History

Customs of Bible Times – Betrothal and Wedding

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Ancient Marriage

Difference Between a Promise and a Betrothal

Among the Jews of Bible times a couple could be engaged with a promise of marriage that may not be definite, as these could be broken off or set aside. However, if there was a betrothal entered into, it was consid­ered as final.

The betrothal was not the same as the wedding, and these two events must not be confused. At least a whole year elapsed between the betrothal and the actual wedding. The law said, “What man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her?” Deuteronomy 20:7. Here the two events are differentiated: betrothing a wife and taking a wife, i.e., in actual marriage. It was during this period of about a year, between the betrothal and the wedding, that Mary was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 7:18).

The Apparel of the Groom and Bride

When the night arrived for the wedding festivities to begin, and it was time to go for his bride, the groom was dressed as much as pos­sible like a king. If he were rich enough to afford it, he wore a gold crown. Otherwise it would be a garland of fresh flowers. His garments would be scented with frankincense and myrrh; his girdle would be of silk and brilliantly colored; his sandals would be figured and carefully laced. … This preparation of the groom for the wedding has been aptly described in the prophecy of Isaiah, “He hath clothed me with the garments of sal­vation, He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments.” Isaiah 61:10.

The adorning of the bride was a very costly and elaborate affair. Much time was given to the preparation of her person. Every effort was put forth to make her complexion glossy and shining with a luster like unto marble. The words of David must have been their ideal for her: “that our daugh­ters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace.” Psalm 33 144:12. Her dark locks of hair were often braided with gold and pearls. She was decked with all the precious stones and jewels that the family had inherited from previous generations. Those who were too poor to afford much would borrow what they could from their friends.

The wedding festivities, and especial­ly the bride’s adornment, would always be remembered by her. The prophet Jer­emiah made reference to this thought, “Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?” Jeremiah 2:32. The apostle John saw the New Jerusalem “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” Revelation 21:2.

The Groom Leaves His Father’s Home to Get His Bride

Sometimes the bride’s relations would conduct her from her father’s house to the house of her fiancé, where her new home was to be. But more often, as was the case of the ten virgins in Christ’s parable, the bridegroom himself went in person to bring her to his home for the wedding festivities to take place there. Before leaving the house that had been her home, she would receive the blessing of her relatives. Thus Rebekah’s relatives sent her away with a typical Eastern marriage blessing, “Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.” Genesis 24:60. The bride left her father’s house adorned and perfumed with a crown on her head. Ezekiel’s description of the bride is very appropriate, “I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.” Ezekiel 16:11, 12.

The Wedding Procession

The bridegroom set out with his bride from the house of her parents, and there followed a grand procession all the way to his house. The streets of Asiatic cities were dark, and it was necessary that anybody venturing forth at night should carry a lamp or torch. Those invited guests, who did not go to the bride’s home, were allowed to join the procession along the way, and go with the whole group to the marriage feast. Without a torch or lamp, they could not join the procession or enter the bridegroom’s house.

The ten virgins waited for the procession to arrive. The five wise virgins were able to proceed because they had a reserve supply of oil for their lamps, but the foolish virgins lacked oil, so not being ready, they were barred from the wedding feast. Matthew 25:1–13.

With her face veiled, the bride allowed her hair to be loose and flowing while on the journey to the groom’s house. Her own relations preceded her in the procession, scattering ears of parched grain to the children along the way.

Arrival at the House of the Bridegroom

After arriving at the bridegroom’s house, some of the older women had the task of arranging the bride’s hair. Her flowing locks were hidden beneath a thick veil. From this time on, the custom would dictate that her face was not to be unveiled in public. She was led to her place under a canopy, which was located either inside the house or, if the weather permitted, in the open air. Her place was beside her husband, where both would hear new words of benediction given by one of the fathers or by some important person who might be present.

The Wedding Feast

Every guest that attended the feast was required to wear a wedding garment (Matthew 22:12). The wedding banquet was presided over by the ruler of the feast. John 2:8, 9. It was his duty to take care of all the preparations, and during the feast, he would mingle among the guests and see to it that they lacked nothing, instructing servants to carry out all the necessary details. The expression “children of the bride chamber” (Matthew 9:15), used by Jesus, simply means the guests at the wedding. The governor or ruler of the feast returned thanks at the dinner and pronounced benedictions at appointed times. He also blessed the wine. It was customary to tell riddles at these feasts like Samson did at his wedding (Judges 14:12–18). During the meal, mirthfulness prevailed and the guests were expected to exalt the bride.

There was no religious ceremony at the feast. In place of this were the benedictions of relatives and friends. The benediction of those who witnessed the wedding arrangements for Ruth and Boaz is a good example of what would be included in such a benediction (Ruth 4:11). It corresponds to the well wishing of Western wedding guests. After the wedding feast was over, the husband was escorted by his friends into the apartment where his wife had previously been conducted. These wedding festivities with relatives and friends lasted for a whole week (Judges 14:17), but the entire number of what was called “the days of the marriage” was thirty.

Fred H. Wight, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1953, 129–134.

Customs of Bible Times – Death in Eastern Lands

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The attitude of the people of the East toward death, and their behavior at such times, is so strikingly different from the attitude and behavior in the West that the Bible student will do well to study such customs.

The Death Wail

As soon as a death has taken place in the East, a wail is raised that announces to all the neighborhood what has happened. This is a sign for the relatives to begin demonstrating their sorrow. This death wail is referred to in connection with the first-born of Egypt, “And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead” (Exodus 12:30).

Such a death-wail heard in an Eastern desert has been thus described as, “a sharp, shrill, ear-piercing shriek.” This shriek is followed by prolonged wails. When this is heard, everybody knows a death has occurred.

Lamentation

From the time the death wail is heard, until the burial takes place, relatives and friends continue their lamentation. The prophet Micah compares it to the cry of wild beasts or birds: “I will make a wailing like the jackals, and a lamentation like the ostriches” (Micah 1:8, ARV). Such lamentation was in the house of Jairus when Jesus entered it: “And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly” (Mark 5:38).

The Hebrew prophets mention professional mourners, who were called in at the time of sorrow to express mourning for the dead. “Call for the mourning women, that they may come; … and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us” (Jeremiah 9:17, 18). Another reference is to “such as are skillful of lamentation” (Amos 5:16). The presence of such a group of mourners hired for the occasion seems out of place to the Occidental (European) mind; but certainly such professional wailers are no more lacking in helpfulness to the Easterner than are non-religious professional singers at a Western funeral service.

Expressions of Sorrow and Comfort

Since people from the East are so very demonstrative and emotional, it is difficult for those not acquainted with their customs to appreciate their method of expressing their sorrow, and their attempts to be comforted. In times of grief and sorrow, sackcloth is worn, and they often rend their garments in order to let people know how deep is their grief (II Samuel 3:31). The beating of the breast is another method of expressing sorrow (Luke 23:48). Tears flow freely at such times and are considered to be a definite means of bringing comfort to sorrowing hearts (John 11:33).

Preparation of the Body for Burial

In Syria the custom has prevailed of wrapping the dead. Usually the face is covered with a napkin, and then the hands and feet are bound round with linen cloth. The body is then put upon a bier, with a pole at each corner, and thus carried on the shoulders of men to the tomb for burial. The description of Lazarus, when Jesus called him forth from the tomb, indicates that the same custom was practiced in those days: “Out came the dead man, his feet and hands tied with wrappings, and his face tied up with a handkerchief” (John 11:44). Also we know that the body of Jesus was thus wrapped by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus: “Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury” (John 19:40). Embalming spices were used when they could be afforded.

Eastern Funerals

Today there are thousands of rock-cut tombs scattered over the land of Palestine, to bring to mind past decades. Such tombs were made by the wealthy. Not being able to afford these, the poorer folks buried their dead in graves. Some of these tombs had many chambers in them. They were closed by a rolling-stone which ran down an inclined plane in front of the mouth of the sepulcher. In the vicinity of ancient Gadara (Luke 8:27), there are many rock-hewn tombs today, bringing to mind the experience of Jesus when he met the demoniac who lived in the tombs.

Often the dead were buried in graves dug in the earth, as in the case of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, who was buried under an oak at Bethel (Genesis 35:8). Natural caves were sometimes utilized, as in the case of the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah, and Jacob were placed (Genesis 49:31; 50:13). When they could afford to do so, families had a sepulcher. Gideon was buried in the sepulcher of Joash his father (Judges 8:32). Only prophets and kings were buried within the limits of a city, as Samuel, who was buried in his house at Ramah (I Samuel 25:1), and David, who was buried in the city of David (I Kings 2:10). A graveyard for poorer people was located outside Jerusalem (II Kings 23:6).

In Bible times it was quite customary for the sorrowing ones to fast up to the time of burial. Then, following the funeral they would be offered bread and wine as a comforting refreshment. Such was called a mourning feast, which had as its real purpose the comforting of the mourners. The prophet Jeremiah refers to this custom: “Neither shall men break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother” (Jeremiah 16:7, ARV). This mourning feast brought to an end the period of deepest sorrow and strict fasting.

Biblical Expression of Eastern Mourning

The Psalmists, Prophets, and Apostles often make use of expressions referring to Eastern mourning. Some of these cannot be appreciated by the Occidental, unless the highly emotional character of the Easterner is understood, and also his fondness for figurative language. The Psalmist says: “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they keep not thy law” (Psalm 119:136). The prophet exclaims, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!” (Jeremiah 9:1.) And it was to Easterners that Paul said, “Weep with them that weep” (Romans 12:15). It will pay the Bible student dividends if he will read the Word with the Eastern point of view.

Fred H. Wight, Manners and Customs of Bible Lands, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1953, 142–146.

Martin Luther, part XV – The Diet at Augsburg

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Emperor Charles V had called for a Diet of all the German States in Augsburg on April 8, 1530. With spring and the opening of the Alps, Charles began his travels to Germany from Italy. He arrived at Innspruck in May. Here the counselor Gattinara, who had encouraged Charles to avoid using the sword against Protestantism, sickened and died. This left only Campeggio as counselor to Charles, and he was the Pope’s specially commissioned counseler, who called for an inquisition against the reformers. Many of the Protestant princes themselves called for war, but Luther replied, “No, let no man resist the emperor: if he demands a sacrifice, lead me to the altar.” History of Protestantism, 581. He wrote to the princes calling for Christian patience and firm faith and “his noble hymn, ‘A Strong Tower is Our God,’ began to be heard in all the churches of Germany. Its heroic strains pealed forth by thousands of voices, and swelling grandly aloft, kindled the soul and augmented the confidence and courage of the Protestant host. It continued to be sung in the public assemblies during all the time the Diet was in session.” Ibid., 581, 582.

In early April, the Protestant princes and the theologians began their journey to Augsburg. The people watched them leave with great anxiety. Not since the Diet at Worms in 1521, had there been such a widely felt and deep agitation in Germany. This contest was to decide great issues and the people, along with their representatives went in prayer to Augsburg . Luther’s hymn, sung by the travelers, drowned out the tramp of horses and the clank of armor, and served to increase their courage. Luther also preached a sermon at the end of each day’s march. Charles advanced closer to Augsburg, causing the hymn to be sung more loudly. Since he was to be present at the Diet, this brought out a full attendance of princes and deputies who were determined to also be present at this momentous occasion.

In March, Elector John of Saxony had issued an order for the theologians of Wittemburg to write a summary of the Protestant faith. It was meant to state, in a concise manner, how they differed from Rome. Luther, Melancthon, Jonas and Pomeranus worked on it jointly and presented it to the Elector before the trip. But a few weeks later at Augsburg, Melancthon enlarged and remodeled the articles, with a view in mind of having them read at the Diet. He worked long days and nights on this important task. “Nothing did he spare which a penetrating judgment and a lovely genius could do to make this Confession, in point of its admirable order, its clearness of statement, and beauty of style, such as would charm the ears and lead captive the understandings and hearts of the Roman Catholics in the Diet. ‘They must listen,’ he said, ‘in spite of themselves.’ Everything was put in the least offensive form. Wittemburg and Rome were brought as near to each other as the eternal barrier between the two permitted.” Ibid., 585.

