Exhortation to All in Authority, Part 2

We acknowledge, beloved sirs, that some of the false prophets were outwardly baptized with us, in appearance, with the same baptism, just as thieves, murderers, highway robbers, sorcerers and the like were baptized with you. But they were not of us; for had they been of us, as John says, they would no doubt have continued with us.

Christ says, “There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before,” Matthew 24, verse 24.

This warning of Christ was not given to the ungodly, hardened despisers, for they are already entangled in the snares of unrighteousness; it is given to the contrite of heart and to willing souls, so that they may learn to know the Spirit and not let themselves be led into error. “For the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour,” First Peter 5, verse 8.

Some do not recognize the craftiness and cunning of the devil, who takes on the appearance of an angel of light; therefore so many have stumbled and erred and been led into crooked paths by the deceivers. But this did not come through baptism, for the elemental water can neither teach nor pervert; it came through false prophets, against whom, I say, we have been so faithfully warned by the mouth of the Lord.

Beloved sirs, fear God and judge rightly. The truth of God can never be changed into seduction and error by the lies of the devil. O no! the word of our God shall stand forever.

Should the devout angels be unjustly judged for the sake of Lucifer’s arrogance, and be punished with his punishment? Or should all the apostles be traitors for Judas’ sake? By no means. Everyone shall bear his own burden. “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The soul that sins, it shall die,” Ezekiel 18, verse 20.

Should we reproach the doctrine of Christ and his apostles because the father of lies revived, in the name of Christ, the practice of circumcision as necessary to salvation? That the dead will not rise in the day of judgment? That Philetus and Hymenius asserted that the resurrection of the dead has already taken place? That some claimed that the great day of the Lord was at hand?

How could the apostle help it that the Nicolaitans held their wives in common, as Eusebius relates? That the Ebionites denied the deity of Christ, and taught that Christ only began to exist in Mary? And that the Corinthians maintained that the world was created by angels, that Christ was no more than a mere man and had not yet risen, but will rise with us in the future, and that he would reign a thousand years in the flesh with his saints? [Note 1]

All these sects arose in the days of the apostles; nevertheless the gospel of Christ remained the true gospel, and the doctrine of the apostles the true doctrine.

The Scriptures teach that we are to flee from and avoid such leaders of sects and heretics, and we hope to obey this command willingly all the days of our lives.

Therefore, my beloved sirs, pass an impartial and reasonable judgment in this matter, as before God, who will judge you in the great day. This we ask of you for Jesus’ sake. For we seek nothing else on earth (the Lord knows) than the true foundation of the truth, the praise of Christ and obedience to his word, and that with a good conscience, as we testify to the whole world with our writings, word, possessions, blood, life and death.

We also write the truth in Christ and do not lie: spiritually we acknowledge no king, neither in heaven above nor on earth beneath, other than the only, eternal and true king, the spiritual David, Christ Jesus, who is Lord of lords and King of kings.

And if there is anyone who will declare himself king in the kingdom and dominion of Christ, as John von Leyden of Munster did, he shall not go unpunished, with Adonijah, First Kings, chapter 1. For the true Solomon, Christ Jesus himself, must possess the kingdom and sit eternally on the throne of David.

But according to the flesh, we teach and exhort obedience to the emperor, king, lords and princes, yes, to all in authority, in all their transactions and civil regulations, so far as they are not contrary to the word of God, Romans 13, verses 1 to 3.

We teach and confess that we know of no sword or uprising in the kingdom or church of Christ other than the sharp sword of the Spirit, God’s word, as is abundantly shown in our writings. It is sharper and more piercing than any two-edged sword, and it proceeds from the mouth of the Lord; by it we set the father at variance against the son and the son against the father, the mother against the daughter and the daughter against the mother, and the daughter-in-law against the mother-in-law. But the sword of worldly government we leave with those to whom it is committed. Let everyone be careful not to take the sword, lest he perish with the sword, Matthew 26, verse 52.

