The twelfth chapter of Daniel, as all teachers unanimously interpret it, refers entirely under Antioch's name to the end of Christ and to this last time, when we live inside. Therefore, there is no more history to be sought here, but the bright gospel now shows and tells everyone well who the real Antiochus is, who has exalted himself above all gods, and "love of women", that is, the marriage state "not respected", but forbidden, and instead filled the world with his god's idolatry, in addition with carnal immorality, and divided the treasures and goods on earth etc. For "love of women" here does not mean lewd love, but must mean the honest, chaste love of women, which God created and commanded, namely conjugal love; because the prophet counts this as one of the most noble vices of the end-Christ, that he does not respect the love of women. 1)
We would have liked to see someone else take up the chapter and declare to strengthen our faith and to awaken hope for the blessed day of our redemption, which is now certainly at the door, as this text gives. Since this did not happen, we want to here-
1) This first paragraph is also found in the preface of 1530, which is followed by the words: "We will leave it at that. For this chapter's understanding and spiritual interpretation of Antiochi goes and stands in experience, and as he says, the resurrection of the dead and the right redemption will soon follow from it." The conclusion [of the preface just mentioned] agrees with the interpretation of 12 Cap. [s 19 ff.j. (Erlangen edition.)
with others give cause to think further and better.
First of all, there are the bright words at the end of the 11th chapter, v. 35, that after Antioch there is "another time", so that this twelfth chapter cannot be understood from Antioch, because it is supposed to be another time. And what shall happen in that other time, the angel proclaims, saying:
Cap. 11, 36: The king will do what he wants.
(4) That is, he will not be subject to any law or doctrine, but he himself will be the law, and what he wills must be called right. Now in all kingdoms such a king is an unpleasant tyrant, but in the kingdom of Christ (of which he now speaks), since one must be obedient to Christ by faith, such a tyrant shall be basically nothing. Here the pope is clearly depicted, shouting impudently in his filth that all churches and thrones can be judged by him, but he can be judged by no one. And Gap. Solitae: As the sun is above the moon, so is the pope above the emperor. But where there is authority, there is power to command; the others are guilty of obedience. Therefore his hypocrites boast scrinium pectoris, that all rights are in the ark of his heart, and: Sic volo, sic jubeo, sit pro ratione voluntas. And Gap. Si papa: If the pope seduces innumerable souls to hell, nor shall anyone say: What doest thou? All this is not only thus taught, but
*) The title of the single edition of this interpretation is given in the first note to this writing.
also practiced and driven in the work. For the emperor is not emperor, but the pope, to whom he, subject as a servant, must also kiss the feet with all his rights. This is also what St. Peter proclaimed [2 Ep. 3, 3], that those would come who would live according to their own lusts or wills. So that he explains this word of Danieli, "what he wills." On the other hand:
He will rise up and rebel against all that is God, and against the God of all gods he will speak abominably, and he will succeed until the wrath is out.
5 Thus the pope also paints himself, since he boasts in his filth that he is over the holy scripture, and that it must be confirmed by his chair and receive its value. But he does this much more strongly in deed. For all who have ever spoken against him from the Scriptures, he has cursed, condemned, burned as heretics and children of the devil, and still does so daily. And his own still cry out now and forever that the church (of the pope) is above the Scriptures. Here Daniel means "to speak abominably against the God of all gods". And he succeeded, and must be called right, by God's anger against the ungrateful world, as St. Paul says 2 Thess. 2, 11, "that God would send powerful errors "rc. For other tyrants, who persecuted God's word, did it out of ignorance. This one does it knowingly, and calls 1) the holy scripture and God's word, over which he wants to be master, and condemn as devil's doctrine, where and when he wants. Therefore he lets himself be called an earthly God, yes, God of all gods, Lord of all lords, King of all kings, not a pure man, but mixed with God, or a godly man, just as Christ himself is God and man, of which he wants to be vicar, and still rises above it.
Thus St. Paul in 2 Thess. 2, 3. f. has led this text of Daniel: "The man of sins shall be revealed, and the child of perdition, which exalteth himself, and setteth himself above and against all that is called God, or that is honored. And sitteth in the temple of God, and showeth himself to be one God." For above God's natural being and majesty nothing can exalt itself, but above the named, preached, honored
1) Freder: Zsstst in ors - leads them in the mouth.
honored God, that is, over God's Word and Service or Sacrament.
(7) For "man of sin" and "child of perdition" here means not only one who is a sinner and lost for himself, a privatus, a personal sinner, but one who is a publicus, that is, one who leads others with him to sin and perdition, as heretics or tyrants lead the land and people astray and perish with them. The Scriptures describe King Jeroboam as having taught Israel to sin, or made them sin with his new worship [1 Kings 12:30].