During the journey it had been deemed best for Luther to stay at Elector John’s Castle of Coburg, rather than to be present at the Diet in person, since the Edict of Worms was still in effect. There he could still be kept informed of events and his advice could be sought, but he would not be in such danger. Luther studied and spent hours each day in prayer. Melancthon’s revised articles were sent to Luther at Coburg. He gave them his approval. “I have read over Master Philip’s apology: it pleases me right well, and I know not how to better or alter anything in it, and will not hazard the attempt; for I cannot tread so softly and gently. Christ our Lord help that it bear much and great fruit; as we hope and pray. Amen.” Ibid.

During the weeks that the crowds waited on Charles to arrive, they were given opportunity to hear the Protestant teachings, as the churches were opened and Protestant preachers gave daily messages which attracted thousands. The Papists were confounded by the courageous Lutherans, and they determined to replace these preachers with their own. These proved they had not learned how to preach and the crowds left them to deliver their noisy speeches in empty cathedrals.

The Emperor at Augsburg and the Opening of the Diet

June came, long past the April 8 date for the Diet, and Charles had still not arrived. The long delay caused Luther much anxiety. He used the time well, in study and prayer, and completed his translation of several books of the Old Testament during his confinement at Coburg. He daily spent three hours in prayer and added to this hours with the Scriptures. He needed rest but was not able to rest. He suffered from fears that seemed realities, but he wrote Scripture on the walls and claimed promises of safety and rest. He was able to come out the victor as he beheld in the skies the great firmament and the Hand that upheld it, and by faith he saw the mighty Hand that guided this movement. With this Hand in control what was the need of his own weak arm? From here he was able to strengthen Melancthon who was trying to uphold the heavens himself and was being crushed by its weight.

Melancthon was rushing here and there from one Romanist to another trying through every device to reconcile the parties. Luther clearly saw the two diametrically opposite churches and faiths in this matter, and he also saw that it was a waste of time and a risk to character and truth to try to reconcile the two. This Melancthon did not see. Luther counseled his friend, “If we are not the Church, where I pray is the Church?” Ibid., 593.

At last Charles made it to Augsburg on June 15, 1530 , and directed an assault against the Protestant sermons. “The crowds that gathered round the preachers were as great as ever. The emperor was galled by the sight of these enthusiastic multitudes . . . That the heresy which he had crossed the Alps to extinguish should be proclaimed in a score of churches, and within earshot of him, was more than he could endure. He sent for the Lutheran princes, and charged them to enjoin silence on their preachers. The princes replied that they could not live without the preaching of the Gospel, and that the citizens of Augsburg would not willingly consent to have the churches closed . . . After two days’ warm altercation it was concluded on the part of the Protestants—who feared to irritate too greatly the emperor, lest he should forbid the reading of their Confession in the Diet —that during the sitting of the Senate the Protestant sermons should be suspended; and Charles on his part agreed to appoint preachers who should impugn neither creed in their sermons, but steer a middle course between the old and the new faith . . . Those who went to witness the promised feat of preaching something that was neither Popery nor Protestantism, were not a little amused by the performances of this new sort of preachers. ‘Their sermons,’ said they, ‘are innocent of theology, but equally innocent of sense.’” Ibid., 589.

Charles opened the Diet with a speech. He told of the dangers presented by the Turks and then called for his hearers to execute the Edict of Worms. His speech shows the sad state of Christianity at this age. Priestcraft and despotism had so weakened the West that it was ready to be overcome by the Turks. Protestantism had arisen just in time to rekindle the nearly extinguished fires of patriotism and valor. Charles was calling for the death of the only hope the West had of being saved from being ruled from Constantinople and forced into Mohammedanism. The Diet had been called to deal with the problem of the Turks and to answer the religious questions. Charles decided to begin with the religious question.

Reading The Augsburg Confession

On the 23rd of June the Protestants met to sign their Confession which Melancthon had polished. This document had been prepared by theologians but it was signed by the laity. This was significant since “it proclaimed the forgotten fact that the laity form part of the Church . . . The Protestants agreed to demand that their Confession should be read publicly in the Diet. This was a vital point with them. They had not kindled this light to put it under a bushel, but to set it in a very conspicuous place; indeed, in the midst even of the princedoms, hierarchies, and powers of Christendom now assembled at Augsburg.” Ibid., 594.

After deliberations and delays, a public reading was granted to be given in a small hall that held only two hundred persons. Finally on the 25th of June the reading was given in German by Bayer, a chancellor of Elector John. All eyes were on the Protestants whose faces were radiant with joy. Bayer’s voice rang strong so all could hear, and for two hours the reading of the Confession continued. “Not a word was spoken all that time. This assembly of princes and warriors, statesmen and ecclesiastics, sat silent, held fast in the spell, not of novelty merely, but of the simplicity, beauty, and majesty of the truths which passed before them in the grand spiritual panorama which Melancthon’s powerful hand had summoned up. Till now they had known the opinions of the Protestants only as rumour had exaggerated, or ignorance obscured, or hatred misrepresented and vilified them: now they learned them from the pen of the clearest intellect and most accomplished scholar in the Lutheran host . . . The effect on some was surprise; on others, conviction; on most, it was the creation of a more conciliatory spirit towards the Lutherans.” Ibid., 599.

“The presentation of the Confession to the Diet was the culmination of the movement on German soil. It was the proudest hour of the Lutheran Church . . . The Augsburg Confession was not a perfectly accurate statement of Scripture truth by any means, but as a first attempt, made before the Reformation had completed its second decade, it was a marvellous effort . . . ‘Christ has been boldly confessed at Augsburg,’ said Luther, when the news reached him. ‘I am overjoyed that I have lived to this hour.’” Ibid., 601, 602.

“The Popish members were dismayed and confounded when they reflected on what had been done. The Diet had been summoned to overthrow the Reformation; instead of this it had established it.” Ibid. Two other Confessions followed, one from Bucer and signed by the four cities which held to the Zwinglian rather than the Lutheran view of the Lord’s supper, and the other from Zwingli stating his individual views. The Papists had hoped to find “a schism in a schism” but they found “that on one point only did they differ and that all were united in their repudiation and condemnation of Rome.” Ibid.

“Moreover, powerful princes were passing from the Romanist to the Protestant side . . . Their accession wellnigh doubled the political strength of the Reformation . . . The Confession was translated into most of the languages of Europe, and circulated in the various countries; the misrepresentations and calumnies which had obscured and distorted the cause were cleared away; and Protestantism began to be hailed as a movement bringing with it renovation to the soul and new life to States.” Ibid., 602, 603.

The morning after the reading, Charles knew that he had made a bad start of this matter. He determined to correct his first false move and he sought counsel. Some suggested concessions that might appease the Protestants while leaving the mass and the authority of the Church intact. Charles liked this idea but Campeggio convinced him not to follow this counsel. He listened to many and varied counselors and determined that he must look into this matter himself. He did not speak German and so he ordered a perfectly accurate translation of the Confession into French.

In the meantime he called the deputies of the free cities of Germany into his ante-chamber. They were astonished by the demand made upon them. After the reading of Melancthon’s eloquent words which had caused such obvious perplexity among the Romanists, they expected a concession or an overture of conciliation, but they received a demand that they withdraw their support of the “Protest of the Princes” given at Spires in 1529. The deputies answered that in a matter of such importance they must have time to make an answer.

They had not thought much of the protest at the time but it was becoming evident that a wisdom not their own had ruled in the matter. “The Protest had deposited in Christendom the one everlasting corner-stone of freedom and virtue—an emancipated conscience . . . An emancipated conscience they committed to the guardianship of the Bible: and the supremacy of the Bible they placed under the sovereignty of God. Thus they brought conscience in immediate contact with her Lord, and human society they placed under the rule of its rightful and righteous king.” Ibid. The Protest “restored society to God . . . Protestantism came to reinstate the Divine government over the world. It did so by placing the authority of Scripture above the chair of the Pope, and lifting the crown of Christ above the throne of the emperor.” Ibid., 605.

Attempted Refutation of the Confession

Charles summoned a council of the Popish members of the Diet to give him advice concerning the Confession. Their counsel was not wise and was more of a distraction and embarrassment to Charles than a help. In the end it was decided that a few learned doctors would be appointed to write a Refutation of the Lutheran Confession which would then be read to the princes and ratified by Charles. Those selected for the task were twenty extreme Romanists, and it was clear that there would be no concessions to the Protestants. “Before unsheathing the sword, they would first make trial with the pen. They would employ violence with all the better grace afterwards.” Ibid., 608.

All knew too that this Refutation could not stand against the Confession if the Bible were the basis of its arguments. “‘Doctor,’ inquired the Duke of Bavaria, addressing Eck, ‘can you confute that paper out of the Bible?’ ‘No,’ replied he, ‘but it may be easily done from the Fathers and Councils.’ ‘I understand,’ rejoined the duke, ‘I understand; the Lutherans are in Scripture, and we are outside .’” Ibid.

Luther was inspired and encouraged at the prospect of the battle, but Melancthon was in despair. Luther’s hours of prayer and his great faith begat faith, as he wrote to encourage his friend that the battle was God’s and that He would win. The adherents of Lutheranism might die, but the cause would win. “So did the battle proceed on the two sides. Wiles, frowns, threats, with the sword as the last resort, are seen on the one side—prayers, tears, and faith on the other.” Ibid., 610.

Charles had sent two groups away with instruction to return with answers. The first to return were the deputies of the free cities. Charles had hoped that the differences within the cities on the question of the Lord’s supper might split the Protestant front, but they stood united and firm against the common foe and stated that they could not obey the emperor’s wishes as this would cause them to disobey God. The second group to return were the Popish doctors with their refutation or more rightly stated condemnation of the Protestant Confession.

After seeing the 280 page document and finding that it made no refutation at all but was full of abuse, Charles could see that “her worst foe could not do Rome a more unkindly act, or Wittemburg a greater service, than to publish such a document.” It would never stand under contrast with the Confession. Another refutation must be attempted.

End of the Diet of Augsburg

Six weeks were required to rewrite the Refutation. In the mean time Charles attempted to split the Protestants through the princes. “They were taken one by one, in the hope that they would be found less firm when single than they were when taken together. Great offers—loftier titles, larger territories, more consideration—were made to them would they but return to the Church. When bribes failed to seduce them, threats were had recourse to . . . Neither were threats able to bend them to submission . . . Their faith taught them not to fear the wrath of the powerful Charles. No efforts were spared to compel the Elector John to bow the neck . . . He must make his choice between his crown and his Savior.” He could not be moved to deny his Lord. “John risked all; but in the end he retained all, and amply vindicated his title to the epithet given him—‘John the Constant.’” Ibid., 614.

On September 3, Charles called his princes together to hear the reading of the Refutation. There were some areas of agreement with the Confession of the Protestants, but this Refutation professed the old fabric of salvation by works and “maintained the Divine authority of the hierarchy, and of course the correlative duty of absolute submission to it; the Protestants acknowledged no infallible rule on earth but the Scriptures.” Ibid., 615.

“When the reading was finished the emperor addressed the elector and the other Protestant princes to the effect that, seeing their Confession had now been refuted, it was their duty to restore peace to the Church, and unity to the Empire, by returning to the Roman obedience. He demanded, in fine, consent to the articles now read, under pain of the ban of the Empire.” Ibid.

“The Protestant princes were not a little surprised at the emperor’s peremptoriness. They were told that they had been refuted, but unless they should be pleased to take the emperor’s word for it, they had no proof or evidence that they had been so . . . and as they knew of no power possessed by the emperor of changing bad logic into good, or of transforming folly into wisdom, the Protestant princes—a copy of the Refutation having been denied them—intimated to Charles that they still stood by their Confession.” Ibid.

Every attempt of the emperor and the Romish representative of the Diet had failed to bring the Protestants into submission. Everyday they seemed to display more courage and their cause was gaining strength, while the anger and perplexities of the Romanists increased. The emperor was at his wit’s end. He dared not carry out his threats against the Protestants. Luther, still in the Castle of Coburg was filled with joy and courage, and his letters reflect his assurance of victory and an elevation of faith.