We acknowledge, teach and approve no other marriage than the one which Christ and his apostles publicly and plainly taught in the New Testament, namely, one man and one woman, Matthew 19, verse 4, who may not be divorced except in the case of adultery, Matthew 5, verse 32, for the two are one flesh. But if the unbeliever departs, a sister or brother is not under bondage in such a case, First Corinthians 7, verse 15.

We acknowledge, teach and seek no other kingdom than that of Christ, which shall endure forever, in which there is no pomp, splendor, gold, silver, meat and drink, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We confess with Christ that our kingdom is not of this world. We brought nothing into this world, and so it is evident that we cannot take anything out of it, as the Scriptures say, First Timothy 6, verse 7.

We know of no murdering, much less do we teach or permit it, for we truly believe that a murderer has neither lot nor part in the kingdom of God, Galatians 5, verse 21. O beloved sirs, how could we desire the blood of any man, since we have to die daily for man’s sake? The Lord who created us knows that we seek nothing except to instruct all the world and be a pattern to it, with our doctrine, life, blood and death, so that they might reflect, awaken, repent and be saved. For this is the nature of pure love: to pray for persecutors, to return good for evil, to love the enemy, to heap coals of fire on his head, and to let him avenge who judges rightly, Romans 12, verse 20.

We know of no theft, much less do we teach or permit it. Rather, we are ready before God and man, with all our hearts, to give our possessions, gold and all that we have, however little it may be, and our sweat and labor besides, to meet the needs of the poor, as the Spirit and word of the Lord and true brotherly love teach us. We well know that theft is expressly forbidden in the Scriptures, Ephesians 4, verse 28, and that it will be punished by death* according to the laws of the land, and, if not repented of, by eternal death according to the word of God. [*]

The Almighty, merciful Lord, through his fatherly grace, Spirit and power, will undoubtedly keep and preserve blameless to the end of the world all the pious, God-fearing and faithful who acknowledge him and are sincere, from all such terrible errors and ungodly abominations.

And if it should be that one remained among us who uses violence (which is quite unknown to me), and would do what is of the devil, know, my beloved sirs, that such a one was not of us from the beginning and will never be of us, unless he is thoroughly converted, repents sincerely, and becomes one with the Spirit, doctrine and example of Christ, as the Scriptures teach. May the gracious Lord grant that they may awaken, overcome their drowsiness, learn to know their works, see their nakedness, and be freed from the snares of the devil, by which the poor, miserable people are so lamentably led captive at his will.

Therefore, beloved lords, beware that in judging faith you are not like the reckless and senseless, who persist in their own opinion and wantonness without any knowledge of the matter, like creatures without reason; who revile the good and praise the evil, and persecute and condemn what they do not understand. Again I say, do not be like those bloodthirsty, raging and malicious men. Rather, examine the Scriptures with trembling, pray for wisdom with Solomon, look to the Spirit, word, deeds and example of Christ, and pass an impartial, righteous sentence according to the truth, as is enjoined on and commanded to all princes and judges in the Scriptures, as you have heard.

O beloved sirs, take heed. If our faith, doctrine, sacraments, dealings and doings are not of God, as we are everywhere slandered, then we are the most miserable of all men on earth: we are to be everyone’s deceiver, heretic, Anabaptist, knave, footstool and prey; we have to endure the stocks, gallows, wheels, sword, water, fire and every kind of misery; and yet our poor souls must belong to the devil and be brands of hell, although in our weakness we seek the Lord so heartily and are so sincere, as may be seen. O no! my beloved sirs, no; the Spirit, doctrine and life of Christ will not deceive us, for his word is truth and his commands eternal life. The promises of God stand sure and immovable, and they will not fail the pious.

Therefore we pray and admonish you, yes, we counsel and desire that you compare our seeking with your seeking; our spirit with your spirit; our doctrine with the doctrine of the learned; our conduct with your conduct; our poverty with your riches; our rejection and reproach with your seeking of honor; our affliction and tribulation with your pleasures and luxurious living; our patience with your tyranny; our hard bonds and shameful death with your ungracious fury and merciless fierceness. I speak of the guilty. If you should then find that your doctrine, faith, life, seeking and doings are more in accordance with the Spirit, word and life of the Lord, and are better than ours, then instruct us with a fatherly spirit; we will willingly hear it and obey, for we desire to obey the truth to the death.

