Martinus Luther to all dear lords and friends in Christo.
Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Gentlemen, the end is near, for until now we, who lived under the papacy, have committed such sins that might have been forgiven, namely those that we did not recognize because of blindness, error and darkness; which sin is not only forgiven by God's unspeakable grace, but for which we have also received the riches of grace from God.
Light of Christian truth given, abundantly and publicly presented before all the world, and not cast under a bushel; so that no one can excuse himself for ignorance.
Now consider another sin, which unfortunately will give us the last one, that is, the sin in the Holy Spirit, which cannot be forgiven, but brings with it the two last calamities, that is, deprivation of the truth in the Spirit, so that God's Word is abandoned, and after that bodily disturbance in
*The first preface is in the tenth volume of our edition, Col. 1524, under the heading: "Faithful warning and admonition to the Christians of Erfurt to beware of false teaching and to hold righteous teachers dear and valuable. It is set to Menius' writing "Wider v. Klingen Schutzred und gründliche Erklärung etlicher Hauptartikel christlicher Lehre". In contrast, our preface belongs to the booklet: "Etlicher Gottlosen vnd Widderchristischen lere von der Papistischen Messen, so der Barfusser zu Erfurt D. Conrad Kling gethan, Verlegung durch Justum Menium am Sontag Reminiscere geprediget 1527." 5 sheets in quarto. At the end: "Printed at Wittemberg by Hans Lufft. Walch, following the Eisleben edition, has assigned our preface to the year 1528, but according to the original edition described in the Erlanger, 1527 must be assumed. An erroneous statement about the title of the former writing, which is found in the preface to the 10th volume, has also passed into our edition, vol. X, preface, col. 125, Walch has corrected in the preface to the 14th volume, p. 25, note. Our preface is found in the Eisleben edition, vol. I, p. 417; in the Altenburger, vol. Ill, p. 892; in the Leipziger, vol. XXII, appendix, p. 86 and in the Erlanger, vol. 63, p. 258. We have followed the latter, which brings the original print.
Beginning of eternal damnation. For one now fights wantonly 1) against the publicly recognized truth, there is no more help nor advice. Therefore, to warn all who want to be warned, I have let the booklet go out, and sincerely ask, let us stop. Enough has been sinned in the first sin; what do we also do with the first sin?
1) Erlanger: muthwilliges.
and other sins in the Holy Spirit, and provoke God's wrath upon us to perish temporally and eternally? The first sins 2) he has forgiven, this one he will not forgive, nor can he suffer them, so nothing 3) will change. Well, enough has been said, God grant that we may hear before we have to know, amen.
2) Erlanger: first hour.
3) Erlanger: not.