“Meanwhile in the Diet promises had been tried and failed; threats had been tried and failed; negotiations were again opened, and now the cause had wellnigh been wrecked.” For though Luther was able to see by faith the Hands of God upholding all, Melancthon who was the chief negotiator for the Protestants seemed to imagine the imminent fall of the cause and was about to surrender all. For the sake of peace he all but sacrificed himself, his colleagues, and the work. His concessions were extraordinary. The lay Christians felt they were witnessing the burial of the movement. The Swiss Protestants were grief stricken. “Luther was startled and confounded.” He wrote to Augsburg. “I learned that you have begun a marvellous work, namely, to reconcile Luther and the Pope; but the Pope will not be reconciled, and Luther begs to be excused. And if in despite of them you succeed in this affair, then, after your example, I will bring together Christ and Belial.” Ibid., 616.

But Melancthon would not be counseled by Luther. His patience was short and his temper sour, and he was about to finish what he termed his work of conciliation when deliverance came from another avenue. The Romanists, as if smitten with madness, drew back at the very point of victory and refused to be reconciled. “Thus Rome lost the victory, which would in the end have fallen to her, had she made peace on the basis of Melancthon’s concessions. Her pride saved the German Reformation.” Ibid., 617.

Now it was left to Charles to end the Diet. An edict was sent out allowing the Protestants till April 15th to be reconciled to the Pope and forbidding the circulation of their books or proselytizing and demanding that they help to reduce the Anabaptists and the Zwinglians. “This edict Charles would have enforced at once with the sword, but the spirit displayed by the Protestant princes, the attitude assumed by the Turks, and the state of the emperor’s relations with the other sovereigns of Europe put war out of his power; and the consequence, was that the monarch who three months before had made his entry into Augsburg with so much pomp, and in so high hopes of making all things and parties bend to his will, retired from it full of mortification and chagrin, disappointed in all his plans, and obliged to conceal his discomfiture under a show of moderation and leniency.” Ibid.

The End

Ellen White in Vision

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Mrs. Ellen G. White was a woman very gifted in prayer, her voice clear, her words distinct and ringing, and it was almost always during one of these earnest seasons of prayer that she was taken off in vision. She also had important visions in public, usually an unexpected experience to those present.

Though many of her old friends and associates are passed away—Elders J. N. Loughborough, Uriah Smith, J. N. Andrews, S. N. Haskell, G. W. Amadon, and others, yet there are people living today in various parts of the world who have seen her in vision from time to time, and what is here stated [November 24, 1925] will doubtless be familiar to them.

As one who has frequently observed her in vision, knowing the company of people usually present, all deeply observant, and believers in her exercises, I have often wondered why a more vivid description of the scenes which transpired has not been given.

In vision her eyes were open. There was no breath, but there were graceful movements of the shoulders, arms, and hands, expressive of what she saw. It was impossible for anyone else to move her hands or arms. She often uttered words singly, and sometimes sentences, which expressed to those about her the nature of the view she was having, either of heaven or of earth.

Her first word in vision was “Glory,” sounding at first close by, and then dying away in the distance, seemingly far away. This was sometimes repeated. When beholding Jesus our Saviour, she would exclaim in musical tones, low and sweet, “Lovely, lovely, lovely,” many times, always with the greatest affection. Looking upon the cloud which enveloped the Father, as she afterward explained, her shoulders would draw back, her hands lift in awe, and her lips would close.

Sometimes she would cross her lips with her fingers, meaning that she was not at that time to reveal what she saw, but later a message would perhaps go across the continent to save some individual or church from disaster. She said, “Words cannot express the beauties of heaven”; no more can they describe these scenes of which she was a part. Her visions seemed to bring you nearer heaven; and you longed to be there.

There was never any excitement among those present during a vision; nothing caused fear. It was a solemn, quiet scene, sometimes lasting an hour—a scene, during which, like prophets of old, she saw so much of the vastness of God’s work for His people that it would be the principal subject of her writing for two or more years. When the vision was ended, and she lost sight of the heavenly light, as it were, coming back to the earth once more, she would exclaim with a long-drawn sigh, as she took her first natural breath, “D-a-r-k.” She was then limp and strengthless, and had to be assisted to her chair, her position in vision being a recumbent one.

These impressive scenes encouraged and strengthened the faith of those present, not only in her work, but in the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.

The first time I ever saw her in vision was at my father’s house in Potsdam, New York. I was a girl of twenty, and there were only a few Sabbathkeepers then anywhere, no church as yet having been organized. This was in the early [eighteen] fifties. Brother John Andrews accompanied Elder and Mrs. White in our place, my father having made an appointment for Sister White to speak at the Wesleyan Methodist church in Morley, two miles distant. Just as we were about to start for the meeting, a violent thunderstorm came up, lasting so long that we could not go.

But what I best remember of that evening, nearly seventy-five years ago, was the occasion of our family worship, when Sister White was taken in vision.

The subject of this vision was the Sabbath question, and in connection with it, she saw that God had a great work for Brother Andrews to do.

As she came out of vision she reached for the hand of a young woman near her and, calling her by name, earnestly said, “Will you keep the Sabbath?” As the girl hesitated, Sister White repeated, “Will you keep the Sabbath? Will you?” She responded, “I will,” and she always did to the day of her death. Sister White had had no acquaintance with this girl, a beautiful young woman about whom we had all been anxious, fearing that she would not take the right step concerning the Sabbath. The earnestness of the Lord’s servant won her over, and it seemed that the Lord must have presented this case in the vision and impressed Sister White with what to say.

Similarly these experiences have turned many other footsteps from the wrong path to the right. From the very first a love for Sister White sprang up in my heart, and never has faded away.

Those were the days of turnpikes and plank roads; and the year before the Civil War, Brother and Sister White drove through from Rochester to Vermont, visiting little churches on the way. Father had pitched a tent in his pasture and fenced it in. It would hold about fifty people; and he called in his friends and neighbors for a meeting with Brother and Sister White.

This was a wonderful occasion—Sister White was taken in vision. After coming out she walked up and down in the tent, appearing in great perplexity, and repeating these words several times: “This country is to be deluged with blood.” It was a startling prophecy to all present, for political men were saying that the prospect of war would soon be over. But God knew otherwise, and her words proved true, for soon fathers and sons had to stand the draft and were sent to the battle front; and the time came when our whole country was in mourning for the loss of sons.

Another vision, which has always been of the deepest interest to me was in Sister White’s own room in Battle Creek. She sometimes differed in judgment even with her associate workers, and at this time their opinion varied somewhat over a situation which had arisen, and the matter was so intense to her that she fainted under the pressure. She was laid on the bed and Brother White, much alarmed, sent for Elder J. N. Loughborough and others to pray. While prayer was being offered—we were all kneeling about her—Elder White exclaimed, “She’s gone!” He thought that she was dead. But at that very instant he saw a gentle movement of her hand, and, showing great relief, he said, “She’s in vision!” By this vision the matter that was so difficult to understand was made clear, and God’s instruction through her was accepted by His people.

It is not easy for one to describe the influence of the Holy Spirit upon an individual, but all of Sister White’s experiences were appropriate and harmonious, and in no way apocryphal. She was quick to discern between the right and the wrong. Eternity only will reveal the influence she has had in saving souls.

In the old church in Battle Creek, before the tabernacle was first built, Sister White at one time arose to address the meeting concerning some who were too critical of one another because of differences of doctrine. While speaking she walked back and forth on the platform, earnestly appealing to the people, and pressing the question as to whether they had hold of the silken cord of love. Suddenly the sound went through the audience as if she had dropped to the floor, but immediately it was apparent that she was wrapped in a vision of God’s glory. What she saw was short and to the point, and sealed the truth of what she had been saying against the criticism prevalent. Her reproofs on such occasions might seem to have been severe, but she always ended with cheering encouragement to those who would obey the counsel of God.

A vision was given Sister White at Brother Aaron Hilliard’s in Otsego. This was in 1863. Brother White had been laboring under heavy discouragements. One Friday morning he invited some of his friends in Battle Creek to go with him to Otsego for a Sabbath meeting, for there was a tent effort at that place.

Friday evening we found ourselves all assembled at Brother Hilliard’s for family worship, about a dozen being present. A chapter was read and Sister White led in prayer, Brother White kneeling across the corner from her. Her burden in prayer was for him, and as she prayed, while still on her knees, she moved over to his side, laid her hands on his shoulders, and prayed until she was taken in vision. This lasted for about three quarters of an hour. At this time she was given the light on the health reform. Brother White also was greatly blessed and encouraged, and he was relieved of the burden of discouragement that he had been carrying.

Sister White loved the cause she served from her girlhood days. She loved the schools and the Sabbath schools which prepared the young people for missionary work; she loved the sanitarium for their promotion of health; she loved the church memorials built in His name; she loved the printed page which ever tells of the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ was her favorite theme. Her constant association with the atmosphere of heaven and with God’s Holy Word gave her a delineation of character far beyond human standards. She talked with Jesus, and He entrusted her with His messages of truth and love. The law of kindness was in her heart; she was thoughtful and considerate of those less fortunate than herself. She loved the fields, the trees, the flowers, and nature in all its beautiful forms had a charm for her.

Those best acquainted with her work have the most confidence in it. When she made her first visit to our old home in New York, she made a little appeal to our family. At first my brothers and sisters manifested some prejudice, and assembled in a room by themselves. As she ceased speaking, I went to them and said, “It makes no difference how anyone feels; I know that she is a woman of God.”

I am now nearly ninety-two years old and am the only living member of the first organized Seventh-day Adventist church in Buck’s Bridge, New York, about a mile from father Byington’s farm, St. Joseph, Michigan, November 24, 1925—the sixty-fifth anniversary of her marriage to George Amadon. She was nearly 103 years old when she died. Review and Herald, May 18, 1944.

Pioneers Authors, 1984, J.N. Loughborough, In Heavenly Visions, part 2, 123–125.

Insight – The Martyrdom of Anne Askew

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Long, indeed, is the list that might be given of those who suffered for the truth in the fires of Smithfield, England. Perhaps the most interesting victim was the celebrated Anne Askew. She had been singled out by the crafty and ambitious enemies of Queen Katharine Parr and the godly ladies of her court, to be the instrument through whom they might find an accusation against the queen for holding the faith and the principles of the Reformation. Anne Askew was the youngest daughter of Sir William Askew, of Kolsey, in Lincolnshire. Her eldest sister had been engaged to marry a gentleman of the name of Kyme, a harsh and bigoted papist; but the sister died, and she was compelled by her father to take her sister’s place, and become the wife of Mr. Kyme. It had turned out a most unhappy marriage for poor Anne Askew. Her education had been superior to that usually given to her sex, and she was a woman of enlightened mind, unlike in character and disposition to her morose and narrow-minded husband. She seems to have been a child of God from her earliest years, and to have searched and prized the Holy Scriptures, which had made her wise unto salvation. Her love of truth, as it is found in its purity and freshness in the word of inspiration, had given great displeasure to her husband, and she was cruelly driven from her home. Being compelled to come up to London to sue for a divorce, the persecution of her husband and the popish priests followed her, and she fell into the toils which they had laid for her.

Two objects were plainly manifest in all the examinations which she underwent: The first was to make her incriminate herself, the second to lead her to incriminate the queen and those of her ladies who were suspected of holding “the new learning,” as the eternal truths of the gospel were termed by the papists.

We read that she was examined and questioned concerning her opinions by Christopher Dare, and Sir Martin Bowes, the then lord mayor, and their brother commissioners. With inimitable simplicity did she reply in the conversation which is recorded to have taken place between the lord mayor and herself.

But we pass over these examinations, in which the patience of those adversaries, who could not overcome her patience, was at length exhausted. These bold and crafty men were determined to spare neither threat nor violence, by which they might extort from her some word or other as a ground of accusation against the Lady Herbert, who was the queen’s sister, or the Duchess of Suffolk, and so at last Queen Katharine herself. As yet they discovered nothing.

Rich, and another of the counsel, came to her in the Tower, where she was then confined, and demanded that she should make the disclosures which they required concerning her party and her friends. She told them nothing. “Then they did put me in the rack,’’ she relates, “because I confessed no ladies or gentlemen to be of my opinion; and thereon they kept me a long time, and because I lay still and did not cry, my lord chancellor and Mr. Rich took pains to rack me with their own hands till I was nigh dead.” These two wretches, it is recorded, provoked by her saint-like endurance, ordered the lieutenant of the Tower to rack her again. He, Sir Anthony Knovitt, “tendering the weakness of the woman,” positively refused to do so. Then Wriothesly and Rich threw off their gowns, and, threatening the lieutenant that they would complain of his disobedience to the king, “they worked the rack themselves, till her bones and joints were almost plucked asunder.” When the lieutenant caused her to be loosed down from the rack, she immediately swooned. “Then,” she writes, “they recovered me again.” After that, “I sat two long hours reasoning with my lord chancellor on the bare floor, where he with many flattering words persuaded me to leave my opinion; but my Lord God, I thank His everlasting goodness, gave me grace to persevere, and will do, I hope, to the very end.” And she concludes this account to her friend by saying, “Farewell, dear friend, and pray, pray, pray.”

