Thank you so much for your good letter. Christian Olsen from Trondhjem is here in Horten now. The first time he came here things went well, but now he has started attacking me. In particular, he attacks the doctrines I have preached. Yesterday he fought viciously, and in the guise of being a servant of the Lord, he wanted to exhort me to live more godly and to pray more. He has gotten Berg to join him. Berg went so far that he wanted to silence me. But he later acknowledged his error and became very humble. Yesterday, he again sided with Christian Olsen. I couldn’t get any support from Ellefsen or Brungot, so I had to fight alone.

Christian Olsen works against me when he speaks, and I have sensed resistance from him when I pray. It appears he wants to attack me and suppress me, as Berg has tried to do several times; but God has always given me victory. I would much prefer just to sit there and not say much, if only they would lead things in the right direction; but when things go off course, I have to intervene. Christian Olsen has attacked me several times, but up until today, he has only beat his horns against the rock. And he will, as surely as the Lord lives—who constantly stands by me—suffer badly as a result if he continues doing this. I do not want to be anything other than what God wants me to be, and I have no intention of coming with any other doctrines than those God has revealed. Nor do I seek the honor of any man; for God has shown me that the glory of man doesn’t last very long. For these reasons, I am relying on God alone and biding my time. He has never once put me to shame.

Yesterday, Christian Olsen was quite pale; I don’t think he is used to being contradicted like that. He used some expressions that he really shouldn’t have used. His battle is only with me, and no one else. This battle is not over yet. And I will continue to do just what I have been doing: namely, to test those who call themselves apostles; perhaps liars will be found among them. I have always kept Olsen at a sword’s length, and this has become intolerable for him. He has come back to Horten four times after taking short trips elsewhere. He has stayed with Berg, and he is now staying with Ellefsen. Tonight we will have another meeting. I would love to get this over with. What he really wants is to overpower me, and I would gladly let him do that, if only he could draw me nearer to Christ; but I understand that he is not capable of doing that—on the contrary, he would do away with a whole lot of glorious truths if he were allowed to take control.

I think you need to be aware of this, because I truly have no one as like-minded as you are, who so fully understands the things I speak about. You want to move your business to Kristiania and also start a paper from there. I think that would be very good. There is no decent publication in the entire country, because they all seek their own in some way or another.

Thanks be to God who always gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Warmest greetings to you, to everyone at home, and to Helga and Gerrard. I am writing this in a hurry before eating dinner. Hope you received my letter.

Yours, partaking in the same warfare,