But if you cannot refute us by the Scriptures, and see that our doctrine is the best, then it would be heathenish, ungodly and tyrannical to force us out of life into death, and thrust us from heaven into hell, by the sword and violence; this you will have to acknowledge and confess. But I am afraid that so much discretion will not be shown to us wretched children, that the matter be weighed in the balance of the holy word and tested by the plumb line of Christ. Instead, the reviling, betraying and uproar of the priests and your merciless edicts must be our scriptures; and your torturers on the rack, hangmen, wrath, torture, water, stocks, fire and sword, O God, of which we grieved children hear in many places, must be our instructors, which in the end we must pay for with our possessions and blood. Beloved lords, with Christian discretion, love and friendship, consider how this agrees with the Spirit, doctrine and life of Christ. We well know that all bloody preachers who teach and advise such things, and all the rulers who practice and uphold them, are not the disciples of Christ; the hour in which you shall have to give account, when you depart this life, will teach you this truth. It can never be, says Cyprian, that such lionlike fury and wolfish ferocity should dwell in the heart of a Christian. O how good it would be for some of you, yes, how good it would be if you had never been born! For there are so many of you who regard neither law nor gospel, heaven nor hell, God nor the devil; but the evil flesh will follow its inclination.

Do you think, beloved sirs, that the Almighty God and Lord, who holds the heavens and the earth in the hollow of his hand, who kills and makes alive, the ruling Lord over all, who upholds all things by the word of his power, who creates and destroys, the consuming fire, before whose presence the hills melted like wax, Psalm 97, verse 5, will yield and give way to sensual minds and earthly hearts? No! no, before him the great and small are alike; the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, the learned and unlearned, the wise and the foolish are all alike. He is no respecter of persons. All who do not fear him and do not conform to his counsel, doctrine, Spirit and example, whether emperor, king, doctor or licentiate, must suffer eternal punishment and be under his judgment and wrath.

Beloved sirs, fear God, do right, learn wisdom and truth, cleanse your hands, which are wet and stained with innocent blood, and consider how the righteous God will punish in due time all unrighteousness, malice and violence; and how severely he has always avenged, and will avenge, the innocent blood, torture and death of his saints, and require it of those bloodthirsty tyrants.

The bloodthirsty Cain had to be an accursed vagabond and exile in the land all the days of his life, because he so miserably murdered his innocent brother Abel.

The merciless, arrogant murderer Pharaoh, with his whole army, was destroyed in the Red Sea by the righteous judgment of God, on account of the tyranny and cruelty he practiced against the children of Jacob, God’s people.

Joash was slain by his own servants to avenge the innocent blood of Zachariah, whom he killed between the temple and the altar, Second Kings, chapter 12; Second Chronicles 24, verses 20 to 22.

Manasseh was led captive on account of the great abomination and idolatry he practiced, and on account of the innocent blood with which he filled Jerusalem, Second Chronicles 33, verses 1 to 18.

Ahab was shot through with an arrow, and his blood was licked up by the dogs at the waters of Samaria, First Kings 22, verses 34 to 38; and his wife Jezebel was thrown out of the window, trodden under foot by horses, and her flesh was eaten by dogs, Second Kings 9, verse 33, to punish her for her ungodly deed and the blood of Naboth, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah the Tishbite.

Sennacherib had to leave Jerusalem in disgrace on account of his slanderous, pompous words, by which he blasphemed the Most High. The angel of the Lord killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in his camp in one night, and he was run through with the sword by his own children in the temple of his idol Nisroch, Second Kings 19, verses 35 and 37.

Nebuchadnezzar, on account of his pride, was driven out from among men for the space of seven times, or years. His dwelling was with the creatures that lack reason; he ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws, Daniel 4, verses 32 and 33.