She gives her confession of faith, and concludes it with this beautiful prayer: “O Lord! I have more enemies now than there be hairs on my head, yet, Lord, let them never overcome me with vain words, but fight Thou, Lord, in my stead; for on Thee cast I my care! With all the spite they can imagine, they fall upon me, who am Thy poor creature. Yet, sweet Lord, let me not set by them that are against me; for in Thee is my whole delight. And, Lord, I heartily desire of Thee that Thou wilt of Thy most merciful goodness forgive them that violence which they do, and have done, unto me; open also Thou their blind hearts, that they may hereafter do that thing in Thy sight which is only acceptable before Thee, and to set forth Thy verity aright, without all vain fantasies of sinful men. So be it, O Lord, so be it.”

Unable to walk or stand, from the tortures she had suffered, poor Anne Askew was carried in a chair to Smithfield, and, when brought to the stake, was fastened to it by a chain which held up her body; and one who beheld her there describes her as “having an angel’s countenance, and a smiling face.”

At the very last, a written pardon from the king was offered to Anne Askew, upon condition that she would recant. The fearless lady turned away her eyes, and would not look upon it. She told them that she came not thither to deny her Lord and Master. The fire was ordered to be put under her, “and thus,” to use the words of John Foxe, “the good Anne Askew, with these blessed martyrs, having passed through so many torments, having now ended the long course of her agonies, being compassed in with flames of fire, as a blessed sacrifice unto God, she slept in the Lord, A.D. 1546, leaving behind her a singular example of Christian constancy for all men to follow.” Her crime was the denial of the mass. “Lo, this,” she wrote, “is the heresy that I hold, and for it must suffer death.” She kept the faith to her God; she kept the faith to her friends, for she betrayed no one, enduring shame and agony with meek, unshaken constancy. None but Christ, none but Christ could have made the weakness of a delicate woman so strong, the feebleness of a mortal creature so triumphant!

And thus the square of Smithfield, which was made, in the reign of Henry the first, “a lay stall of all ordure or filth.” The place of execution for felons and other transgressors has become not only drenched with the blood of martyrs, but hallowed by the faith and patience of the saints, by the witness of their good confessions, and by the breath of their dying prayers and praises.

But why bring those horrible details forward? Because, if ever there was a time when it was right to show the real character of popery, it is now. The principles of popery are beginning to spring up throughout the length and breadth of the land, openly in some parts, covertly in others; and men whose Bibles might have taught them other things, are beginning to be enamored with the delusions and ensnaring allurements of a system which can appear to be anything or everything, in order to suit all times and all circumstances; a system which, in the doctrine of tradition, opens the door to the most unbridled license, and finds a cloak for every enormity. We are told that those deadly superstitions, those savage persecutions, those inhuman tortures, were rather the fruit of those dark ages than peculiar to popery. I cannot agree to this. Popery contains in itself the germ of all the deadly errors and dreadful practices which have ever been inseparable from bigotry and superstition. Memorials of the English Martyrs.

The Signs of the Times, August 14, 1884.

Martin Luther, part XIV – Charles V

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Charles had been present at the Diet of Worms in 1521 where Luther had been condemned as a heretic. For nine years he has been prevented from carrying out the edict against Luther. First the Pope, fearing Charles’s growing power, had joined in the “Holy League” with Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England, and from 1521 to 1525 Charles was in war against that league.

Charles set his brother Ferdinand in charge of the Diet at Spires in 1526 for the purpose of having the Edict of Worms executed, but the outcome was just the opposite, with every state being given the freedom to decide on religious matters within its borders. That same year Charles found it necessary to carry the battle against the “Holy League” to Rome. The Pope and his cardinals fled to the Castle of St. Angelo while twenty thousand of Charles’ troops terrorized Rome’s inhabitants and sacked and pillaged the city. For the next three years the King was kept busy with intrigues and battles, as ambition and war strove together.

“Now it is from the region of the Danube that the hoarse roar of battle is heard to proceed. There the Turk is closing on fierce conflict with the Christian, and the leisure of Ferdinand of Austria, which otherwise might be worse employed, is fully occupied in driving back the hordes of a Tartar invasion.” History of Protestantism, 566.

The cities of Germany waited in terror for the approach of the Asiatic warriors and were greatly cheered by news that the invaders had suffered a defeat at Vienna. “The scarcity of provisions to which the Turkish camp was exposed, and the early approach of winter, with its snow-storms, combined to effect the raising of the siege and the retreat of the invaders; but Luther recognized in this unexpected deliverance the hand of God, and the answer of prayer.” Ibid., 567.

These troubles in the political world left the church, in peace, to organize and spread the doctrines of the Reformation. During these years of peace for the church, Luther translated the Bible into German, wrote his “Larger and Smaller Catechisms,” and produced numerous tracts and Bible commentaries. Wittenberg was not quiet for a minute. The university continued to teach religion and theology as well as the sciences.

Charles Refocuses His Attack on the Reformation

Now the emperor is “victorious over the league which his enemies had formed against him. He has defeated the King of France; he has taught Henry of England to be careful of falling a second time into the error he committed in the affair of Cognac; he has chastised the Pope and compelled Clement VII to sue for peace with a great ransom and the offer of alliance; and now he looks around him and sees no opponent save one, and that one apparently the weakest of all. That opponent swept from his path, he will mount to the pinnacle of power. Surely he who has triumphed over so many kings will not have to lower his sword before a monk. The emperor has left Spain in great wrath, and is on his way to chastise those audacious Protestants, who are now, as he believes, fully in his power.” Ibid, 567.

It would be much easier for Charles if these rebels were in some other part of his realm. He could easily have carried out the Edict of Worms had the offenders been in Spain or Flanders, but in Germany, Charles must follow the constitutional forms he had agreed to, at his coronation as emperor. In Germany he had to consult the will of others, so he proceeded to convoke another Diet at Augsburg. He first needed to make sure the crafty Pope was going to abide by their alliance, and this necessitated a trip to Italy for a personal interview.

In the autumn of 1529, he set sail from Spain through the Mediterranean to Genoa. The Italians feared the approach of their new master and were pleasantly surprised to see, when he landed, not a ferocious conqueror but a prince of winning address and gentle manners. But this smiling prince could certainly frown sternly. The Protestant deputies that were on their way to meet with him would have the latter experience.

The Reformed princes had given the famous protest at Spires in April of 1529. The Arch-Duke Ferdinand, brother to Charles, had presided over that Diet. He had stormed and left the assembly, so the protesters had appealed to a general assembly and to posterity. They followed up this act with an appeal to the emperor, and their ambassadors, three in number, were now on their way to approach the emperor. “Their mission was deemed a somewhat dangerous one, and before their departure a pension was secured to their widows in case of misfortune. The prospect of appearing in the imperial presence was no pleasant one, for they knew that they had come to plead for a cause which Charles had destined to destruction. Their fears were confirmed by receiving an ominous hint to be brief, and not preach a Protestant sermon to the emperor.

“Unabashed by the imperial majesty and the brilliant court that waited upon Charles, these three plain ambassadors, when the day of audience came, discharged their mission with fidelity. They gave a precise narrative of all that had taken place in Germany on the matter of religion since the emperor quitted that country, which was in 1521. They specially instanced the edict of toleration promulgated by the Diet of 1526; the virtual repeal of the edict by the Diet of 1529; and Protest of the Reformed princes against that repeal; their challenge of religious freedom for themselves and all who should adhere to them, and their resolution, at whatever cost, never to withdraw from that demand, but to prosecute their Protest to the utmost of their power. In all matters of the Empire they would most willingly obey the emperor, but in the things of God they would obey no power on earth. So they spoke. It was no pleasant thing, verily, for the victor of kings and the ruler of two hemispheres to be thus plainly taught that there were men in the world whose wills even he, with all his power, could not bend. This thought was the worm at the root of the emperor’s glory. Charles deigned no reply; he dismissed the ambassadors with the intimation that the imperial will would be made known to them in writing.” Ibid., 569.

One month following their appearance before the emperor, the written answer was delivered by the emperor’s secretary, Alexander Schweiss. It stated that the emperor was well acquainted with matters in Germany, through his brother Ferdinand, and that he intended to carry out the last edict from Spires of a few months before. Namely, his intention was to abolish the toleration and advance to destroy the religious movement. He called for the Duke of Saxony to obey the decree because he owed allegiance to the emperor and if he chose not to obey, the emperor would find it necessary to punish him.

The ambassadors had already prepared an appeal; for they had guessed what would be the contents of the written reply from Charles. They sent this back to the emperor with his secretary. After reading the appeal, the emperor ordered Schweiss to go and arrest the ambassadors and hold them under house arrest, where they were not only kept inside, but they were also not permitted to write to friends, nor send any servant abroad, under penalty of death.

It so happened that one of the three deputies was away from the hotel when the emperor’s secretary came to carry out the order. His servant slipped out and told him what had happened. He was able to write an account of the happenings and send it by a trusty messenger to the Senate at Nuremberg. He then joined his fellows in the inn to share their fate. Within a few days the emperor’s great retinue set out for Bologna to meet with the Pope. He took the three Protestant deputies as captives.

The Schmalkald Articles

As the emperor was traveling to Bologna the letter from the captive deputies arrived in Nuremberg. News of the emperor’s stand against their protest and of the arrest of the ambassadors caused a profound sensation. The Elector of Saxony and the Landgrave of Hesse called a meeting of the Protestants in late November at Schmalkald. By this time Charles had released two of the deputies and the third had escaped. They were present to give a report in person. They “gave a full account of all that had befallen them at the court of the emperor. Their statement did not help to abate the fears of the princes. It convinced them to prepare against it; and the first and most effectual preparation, one would have thought, was to be united among them.” Ibid., 573.

Luther and friends had recently revised the Marburg Articles, in a strictly Lutheran sense, and these revised articles, known as the Schmalkald Articles were presented and signatures demanded, that they be first united on religion so they might be united for a political league. This required that all signers be agreed on transubstantiation. “This course was simply deplorable. Apart from religious belief, there was enough of clear political ground on which to base a common resistance to a common tyranny. But in those days the distinction between the citizen and the church-member, between the duties and the rights appertaining to the individual in his political and in his religious character, was not understood. All who would enter the proposed league must be of one mind on the tenet of consubsantiation. They must not only be Protestant, but Lutheran.” Ibid. The Lutheran princes would hear of no confederation with those who would not take the religious test. “The gulf between the Lutheran and the Reformed Churches was deepened at an hour when every sacrifice short of the principle of Protestantism itself ought to have been made to close it.” Ibid., 574.

Luther was not only opposed to union with those who did not see the Lord’s Supper in the exact light that he saw it, but he was also opposed to war. He believed that only the “sword of the spirit” should be used in the battle. “If then Luther must make his choice between the sword and the stake, between seeing the Reformation triumph on the field of war and triumph on the field of martyrdom, he infinitely prefers the latter. To have transferred the cause of Protestantism at that epoch from the pulpit, from the university, and the press, to the battle-field, would not have contributed to its final success.” Luther’s stand at Schmalkald is not defensible but the division did “ward off a great danger from Protestantism” and conducted “it into a path where it was able to give far sublimer proofs of its heroism, and to achieve victories more glorious and more enduring than any it could have won by arms.” Ibid.

Charles and Clement VII at Bologna

Bologna presents a splendid scene as the Pope and his host are housed in one palace with Charles and his troops in one that adjoins. The city is filled with church bells and military parades, “for religious ceremonies and military shows proceed without intermission.” A door is placed in the wall between the palaces of pope and emperor, and they are free to meet at all hours of the day or night. By day they meet with their counselors, and at night they meet secretly to form a plan against the Protestants.

