Matth. 24, 15-28.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, that it shall stand in the holy place, then let him that is in the land of Judah flee unto the mountains. And he that is on the housetop, let him not go down to fetch anything out of his house; and he that is in the field, let him not turn back to fetch his garments. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that lie with suckling in those days. But pray that your flight be not in winter, or on the sabbath day. For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world, nor ever shall be. And if these days were not shortened, no man would be saved; but for the elect's sake the days are shortened. If then any man shall say unto you, Behold, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. For false Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall shew great signs and wonders, to deceive (where it is possible) even the elect. Behold, I have told you before. Therefore, when they shall say unto you: Behold, he is in the wilderness, go not out; behold, he is in the chamber, believe it not. For as the lightning goeth forth from the going forth, and shineth even unto the going down; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. But where there is carrion, there the eagles gather.
(1) In today's Gospel there are mainly two pieces. The first is a warning for the devout Christians who are to experience the destruction of Jerusalem, that they should know this beforehand and make themselves scarce and flee from it. The other is a warning especially for our last days, when we are in danger, because such terrible and horrible errors will occur, that we should be prepared for them, hold to the right doctrine, and beware of false prophets. Both warnings are necessary and useful to us; therefore let us diligently take them before us.
(2) Even though the first one refers only to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, and is now almost five and a half hundred years old, we can still learn a useful and comforting lesson from it: that we should learn to love and value God's word, and that we should be rightly prepared for it, since God has thus punished with great wrath the contempt of the word against His own people. For as your love on the tenth
Sunday after Trinity, it was a miserable trade beyond measure. For the Romans came to the city at that time, when the Jews from all countries went in crowds to Jerusalem for the Easter feast; that, as Josephus writes, there were about thirty times a hundred thousand people there.
Now such a large crowd cannot remain healthy for long in such a narrow place; therefore the three main plagues came together: the enemy around the city with war and in the city the pestilence, item, a severe, cruel theurge that some mothers strangled their children and cooked and ate them like other meat. About all this there was a terrible disagreement among the Jews in the city. And Josephus numbered that in the time of the siege and conquest of the city ten times a hundred thousand men were slain and died, and ninety and seven thousand were taken captives. And the captive Jews were so worthless,
that thirty of them were sold for half a penny. Therefore it is not a forgiven word that the Lord says here of such a siege and destruction that there was no such great tribulation from the beginning of the world, and that there will be none like it hereafter.
(4) Such misery should be held up to the common man yearly, so that we may all consider it carefully at the same time, and look all the more diligently at what this sin is that has caused such terrible misery, so that we may learn to beware of it. For the calculation is easy to make: if God did not spare His own people when they fell into sin, He will certainly not spare ours either, if we will not abstain from such sin.
Now it is true that disobedience, murder, adultery, avarice, theft and other such sins also move God, where one does not want to desist from them, that he must punish. But there are still merciful punishments against these. God does not take away everything, but leaves something. And as we see in the histories, he usually leaves more than he takes. But here he takes everything together. Therefore, this must be an immeasurably greater sin than the other, since the punishment is so great and terrible. What is the name of this sin? Christ calls it Luc. 19, 44. "This," he says of Jerusalem, "will happen to you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation"; that is, when God sends His word and the world does not want to accept it, but still persecutes and wilfully continues in sins, this is Jerusalem's sin, where destruction and desolation must follow. For how faithfully God meant it with them, one can see: he sent his prophets, John, finally his only begotten son himself and the apostles. All of these are primarily concerned with showing people the right path to eternal life, and to teach them how to lead their temporal life in such a way that they can have a good conscience and God's grace and blessing.
(6) But what do Jerusalem and all the world do? She does not want to know or hear about the salvation and teaching of our Lord Christ, and not only strangles the apostles, but also the apostles themselves.
the Son of God Himself, and makes believe that they want to be saved without Him and His teachings. It is impossible that God should laugh at this and not be vehemently angry about it. For think, if you had many thousands of florins, and saw a poor beggar, and thought to help him, and sent your son to him, and told him to come to you, and that you would help him out of all distress, and make a rich man of him; but he being such a desperate wicked wretch, slew your son, who brought him such good tidings, with a club to death: how do you think that such a thing would please you, and what kind of heart you would have toward him?
(7) Now this is the sin of the Jews, that they have deserved such great wrath and abominable punishment. We should learn to beware of this. For God does not like it, because he is so fatherly with us when he sends us his word, that we should despise or persecute it. With the kingdom of Israel it was the same, as Hosea says in Cap. 8, 3: "Israel rejects what is good; therefore the enemy must persecute them. For he who will not accept God's grace and word must remain in disgrace and error. It is impossible for it to last long; it must fall to the ground. For this very reason, all monarchies and kingdoms have always fallen, and still do.