Belshazzar caroused with his mighty men, princes, wives and concubines. They were merry and drank out of the holy vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had plundered from the temple at Jerusalem; and while they were in full glee and joy, praising their gods of gold, silver, brass, iron and stone, the impenitent and hardened tyrant was punished by God without mercy, so that the same night he was deprived of his dominion, nation, body and life, Daniel 5, verses 23 and 30.

Antiochus the Great, a king and prince of all wickedness, a tyrant of tyrants, was punished by God with such a plague that worms crept from his bowels while he was still alive, pieces of flesh fell from his body, and the stench was so unbearable that no one could endure it; yes, he himself could not bear his own smell. The righteous wrath of God laid hold of this ungodly wretch, and so, amid unheard-of pain and suffering, he had to end his proud, bloodthirsty, unrighteous life and depart from this world, Second Maccabees 9, verses 9 to 12.

Herod, arrayed in his royal robes and seated on his throne, exalted himself in his heart against God through the flattering applause of his people on account of his eloquence and wisdom; and in that very hour he was struck by the angel of the Lord and was eaten by worms. According to the writings of Eusebius, he departed this life in such a way that all proud, haughty tyrants may look at themselves in the case of Herod as in a mirror, and fear.

In short, what happened to Pilate, Nero, Domitian, Maximinius, Diocletian, and in general to all malicious, bloodthirsty tyrants who rose up against Christ and his saints, and what kind of death they generally died, may be read in both sacred and secular history.

What kind of death some of these bloodguilty men of our day died, and with what conscience they departed this life, I will not write, for certain reasons. Nevertheless I will say this much: neither the emperor nor the edicts on which they relied all the days of their lives could quiet or calm them in the hour of their death. They were often troubled in their hearts, and with lamentations painfully bewailed the innocent blood which they had shed in the emperor’s name, and said, O we poor, miserable men, what will become of us?

O God, what counsel? Beloved sirs, what counsel shall be given you? How will your poor souls fare in the day “in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also, and the works that are in it, shall be burned up”? Second Peter 3, verse 10. When we must all appear before the judgment seat and stand before the impartial judge? When everyone shall be rewarded according to his works? He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. “For yet a little while, and he who shall come will come, and will not tarry,” Hebrews 10, verse 37.

Therefore stop touching the apple of the Lord’s eye, for he who touches his saints touches the apple of his eye. Take pity on your own souls, which must suffer for it with eternal death if you do not turn to God with all your heart and stop shedding the blood of the innocent. For they call to him daily, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, do you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Revelation 6, verse 10. They call, I say, and their cries have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. He will surely avenge, and he will require the blood of his servants at your hands.

Do not excuse yourselves, beloved sirs and judges, by saying that you are the servants of the emperor; this will not acquit you in the day of vengeance. It did Pilate no good that he crucified Christ in the name of the emperor. Serve the emperor in imperial matters, so far as Scripture permits, and serve God in divine matters; then you may claim his grace and call yourselves by his name.

Do not interfere with the right and kingdom of Christ, for he alone is the Ruler of the conscience, and besides him there is no other. Let him be your emperor, and his holy word your edict, in this matter, and you will soon have had your fill of raging and murder. You must heed God before the emperor, and obey God’s word before the word of the emperor. If not, then you are the judges of whom it is written in Micah, They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net. “That they may do evil with both hands earnestly, the prince asks, and the judge asks for a reward; and the great man utters his mischievous desire; so they wrap it up. The best of them is as a brier; the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge. The day of your watchmen and your visitation comes; now shall be their perplexity,” Micah 7, verses 2 to 4.

Therefore fight no longer against the lamb and his chosen; it will be hard for you to kick against the goads.

But you, with all scoffers, will say in your hearts, Where is the promise of his coming? O beloved sirs, do pay attention. We have known so many who made as showy a display as you, in silk and velvet, with gold and silver, and sat in exalted seats and passed sentence on innocent blood; but now they are no more. We ask for their places, and they are not to be found.

The day will break in like lightning, and the hour shall come upon them like a storm; beware and reform. We see that the tree buds, that summer is near at hand, and our Redeemer is hastening, who redeems all troubled souls from their afflictions; and he will repay all proud scoffers according to their deserts.

