Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1521-1530.djvu/133

 troduced by men and set up against sound doctrine. We are doing what Christ predicted when He said that His angels would gather out of His kingdom ever3rthing that is a cause of oflFence. I must altogether destroy the Pope's whole king- dom of abomination and perdition, my dear father. Christ is doing this now without us, without human help, by the Word alone. • God has seen the end of it. The matter is be- ydnd our comprehension, therefore there is no reason why I should delay until someone is able to tmderstand it. It befits the greatness of God, then, that there should be great disturbances of mind, great scandals, great portents. Let not all these things disturb you, my dear father; I hope for the best. You see in these things the counsel of God and His mighty hand. Remember how from the very beginning my cause has seemed to the world dreadful and intolerable, and yet it has grown stronger day by day. It will prevail even over this which you now so greatly fear; wait a little while; Satan feels his wound, and therefore he is raging this way and throwing everything into confusion ; but Christ, who has begun this work, will tread him under foot and all the gates of hell will strive against Him in vain.

James,* the Prior of Antwerp, has been taken prisoner again ; it is thought that he has been burned at the stake and two others with him, for it was certain he would be put to death, because he repudiated his recantation. The sophists are hastening to their own destruction, which will come to them because of the innocent blood they are shedding. Amen. They are planning to burn me, too, at the stake, but I am constantly provoking Satan and his scales all the more, that the day of Christ may be hastened in which He will destroy Antichrist Farewell, my dear father, and pray for me. Dr. Jerome," Amsdorf, who is rector, and Philip " send you their greetings. I hope you will excuse Wenzel ; * he is a good man

^PropBt. He had been once imprisoned for heresy, but released after making recantation. His second imprisonment followed a renewed preaching of evan- gelical doctrine, but he was not burned at the atake, for he managed to escape from Brussels and get back to Germany. Cf. Enders iii, 329, n. 4. Kalkoif, AnfUnge der Gtgtnreformation in d. NierderlUnden i, s^^** ^ ^ff* '^^ ^^^ execution of I«utherans in the Netherlands took place in July, 15J3.

' Schur£F. ■ Melanchthon. « Unk.

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