Therefore, let us be on guard against despising the word of God with great diligence. The Jews strangled Christ and the apostles for the sake of the gospel. Today the papists also strangle the poor Christians, and intend to suppress the word by force. We do not do it so roughly on our side yet, praise God! We would not like to be deprived of the Word; but nevertheless we see how in other ways the Word, though not persecuted, is despised among us. For God will have little pleasure in it, even if you go to the sermon and yet hear in such a way that it goes in one ear and out the other, and you do not improve in the least. For this very reason God has you preach that you may establish your heart against sin and death through the death of Christ, and a godly heart,
You are to lead an unruly life. Because you are walking along, letting avarice, fornication, anger, envy, pride and other sins grow from day to day, just as if God were doing you a service, or if God had not forbidden you to do so: God will certainly not accept such things otherwise than for great contempt, and in His time will punish you far more horribly than you can now remember.
(9) Therefore, we should never let such an image of wrath leave our eyes and hearts, so that we may learn God's word with earnestness and righteousness, and amend ourselves from it; for this is why it is preached. But those who do not mend their ways, but either despise the word or persecute it, may learn here what sorrow will come upon them. For if God has not given His people such contempt and persecution, you must not think that God will give it to you.
10. For we see not only the kingdom of Israel, Judah, and then the holy city of Jerusalem lying in ashes before us because of such sin; But before our eyes are all Asia, Syria, Egypt, Grecia, Macedonia and other countries as far as Austria, where the Word of God has dwelt abundantly, but now that the Turk has come in, everything has been laid waste, and the people have lost not only body and goods, but also their souls; because the Word of God has been lost everywhere, and no baptism, no sacrament is left in the places. They have earned such misery by not keeping the gospel faithfully, and by dropping the right doctrine and despising it. Let us beware of this. For it is not far off that we will also see such things in our papists, who so persecute God's word and so stubbornly hold on to idolatry. Therefore, it is high time to amend and repent. For once the wrath of God is incurred, it cannot be quenched in such sin; as we see in the example of the Jews.
(11) Now not only should such terrible wrath deter us from this sin, but we should also be enticed by this friendly warning that we should earnestly keep God's word and diligently listen to it and improve ourselves from it. For here it says both.
The Jews, who did not want the word, are punished in the most horrible way. But those who accept Christ and believe in him enjoy the Lord Christ and their faith also in that they are so faithfully warned against such affliction and escape it. And that is even more, Daniel had to show the mark and sign longer than five hundred years before for the sake of such Christians, so that they would be warned soon enough and saved sooner.
(12) It had been unequal hitherto. The blind, obstinate Jews exercised all courage against the word, and were masters of it, sitting in the regiment. On the other hand, the poor Christians had to suffer everywhere, and were nowhere safe in life or limb. But it lasted only a while. For when God's wrath came, the pious were saved, but the wicked were made to suffer. Because the wicked did not want to take Christ for their teacher, promised by Moses, Deut. 18, who was to proclaim and show them the way to eternal life and blessedness, they did not have to believe him either, since he preached of the wrath to come. But the believing Christians trusted Christ with their souls and salvation. Therefore they were also preserved bodily from the wrath. For as soon as it came to pass that all kinds of wantonness got the upper hand, and especially the right worship together with the pure doctrine had fallen, which is the right and greatest abomination; and the Roman emperors set their idols and flags in the temple in the places where the mercy seat and the highest sanctuary of the Jews stood, then the devout Christians could well know that it was time for them to get out of the dust and flee to other countries. So now Christ wants to reward his own who accept his word with faith and become more devout, that he wants to warn them and protect them from the wrath of God.
(13) This, I say, should entice us to be all the more diligent in keeping the word and to hear it with great earnestness. Unfortunately, we have fallen into a dangerous time because of our sins and wickedness. The Turk is on our backs and is an enemy we will never escape if we do not change our ways.
to the cause. Therefore, we have neither seals nor letters to ensure that we will not suffer the same fate as the Hungarians and that our wife and child will not be taken prisoner with us to Turkey. This is how it is with death runs, with theurung and disunity among us even in Germany. Such ruthlessness is bound to no one but the godless despisers and persecutors of the Word; to them it will also be granted. But those who love and esteem God's word, hear it earnestly, amend themselves from it, and forsake all days of sin and the old Adam, do not follow the evil example of the wicked world, but keep themselves in check, and think: Behold, thou art a Christian, thou hearest how God is so hostile to avarice and all unrighteousness; why wouldst thou, for the sake of a debt, leave God's obedience and word behind? should you not sooner and rather give ten guilders freely in vain for the sake of God, than with one guilder unjustly gained weigh down your soul and anger God etc. ? - Such people, I say, who take the word seriously, and put their heart and trust in God's goodness through Christ, and keep themselves from sinning: they shall enjoy such piety; otherwise all others must suffer evil because of their sins.