Charles however has come to these meetings with a double mind. “He was now coming to see that to extinguish Luther would be to leave the Pope without a rival. The true policy was to tolerate Wittenberg, taking care that it did not become strong, and play it off, when occasion required, against Rome. He would muzzle it: he would hold the chain in his hand, and have the unruly thing under his own control. Luther and Duke John and Landgrave Philip would dance when he piped, and mourn when he lamented; and when the Pope became troublesome, he would lengthen the chain in which he held the hydra of Lutheranism, and reduce Clement to submission by threatening to let loose the monster on him. By being umpire Charles would be master.”

The counselors who were in Charles’ company were not less divided. “Campeggio and Gattinara advocated opposite policies. Campeggio was for dragging every Protestant to the stake and utterly razing Wittenberg.’ said he, ‘The first step in this process would be to confiscate property, civil or ecclesiastical, in Germany as well as in Hungary and Bohemia. For with regard to heretics, this is lawful and right. Is the mastery over them thus obtained, then must holy inquisitors be appointed, who shall trace out every remnant of them, proceeding against them as the Spaniards did against the Moors in Spain.’ . . . Not so did Gattinara counsel. He would heal the schism and unite Christendom, by other means. He called not for an army of executioners, but for an assembly of divines . . . ‘Assemble the pious men of all nations, and let a free Council deduce from the Word of God a scheme of doctrine such as may be received by every people.’ The policies of the two counselors stood markedly distinct—the sword, a Council.” Ibid., 575.

Pope Clement had more than one reason for opposing a council. Since the days of Pius IX and the decree of infallibility, the Pope had been the absolute head of the church. A council might threaten his superior authority. He also feared the council because he had gotten his pontifical chair by no blameless means, and had squandered the means of his office on his family inheritance, in Florence. A reckoning would be most inconvenient. “It is not” said he, “by the decree of councils, but by the edge of the sword, that we should decide controversies.” Charles sided with Gattinara. “The ecclesiastical potentate continued to advocate the sword, and the temporal monarch to call for a Council. It is remarkable that each distrusted the weapon with which he was best acquainted. ‘The sword will avail nought in this affair,’ urged the emperor; ‘let us vanquish our opponents in argument.’ ‘Reason,’ explained the Pope, ‘will not serve our turn; let us resort to force.’ ” Ibid., 578. The discussions continued through January. Battle on either front was not imminent since winter had closed the Alps and the emperor was quite comfortable in Bologna.

There was another reason that Charles preferred to have a council to an inquisition—because the Protestants were not small in number, and they had enough political power to be considered a threat to his throne. “It was clear that the burning of 100,000 Protestants or so would be only the beginning of the drama. The Pope would most probably approve of so kindly a blaze; but might it not end in setting States besides Germany on fire, and the Spanish monarchy among the rest? Charles, therefore, stuck to his idea of a Council; and being master, as Gattinara reminded him, he was able to have the last word in the conferences . . . Till a General Council could be convened, and as preparatory to it, the emperor, on the 20th January, 1530, issued a summons for a Diet of the States of Germany Augsburg on the 8th April.” Ibid., 578. The summons called for all parties to lay aside all differences and come together in one communion, one Church, and one unity.

Charles Crowned by the Pope.

The only thing Charles lacked in completing his grandeur was receiving the imperial diadem from the Pope. He had already been crowned emperor of Germany; crowned King of Lombardy by the Pope, on the 22nd of February, and on the 24th of February he was crowned as emperor of the Romans. The ceremonies included magnificent symbolism. Theocracy was the form of government in that day, so no king had any right to the throne unless he first became an officer in the church. Charles submitted to the elaborate ceremony by stripping his garments of royalty and replacing them with those of a deacon.

The End

Martin Luther, part XIII – The Marburg Conference

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The Protest of the Princes had clearly stated the ground that the Reformation claimed and planted for battle the flag of Protestantism. “No one then living suspected how long and wasting the conflict would be–the synods that would deliberate, the tomes that would be written, the stakes that would blaze, and the fields on which, alas! the dead would be piled up in ghastly heaps, before that liberty which the protestors had written up on their flag should be secured as the heritage of Christendom. But one thing was obvious to all, and that was the necessity to the Reformers of union among themselves.” The History of Protestantism, 554.  Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, was especially anxious to see unity among the parties of the Reformation. He was most active in his efforts to strengthen the cause and worked day and night to that end. He was rough, fiery, fearless, and full of energy. Elector John was prudent and somewhat timid. They complemented each other in much the same way as Luther and Melancthon. But Philip’s main concern was to unite the parties so as to combine the strength of their forces for military might.

One Issue of Disunity

There was one area and one alone where there was discord. This was concerning the manner in which Christ is present in the wine and bread–corporally or spiritually? On the fundamental truths the whole body of Protestantism was as one but for this point only. The Reformers of Switzerland and the Reformers of Germany could not find union over this question.

Philip grieved over this division and longed to see it healed as he believed it was not really two opinions but one opinion stated differently. Especially now was unity needed, he felt, when they were waiting for the attack from their foes so sure to come. “They had just flung their flag upon the winds; they had unfurled it in the face of all Christendom, in the face of Rome; they had said as a body what Luther said as an individual at Worms–‘Here we stand; we can do no otherwise, so help us God.’ Assuredly the gage would be taken up, and the blow returned, by a power too proud not to feel, and too strong in armies and scaffolds not to resent the defiance. To remain disunited with such a battle in prospect, with such a tempest lowering over them, appeared madness.” Ibid., 555.

“Ere this several pamphlets had passed between Luther and Zwingli on the question of the Lord’s Supper. Those from the pen of Luther were so violent that they left an impression of weakness. The perfect calmness of Zwingli’s replies, on the other hand, produced a conviction of strength. Zwingli’s calmness stung Luther to the quick. It humiliated him. Popes and emperors had lowered their pretensions in his presence; the men of war whom the Papacy had sent forth from the Vatican to do battle with him, had returned discomfited. He could not brook the thought of lowering his sword before the pastor of Zurich. Must he, the doctor of Christendom, sit at the feet of Zwingli? A little more humility, a little less dogmatism, a stronger desire for truth than for victory, would have saved Luther from these explosions, which but tended to widen a breach already too great, and provoke a controversy which planted many a thorn in the future path of the Reformation.” Ibid.

The Marburg Conference

Philip quickly acted to bring about a reconciliation between the German and the Swiss Protestants who had come to be called the Lutheran and the Reformed respectively. Shortly after returning from the Diet of Spires he sent invitations to the leaders of the two parties to come to his Castle of Marburg to discuss their differences. Zwingli was joyful at the invitation and anxious to mend the breach. Luther was not. He declined the offer. “He did not like that the landgrave should move in this matter; he suspected that there was under it the snake of a political alliance; besides, although he did not confess it to his friends, nor perhaps to himself, he seemed to have a presentiment of defeat.” Ibid. He felt that minds that loved things that they could understand would find Zwingli’s arguments attractive. He himself believed that this great mystery of the miracle of Christ’s real bodily presence in the Lord’s Supper was in the Gospels to test the faith of the believer. “This absurdity, which wears the guise of piety, had been so often uttered by great doctors that Luther could not help repeating it.” Ibid.

After second thoughts, Luther and Melancthon realized that they could not decline. Rome would believe them to be cowards and the Reformers would lay the cause of the breach at their door. They tried to convince Elector John to veto their trip but he refused. They even proposed that a Papist should be chosen as umpire for the discussions as an “impartial judge.” When all failed they planned their journey.

With Luther came Melancthon, Jonas, and Cruciger; Zwingli was accompanied by CEolampadius, Bucer, Hedio and Osiander. Philip entertained them in princely fashion bringing them together for meals in hopes that this would help to draw them together. The first day he planned that they should have private conferences two by two. The following day the debate was to be public with a table for the members of the debate and the hall filled with a few of the many distinguished men who had come to Marburg for the occasion.

Zwingli Fails To Convince Luther

The proceedings opened with Luther taking chalk and writing on the velvet table cloth “HOC EST MEUM CORPUS.” He lifted the cloth to show it to those around him and declared, “These are the words of Christ–‘This is my body’. From this rock no adversary shall dislodge me.” Ibid., 556.

All acknowledged that these were the words of Christ, but what was their meaning? Was this meaning to be learned by following the great Protestant principle that the Word of God is the supreme authority and that the obscure and doubtful passages were to be interpreted by other passages which were more clear? If they followed this principle they would have no trouble understanding the meaning of those words.

The Swiss argued that the Bible has many figures of speech. Luther recognized this point but denied that this was such an instance. They continued to point out that if these words are taken literally then there is a contradiction between the teaching of Christ in John 6 and his teaching in the Lord’s Supper. In John 6:62, 63, concerning His instruction for His followers to “eat His flesh and drink His blood,” Christ said, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Here Luther’s arguments were so weak as to surrender the argument. He said that there was both a material eating and a spiritual eating and that the material eating was what Christ said profited nothing. This seemed to make a clear point as to the uselessness of believing in the value of a real presence, but Luther replied that we are not to question the value but just to do it.

The Swiss pointed out that the body cannot be present in two places at one time. They even used quotes from some ancient theologians to show that it was believed that this applied to the body of Christ since He took a human body. Luther said that there were more on his side than theirs. The Swiss said that they were not attempting to show authority from church Fathers for their beliefs, but to show that they were not inventing the belief. They went on to show that in numerous passages a sign is put for a thing signified. But to all arguments Luther answered little more than to repeat again and again the words that he had written on the tablecloth. He would assert that it was a matter to be believed and not understood. It might be against nature and science, but he was not concerned.

The Swiss arguments were not in vain. Many minds were opened. What had been so mysterious was now seen with the same clearness as the other institutions of the Economy of Grace and like them, as working spiritual effects by spiritual means. Luther remained unconvinced but in the audience there were many conversions. The ex–Franciscan, Francis Lambert was one notable convert. He who had enjoyed friendship and respect with Luther did not let this prevent him from taking his side with Zwingli. “The Wittemberg doctors bewailed his defection. They saw in it not a proof of the soundness of Zwingli’s argument, but an evidence of the Frenchman’s fickleness.” Ibid., 561.

Wittemberg Doctors Refuse Unity

“Two days had worn away in this discussion. The two parties were no nearer each other than at the beginning. The Swiss theologians had exhausted every argument from Scripture and from reason. Luther was proof against them all. He stood immovably on the ground he had taken up at the beginning; he would admit no sense of the words but the literal one; he would snatch up the cover from the table and, displaying triumphantly before the eyes of Zwingli and CEcolampadius the words he had written upon it–‘This is my body’–he would boast that there he still stood, and that his opponents had not driven him from this ground, nor ever should. Zwingli, who saw the hope so dearly cherished by him, of healing the schism, fast vanishing, burst into tears. He besought Luther to come to terms, to be reconciled, to accept them as brothers. Neither prayers nor tears could move the doctor of Wittemberg. He demanded of the Helvetian Reformers unconditional surrender. They must accept the Lord’s Supper in the sense in which he took it; they must subscribe to the tenet of the real presence. This the Swiss Protestants declared they could not do. On their refusal, Luther declared that he could not regard them as having standing within the Church, nor could he receive them as brothers. As a sword these words went to the heart of Zwingli. Again he burst into tears. Must the children of the Reformation be divided? Must the breach go unhealed? It must.” Ibid.

Writing about the conference a few days later, Luther described the scene, “They supplicated us to bestow upon them the title of ‘brothers.’ Zwinglius even implored the landgrave with tears to grant this. ‘There is no place on earth,’ said he, ‘where I so much covet to pass my days as at Wittemberg.’ We did not, however, accord to them this appellation of brothers. All we granted was that which charity enjoins us to bestow even upon our enemies. They, however, behaved in all respects with an incredible degree of humility and amiability.” Ibid.

Philip was extremely disappointed at this turn of events. He had worked hard and had such hopes of resolving the difficulty. When he looked toward the enemies of the Reformation he saw a strong union forming to crush both Wittemberg and Zurich, but these two camps in Protestantism were standing apart.

A terrible plague was sweeping Germany and leaving thousands dead. As it now approached Marburg there was another reason to end the conference. “Philip had welcomed the doctors with joy, he was about to see them depart in sorrow.” Ibid., 562. Charles and Clement were meeting nightly to make plans to exterminate the Protestants; the Moslems were marching on the Danube; and in Germany thousands of swords were ready to attack the adherents of the Reformation. “All round the horizon the storm seemed to be thickening; but the saddest portent of all, to the eye of Philip, was the division that parted into two camps the great Reformed brotherhood, and marshalled in two battles the great Protestant army.” Ibid.

