Beware of slipping! By Ellen White

On March 3, 1522, ten months after his capture, Luther said goodbye to the Wartburg and continued his journey through the dark forests towards Wittenberg.

He was under the spell of the empire. The enemies were free to take his life; the friends were forbidden to help him or even to house him. The imperial government, spurred on by the determined zeal of Duke George of Saxony, took the most severe measures against his followers. The dangers to the security of the reformer were so great that Elector Friedrich, despite urgent requests to return to Wittenberg, wrote to him asking him to stay in his safe retreat. But Luther saw that the gospel work was in jeopardy. Therefore, without regard for his own safety, he decided to return to the conflict.

Courageous letter to the elector

When he arrived in the town of Borne, he wrote to the elector and explained to him why he had left the Wartburg:

I have paid Your Highness sufficient respect,' he said, 'by hiding myself from public view for a whole year. Satan knows I didn't do this out of cowardice. I would have entered Worms even if there had been as many devils in the city as there were tiles on the roofs. Now Duke George, whom Your Highness mentions as if to frighten me, is far less to be feared than a single devil. If what is happening in Wittenberg happened in Leipzig [Duke Georg's residence], I would immediately mount my horse and ride there, even if - Your Highness will forgive me the expression - for nine days countless George Dukes would rain from heaven, and each would be nine times as fearsome as he! What is he up to if he attacks me? Does he think that Christ, sir, is a straw man? May God turn away from him the terrible judgment that hangs over him!

I want your Highness to know that I am going to Wittenberg under protection stronger than that of an elector. I have no intention of asking Your Highness for help, and far from wanting your protection. Rather, I want to protect your highness. If I knew that Your Highness could or would defend me, I would not come to Wittenberg. No worldly sword can advance this cause; God must do everything without the help or cooperation of man. He who has the greatest faith has the best defense; but Your Highness, it seems to me, is still very weak in faith.

But since Your Highness wishes to know what needs to be done, I will humbly answer: Your Electoral Highness has already done too much and should do nothing. God will not, nor will He permit, your or I to plan or carry out the matter. Your Highness, please heed this advice.

As for myself, Your Highness remember your duty as Elector, and carry out the instructions of His Imperial Majesty in your cities and districts, offering no obstacle to any who wish to seize or kill me; for no one may oppose the ruling powers except the one who instituted them.

May Your Highness, therefore, leave the gates open and grant safe passage, should my enemies come personally or send their envoys to seek me in Your Highness' territory. May everything take its course without any inconvenience or disadvantage to Your Highness.

I am writing this in a hurry so that you will not feel harassed by my coming. I don't do my business with Duke Georg, but with another person who knows me and who I know well.

Conversation with the fanatics Stübner and Borrhaus

Luther did not return to Wittenberg to fight against the orders of earthly rulers, but to thwart the plans and resist the power of the prince of darkness. In the name of the LORD he went out again to fight for the truth. With great caution and humility, but also resolute and firm, he set to work, claiming that all teaching and action should be tested against God's Word. 'By the word,' he said, 'is to refute and expel what has gained space and influence through violence. It is not violence that the superstitious or unbelievers need. Whoever believes comes nearer, and whoever does not believe stays at a distance. No coercion may be exercised. I stood up for freedom of conscience. Freedom is the real essence of faith.«

The reformer actually had no desire to meet the deluded people whose fanaticism had caused so much mischief. He knew that these were men of quick tempers who, though they claimed to be specially enlightened by heaven, would not brook the slightest contradiction or even the gentlest admonition. They usurped supreme authority and required everyone to acknowledge their claims unquestioningly. However, two of these prophets, Markus Stübner and Martin Borrhaus, demanded an interview with Luther, which he was willing to grant. He resolved to expose the arrogance of these impostors and, if possible, to save souls who had been deceived by them.

Stübner opened the conversation by laying out how he wanted to restore the church and reform the world. Luther listened with great patience and finally replied, "In everything you have said, I see nothing that is supported by Scripture. It's just a web of assumptions.' At these words, Borrhaus banged his fist on the table in a fit of anger and shouted at Luther's speech that he had insulted a man of God.

