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 to unfeigned love of the brothers, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently; being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides forever." First Peter 1, verses 22 and 23. And James says: "Of his own will he begot us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." James 1, verse 18. And John says: "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." First John 5, verse 1. Christ also says: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from, or where it goes; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3, verses 6 to 8. See, then, the new birth is brought about 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. I have added this here as an explanation of the new birth to you.

We also spoke 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." Romans 5, verse 10. And in the Acts of the Apostles it is written: "To 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, verse 26. And John says in his first epistle: "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son," and not the blood of Mary. First John 1, verse 7. The apostle Paul also says to the Corinthians: "The first man is of the earth, earthly; the second man is the Lord from heaven." First Corinthians 15, verse 47. And in the Gospel we read: "He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth is earthly, and speaks of the earth; he who comes from heaven is above all. And what he has seen and heard, that he testifies; and no man receives his testimony. He who has received his testimony has set his seal that God is true." John 3, verses 31 to 33. And to the Hebrews it is written: "Therefore, when he comes into the world, he says, Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but a body you have prepared for me." Hebrews 10, verse 5. And in Matthew 1, verse 20 it is written: "Joseph, you son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife to yourself; for that which is received (conceived) in her is of the Holy Ghost." That which she received (mark well) did not come from her; otherwise it would be of the earth, as Mary was, and as all the children of Adam are. Not that we had all these words with them, but so 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. Then 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 working 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 do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Ghost shall come upon you, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow you; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God." Luke 1, verses 34 and 35. In John it is written: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eats 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, verse 51. Mark well here where this bread, which He calls His flesh, came from: 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 somewhat concerning the Lord's Supper and the breaking of the bread with the Dean of Saint John's and their pastor, and their view was that Christ's flesh and blood were in their sacrament. Then 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 profits nothing; the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life." And I quoted to them the declaration of Paul, First Corinthians 11, verse 26: "As often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you show forth the Lord's death till he comes." "So He is certainly not there," I said. 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 to sin; for the Holy Spirit flees from the froward." Wisdom 1, verses 4 and 5. And many other words were 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 anyone who did this, he should be reproved, as they said; and in 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 do not hear; they have eyes, but they do not see." Psalm 115, verses 4 to 6. One of them, when he heard this, wanted to say that they did not have any; but on considering the matter carefully, 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.

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

BARTHOLOMEUS PANTEN.