Philip Attempts Unity Once More

Philip questioned to himself whether they were not all brothers even if Luther would not acknowledge it. He thought that if Rome saw them all as enemies then they must indeed be brothers. He made another attempt. He spoke to each participant one by one as to the advantages of unity in view of the troubles on the horizon. Out of a desire to satisfy the landgrave the parties agreed to meet again.

The interview presented a touching scene. Hundreds were dying all around from the plague. The Popish opposition was preparing for battle, eager to spill the blood of Zwinglian and Lutheran both. They cared not that Luther believed in the real presence and Zwingli differed. They saw both as heretics. Since they were all hated of men, was this not proof that they were all the followers of Christ?

“Taught by his instincts of Christian love, Zwingli opened the conference by enunciating a truth which the age was not able to receive. ‘Let us,’ said he, ‘proclaim our union in all things in which we are agreed; and as for the rest, let us forbear as brothers.’ adding that never would peace be attained in the Church unless her members were allowed to differ on secondary points . . .‘With none on earth do I more desire to be united than with you,’ said Zwingli, addressing Luther and his companions. CEcolampadius, Bucer and Hedio made the same declaration.

“This magnanimous avowal was not without its effect. It had evidently touched the hearts of the opposing rank of doctors. Luther’s prejudice and abduracy were, it appeared, on the point of being vanquished, and his coldness melted. Zwingli’s keen eye discovered this: he burst into tears–tears of joy–seeing himself, as he believed, on the eve of an event that would gladden the hearts of thousands in all the countries of the Reformation, and would strike Rome with terror. He approached: he held out his hand to Luther: he begged him only to pronounce the word ‘brother’. Alas! what a cruel disappointment awaited him. Luther coldly and cuttingly replied, ‘Your spirit is different from ours.’ It was indeed different.” Ibid., 563.

The Wittemberg doctors consulted together and agreed with Luther. ” ‘We,’ said they to Zwingli and his friends, ‘hold the belief of Christ’s bodily presence in the Lord’s Supper to be essential to salvation, and we cannot in conscience regard you as in communion of the Church.’

” ‘In that case,’ replied Bucer, ‘it were folly to ask you to recognize us as brethren. But we, though we regard your doctrine as dishonouring to Christ, now on the right hand of the Father, yet, seeing in all things you depend on him, we acknowledge you as belonging to Christ. We appeal to posterity.’ This was magnanimous . . .

“Their meekness was mightier than Luther’s haughtiness. Not only was its power felt in the conference chamber, where it made some converts, but throughout Germany.” Ibid. Their doctrine began, from this day, to spread throughout the Lutheran church. Even Luther’s last words to the conference revealed the effect, ‘We acknowledge you as friends; we do not consider you as brothers. I offer you the hand of peace and charity.’

The Marburg Confession

“Overjoyed that something had been won, the Landgrave Philip proposed that the two parties should unite in making a joint profession of their faith, in order that the world might see that on one point only did they differ, namely, the manner in which Christ is present in the Lord’s Supper, and that after all the great characteristic of the Protestant Churches was UNITY, though manifested in diversity.” Ibid. Both parties agreed and Luther was selected to draw up the articles of the Protestant faith. ” ‘I will draft them.’ said he, as he retired to his chamber to begin his task, ‘with strict regard to accuracy, but I don’t expect the Zwinglians to sign them.’ ” Ibid.

He wrote the Wittemberg view of the Christian system with fourteen points. After reading them before the assembly he was amazed when the Zwinglians cordially said Amen and were ready to sign them. Was it possible that they were so near to each other. But he had saved the argument on the Lord’s Supper till the last article. This brought the parties to an impasse and they could not advance further. They did agree however to walk together so far as they could agree and to avoid all bitterness and to regard each other with Christian charity.

They signed a joint profession of faith which marked them as distinct from the Romanist and from the enthusiasts. This document was to the oneness of Protestantism.

“But if the Church of the Reformation still remained outwardly divided, her members were thereby guarded against the danger of running into political alliances. This line of policy the Landgrave Philip had much at heart, and formed one of the objects he had in view in his attempts to conduct to a successful issue the conferences at Marburg. Union might have rendered the Protestants too strong. They might have leaned on the arm of flesh, and forgotten their true defence. The Reformation was a spiritual principle. From the sword it could derive no real help. Its conquests would end the moment those of force began. From that hour it would begin to decay, it would be powerless to conquer, and would cease to advance. But let its spiritual arm be disentangled from political armour, which could but weigh it down, let its disciples hold forth the truth, let them fight with prayers and sufferings, let them leave political alliances and the fate of battles to the ordering and overruling of their Divine Head–let them do this, and all opposition would melt in their path, and final victory would attest at once the truth of their cause, and the omnipotence of their King.” Ibid., 564.

The End

Martin Luther, part XII – The Protest at Spires

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For three years the Reformation had been left in peace by the wars and strife of her enemies against each other. The Pope was sided with Francis I of France and Henry VIII of England, against Charles V of Spain. Charles lost some battles but won the war decisively, and the Pope seeing he was not strong enough to curb Charles’ might, decided to throw Francis over and attempt to use the might of Charles to his advantage through craft. Clement made peace with Charles on the condition that the Emperor would do all in his power to root out the heretics and exalt the Roman See. Now the foes of the Reformation were again united in their determination to extinguish the heresy of Wittenberg.  The Diet of Spires of 1526, had given freedom to the various states to determine religious matters within their own borders. This freedom was to be in effect until a general council might be held. Charles moved swiftly to call another Diet at Spires for February of 1529.

The Reformers were apprehensive about the future and none the less for the apparent chaos in the natural atmosphere. Noisy meteors shot fire across the sky. Hyperborean lights illuminated the night skies. Rivers flooded whole provinces and great winds uprooted ancient trees. Even Luther partook of the general terror, writing that these signs announced the approach of the last day.

Otto Pack’s Plot

While many real dangers threatened the age, one very doubtful one nearly brought the Reformation to ruin. A nobleman named Otto Pack came to Phillip, the Landgrave of Hesse, claiming to have discovered a terrible secret of concern to the landgrave and the Elector of Saxony. For a sum he would reveal all. The landgrave’s fears were thoroughly aroused and he agreed to the terms.

Pack went on to say that the Popish princes had plotted to attack the two Reformed princes, seize their territories, and take Luther and his followers by force and reestablish the ancient worship. Pack had what he claimed was a copy of the league which bore all the ducal and electoral seals and it appeared to be authentic. Phillip was convinced.

Fearing that they had not a moment to lose, Phillip and John Federic entered into a formal compact and hastily raised an army for the protection of “the sacred deposit of God’s word for themselves and their subjects.” They believed they were facing impending destruction. They agreed to equip a force of 6,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry. Next they looked for allies among the other Reformed princes and had in view a league with the King of Denmark. They resolved to strike the first blow.

“All Germany was in commotion. It was now the turn of the Popish princes to tremble. The Reformers were flying to arms, and before their own preparations could be finished, they would be assailed by the overwhelming host, set on by the startling rumors of the savage plot formed to exterminate them. The Reformation was on the point of being dragged into the battlefield. Luther shuddered when he saw what was about to happen. He stood up manfully before the two chiefs who were hurrying the movement into this fatal path, and though he believed in the reality of the plot, despite the indignant denial of the Duke of George and the Popish princes, he charged the elector and the landgrave not to strike the first blow, but to wait till they had been attacked. ‘There is strife enough uninvited,’ said he…’Battle never wins much, but always loses much, and hazards all; meekness loses nothing, hazards little, and wins all.’

“Luther’s counsels ultimately prevailed, time was given for reflection, and thus the Lutheran princes were saved from the tremendous error which would have brought after it, not triumph, but destruction.” Wylie, 545

Martyrs

The Reformation was winning victories far more glorious than any army could have won, for a martyr is worth more than many soldiers. In Bavaria, where the reformed doctrines could not be preached, these very doctrines were promoted by the burning of Leonard Caspar for holding that justification was by faith alone, that there are but two Sacraments, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and that the mass avails nothing, and that Christ alone made satisfaction for us. Other martyrs followed in the provinces under the Popish princes. Nine persons of Landsberg suffered the fire. Twenty-nine at Munich were drowned. Others were victims of the poignard. George Winkler, preacher of Halle, was run through with daggers under suspicion of heresy.

Luther said, “I am but a wordy preacher in comparison with these great doers.” These martyrs testified that the weapons that will “break the power, foil the arts, and stain the pride of the enemy” are patience, meekness, and heroism. Ibid., 547

Famous Diet Of Spires

In this climate of political intrigue, natural disaster, and martyr piles, the famous Diet of Spires was convened. King Ferdinand was to preside in the absence of his brother Charles V. He arrived with trumpet call and a retinue of 300 armed knights. He was followed by the Popes princes with their troops. They exchanged boastful greetings that proclaimed their confidence in carrying the Diet their own way.

Last to arrive were the Reformed princes. John Frederic rode with only Melanchthon at his side. Phillip of Hesse had 200 horsemen. The Lutheran princes held public worship at their hotel with 8,000 attending.

When the deputies of the cities arrived, the Diet was complete and business was opened. The Diet had barely opened when the emperor’s reason for convoking it was made clear. Charles sent a curt and haughty message declaring his expectation of legislation to repeal the Edict of Spires (1526). The Diet was being asked to abolish religious freedom in Germany. The Edict of Spires would mean Luther’s execution and the uprooting of Reformation doctrine. It would mean a flood of persecution in Germany.

“The sending of such a message even was a violation of the constitutional rights of the several States, and an assumption of power which no former emperor had dared to make. The message, if passed into law, would have laid the rights of conscience, the independence of the Diet, and the liberties of Germany, all three in the dust.” Ibid., 548, 549

The struggle began with the Popish members insisting on a repeal of the Edict of Spires. The Reformed princes argued that repeal would mean that a central authority would usurp local rights of administration and destroy the independence of the individual states. The Lutheran princes made clear they would retain their right of resisting such a step with force of arms. To repeal the Edict was to open the way for revolution and war.

A middle ground was proposed which would not repeal but just maintain the current practice in each state with some major exceptions. Where Romanism reigned, the reformed doctrines would still be forbidden, but where Lutheranism was held, the Popish hierarchy, should be reestablished, the mass celebration permitted, and no one could abjure popery and embrace Lutheranism.

In other words no Protestant would be required to renounce his faith but no new converts would be permitted. It had no penalties for existing converts but if the light reached another soul, they must stifle their convictions or suffer the dungeon and the stake. “The proposal drew a line around the Reformation, and declared that beyond this boundary there must be no advance, and that Lutheranism had reached its utmost limits of development. But not to advance was to recede, and to recede was to die. This proposition, therefore, professedly providing for the maintenance of the Reformation, was cunningly contrived to strangle it.” Ibid., 549. It passed by a majority of votes.

It would have been an easy thing to seize the olive branch which Rome was holding out and to justify themselves in a wrong course by being contented with their own freedom. But the Reformed princes acted on faith from principle. They could not accept the right of Rome to coerce conscience and forbid free inquiry, or Rome’s authority to grant freedom only where she chose, thus denying freedom of conscience as a right.

The Reformed princes met for deliberation. The great—liberty or slavery to Christendom. “The princes comprehended the gravity of their position. They themselves were to be let alone, but the price they were to pay for this ignominious ease was the denial of the Gospel, and the surrender of the rights of conscience throughout Christendom. They resolved not to adopt so dastardly a course.” Ibid., 550

King Ferdinand was eager to close the Diet and called the members together and thanked them for voting the proposition. He declared that an imperial edict was soon to be published announcing the decision of the Diet. He turned to the Reformed princes and announced that there was nothing left for them to do but to submit. He would not wait to hear the answer of the Reformed princes. He promptly left the Diet and did not return.

The Great Protest At Spires

The following morning the Reformed princes entered the hall, and before the empty chair of Ferdinand, John Frederic, the Elector of Saxony, read a Declaration. The following are the most important passages.

