Dear brothers and sisters, we must not fear the flames of persecution!
Thomas Hawkes was an English Protestant martyr during the reign of Queen Mary I. He was a preacher who refused to renounce his faith in Protestantism and would not pray for the Queen, despite being threatened with death.
Unable to get him to recant, they passed the awful sentence of death upon him. To this he firmly replied, that he would rather suffer death than renounce his faith in the gospel.
While in prison waiting till he be taken to the stake, Hawkes was allowed to see his friends. Several of them asked him if it would be possible for him to give them some token to show that a man could suffer the fire without despairing. Hawkes promised, “by the help of God, to show them that the most terrible torments could be endured in the glorious cause of Christ and his gospel, the comforts of which were able to lift the believing soul above all the injuries men could inflict.”
It was agreed between them that if the pains of burning were bearable, the martyr should lift up his hands toward heaven before he died as a signal to his friends.
Hawkes was led to the the stake to be burned in 1555 in front of a crowd in Smithfield, London.
A famous account of his courage says that, even as the flames rose, he held up his hand to show the crowd that he felt no pain, demonstrating his steadfast faith to onlookers. His death became a symbol of Protestant resolve during a time of intense persecution.
Thomas Hawkes was an English Protestant martyr during the reign of Queen Mary I. He was a preacher who refused to renounce his faith in Protestantism and would not pray for the Queen, despite being threatened with death.
Unable to get him to recant, they passed the awful sentence of death upon him. To this he firmly replied, that he would rather suffer death than renounce his faith in the gospel.
While in prison waiting till he be taken to the stake, Hawkes was allowed to see his friends. Several of them asked him if it would be possible for him to give them some token to show that a man could suffer the fire without despairing. Hawkes promised, “by the help of God, to show them that the most terrible torments could be endured in the glorious cause of Christ and his gospel, the comforts of which were able to lift the believing soul above all the injuries men could inflict.”
It was agreed between them that if the pains of burning were bearable, the martyr should lift up his hands toward heaven before he died as a signal to his friends.
Hawkes was led to the the stake to be burned in 1555 in front of a crowd in Smithfield, London.
A famous account of his courage says that, even as the flames rose, he held up his hand to show the crowd that he felt no pain, demonstrating his steadfast faith to onlookers. His death became a symbol of Protestant resolve during a time of intense persecution.
Dear brothers and sisters, we must not fear the flames of persecution!
Thomas Hawkes was an English Protestant martyr during the reign of Queen Mary I. He was a preacher who refused to renounce his faith in Protestantism and would not pray for the Queen, despite being threatened with death.
Unable to get him to recant, they passed the awful sentence of death upon him. To this he firmly replied, that he would rather suffer death than renounce his faith in the gospel.
While in prison waiting till he be taken to the stake, Hawkes was allowed to see his friends. Several of them asked him if it would be possible for him to give them some token to show that a man could suffer the fire without despairing. Hawkes promised, “by the help of God, to show them that the most terrible torments could be endured in the glorious cause of Christ and his gospel, the comforts of which were able to lift the believing soul above all the injuries men could inflict.”
It was agreed between them that if the pains of burning were bearable, the martyr should lift up his hands toward heaven before he died as a signal to his friends.
Hawkes was led to the the stake to be burned in 1555 in front of a crowd in Smithfield, London.
A famous account of his courage says that, even as the flames rose, he held up his hand to show the crowd that he felt no pain, demonstrating his steadfast faith to onlookers. His death became a symbol of Protestant resolve during a time of intense persecution.
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