"Paul explained that the signs of an apostle were wrought in signs and mighty deeds among the Corinthians," Luther said. "Do you also want to prove your apostleship by miracles?" "Yes," answered the prophets. "The god I serve will know how to tame your gods," Luther replied. Stübner now looked at the reformer and said in a solemn tone: "Martin Luther, listen to me carefully! I'll tell you now what's going on in your soul. You are beginning to understand that my teaching is true.«

Luther was silent for a moment and then said, "The LORD scold you, Satan."

Now the prophets lost all self-control and cried out furiously: "The spirit! the spirit!" Luther answered with cool contempt: "I will smack your spirit on the mouth."

Thereupon the cry of the prophets redoubled; Borrhaus, more violent than the others, stormed and raged until he foamed at the mouth. As a result of the conversation, the false prophets left Wittenberg that same day.

For a time fanaticism was contained; but some years later it broke out with greater violence and more terrible consequences. Luther said of the leaders of this movement: 'To them the Holy Scriptures were but a dead letter; they all started screaming, 'The ghost! the spirit!' But I shall certainly not follow where her spirit leads her. May God in his mercy protect me from a church where there are only saints. I want to be in communion with the humble, the weak, the sick, who know and feel their sins and groan and cry out to God from the bottom of their hearts for comfort and deliverance.”

Thomas Müntzer: How political passion can lead to riots and bloodshed

Thomas Müntzer, the most active of these fanatics, was a man of considerable ability which, properly employed, would have enabled him to do good; but he had not yet understood the ABCs of Christianity; he did not know his own heart, and he was sorely lacking in true humility. Yet he imagined that he was commissioned by God to reform the world, forgetting, like many other enthusiasts, that the reform should have started with himself. Erroneous writings he had read in his youth had misdirected his character and life. He was also ambitious in terms of position and influence, and did not want to be inferior to anyone, not even Luther. He accused the Reformers of establishing a papacy of sorts and forming churches that were not pure and holy by their very adherence to the Bible.

"Luther," said Müntzer, "freed people's conscience from the papal yoke. But he left them in carnal liberty and did not teach them to rely on the Spirit and to look directly to God for light.« Müntzer considered himself called by God to remedy this great evil and felt that Spirit promptings are the means by which this is to be accomplished. Those who have the Spirit have true faith, even if they have never read the written word. "The heathen and the Turks," he said, "are better prepared to receive the Spirit than many of the Christians who call us enthusiasts."

Tearing down is always easier than building up. Reversing the wheels of reform is also easier than pulling the chariot up the steep incline. There are still people who accept just enough truth to pass for reformers, but are too self-reliant to be taught by those God teaches. Such always lead directly away from where God wants His people to go.

Müntzer taught that all who wish to receive the spirit must mortify the flesh and wear torn clothing. They would have to neglect the body, put on a sad face, leave all their former companions, and retire to lonely places to implore the favor of God. “Then,” he said, “God will come and speak to us as He spoke to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If he did not, he would not have deserved our attention.” Thus, like Lucifer himself, this deluded man made conditions of God and refused to acknowledge his authority unless he met those conditions.

People naturally love the wonderful and everything that flatters their pride. Muntzer's ideas were embraced by a sizeable portion of the small herd he presided over. Next he denounced all order and ceremony in public worship, declaring that obedience to princes was tantamount to attempting to serve both God and Belial. Then he marched at the head of his entourage to a chapel frequented by pilgrims from all directions and destroyed it. After this act of violence he was forced to leave the area and wandered from place to place in Germany and even as far as Switzerland, everywhere stirring up the spirit of rebellion and unfolding his plan for a general revolution.

For those who were already beginning to throw off the yoke of the papacy, the limitations of state authority were becoming too much for them. Müntzer's revolutionary teachings, for which he appealed to God, led them to abandon all restraint and give free rein to their prejudices and passions. The most dreadful scenes of rioting and rioting followed, and the fields of Germany were drenched in blood.