14 Therefore we see that Daniel and his companions, who were God-fearing and did not wantonly commit sins among the Gentiles, even though they were caught, nevertheless had a far more miserable prison than other ungodly Jews. Yes, that is more, God exalted them among their enemies, so that they became great lords and did much good among the Gentiles. So remember that if you are devout and God-fearing, God will keep you also, and you will enjoy it and be preserved, even if you are alone in the midst of Turkey. This is what we should learn, and for this reason we should gladly be pious and follow God's word.
(15) Now Christ adds a little word here, which we must not leave undone. "Pray," saith he, "that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the sabbath day." For in winter it is very evil to wander in snow and thunderstorms; so the Jews had
a special command that they were not allowed to go on the Sabbath, if they wanted to; as you can see that iter sabbathi, a Sabbath journey, was a small way, barely a quarter of a mile. For this, Christ now says, ask. He wants to indicate and teach us that we should not only hear God's word gladly and diligently, but also pray; and that such prayer will cause and drive God to consider us and give us happiness and salvation for our sake.
(16) Therefore, in so much trouble and distress, especially in these perilous times, we should not let a day go by; we should ask God for protection and protection, so that he will be with us, protect us and keep us in all distress. Just as Christ remembers the daily bread in the Lord's Prayer. For food and drink are not enough to sustain life and limb; we must also have peace, good and healthy weather, and the like. Therefore this petition includes all kinds of bodily needs, that God may protect us against the Turk, protect us from pestilence, give us good years and healthy fruits. Since Christ has called us to ask for such things, we should not doubt when we earnestly ask that God will graciously hear us and give us what we need in body and soul.
(17) This is the first part: that we should hear God's word gladly, improve ourselves from it, and not despise it or persecute it; since God punishes the despisers and persecutors so horribly, but again so graciously warns, protects and saves those who accept His word and are devout.
(18) The other part, I have said, is also a warning concerning our time and the last time. The Lord begins it by saying, "If these days were not shortened, no man would be saved; but for the elect's sake they will be shortened. These are very terrible words, which we should form in our hearts and keep the word all the more diligently. For it is not a matter, as with Jerusalem, of war and bloodshed; but of another, greater and higher, which is called error, unrighteous doctrine, and unrighteous worship, by which we not only perish for body and soul, but also for the sake of the elect.
life, but for the soul and salvation. As the Lord says: No man would be blessed unless the days were shortened.
(19) But whether such blindness will still be present before the last day comes cannot really be known. But when we look behind us, we find such great blindness, and such abominable and, as Paul calls it, powerful errors, that certainly (if God had not come in with the light of his word) no man could have been saved, except the little innocent children, who died after their baptism, before they came to reason and their days. For what of Christ, of the forgiveness of sins, of righteousness, of the consolation of the conscience, did one have in the priesthood that one could have held on to? Again, how shameful errors and blasphemous lies have been driven into the poor people under the name of truth, in which they have put their trust and hope of salvation? Therefore I think that this prophecy of our Lord Christ about future errors has already been fulfilled for the most part. For although error and darkness are still present, they cannot be greater than they already were in the papacy, as we have seen, and their books still exist and testify to this. Moreover, we can ever doubt nothing at all of the words of Christ; for he gives the child a name, and says what errors there will be. "False Christs and false prophets shall arise," he says, "and shall shew great signs and wonders, that the elect also may be deceived into error."
20 Now it is unnecessary to make a distinction here between false Christians and false prophets. But because such prophecy corresponds so exactly with the history, one can distinguish it without driving, and point the false Christians to the Turk and his faith, but the false prophets to the pope and his teachings. For these two regiments, Pabst's and the Turk's, are without doubt the real Antichrist, since Daniel, Christ, Paul, John and other apostles have warned us against them. For the faith of the Turks is nothing else, because they believe the
They think that the true Christ, the Son of God, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in the flesh, is not a Christian, and they put the wretched Mahomet in his place. For thus they believe that Christ was a prophet, who was of some value in his time, but that he was not God. Therefore, what the Christians believe that they should have through Christ, one must believe from Mahomet; he will make them blessed, and is God's favorite prophet, above Moses, Abraham, Christ and all others. Such blasphemous teachings and horrible lies have almost torn away and deceived most and the largest part of the whole world; as you can see, all of Egypt, Syria, Asia, Grecia, Macedonia, and many more countries have such faith, live and die in it, that they do not want Christ, and put their trust in the devil Mahomet.
