1. 2. of the resurrection of Christ and the dead.
3. Abraham's belief in the resurrection of the dead.
4. of rotten spirits and the godless resurrection.
In eternal life all creatures will be lovely, and the bodies will be glorified.
In eternal life, everything will be different.
7. that life will be much more glorious than this life, if Adam had remained in innocence and not fallen.
8. a different one from eternal life.
Everything will be restituted and renewed in that life.
10. from eternal life.
1. of the resurrection of Christ and his death.
(This §, except for the last two paragraphs, contains a narrative of what Luther preached in church on the Sunday of Cantate in the afternoon of 1544. It is a meager excerpt from the sermon on the resurrection of the dead, Walch, old edition, vol. VIII, 1406 ff, therefore omitted).
In the evening he, the doctor, said at home: He would have had another concept and matter in mind, of which he would have been willing to preach, and would have come safely to the article of God's omnipotence, which sermon was simple and more audible to the common man.
Item: I see, said D. Martinus, that our Lord God has a good concern of the article where we say: I believe a resurrection of the dead. For, should it remain as it is now, with sweeping out and cleansing 2c., who could wait and see it come to pass? Therefore it is best that he take the pot and break it, and thrust it into the clay, and make it new, as Jeremiah says.
2. another of the resurrection of the dead.
I will rise again, said D. Martinus, and I will be able to talk to you again. This finger, on which this ring is stuck, must become mine again. In sum, everything must return, for it is written in 2 Peter 3:13: "God will create new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness will dwell." There will be no empty or idle regiment. There will be joy and delight, for heaven and earth will not be barren sand.
When a person is happy, a small tree, even a beautiful flower or bush, makes him happy; but when he is sad, no tree can really be looked at. Heaven and earth will be renewed, and we believers will all be one group. If we were all one here, there would be great peace among us: but God makes it otherwise, that here and there we are divided, so that we long and groan for the future Father.
1) This § is, according to the content, completely contained in § 5 of this chapter, taken together with Cap. 50, Z1. Either another relation of the same speech, or another redaction of it.
country, and thus grow weary of this tedious life.
Now if there is to be joy in the elect, there must be supreme sadness and despair in the damned 2c. A rustling leaf has no horns. When have you heard that a rustling leaf has struck or poked a hole in one's head? Nevertheless, an ungodly and unbeliever is frightened by it. But not a Christian, for in Christ he has peace; but the wicked have no peace.
3. Abraham's faith in the resurrection of the dead.
Abraham had to believe in the resurrection of the dead, because he wanted to kill his son Isaac, through whom God had promised him to multiply his seed and lineage like the stars in the sky; as the epistle to the Eberians, Cap. 11, v. 17 ff. finely indicates. Our greatest challenge is that our Lord God is called a liar, since the Gentiles say, "Where is their God? It is as if God does not believe what He has promised.
Item: When Christ blows the trumpet on the last day, then they will all come up again and rise, like the flies that lie dead in winter, but toward summer, when the sun comes, they will come to life again; in the same way, the birds that lie dead during the winter in nests or stone caves, and in crevices, as the cuckoo, swallows and others, in the hollow banks by the water, will come to life again toward spring; as experience testifies.
4. of the spirits of the wicked, and the resurrection of the wicked.
D. M. Luther said to his table companions in 1540: "Oh, how we must suffer so many sects and troubles, for one always comes after the other: when one is settled, another soon comes; when such has died away, a new one is soon here again. And it is certain that there will be many more sects after my death, because the
spiritus mendax et homicida does not celebrate. Who would have thought of the Grickel's foolishness? But God will preserve his Christianity. D. Severus said: "Your confession, Doctor, pleases me well as Coena Domini, and the word that you have added to it (as, as I want to preserve this article of the Sacrament, so I trust, with God, to preserve all the other articles also by the Scriptures) has deterred many, and drawn back many, who otherwise would have brought all kinds of error on the path: for there were some who wanted to dispute the divinity of Christ. Then D. Luther answered and said: I have noticed it well, that is why I have acted so diligently on this article, and have especially well struck out in the three symbolisms. It will not be necessary.