Martin Luther: Stigmatization through pigeonhole thinking

The torment that Luther had experienced so long before in his cell in Erfurt oppressed his soul twice as much as he saw the impact of fanaticism on the Reformation. The princes kept repeating, and many believed it, that Luther's teaching was the cause of the uprising. Although this accusation was completely unfounded, it could only cause great distress for the reformer. That the work of Heaven should thus be disparaged, associating it with the basest fanaticism, seemed more than he could endure. On the other hand, Muntzer and all the leaders of the revolt hated Luther because he not only opposed their teachings and denied their claim to divine inspiration, but also declared them rebels against state authority. In retaliation, they denounced him as a lowly hypocrite. He seemed to have attracted the enmity of princes and people.

The followers of Rome rejoiced in anticipation of the imminent doom of the Reformation, even blaming Luther for the errors he had done his best to correct. By falsely claiming that they had been wronged, the fanatical party managed to win the sympathy of large sections of the population. As is often the case with those who take the wrong side, they were considered martyrs. Those who did everything they could to destroy the work of the Reformation were therefore pitied and praised as victims of cruelty and oppression. All of this was the work of Satan, driven by the same spirit of rebellion that first manifested in heaven.

Satan's quest for supremacy had caused discord among the angels. The mighty Lucifer, "the son of the morning," demanded more honor and authority than even the Son of God received; and not being granted this, he resolved to rebel against the government of heaven. So he turned to the angelic hosts, complained about God's unrighteousness, and declared that he had been greatly wronged. With his misrepresentations he brought a third of all heavenly angels to his side; and their delusion was so strong that they could not be corrected; they clung to Lucifer and were expelled from heaven with him.

Since his fall, Satan has continued the same work of rebellion and falsehood. He is constantly working to deceive people's minds and make them call sin righteousness and righteousness sin. How successful has his work been! How often are God's faithful servants heaped with censure and reproach because they fearlessly stand for the truth! Men who are only agents of Satan are praised and flattered and even considered martyrs. But those who should be respected for their faithfulness to God and therefore supported are ostracized and under suspicion and distrust. Satan's struggle did not end when he was expelled from heaven; it has continued from century to century, even up to the present day in 1883.

When your own thoughts are taken for God's voice

The fanatical teachers let themselves be guided by impressions and called every thought of the mind the voice of God; consequently they went to extremes. "Jesus," they said, "commanded his followers to become like children"; so they danced through the streets, clapped their hands and even threw each other in the sand. Some burned their Bibles, exclaiming, "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life!" The ministers behaved in the most boisterous and improper manner on the pulpit, sometimes even jumping from the pulpit into the congregation. In this way they wanted to practically illustrate that all forms and orders came from Satan and that it was their duty to break every yoke and also to show their feelings authentically.

Luther boldly protested against these transgressions and declared to the world that the Reformation was entirely different from this disorderly element. However, he continued to be accused of these abuses by those who wished to stigmatize his work.

Rationalism, Catholicism, fanaticism and Protestantism in comparison

Luther fearlessly defended the truth against attacks from all sides. God's word has proved a powerful weapon in every conflict. With that word he fought against the self-proclaimed power of the Pope and the rationalist philosophy of the scholars, while standing as solid as a rock against the fanaticism that wanted to take advantage of the Reformation.

Each of these contrasting elements in its own way invalidates the sure word of prophecy and elevated human wisdom to the source of religious truth and knowledge: (1) Rationalism deifies reason and makes it the criterion for religion. (2) Roman Catholicism claims for its sovereign pontiff an inspiration uninterruptedly descended from the apostles and unchanging through all ages. In this way, any kind of border crossing and corruption is legitimized with the holy cloak of the apostolic commission. (3) The inspiration claimed by Müntzer and his followers springs from no source higher than the whims of the imagination, and its influence undermines any authority, human or divine. (4) True Christianity, however, relies on God's Word as the great treasury of inspired truth and as the standard and touchstone of all inspiration.

From Signs of the Times, 25. October 1883