Martin Luther often expressed different and sometimes contradictory theological views, but he did not waver in his basic beliefs, such as justification by faith. That is true also of his ideas on the end of the world; and this phase has, curiously, not retained the attention of the numerous Luther scholars as have other aspects. From the beginning of his reformatory career to the year of his death Luther clung firmly to the hope of the return of Christ though he had various notions as to the time and manner of the end. Mr. R. Vinglas has carefully examined Luther's eschatological views (together with those of John Calvin), and his findings are of great interest to us.1 Luther's numerous pronouncements on the end of all things are reminiscent of statements made often before his time, but some of them would also fit very well into our own views.
Great as it was, the Turkish menace was not the only reason Martin Luther harbored the very strong conviction that the end was at hand, but we find this thought abiding with him throughout his career. Already in 1520, which saw the publication of the famous Reformatory tracts, he expressed forcibly his ideas on the end of the world. In his "Address to the Christian Nobility (1520) he said, "I verily believe that the judgment day is at the door, though men are-thinking least about it." 9 After the Diet of Worms he was imprisoned at Wartburg, where he translated the New Testament, and again he expressed his conviction that the end of all things was at hand. It would be easy to give further statements on Luther's very firm belief that he was living in the last day.
Luther knew that his notions were not shared by everyone. "I do not wish anyone to believe as I do, nor will I permit anyone to deny me the right to believe that the last day is near at hand." 10 Many of his sermons dealt directly with the end of the world and the coming of the Lord, such as the one on "the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." In 1544, shortly before his death, he wrote to a friend that he had nothing else to say than that he was hoping for Christ's return that same year. "It appears to me as if the world itself were approaching its end and, as the Psalmist says, is waxing old. ... So there is nothing to hope for, except the day of our great God." u On another occasion he said that the world could not last until 1548.
Particularly interesting are Martin Luther's reasons why he wrote that his age would witness the end of all things. Like everyone else who harbors the blessed hope, he considered the signs in the heavens and on the earth as being an indication of the nearness of the end. Among the many other signs that he mentions, let us consider a few. For one thing, he spoke of the unbelief and indifference of his age. "Now that the end of the world is approaching," he wrote in his "Preface to the Prophet Jeremiah," "the people rage and rave most horribly against God, and blaspheme and damn God's word," and he concluded: "If the last day were not close at hand it would be small wonder if heaven and earth were to fall at such blasphemy. The fact that God can tolerate such a thing as this is sign that the Day is not far off." 12 Then he saw another sign in the excessive tendency of a pleasure-loving generation, overindulgence in eating and drinking.
One interesting idea was that Luther thought the gospel was spreading as never before. The translation into the vernacular, which is Luther's most endearing contribution, hastened, of course, the spreading of the gospel and confirmed him in his belief. But he was also convinced that before the end the whole world would become Christian. Then again he was convinced that Daniel's prophecy about the increase of knowledge before the time of the end, was applicable to his time. Never was there an age since the birth of Christ "like the present" when "men are so delving into the mysteries of things that today a boy of twenty knows more than twenty doctors formerly knew."
As to the distress among nations, Luther saw it in his own day, of course, and there was dis tress to be sure. Whenever a war occurs in any time in history the tendency is to consider that the present war is the worst of all and the pre ceding ones were very mild in comparison. So it was with Luther, who said, "Wars at the present time are of such a character as to make former wars appear as a mere child's play." 13 As another sign he mentions storms as they were never reported before. "There are such storms and tempests and waters rolling as have never before been seen or heard."
Thus we follow the leader of the Reformation in his views and find comfort in the fact that this mighty and gifted warrior, who shook the foundations of the Western world, harbored in his heart the fervent hope of seeing the Lord coming in the clouds of heaven.
One day Luther saw his children standing around a table, and he noticed how their eyes glistened as they looked longingly on a dish of peaches. "This," he mused, "is a pattern of those who rejoice in the hope (Rom. 12:12). Oh, if only we would behold the last day with the same happy and fond expectation."
1 R. V. Vinglas, "Eschatological Teachings of Luther and Calvin." Thesis, S.D.A. Theological Seminary, 1948.
2 "Heerpredigt wider den Ttirken." Werke (St. Louis ed.), vol. 20, pp. 2165, 2166.
3 "CoIIoquia oder Tischreden." Werke, vol. 22, p. 16. Table Talk (Hazlitt, ed.), p. 325. On the reliability of Luther's Table Talk as a source, see the critical study of President Smith, Luther's Table Talk (New York, 1907), pp. 43, 44, 76-81. Vinglas, op. cit., p. 38, seq.
4 "On the Councils and the Churches," Works. (Holman, ed.), vol. 5, p. 185.
5 The Familiar Discourses of Dr. Martin Luther, translated by H. Bell (London, 1818), p. 7.
6 "Chronikon Oder Berechnung der Jahre der Welt" Werke, vol. 14, p. 714.
7 "Haus Postille," Wereke, Vol. 13b, p. 2435. On Stiefel's prophetic elucubrations see Ibid., Vol. 21b, pp. 1841,1865- 1870. Vinglas, op. cit., p.10. "Auslegung des Propheten Daniel," Werke, Vol. 6, pp. 902, 939, 949.
8 "Preface to the Prophet Habakkuk," Works, vol. 6, p. 431.
9 "An Open Letter to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation," Works, vol. 2, p. 161; Werke, vol. 10, pp. 348. 331.
10 "Church Postil," Writings of M. Luther (Lenker, ed.), vol. 10, p. 62.
11.Luther's Letter to Jacob Probst, Dec. 5, 1544. Luther, Letters (M. A. Currie, ed.), pp. 446, 447.
12 Works, vol. 6, p. 410.
14 Werke, vol. 13b, p. 1378.14 Werke (Weimar ed.), vol. 3, p. 158. Vinglas, op. cit., p. 23.