Many still doubt the article about the ungodly resurrection, said D. Severus. Luther answered: "It is diligently traced in the 15th chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians. Then M. Johannes Mathesius, Luther's table companion, had asked: "Doctor, in the Symbola there is first Remissio peccatorum, and then Carnis resurrectio, which thus reads, "Only those should rise from the dead who have the forgiveness of sins? Then said D. Luther: "There are clear, bright sayings of the Scriptures, as, Joh. 5, 28. 29. and Matth. 25, 32. and elsewhere in the Bible about the resurrection of the dead. And I have dealt with it in the same chapter to the Corinthians v. 50, that flesh and blood will not see the kingdom of God. There M. Mathesius spoke: It would be another thing not to see and not to be resurrected. The doctor answered: Sunt diversa praedicata de uno subjecto. Prince Hans Frederick read the same interpretation of the 15th chapter of Corinthians with pleasure.
(The following paragraph Cordatus No. 1593.)
When we get to heaven, we will have ten thousand years to marvel at the abominations of the pope, and after that at the monarchies and other great wickednesses, and we will be surprised that God allowed them to suffer so long. And I believe that the Pope has not heard one sermon in his whole life.
In eternal life all creatures will be lovely, and the bodies will be glorified.
When D. Martinus and others had joked with each other for a long time, they came to serious matters, namely to talk about eternal life, how heaven and earth would become new, as Adam and Eve had fallen from paradise, that is, out of God's grace and favor. But in Christ we all have another future and eternal life. There will be a new heaven and a new earth: the flowers, foliage and grass will be as beautiful, joyful and lovely as an emerald, and all creatures will be most beautiful. If only we have God's grace, all God's creatures will laugh at us. If I say to the brick that it shall become an emerald, it shall be done from that hour. And in the new heaven there will be a great, eternal light and loveliness.
(The following in this § at Cordatus No. 807. 808. 809. 810.)
What we would like to be now, we will be in that life, and where the thoughts will be, there will also be our bodies, because even in this life the body obeys the will. For whatever the will decides, there the body must follow, whether for good or for evil. This will take place much more in the future life, when the body will be lighter and more flexible than a feather, and everything that is considered beautiful now will be nothing there. According to this opinion also Isaiah [65, 17.] and Peter [2. Ep. 3, 13:] speak of a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Righteousness and peace will be there, and all that we may wish for, peace, security 2c. Of such things they spoke after the lies. 2)
A joyful heart sees everything cheerfully, but a sad heart sees everything sadly; for a change of heart brings about a great change in all things. Hence it is that when we rejoice, we see even the smallest grasses cheerfully and admire their form, which we throw away and
1) In No. 802 of the Cordatus, it is reported that before these conversations, one amused oneself for a while with joke lies, to which also the entrance of this § points.
Despise when we are sad. Therefore, everything, even the disgusting animals like bugs, will be pleasurable for the blessed.
By heaven we must understand not merely the air and the land, or even that which is above us, but also all that belongs to it, all cattle, small cattle 2c.
If the world were so full of harmony, peace and justice that the peasant would be obedient to the prince everywhere, the servant to the lord, the wife to the husband, no one would long for the life to come. That is why God makes this world full of unrest, so that we may long for another life.
In eternal life, everything will be different.
It is a great faith, said D. Martinus, believe that our weak and heavy body should become so nimble and quick, agile and fast. I believe it weakly. The pope and the whole world do not believe it. We, who are true Christians and God-fearing, will see the light, the Creator of heaven and earth. This will be such a joy that eating and drinking, sleeping, and everything that we have to have here for our physical needs will be gone. It will be a different life; otherwise we would fill up heaven in four years. Then we will spit on the thalers and guilders. For if we have such pleasure and joy in creatures, namely in money, the sun, stars, etc., what will it be then when we look at God face to face?
7. that life will be much more glorious than this life here, even though adam lived in the
Innocence remained, and would not have fallen.
The life to come will be much greater and more glorious than the one that existed when Adam was still in Paradise before the Fall. Indeed, if Adam had remained in his innocence and not transgressed God's commandment, he would have begotten children. But he would not have remained eternally in such a state and life in paradise, but would have been taken and twitched into this glory; not by death, for he would have remained immortal, but by change, and twitched into that life.
(This paragraph in Lauterbach, June 27, 1538, p. 92.)