“We cannot consent to its (the Edict of 1526) repeal. Because this would be to deny our Lord Jesus Christ, to reject His Holy Word, and thus give Him reason to deny us before His Father, as He has threatened…Moreover, the new edict declaring the ministers shall preach the Gospel, explaining it according to the writings accepted by the holy Christian Church; we think that, for this regulation to have any value, we should first agree on what is meant by the true and holy Church. Now seeing that there is great diversity of opinion in this respect; that there is no sure doctrine but such as is conformable to the Word of God: that each text of the Holy Scriptures ought to be explained by other and clearer texts: that this holy book is in all things necessary for the Christian, easy of understanding, and calculated to scatter the darkness: we are resolved, with the grace of God, to maintain the pure and exclusive preaching of His Word, such as it is contained in the Biblical books of the Old and new Testament, without adding anything thereto that may be contrary to it. This Word is the only truth; it is the sure rule of all doctrine and all life, and can never fail or deceive us. He who builds on this foundation shall stand against all powers of hell, whilst all the human vanities that are set up against it shall fall before the face of God.

“For these reasons, most dear lords, uncles, cousins, and friends, we earnestly entreat you to weigh carefully our grievances and our motives. If you do not yield to our requests, we protest by these present, before God, our only Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, and Saviour, and who will one day be our Judge, as well as before all men and all creatures, that we, for us and for our people, neither consent nor adhere in any manner whatsoever to the proposed decree, in anything that is contrary to God, to His Word, to our right conscience, to the salvation of our souls, and to the last decree of Spires.” Ibid., 550, 551

Considering the tyranny of Rome which had been practiced for so long, this document stands as “one of the grandest documents in all history, and marks an epoch in the progress of the human race second only to that of Christianity itself.” Ibid., 551. From this day forward the Reformers were known as Protestants.

Luther had stood alone at Worms eight years before but now a host stood with him and the Reformation was not just a doctrine but an organized church.

After meeting together in a small house to prepare a document outlining all that had transpired at the Diet, the princes left Spires. This was significant because Ferdinand had spoken his last word and left. This showed the firmness of their resolve.

Grandeur Of The Issues

“Even Luther did not perceive the importance of what had been done. The Diet he thought had ended in nothing. It often happens that the greatest events wear the guise of insignificance, and that grand eras are ushered in with silence.” Ibid., 551. But the principles of the Protest at Spires offered a wide field for development. “This Protest overthrew the lordship of man in religious affairs, and substituted the authority of God…Then what becomes of the pretended infallibility of Rome, in virtue of which she claims the exclusive right of interpreting the Scriptures, and binding down the understanding of man to believe whatever she teaches? It is utterly exploded and overthrown. And what becomes of the emperor’s right to compel men with his sword to practice whatever faith the Church injoins, assuming it to be the true faith, simply because the Church has enjoined it? It too is exploded and overthrown. The principle, then, so quietly lodged in the Protest, lays this two-fold tyranny in the dust.” Ibid., 551

“But the Protest does not leave conscience her own mistress; conscience is not a law to herself. That were anarchy—rebellion against Him who is he Lord. The Protest proclaims that the Bible is the law of conscience, and that its Author is her alone Lord. Thus steering its course between the two opposite dangers, avoiding on this hand anarchy, and on that tyranny, Protestantism comes forth unfurling to the eyes of the nations the flag of true liberty. Around that flag must all gather who would be free.” Ibid., 553

The centuries that followed demonstrated the results of this freedom to the nations. Where the nations rallied around the Protest there was seen progress of civilization, but where Romanism continued to rule, the people were left in slavery, and the nations experienced decay.

The End

Martin Luther, part XI – Church Organization

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During the three years following the sack of Rome, the political world was a stormy sea with ambition, intrigue, and war. But the strife of the political world brought peace to the Church as the Churches’ enemies were battling with each other. The Diet at Spires had decreed that until a general council could be held, each State was free to decide religious matters for itself. In the reformed states, freedom bloomed while persecution persisted in the states where the Reformation had not been able to take hold. Luther was quick to realize that this was the opportunity to build the church. Up to this time there had been a Reformation but no Reformed Church. There were Christians but no organization visible to society. The preaching of the Gospel had resulted in a number of men throughout the provinces who were united in heart around Christ, the one Living Center, and united in the truth, but they needed outward unity as well. Without a unity visible to the world the church would fail to propagate itself and would languish and die. “These Christians must be gathered into a family, and built up into a kingdom—a holy and spiritual kingdom.” Wylie, History of Protestantism, bk 1, 533

Reconstitution of the Ministry

First in the work of organization was an order of men to preach the Gospel and dispense the Sacraments. Luther studied how this reconstitution of the ministry, cut off from Rome, was to proceed. The existence of the Church was for the purpose of spreading salvation through the earth and this demands preaching. As a steadfast believer in the priesthood of all believers, he held that the functions of the ministers were the possession of the Church—of all believers. A chosen few were, of necessity, to carry out these functions. These few were not of self-appointment but were to be called by the congregation. This constituted a call by God through the instrumentality of man.

The ministers of the Lutheran Church were direct opposites of the Roman clergy in that the Lutheran ministers were chosen democratically by the people while the Roman priests were appointed by a sacerdotal monarch. “Wherever there is a line of sacramentally ordained men, there and there only is the Church, said Rome. Wherever the Word is faithfully preached, and the Sacraments purely administered, there is the Church, said the Reformation.” Ibid., 534

In organizing the ministry the Church did not surrender freedom, for the ministers were not elected with power that was autocratic. Those who held power were to be the Church’s servants, not her lords. The Church ever held the right of calling to account or deposing from office those who violated the conditions of their appointment. This right was the safeguard against corruption and the power to reform.

But Luther had not thought deeply about the question of Church and State, of how far the civil authorities may go in enacting ecclesiastical arrangements. He committed much of the organizing of the Church to the princes. It seemed a necessity of the times as the common people were not yet educated in these matters and the princes were prominent for their religious intelligence and their zeal.

The Visitations by Luther

On October 22, 1526, Luther persuaded Elector John of Saxony to commission a visitation of the Church. The Elector authorized four commissioners to inquire into the temporal condition of the Church and also into ecclesiastical matters involving schools, doctrine, and pastors. Melancthon drew up the instructions for the re-institution of the Church in Saxony. Luther, Melancthon, Spalatin, and Thuring were the chief commissioners.

Their visitation revealed many errors, abuses, mistakes and anomalies which had developed from centuries of Papal rule and which would require more than a day to cleanse. “From the living waters of the sanctuary only could a real purification be looked for, and the care of the visitors was to open channels, or remove obstructions, that this cleansing current might freely pervade the land.” Ibid., 536

Ignorant and immoral pastors were removed, and ministers were appointed in their place. Pastors of greater cities were given the title of superintendents, and appointed to supervise the smaller congregations and schools. “Armed with the authority of the elector, the visitors suppressed the convents; the inmates were restored to society, the buildings were converted into schools and hospitals, and the property was divided between the maintenance of public worship and national uses. Ministers were encouraged to marry, and their families became centers of moral and intellectual life throughout the Fatherland.” Ibid., 536

Melancthon’s plan of Church reform was very conservative. He discreetly veiled antagonistic points of Reformation doctrine. He aimed to alter as little as possible and conserve as much as possible. “Some called this moderation, others termed it trimming; the Romanist thought that the Reformation troops had begun their march back; the Wittenbergers were not without suspicion of treachery.” Ibid., 537. Images and tapers were tolerated in many churches. But despite these drawbacks, good was done and the preaching of the Word was made central. This plan was used in organizing the churches of many other provinces.

The Constitution of The Churches of Hesse

Thanks to the efforts of a remarkable man, Francis Lambert, a converted Franciscan monk, the Church of Hesse was exceptional in advancing reform. Lambert traversed the countries of Switzerland and Germany riding a donkey and wearing his grey monks robes tied with a cord and everywhere preaching by the way. When he reached Wittenberg, he went to visit Luther who found him to have a clearness of knowledge and a decisive character. Luther introduced him to Phillip of Hesse and the two men worked together for great good for the Churches of Hesse.

Lambert was invited by Phillip to frame a constitution for the Churches. The resulting one hundred and fifty-eight “Paradoxes” produced a basis broad enough to permit every member to exercise his influence in church governance. He nailed his document to the church doors. Some were torn down but others were read to crowds. In the first seven alone we see what might have been the foundation of a lofty church structure with its corner stone the “universal priesthood” of believers. “Not a select few only, but all believers, are to be built as living stones into this ‘holy house’. . . This was a catholicity of which the Church which claims catholicity as her exclusive possession knew nothing.” Ibid., 538. That church made one part of the church dependent on another for salvation, and made within the congregation two classes, the oligarchs and the serfs.

Lambert’s “Paradoxes” declared that “all that is deformed ought to be reformed.” That “the Word of God is the rule of all true Reformation. The Church is to judge in matters of faith” and that “the Church is the congregation of those who are united by the same spirit, the same faith, the same God, the same Mediator, the same Word, by which alone they are governed . . . The kingdom of heaven is open to him who believes the Word and shut against him who believes it not. Whoever, therefore, truly possesses the power of the Word of God, has the power of the keys . . . Christ is the only immortal and eternal Priest; and he does not, like men, need a successor . . . All Christians, since the commencement of the Church, have been and are participators in Christ’s priesthood.” Ibid., 538. In this document the ancient and established order was abolished. The authority for this came from Peter, who taught a very different order from the one claimed to generate from him by the Roman church. Peter’s statement to all believers is “Ye are all royal priests.” (See 1 Peter 2:4-10.)

Before these propositions could be used as a basis for reform in the Church, Lambert had to present them before the ecclesiastical authorities. The Romish party assailed the Paradoxes and Lambert defended them with such eloquence that every opponent was silenced. After three days of discussion his proposals were carried.

The Church constitution of Hesse, written from the Paradoxes, became the first of the Reformation. It differed a great deal from any subsequent enactment in Germany. Its origin and authority were exclusively from the Church. It made mention of neither the State or landgrave. Every member with competent learning and piety, was eligible to be a minister. Each congregation was to choose its own pastor. The pastors were equal and ordained by the laying on of the hands of three others. They were to meet with their congregations every Sabbath and an annual synod was to supervise the whole body. Switzerland and Scotland later adopted constitutions very similar but, in Germany where the Institutions of Melancthon were the rule, this constitution was not popular and in 1528 it was remodeled after the principles of the Church of Saxony.

More Than Just a Principle

The visitations marked a great event in the history of Protestantism. Prior to the organization of the Church, the Reformation had been simply a principle fighting against an established and organized system. Now it was a body through which the principle could act. Now its presence could be seen and its power felt by men. It did not borrow its organization from the traditions of the existing hierarchy, which were more like those of the pagan temples, but the New Testament contained the model—the simple apostolic organization. “Thus it disposed of the claims of the Romish Church to antiquity by attesting itself as more ancient than it.” Ibid., 540

In the visitations we see Luther with tenderness and pity. He is afraid of going too far and leaves some question as to whether he goes far enough. He is cautious that he does not hurt the feelings of a weak brother or act unjustly or severely to another. He instructs the preachers to preach “repent,” and to never disconnect repentance from faith. They “were not to fling stones at Romanism; the true light would extinguish the false.” Ibid., 540. They were to teach that man could refrain from sins but that God was to be sought for help, not the saints. Luther, clinging to Romanism, taught that in administering the Sacrament they were to teach the “real presence.”

Luther saw, during the visits, what he could have seen in no other way. He saw the deplorable ignorance of the common people. By withholding schools, preachers and the Bible, the Church of Rome had left the German peasants entirely without intellectual and spiritual culture. Here Luther became aware of another misdeed of Rome. He well knew of her pride as seen in the exceeding loftiness of the titles of the Popes. He understood her tyranny exhibited in the statutes of the canon law and the edicts of her Councils. Her intolerance had been seen in the long years of persecution, the slaughter of the Albigenses and the stakes of martyrs. Her avarice had long bled the people of their little substance. But here he saw another product of Rome. “It had covered the nations with a darkness so deep that the very idea of a God was almost lost . . . It was not the Romish system only, but all religion that was on the point of perishing.” Ibid., 542

Luther sat down and wrote his Shorter and Larger Catechisms which did much good by spreading knowledge and rooting and grounding the souls of the common people, as his commentaries had enlightened the nobility and the more educated. Wherever these little books went they evoked an outburst of spiritual activity. Intellectual and political reforms followed. These little books proved to be one of the best outcomes of the visitations.