Yes, the day is coming, and is not far off, when “the righteous man shall stand in great boldness before the face of those who have afflicted him and made no account of his labors. When they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they looked for; and they, repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit, shall say within themselves, This was he whom we once held in derision and made a proverb of reproach. We fools counted his life madness, and his end to be without honor. How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints! Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness has not shined on us, and the sun of righteousness did not rise upon us. We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and destruction; yes, we have gone through deserts where there lay no way; but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known it. What has pride profited us? Or what good have riches with our boasting brought us? All those things have passed away like a shadow, and as a post that hurries by,” Wisdom of Solomon 5, verses 1 to 9. [Note 2]

Then the terrible, unbearable judgment will pass upon all who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be adored by all those who believe. Then the wicked will hear, “Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels,” Matthew 25, verse 41.

Then your laughter shall be changed into weeping, your joy into sorrow, your sumptuous, temporal lives into everlasting death, your luxury into everlasting woe, your pride into dust and worms, your violence into suffering, your pomp into stench; and your cruel and merciless tyranny shall be repaid with unquenchable hellfire.

My beloved sirs, with him nothing will be concealed or forgotten. He is the judge who searches the hearts and tries the reins, who penetrates the heights of heaven, the depth of the abyss and the length of the earth; who will judge and punish not only evil works and every idle word, but also every unclean, carnal thought. [Note 3]

O dear Lord! O Lord of lords! where then will the emperor and his edicts be, the false prophets and their deceiving doctrine? Then they will howl and weep and cry in anguish of soul, O you mountains, fall on us; you rocks, hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. Then you will see that it was nothing but lies and wind with which you comforted yourselves, as has been said, Revelation 6, verse 16.

Beloved lords, wake up! It is still today. Do not boast because you are of the royal family and are called gracious lords, for that is but smoke, dust and pride. But boast and rejoice when you are born of God, when you become a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light,” First Peter 2, verse 9.

Do not boast that you are mighty on earth and have great power; boast rather that you rule your land in the true fear of God, with virtue, wisdom and righteousness, to the praise of the Lord.

Do not boast that you can subdue lords, princes, cities and countries; but boast if you subdue your earthly mind, and can overcome carnal temptations by the power of faith, die to ungodliness, triumph through Christ, be taken up into the kingdom of glory with all the pious soldiers of God, and receive the promised crown from the hand of the Lord. For if you are such kings, then you are kings not only according to the flesh but also according to the Spirit. Those who love the prince of all kings, who are cleansed of sin by his blood, who have made God and his father their kings and priests, reign and conquer with all the children of God over the world, flesh, blood, sin, death, the devil, false doctrine and the gates of hell. They do not rejoice because their names are enrolled in the register of the kings of this world, but they rejoice because their names are written in the book of life in heaven. [Note 4]

O you highly renowned, noble lords and princes, O that you would receive in all love and meekness this simple, plain, but true instruction from your poor servant, by which I have so fully and with a good heart admonished all your worthy highnesses, and not despise it.

Do not look at my weakness or my little understanding, but look to the Spirit, word and example of Christ, which I have commended and taught in sincerity of heart to you and to all men, according to my weak abilities.

Repent sincerely, so that you may stand before God. Wail and weep with David; put on sackcloth and garments of hair; scatter ashes on your heads; humble yourselves with the king of Nineveh; confess your faults with Manasseh; die to your ambitious flesh and pride; fear the Lord your God with all your powers; judge in all wisdom with fear and trembling; help the oppressed; do not grieve the distressed; promote the just cause of widows and orphans; protect the good; punish the evil in a Christian manner; carry out the duties of your offices properly; seek the kingdom and country that will endure forever; and reflect that you, however highly esteemed on earth, are only pilgrims and sojourners in a strange land.

Obey, believe, fear, love, serve and follow your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for he it is before whom every knee shall bow; he is the eternal word, wisdom, truth and Son of God. Seek his honor and praise in all your thoughts, words and actions, and you shall reign in eternity.