8 The pope has practiced this ministry of sin in two ways. First, he established many new religious services, as follows in his Mausim, such as indulgences, holy water, saints' service, pilgrimages, brotherhoods, monasticism, mass, fasting, celebrations, etc., besides disturbing and desecrating the true religious services, as God's word, faith, sacrament, etc. Secondly, that he oppressed the Christians with innumerable laws, and thus created sin, since God does not want any, and in sum, he smeared sin on almost all of God's creatures, namely, where and when he wanted, butter, eggs, cheese, milk, and meat to be eaten must be sin, which God gave us to enjoy freely, purely, and without sin. So he has also besmirched the time and days with sins. For wherever and whenever he willed, one had to fast and celebrate, and at the same time eat all kinds of food, even the dear bread, and drink must be sin.
(9) So he also polluted the place and utensils with sins, for he sanctified the churches and consecrated places so that neither stone nor wood could be touched, especially the altars and altar utensils. It was terrible if a layman touched the chalice, paten or corporal with his bare hand. If it was to be washed, no holy nun was allowed to wash it, the priest had to wash it first: so full of laws and sin were the chalice, paten, corporal, and everything that was consecrated. So the wedding, freely instituted by God, had to be sinful, where it was held in conjoined time. Also, the marriage bed had to be caught in sins, which time he wanted.
920 Eri. 41, [ss-soo. Interpretation of the prophet Daniel, cap. 11, 36. 37. W. vi. 14S2-14W. 921
(10) So he also defiles the bodies of the priests. For the natural growth, and God's creatures, the poor hair on the head had to be sin, plates they had to wear and shave off the beard, so they were holy. And summa, all Christians' body and life had to be called unholy, his consecrated ones alone were holy. I will remain silent, how easily a layman could take offense at a consecrated person, place or device etc.
(11) So he also defiles the garments. For whichever monk or nun did not wear their caps and peculiar shape and color garments, he was a sinner and lost; so also the priests with their garments.
(12) Thus he has besmirched with sins almost every creature's custom, food, drink, clothing, place, time, body and life. And if he had reigned longer, perhaps he would also have forbidden coughing, clearing of the throat, snotting, and letting the wind off the body. As if he had to plague Christendom with laws, prohibitions, sins and destruction through all creatures' customs, and then buy money from it with dispensations etc. And such sins and abominations must be called holiness and special worship, like the calves of Jeroboam. Such sins and abominations are what St. Paul means in this saying.
(13) This is what Daniel says: "He set himself against and above the God of all gods. For God also gave laws through Moses, and burdened the Jews with many sins, since otherwise no sin would have been natural; but he was God, and had power over them. This devil-headed and foul-mouthed monkey of God wants to imitate him, and does it far beyond, in addition also against the right God, whom he destroys his worship, and with so innumerable laws, that he has no power, causes innumerable sins through all creatures custom through all the world, and shows himself hereby, as if he were God in the temple of God, that is, in Christendom. All this is proven by his filth and filthy vials.
By these two pieces the pope has now devastated the 1) two hierarchies. Through
1) "the" is missing in the Erlanger.
The first, the secular law, obedience and authority trampled under him, and, where he wanted, have dissolved, and devastated. He deposed, cursed, and corrupted emperors, kings, and princes, banished subjects and children from obedience, and, in sum, made everything he wanted or lusted for subject to neither law nor order. By the other, he has disturbed the churches, thrown the Holy Scriptures under himself, torn apart and devastated the sacraments and their rites, suppressed the Gospel until it was no longer known, and thus brought both God's word and God's service to nothing. Thirdly:
Cap. 11, 37. He will not respect the God of his fathers; he will not respect the love of women, nor some things of God [, because he will rebel against everything].
(15) Here he brings back what was said about God, that he should do more. When he is told about the God of his fathers, that is, about Christ, whom the apostles, his forefathers, preached, he is now so firmly established about the God of all gods that he does not respect it, nor does he want to know anything about it, but rather, proudly, stubbornly and stubbornly kills all those who speak about Christ.
16. And so that he leaves nothing undefiled, he will also tear apart the third hierarchy of God, namely the marriage state, which he has not only forbidden to the clergy, but has also thoroughly blasphemed, desecrated, despised and destroyed by calling it an unclean, carnal, ungodly being, in which one cannot serve God; regardless of the fact that God has blessed the marriage state, has declared His covenant and good pleasure, and through the forgiveness of sin has pronounced the marriage bed pure and honest, and does not want to count the evil lust of the flesh in it 2). So the end-Christ must curse what God blesses; tear apart what God binds together; desecrate what God praises, summa, do everything about and against God, desolate and destroy. He will not forbid such marriages out of love for chastity, not for appearance alone, but so that he may do freely and unhindered what he wills, and never-
2) The Erlanger (also the Weimar Bible) has resolved "rechen" by: rächen, while it should be rendered by "rechnen". Freder: rsxutars.