The End

Martin Luther, part X – The Fanatics

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While many new friends were joining the Reformation, even in the face of persecution, a principle of weakness was growing from within the ranks of the reformers. Two camps began to form, dividing the Protestant world—the Luther an and the Reformed.

Fanatics arose calling for forsaking all outward ordinances claiming men were to be guided by an inner light and that religion was exclusively a spiritual communion. Luther saw that this theory would end in the destruction of not only the outward but also the inward spirit of religion. At first the differences were confined to Luther and Carlstadt who had stood together against Dr. Eck. They differed in the Sacrament of the Supper, and Luther, who at an earlier time seemed to recognize the presence of Christ in the Sacrament as a symbol, reverted backward to the old position that the body and blood of Christ were actually present in the bread and wine but that these maintained their natural substance as well. “His doctrine of justification by faith alone implied the total renunciation of this idea; but, as regards the Sacraments, he did not so fully vindicate his freedom from the old beliefs.” History of Protestantism, book 1, 508

Carlstadt would not give in on this point and he also “attacked Luther on the subject of images . . . Luther not only tolerated the presence of images in the churches, like Zwingli, for the sake of the weak; he feared to displace them even when the worshippers desired their removal. He believed they might be helpful. Carlstadt denounced these tendencies and weaknesses as Popery.” Ibid, 509

Hatred of images began to be shown through acts of violence as churches and cloisters were broken into and images burned. Luther called on Frederick to curb this fanatical spirit. This is evidence that the reformer believed that the Reformation had more to fear from fanaticism within than from the persecutors.

Carlstadt began to decry Luther and Lutherans and Elector Frederick ordered him out of his dominions. Carlstadt moved southward spreading not only his views of the Supper and images but also proclaiming loudly his hatred of Luther and blaming him for all of his calamities.
The aged Elector began to fear that the Reformation was going too far. The necessary process of causing men to question and seek answers and the extreme ideas of some caused him alarm but his faith in the Reformed doctrine grew even as his health failed. He was at peace as he dictated his last instructions to his brother and called for reading of the promises of God’s word as he breathed his last.

War of the Peasants

The oppression of the German peasants had grown for centuries. The privileges to roam the forest and hunt and build their huts where they pleased, had been removed. They were expected to remain on their native property and by their sweat till the fields of their masters and spill their blood defending their masters in their quarrels. The small income that they were given was stripped from them by the priest by spiritual threat. As they compared their lot with their masters they were embittered.

The Reformation came on the stage and could have worked to heal the hearts of princes and their subjects, but its progress was prevented by force and then it was accused of causing the unrest that it could have cured if it had been allowed to grow. The poor, by imposed ignorance, knew of only one way to right the situation—death to their oppressors and destruction of their castles and lands. The rulers were content to shut their eyes to their own misdeeds and blame the Gospel for the unrest.

Some justification for this view was supplied as Thomas Munzer, a professed convert of the Reformation, used a religious element to fire the already hot tempers of the peasants. He put himself at the head of the revolted peasantry and taught them to put on the sword of Gideon and seek their liberty by their own hands. The peasants wrote twelve articles of demands which were quite moderate and reasonable but which the unwise princes chose to deny with their hands pressed to their swords.

Luther must now decide on the right course for the Reformation concerning this battle ready to erupt. “He knew that to ally so holy a cause as the Reformation with a movement at best but political, would be to profane it; and that to borrow the sword of men in its behalf was the sure way to forfeit the help of the mightier sword which alone could win such a battle. The Reformation had its own path and its own weapons, to which if it adhered, it would assuredly triumph in the end. It would correct all wrongs, would explode all errors, and pacify all feuds, but only by propagating its own principles, and diffusing its own spirit among men. Luther, therefore, stood apart.” Ibid, 514

This course made it possible for him to try to work with both parties. He was able to speak to each side. He told the peasants that they had chosen the wrong way to try to improve their lot. They must exercise Christian submission and wait for the healing power of the Gospel. He urged them to allow the process of reform to do its work and he argued that “it was preachers, not soldiers—the gospel, not rebellion, that is to benefit the world. And he warned them that if they should oppose the gospel in the name of the gospel, they would only rivet the yoke of their enemies upon their neck.” Ibid, 514

He worked faithfully with the princes reminding them of the tyranny which they and their fathers had long exerted toward the people. He spoke more plainly to the bishops revealing how they had hid the Gospel from the people replacing the doctrines of truth with fables and cheats. He said they were only reaping what they had sown and that God was using the peasantry as His instrument for their chastisement.

The courage and wisdom of the Reformer were evident as Luther spoke with these parties at the brink of war, but his mediation was not successful in preventing the cruel violence which soon erupted. Insurrection began to spread like wildfire, in the summer of 1524, filling towns with tumults, sedition and terrors. The twelve articles were published and demands for their enforcement were followed by armies of peasants who trampled fields, looted barns and storehouses, demolished castles of the nobility, and burned convents to the ground.

Death and destruction raged from town to town and the princes seemed to be chased before this whirlwind. But they recovered and joined their forces to oppose the rebels. On May 15th, 1525, they found the rebel camp of Munzer and his forces who were poorly armed. The princes sent a messenger with an offer of pardon if the rebels would lay down their arms. The rebels killed the messenger at Munzer’s suggestion and both camps prepared for battle. Munzer stood before his army and claimed that the Lord would fight for them and that they would be delivered as Israel at the Red Sea, David with Goliath, and Jonathan when he attacked the Philistine garrison. He vowed that his own coat would catch all the bullets shot at them and insisted that victory was theirs.

The first onset of battle, however, found the rebels at flight with Munzer among the first to try to escape. He was captured and more than five thousand peasants were slain. The battle moved into another region where over two-hundred castles had burned besides noblemen’s houses and monasteries. “Luther raised his voice again, but this time to pronounce an unqualified condemnation on a movement which, from a demand for just rights, had become a war of pillage and murder. He called on all to gird on the sword and resist it.” Ibid, 517

The war ended with terrible retaliation taken by the princes against the peasants. Estimates of the slain range from 50,000 to 100,000, with the high figure probably more accurate. Munzer was decapitated after torture on the rack where he admitted his crimes. Other rebel leaders were convicted and died with dreadful tortures.

In the end, the revolt was not seen in the places where the Gospel had taken hold. The differences between Protestantism and Romanism were illustrated. If only the Reformation had been allowed to do its work in all of the provinces, how different would have been the result. “This outbreak taught the age, moreover, that Protestantism could no more be advanced by popular violence than it could be suppressed by aristocratic tyranny.” Ibid, 518

The Battle of Pavia

Romanism, because it mixed with the politics of Europe, found its fortunes rose and fell with the King or Emperor with which it sided. Protestantism, free from this encumbrance, was able to develop principles and find its course apart from the turmoil of the political arena. But, God could intervene in the political arena for the benefit of the Reformation. Marvelous was the outcome where man could never have maneuvered such victories. This was made manifest in the Battle of Pavia and the resulting Diet at Spires and the effects of these on Protestantism.

The Kings of France and Spain were battling one another for possession of Italy. Of course, the Pope thought that he was rightful ruler and he used his political influence to try to keep these two kings of about equal power so that one would check the other. All three were agreed on one thing however, they were enemies of the Reformation. During the course of battle, the Spanish Charles V defeated the French Francis I, capturing the well fortified Pavia and taking Francis captive. The king was carried to Madrid as a trophy and spent a year in captivity. Charles worked out an agreement for Francis’ release which stipulated among other things that they would fight together the Turks and the enemies of the Church, rooting out heretics.

Charles thought this was his chance to finally rid the world of the hated monk who had none to defend him. He called for a diet at Augsburg for the purpose of executing the Edict of Worms. The prospects for Protestantism grew darker every hour. The emperor had never been stronger and Frederick was now dead. The princes which backed Protestantism were new to the cause and were discouraged by the dangers. Germany was divided, the Ratisbon League was rampant and it appeared that the author of the Edict of Worms was about to carry out the order. “The only man who did not tremble was Luther . . . He knew that if the Gospel had been stripped of all earthly defense it was not because it was about to perish, but because a Divine hand was about to be stretched out in its behalf, so visibly as to give proof to the world that it had a Protector, though ‘unseen’, more powerful than its enemies.” Ibid, 521

Luther Marries

While calamity seemed about to strike, Luther did not run but he took Catherine von Bora as his wife. Many of his friends were stunned that he could make such a move while disaster seemed eminent. “Even some of the disciples of the Reformation were scandalized at Luther’s marrying an ex-nun, so slow are men to cast off the trammels of ages.

“With Catherine von Bora there entered a new light into the dwelling of Luther. To sweetness and modesty, she added a more than ordinary share of good sense. A genuine disciple of the Gospel, she became the faithful companion and help-meet of the Reformer in all the labours and trials of his subsequent life.” Ibid, 522

The Diet at Spires

Events seemed to foretell a repeat of the crusades and the extinction of Protestantism but to the amazement of all the storm moved and dispensed its fury over Rome.

One would have thought that the Pope would have thrown his lot with Charles at this important juncture but in a suicidal policy he turned from the emperor and called for a league against him. Clement did not want the emperor to be too strong for he designed to set Italy as an independent kingdom with he himself as its temporal monarch. His dream, of restoring the power of the papacy to its glories under Gregory VII, misled him. The “Holy League,” of all the nations who feared the emperors overgrown power, was set in motion with the King of England at its head.

In Germany, meantime, the diet at Augsburg had been so poorly attended in the autumn of 1525, that it was adjourned to midsummer of the next year in Spires. June of 1526, found the assembling of all the electoral princes except the Prince of Brandenburg. None was aware of the league against the emperor.

The Reformed princes made a strong showing, riding into the city with large retinues of armed retainers bearing a banner embroidered with five letters which stood for, in translation, “The Word of the Lord endureth for ever.” Under this banner they would conquer. They first demanded a church for the preaching of the gospel and when denied they opened their hotels for worship. On one occasion as many as 8,000 were gathered to hear the sermon. Luther’s tracts were freely distributed and helped to move the public strongly in the Reformed direction.

Charles had made his brother Ferdinand of Austria to preside over the diet. He thought to see something of the movement of the diet before reading his brothers instructions. In August, the Reformed princes gave a paper with certain complaints against the policies of the emperor. Seeing the diet turning toward Wittenberg, Ferdinand drew forth the emperor’s letter demanding that all within his kingdom move forward according to the form and tenor of the Edict of Worms. What was to happen now? What was to be done? The Reformation seemed at the Red Sea, blocked on every side.

At this hour a strange rumor reached Spires. There was strife between the emperor and the pope! Here were the great workings of the unseen hand made evident. The mighty confederacy was broken into two camps as the walls of the Red Sea and the Protestant army under its sacred banner were to march through to safety. “Instead of girding himself to fight against Lutheranism for the Pope, Charles must now ask the aid of Lutheranism in the battle that he was girding himself to fight against the Pope and his confederate kings.” Ibid, 529. “Thus the storm passed away. Nay, the crisis resulted in great good to the Reformation.” Ibid, 530

The Diet of Spires resulted in a decree which made the existence of Protestantism legal in the Empire with every state free to act in religion according to its own judgment. “This edict was the first legal blow dealt at the supremacy and infallibility of Rome.” Ibid, 530

By November, an army of 20,000 was marching through the snow to join the emperor’s general and march on Rome with an iron chain with which to hang the Pope. On the 5th of May, the troops reached Rome and were within the walls in hours. The Pope and his cardinals fled to the Castle of St. Angelo, and when he would not surrender the attack began.

In the first assault, the general was slain and the army left without a strong leader. The unrestrained army proceeded to plunder the magnificent city of the accumulated wealth of centuries. Their rage and greed resulted in unsparing and pitiless pillage. Even the corpses of the Popes were robbed of their rings and ornaments. Plunder was piled in heaps in the market places.

The remaining inhabitants suffered cruel tortures. Estimates of the number of victims range from 5,000 to 10,000 with all ages, ranks and both sexes suffering together. The more than 30,000 armed men of the city knew no bravery. They might have stopped the advancing army or chased them from their walls if they had been courageous. But in a matter of days, the city fell from the prime of her medieval glory which it had taken centuries to develop and which centuries have not been able to restore.

The End