• William Tyndale

    The Life And Ministry Of William Tyndale

    Ken Connolly, “The Church In Transition”, Page 73: William Tyndale was actually born as William Hychyns, near the Welsh border in Gloustershire, in the year 1494. He later registered at Magdalen Hall in Oxford as William Hychyns. We know very little about his family, except that he had two brothers, John and Edward. Hychyns/Tyndale graduated with a Master's degree in 1515, and spent the next four years in Oxford. The very next year, Erasmus, who had previously spent three years lecturing at Oxford, published his Greek New Testament. Erasmus “Novium Instrumentum” began to take rival Cambridge by storm. The spiritual climate at Oxford was such that it would be another eight years before anyone would lecture from the Bible. Therefore, in 1519, William Tyndale decided…

  • Thieleman J. Van Braght, Martyrs Mirror

    80. Epipodius And Alexander

    Epipodius Of Lyons, And Alexander, The Greek, Martyred For The Testimony Of The Evangelical Truth, At Lyons In France; The One Beheaded, And The Other Crucified, About The Year 179 In the seventeenth year of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, there were slain, among other pious martyrs at Lyons in France, Epipodius, a citizen of Lyons, and Alexander, a Greek by birth; whose imprisonment, suffering, and death occurred in this wise: When the heathen thought that the Christian name was entirely extirpated at Lyons and Vienne, and that no person who confessed it was remaining, these two, as the remainder of the Christians there, were betrayed, accused, and, three days afterwards, placed before the tribunal of the Governor. There they were interrogated in regard to their…

  • Thieleman J. Van Braght, Martyrs Mirror

    79. Alcibiades

    Alcibiades, A Pious Christian, Martyred At Lyons In France, About The Year 179 In the letter of the church at Lyons and Vienne, there is mentioned, among various pious martyrs who suffered for the name of Jesus Christ, Alcibiades, of whom it is stated that he held a very retired and austere life, his diet consisting of nothing but salt, bread and water. This manner of life he also wished to continue in prison, but being instructed by the pious man Attalus, that thereby he would leave to his brethren and fellow-martyrs a seeming reproach for luxuriousness of life, if they would not do likewise, he thenceforth partook also of other food, with thankfulness. However, this did not last long, since he was soon deprived,…

  • Thieleman J. Van Braght, Martyrs Mirror

    78. Photinus

    An Old Man Of Ninety Years, Called Photinus, Miserably Maltreated For The Testimony Of Jesus Christ, Before the Tribunal, At Lyons, In France, Who Afterwards Died In The Prison, About The Year 179 In Eusebius' Church History, as well as in several other ancient writers, mention is made of a certain old man, of more than ninety years, called Photinus, a teacher of the church at Lyons, in France. It is stated of him, that on account of his great age he could not walk, but, having such a burning desire to die for the name of Christ, he, as A. Mellinus has recorded, had himself carried before the judgment seat, in order to be sentenced to death with the other martyrs. When he was…

  • Joseph Philpot's Sermons

    Faithfulness unto Death

    Preached at North Street Chapel, Stamford, on Lord's Day Morning, Dec. 8, 1861 "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried: and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”—Revelation 2:10 These words which, as uttered by my voice, are still sounding in your ears, form a part of the message sent by the Lord Jesus Christ through his servant John to the angel of the church of Smyrna. This, I need not tell you, was one of the seven churches in Asia to which special messages were addressed by the Lord Jesus when he appeared to…

  • Thieleman J. Van Braght, Martyrs Mirror

    77. Maturus, Sanctus, Blandina, and a Youth from Pontus

    Maturus, Sanctus, Blandina, And A Youth From Pontus, Most Miserably Tormented, On The River, Rhone, About The Year 172 It is manifest from the ancient writers, that in and about the time that Attalus was slain, various other martyrs were likewise put to death for the sake of Jesus Christ, almost in the same manner, or, at least, with equally great torments. Some of these martyrs are not mentioned, while others are, namely, Maturus, Sanctus, Blandina, and a youth of fifteen years, from Pontus. Touching the circumstances of their suffering and death, we find that, in substance, it occurred, in the following manner: First, three of the aforementioned persons, namely, Maturus, Sanctus, and Blandina, were exceedingly and dreadfully tormented, especially Blandina, for whom the others…