The Lord said that the subject must not bear the sweat of the nose and other toil and labor that God has placed on the three of His institutions, the church, the dominion, and the marriage state, but may live freely of his will, in all pleasure, peace, security, leisure, honor, and power. For preaching, teaching, serving the churches has much trouble, driving, and unpleasure; likewise the regiments, which are established and connected in law; the marriage state also, with worries, work, driving, wife, children, mind, house, and farm. So also St. Paul says in 1 Tim. 4, 2. 3. that the prohibitors of marriage speak lies in hypocrisy, for they do not mean chastity, but rather their saintly, gentle, quiet, self-willed life, just as the monks also do not flee the world for the sake of holiness, but that they may have rest, peace and a good chamber from the world.
17) That Daniel says, "he will speak abominably against the God of all gods"; item, "he will respect no god", as if Daniel held more than one God, is to be understood that the Scriptures call the saints, yes, even the worldly lords gods, Ps. 82, 6. Jn. 10, 34. and be the opinion that the pope will respect neither the highest God, nor those whom he has set as gods, that is, neither the holy church nor worldly rule. This is one piece of the Pabst's or End Christ's nature and legends, so Daniel describes how he would tear apart, destroy and devastate everything that God ordered. The other piece is what the end-Christ, Pabst, will build, cause and do against it, and speaks:
Cap. ii, 38. But in the same place he will honor his own god Mausim; for he will honor a god of which his fathers knew nothing, with gold, silver, precious stones and jewels etc.
18 The word "Mausim" has remained uninterpreted until now; we will dare to see if God would have us meet it. Maos actually means a strength or stronghold, as castles are called strong and strongholds 1) and in the Psalter God often calls our Maos, strength or stronghold. And we understand first of all by it the stone houses,
1) Erlanger: feste. Weimar Bible: Feste; Freder: mun1tion68.
The churches and the things that belong to them are called churches, because they are built exquisitely, firmly and splendidly above other houses, like castles. These are the monasteries and convents in all the world, which are not built in honor of God or Christ or for His service, for "He does not dwell in houses made with hands," says St. Stephen Apost. 7, 48, but to the pope. For in them he reigns and plays with his holy water, masses, vigils, indulgences, purgatory, and the innumerable vermin, but inside he collects money, silver, precious stones and jewels from all over the world, as well as all the strength and power of his divinity; for in them they teach and live according to his will and commandments. And he has also fortified it most gloriously and mightily, without armor and defense, only with bulls, letters and seals, as a magician or juggler.
19 And especially the monasteries and convents serve the pope; for in the parishes one has served God a little, with baptisms, sacraments and preaching. But it has not been pure, and even today the monasteries and convents are despised. But in the monasteries and convents it went on with all power day and night. They do not have preaching houses, but rather chapel houses, houses for the dead, that is, vigil houses, where more is read, talked about, and done for the dead than for the living; item, hearing houses, crying houses, but also gold houses, silver houses, and jewel houses.
20 And especially the angel touches with the word "Mausim" the greatest and highest piece, the worst church abomination in the papacy, the mass; he would like to say clearly, his God of the mass, and acts as if he would willingly hide the word "mass" in speech, so that he cannot call it a mass because of great displeasure, but speaks "Mausim".
(21) For what are the monasteries and convents but missals? They are built for the sake of the mass, as for the daily, most holy sacrifice. For the sake of the mass, everything is given to it. For the sake of the mass, all ceremonies are conceived. For the sake of the mass, schools were held, and students studied for the sake of the mass, so that they could become mass priests. And all church ceremonies are attached to the mass and around the mass, like rats to their king, so that where the mass is in the church
is not (as at the time of the interdict), there the poor church stands as if it were not a church but a desolate stone house. Such an immense amount of money and expense has gone to the mass. No one thought about the word and preaching, nor studied it, or even counted it little compared to the mass, when the word and preaching should be the most important thing, and almost everything.
22) What then is the Pabst's church God, Mass God, or God Mausim? It is not a god, and cannot be a god. For one does not serve the one, true God with the mass, but thereby blasphemes and desecrates our Lord Jesus Christ (that is, God the Father Himself) in the most dreadful and horrible way, as faith is thereby destroyed, and work sanctity is set up in His place. But [he is called God,] 1) because Scripture allows that idols are also called gods, and a god is nothing other than that on which the human heart relies, trusts, believes, hopes and loves. Now if the confidence is right, then the God is also right; if the confidence is wrong, then the God is also nothing.