After that they spoke of eternal life and its joy, how it will be. I often think about it, but I cannot find out what it will be like [illius objectum], what we will spend our time doing, because there will be no change, no work, no food, no drink, no business. But I think we will have objects [of joy] enough in God. That is why Philip said very well (John 14-8.), "Lord, show us the Father, and it will be enough for us." This will be our dearest object.
8. a different one from eternal life.
(Here 15 lines are omitted because contained in Cap. 3, §10.)
(Lauterbach, Dec. 6, 1538, p. 188.)
Luther said on that day admirable things about the future, eternal life and its unspeakable joy, which human reason cannot comprehend with its research. For we cannot get beyond the visible and the physical with our thoughts, for eternity does not enter into any human heart. One should get tired of the eternal, according to the saying: Pleasure is also work. What kind of joy that will be, we cannot understand now, as Isaiah says (65, 18.): "They will rejoice forever and be glad about what I create."
Everything will be restituted and renewed in that life.
1) When M. Luther was asked: "Will there be dogs and other animals in that life and kingdom of heaven?" he answered and said: "Yes, indeed, because the earth will not be so empty, desolate and desolate, since St. Peter 2. ep. 3, 13. calls the last day a day of restitution of all things, when heaven and earth will be changed; and as elsewhere it is said more clearly: God will create a new earth and a new heaven, will also create new little furs and little dogs.
1) On this §, compare Mathesius, Luthers Leben, St. Louis edition, p. 212 f.
Their skin will be golden, and their hair or loden will be of precious stones. They will not eat each other, like toads, snakes, and other such poisonous animals, which are poisoned and harmful for the sake of original sin. Then they will not only be harmless to us, but also pleasant, amusing, and agreeable, so that we will play with them.
But how is it that we cannot believe God's word, when all things, as the Scripture says, have happened and been accomplished, except for this article about the resurrection of the dead? This is caused by original sin. The wicked and reprobate will be under the earth at the last day, and will see to some extent the great joy and glory of the elect and blessed, but will be the more tormented and tortured by it.
If our Lord God has so beautifully created this perishable, temporal kingdom, namely heaven and earth, and all that is in them; how much more beautiful will he make that imperishable, eternal kingdom? Although the original sin deserved that almost all animals do harm to man, as wolves, bears, snakes, lizards, etc., the merciful God has so mitigated and alleviated this guilt and punishment that there are more animals that are useful and serve than those that do harm. For there are more sheep and lambs than wolves; more crabs than scorpions; more fish than snakes; more grain and corn than weeds and grasses; more good herbs than nettles; more oxen than lions; more cows than bears; more hares than foxes; more fowls, ducks and geese than vultures, ravens and other noxious birds.
And whoever diligently thinks about it will find many more useful animals than harmful ones; many more and greater benefits and uses in all creatures than damages. No one can sufficiently comprehend with thought and sense what benefits and gifts the four elements bring and give us. The earth bears trees, wood, livestock, ore, water
rivers, grain, fruit, oil, wool 2c. And we can tell everything? Likewise the fire, thereby one warms, cooks 2c. The water carries all kinds of fish 2c., the air all kinds of birds, without which we can not live a paternoster long.
Our Lord God will now well see and know where my soul shall remain, who has been so careful for it that he has left his own life, so that he might save mine, the pious shepherd and faithful bishop of our souls who believe in him. For he will not begin with me and learn how to care for, nurture and keep the souls who trust in him. So I would not like to have them in my hand or care and know, because the devil would have snatched them away and devoured them in a flash and moment, but he has them in his hand, from which no one can snatch them. I am content to know that in my father's house there are many mansions. Father's house are many mansions, as Christ says, said the dear man of God. D. Martinus.
10. from eternal life.
D. M. Luther said at one time: When he would have hung at his mother's breast and suckled, he would have known much how he would eat or drink afterwards, or how he would live. So we also understand much less what kind of life that will be. In the. Prophet Isaiah God says: Qui gestamini in utero meo, formamini in matre mea. ,. Thus our Lord God calls us, as if to say: You are not what you are to become, you are still in utero. All the golden chains, the great kingdoms, they are not called anything else to our Lord God, but still in uwro. But is it not proud enough spoken by our Lord God, that so many great people, as D. M. Luther and D. Jeckel, should lie hotly for our Lord God in his body? If our Lord God would take me and D. Jeckel, we would advise him much differently.