The Venerable Johann Bugenhagen, Doctor and Pastor at Wittenberg.
1. grace and peace in Christ. I kindly ask, my dear lord and friend, because I do not have the time to read the booklet of my dear lord and friend, Doctor Caspar Güttels, pastor and superintendent of Eisleben, with leisure (because I suddenly fell three times prevented by other business), you should take it before you, and where the good man praises me, erase my name. I know well how sincerely good he means it; but you know how hostile my name is to the devil and his papists, especially where I am praised, so that reading, or even the fruit of reading, is destroyed, because even with many who want to be ours, my name stinks; but you will do it well without my concern.
2 He writes, as I also notice from his letter, against the expectants, that is, those who wait for the concilium. They may be wise, sensible people who thus wait and stake their salvation on human statutes, but they fulfill the saying: A wise man does no small foolishness; or they must be completely ignorant and inexperienced in Christian faith, as they cannot judge how far God's word and man's word are different. Although I would like to give them credit for this, because until now the world, through the pope, has had to believe that the conciliar statutes are just as valid as God's, and more than God's word, which now even the geese and ducks, mice and lice (praise God!) would not believe, where they could believe something. But he who hears nothing, learns nothing; he who cannot hear, or does not want to hear, cannot or does not want to learn or know anything. Such expectants we command God.
3. But next to them is another group of expecters who hear and read it, also want to hear and read it, know everything that the gospel teaches, know what the truth is, also confess that it is the truth and is in the gospel, and yet pretend that they want to wait for the judgment of the Council and the church, and in the meantime persecute and suppress the recognized truth of the gospel; as one and the most distinguished Duke George of Saxony (that I give a sure example), of unfortunate memory, has been with his followers. Whom do we want or should we command such expectants? God does not want and does not like them, because he wants his gospel to be kept above all angels, silent about men or concilia, and confesses about it to no one of any harrens or expectants. I am well aware that we have to send them to the devil in the abyss of hell, and let them wait and remain expectants, as the Jews also wait and are expectants for their Messiah, whom they crucified before out of hatred and envy, against public and known truth. Yes, let them wait, it serves them right that they wait; what are they worth better than to wait in vain for the lie forever, who did not want to accept the truth revealed at present?
(4) So we let these expectants also wait for a council, which now the pope will not give, or even cannot, as he lets himself be heard publicly, and they nevertheless crucify and persecute the present truth, in order to obtain the beautiful title: Christian church, Christian princes, Christian people, who wait for the council, and curse God's word. Let them use such titles, but beware that you do not praise them in this way, lest you become a party to their sins and be exposed with them to hellish fire. For there is the terrible, horrible example before our eyes,
*) This preface is found in the Wittenberg edition (1559), vol. XII, p. 369; in the Jena edition (1568), vol. VII, p. 431; in the Altenburg edition, vol. VII, p. 471; in the Leipzig edition, vol. XXII, appendix, p. 131; in the Erlangen edition, vol. 55, p. 341 and in De Wette, vol. V, p. 418.
how God exterminated the Christian prince, yes, the wretched, damned man, Duke George, made him null and void, cast him into the abyss of hells.
5 Such expectants should have such a concilium, because that is how they want it. As St. Paul says in 2 Cor. 6:1, 2: "I beseech you, brethren, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain: for he saith, I have heard thee in due time. And Christ Matth. 10, 14. 15.: "Whichever city or house will not receive your word, come out, and shake off the dust of your shoes also upon it. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in that day" etc. These were not expectants, as they did not know it to be the truth,
but considered it to be error and heresy. Where will now remain the expellers who know and confess that it is the truth, and yet for the cover and adornment of their obdurate will and malicious, bloodthirsty outrage pretend that they want to wait for the concilii or church judgment. Oh, let them wait and remain expectants, as they deserve and are worthy, and to more condemnation and greater accumulation of wrath let them call themselves Christian princes among themselves, that is, blaspheme God in heaven confidently, and force that he must hasten with the last day. Amen, amen. My dear Lord Jesus Christ, come, and come quickly, amen.