Therefore, the God of Mausim is nothing other than a false conceit and confidence of the pope and his followers, that the mass and church system or pews are such a great service, such a great work, such a great sacrifice, of which there is no equal, nor can there be. They allow themselves to be comforted by this conceit, as if it were the true God Himself, and they insist that God is thus minded, as this conceit fools them. Then the devil helps to strengthen and drive them, and with that he gathers all the world's money and goods to himself, and finally the hellish fire in the middle of hell. From this it is easy to understand what follows:
Cap. 11, 39. And he will do great honor to those who help him strengthen Mausim, with the foreign god whom he has chosen, and will make them lords over great possessions, and will distribute the land as a reward.
24 In German, Daniel would almost say: "The pope does thus: all who help him to strengthen and increase his church system, his own holiness, worship and mass, he will make them great, rich cardinals, bishops, abbots, provosts, curtisans, canons, priests, monks, and so on.
1) Added by us.
and raise them high, bless them, free them over and against the laity, and thus divide the goods and land of the churches among them for their reward. For this purpose, the kingdom of heaven is promised to them alone, from whom the other Christians must buy it with gold, silver and jewels, to honor and increase his God of the Mass and God of the church; this is the Pope's legend of Daniel briefly, but in the right words, depicted, as it has been and is in the swing of his right powers.
(25) Then follows how the papacy is to fall and perish. And these are very secret and sealed sayings, which are difficult to make before they are fulfilled. Just as all prophecies are hidden from the devil himself before they are fulfilled. As God says to Moses [Ex. 33:20]: "My face thou canst not see", my back or rear thou shalt see, that is, when I have gone, and have done it, then thou canst look after me; but toward the front, where I want to go, no living man can see. To make matters worse, we want to give others something to think about, because we think that the fall of the pope has begun.
Because the angel himself says more than once to Daniel that these are to be secret and sealed speeches, we cannot understand the king at noon, Ptolemy (as above, v. 5.), as little as the king at midnight, the king Antiochum, which time above at the end of the 11th chapter, v. 35.Since we have to understand the king at midnight (because the whole chapter is understood by all to refer to the end of Christ) as the pope, it is obvious that his counterpart, that is, the right spiritual king at midday, must be the king of holy Christendom, Christ, against whom the pope is an antichrist, as Antiochus was against Ptolemy Egypt. For now I leave it in order to lead much scripture, that noon in the scripture means good, and middle-eight means evil, because it is evident. Thus he speaks now:
Cap. 11, 40. In the end, the king will join him at noon.
27 This is when the wrath of God is almost ready to end, and the pope also now
When he comes to the end of his life, Christ will give him a push, awakening some devout Christians who begin to cry out against him. But he will not fall yet, it will only be a push to the beginning.
This attack (methinks) was started by Emperor Louis, Duke of Bavaria, since Pope Clement V and John XXII boasted that he 1) would be emperor after the death of Emperor Henry of Lützelburg, 2) as his extravagant fooled, and put the fine, pious Emperor Louis under ban innocently. And the disgraceful lie writers, the whales, are so grudged against him that they do not count him among the emperors, nor do they call him emperor, but to their disgrace Bavarum, the Bavarian. Although the popes banished and plagued the emperors before, as Henricum IV and V, Fridericum I and II 2c, and some wrote against the pope, the papacy has never declined as it did after Emperor Louis. He also had learned people with him, as Occam, Bonagratia etc., who honestly turned away the Pope John. There are also still sharp books against the pope, for Emperor Louis. And he himself, regardless of the pope's ban, went to Rome and appointed another pope, and remained emperor.
29 Soon after followed the great schism or rift, when three popes ruled against each other at the same time for thirty-nine years (as a sign that his end must be near and should be torn apart). Thus the pope with his Roman chair had not been in Rome but in France for several years before, was placed there by Clement V, and remained there for seventy-four years.
But this thrust was the praeludium, prelude, and Christ tuned with it to the right thrust, which St. John Hus gave to the pope, and was burned over it. This thrust rose above the indulgence in St. Peter's churches in Rome, however, as it rose with Luther. For the popes at that time, from the beginning of Bonifacius VII, the fundamental priest who first teased and seduced the world with the golden year, played wonders and all mischievousness with the indulgence, so that Clement VI also had a bull
1) namely "the pope".
2) Lützelburg - Luxembourg.
