The Fourth Man – A Story of the Afscheiding

The Fourth Man, written by P. S. Kuiper and translated by Rev. Cornelius Hanko, tells the story of the Afscheiding in the Netherlands. Afscheiding is the Dutch word for “separation.” In this tale we are given the story of a separation from the state church from the perspective of different families

The Sesquicentennial of the Afscheiding

The Afscheiding and the Well-meant Gospel Offer

Prof. Hanko is professor emeritus of Church History and New Testament in the Protestant Reformed Seminary. Introduction The Afscheiding (Secession) of 1834 was a true reformation of the church. It was a work of God through the Spirit of the exalted Christ by which the true church of Christ was del

The Afscheiders – Too Young?

What a wonder he performed in The Netherlands in 1834! Afscheiding

Rev. C. Hanko – Chapter 7: Rev. Hoeksema Comes to Eastern Avenue CRC

These Dutch folk who had come from the Netherlands during the 19th century were mainly of the Secession (Afscheiding) of 1834 or of the Separation (Doleantie) of 1886. Both parties knew their doctrinal position and were determined to maintain it over against each other.

John Calvin’s Institutes and Ottawa County

Eventually, his teaching conflicted with the doctrines of the officially sanctioned State Reformed Church (De Hervormde Kerk) and he submitted to abuse, slander, and a nearly year-long banishment from his pulpit.10 On October 13, 1834 two elders, three deacons, and Hendrick De Cock signed the Act o

Through Strife to Victory: Chapter 14 – What is Wrong With the Three Points

You will recall that in chapter 2 reference was made to the Afscheiding, the Secession or Separation of 1834 under Rev. De Cock of Ulrum. Mention was also made of the fact that even among the men of the Secession there were some who preached a general, well-meant offer of grace and salvation. The im

Through Strife to Victory Chapter 2 – How Heresy Creeps In

First were the sons of the Afscheiding of 1834, the second were the sons of the Doleantie of 1886. Both groups had left the State Church of the Netherlands because of modernism and worldliness in 1892. Even though the members of the Afscheiding had shed the modernism that had crept into the Hervormd

The Fourth Man (9)

Each one knew that a secessionist must expect scorn and contempt, loss of friends, and sometimes even worse. But God’s Spirit had driven them upon the way of obedience, and on the 15th of December twenty one confessing members and six baptized members had separated themselves from the church at Hilv

Professor H. Hanko