The pope does not do this; he lets Christ remain the Son of God and the true eternal God, he does not make another Christian. But he falsifies the doctrine of Christ; for what we should believe in Christ and hope and wait for by his merit alone, that, he teaches, we should hope and wait for by the saints' merit, intercession, and our own work; just as, for the sake of such trust, there was neither measure nor end to the service of God in the papacy. For there the doctrine has been absolutely as the Lord says here: "Behold, here is Christ; behold, there is Christ. Behold, he is in the wilderness; behold, he is in the chamber." For why have monks and nuns run to the monasteries? Why did the one become a priest, the other a hermit? Why did they go on pilgrimages? Why did they say mass, hear mass, offer mass? Because all the world was convinced that one would find Christ, that is, God's grace, forgiveness of sins, eternal life and blessedness.
22 Therefore Christ warns most of all against the Antichrist, who makes no other Christ, nor denies Christ as the Turk does; and yet by false doctrine of the true Christ points to the creature and his own work, saying, Believe not, that is, be not pointed to any such thing; abide with me, and hold to my doctrine, to my works.
works and my merit alone, nothing shall harm you.
But what has happened? The Lord Christ and his faithful, diligent warning, as we hear here, were not lacking. "Behold," says the Lord, "I have told you before." It was all our fault that we did not heed this warning and went blindly and believed as we were told, even though the Lord specifically forbids this, saying, "Do not believe, even though you will see miracles and signs. For the signs and wonders that are right agree with the word of our Lord Christ, and do not turn away from the word. But the devil also performs miraculous signs, as Christ testifies here and warns against. And Paul calls them lying signs, so that the lies are confirmed and the people are led away from the truth and the word. So the Turks still boast today of many miracles of their Mahomet, which he did and still does. I believe that some of them are true miracles, but that not God but the devil does them to confirm their error.
(24) Thus all the churches are full of miraculous signs in the papacy, since the Holy One has done one thing and the other another. Although they may have lied and said more than has been done, we cannot deny that many miraculous signs have been performed. For Christ himself says here that the false Christs and false prophets will perform great miracles and signs, which are intended to deceive people and make them believe such lies and falsehoods to be true. But God does not perform such signs, but the devil does; we are not to believe him.
(25) Here you may consider what the right doctrine is based on, from which one should not depart. Notice, then, that right doctrine does nothing but point out and present Christ to you, so that through him you may comfort your heart against sin and death. This is what happens when we are taught to believe that Christ is the true, eternal, almighty God, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and that he came to us on earth by the Holy Spirit.
and born of the Virgin Mary into this world. Finally, he died on the cross, not for his sins, for he, as God, could not sin, but for our sins, so that God might be satisfied by such death and our sins paid, and so that through the resurrection of the Lord Christ from the dead we might also come to eternal life. That therefore Christ has overcome sin and death for our good, that sin and death should not harm us; and now sits at the right hand of God, that he will protect us against the devil, grace us with his spirit and hear us in all that we need in body and soul and ask in his name. This is preached by Christa and rhymes with the word everywhere; therefore, one must not worry about the Counter-Christ and his lies.
(26) For it follows first of all that this teaching, when it strikes the heart, drives people to praise God's grace and goodness, to love God with all their hearts, and to think how they can live to please such a gracious God. So they begin to do from the heart everything that they know God has commanded, and seriously guard against everything that they know God has forbidden. These are fine, pious and holy Christians who have forgiveness of sins through faith, and keep themselves in fear and obedience to God.
For this reason Christ so diligently exhorts us to abide in this doctrine, and not to be persuaded otherwise. And he promises that he will not be shut up in any other place, but will be and remain with us everywhere with his word and grace. Therefore, although it is terrible that such a great error, darkness and seduction should come upon the world, it is still comforting that he says: "Where the carrion is, there will the eagles be found," that is, my Christian church shall remain with me. Even if the devil, the Turk and the pope become as evil and powerful as they are, they shall not harm my Christians who thus keep my word. May our gracious God in heaven, through His Holy Spirit, grant this to us all for the sake of Christ, our dear Lord and His Son, amen.