In it, he commanded the angels in heaven (as one God, not only on earth, but also in heaven) to bring the souls of those who ran to Rome after the indulgence, and who were different on the way, from mouth to mouth to paradise to eternal joys. He also commanded the hell or the devil about the same souls with such words: We do not want it badly, that the hellish chastisement should be put on them. Thus the accursed abomination had not only set itself in the temple of God here on earth, but also in heaven over the angels, over heaven, over paradise, over hell etc. Some years later, when indulgences were so blasphemously preached in Bohemia, John Hus opposed them, and especially attacked this Clementine, diabolical bull, and punished the vices of the popes. And this was the thrust that he taught: If the pope were not holy, he would not be a member of the holy church, that is, if the pope were a prankster, he would not be a pious man. This was the great heresy, therefore he had to be burned; also that the pope was the head of the churches, not jure divino, sed humano.
Nevertheless, the blow has given two insurmountable wounds to the papacy. The first one was that the popes were expelled from heaven and the pipes had to be retracted; no longer were such bulls and commandments allowed to go out over the angels. And God soon began to punish the same pride and iniquity. The other, that after St. John Hus, the papacy came into great contempt, and St. John Hus' name and doctrine could not with any power be resisted nor brought to ruin; until at that time the cry frightened him that John Hus had been a forerunner, as he proclaimed to them in the Spirit, saying: "For over a hundred years you shall answer to God and to me. Item: They will roast a goose (Hus means goose), a swan will come after me, they will not roast him. And so it happened: he was burned in 1416. So this present quarrel began with the indulgence in 1517.
32 He still resisted this attack with all his might, and remained seated, condemned Hussein's teaching, and burned him, and many with him, and after him much blood.
Germans and Bohemians against each other, caused all murder and misery, to elevate his chair. But since the time of the Concilii they have been safe, practiced all kinds of mischief with ecclesiastical benefices and simony. In addition, they gave themselves up to all kinds of public vices, became vain epicures and swine, until the world was tired of them and became weary of them because of their shameful life. Now the angel continues to speak about this:
Cap. 11, 40: The king will rage against him at midnight, and with chariots, horses and many ships he will fall, flood and pass through the countries.
He compares the pope to a king who wields great armor with rage (as Antiochus did). And although the kings and lords of Christendom have also helped the pope physically with their power (that is, they have suppressed the heretics, the saints of Christ, who have pushed him, in all countries), the angel means the spiritual armor, that is, the ban, the censures, and other censures of the pope, The angel means the spiritual armor, i.e., the ban, the bulls and other censures of the pope, in which the clergy served him with their ships, horses, chariots, i.e., by writings, books, sermons, so that they fell into the countries, passed through, and flooded everything like a flood in the most violent way. For the war and armor of Christ and the pope, his abominable one, actually goes on with teachings and writings.
Cap. 11, 41. He will also come into the precious land, and many will fall.
That is, with his clergy and armor he will not only bring the common multitude under him, who do not stand firm in the faith, but also the true Christians, who previously stood with and helped the heretics, or approved of them, will also be deterred and cut down, when they see that he is victorious, and his pushers, the heretics, fall so mightily, and the truth is publicly suppressed. For the ships and chariots, that is, the scribes and criers, are too many, and all the corners are full. So the pope has been pushed, but he is not yet lying down.
But these shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom, Moab, and the firstfruits of the children of Ammon.
35 As in this chapter the king at noon and at midnight are no longer Ptolemy and Antiochus, so Edom, Moab, Ammon are no longer the nations that existed before, for they have also long since been physically changed, Saracens and Turks. Therefore we must look at the interpretation of the names, as we have done with the names "Midday" and "Midnight". The pope will not cut down or deceive three kinds of people; they will remain and be the holy Christian church under the destroyer, the end Christ; for the holy church must remain until the end of the world.
The first ones are Edomites. "Edom" means red-colored. The red-colored ones are the holy martyrs who have constantly let themselves be strangled, drowned, burned by the pope, bishops, doctors, especially by the bloodhounds of the Order of Preachers (who have martyred a lot) all over the world, until this day. This is a big pile.
The others are Moabites. "Moab" means from the father or paternal, paternus]. These are those who remained in the world from time to time and did not fall from their father, Christ, even though they had not been public preachers. And especially those who finally relied on Christ's death, and did not die on Pabst's Mausim, nor on his letters of indulgence. I have seen several of these myself, and heard of many more, from 1) monks and all kinds of classes. Just as St. Bernard did, when he thought his hour had come, he forgot his order and everything of the pope's mausim, and delivered himself into Christ's suffering with these words: Christ has the kingdom of heaven by twofold right; first, inherited from the Father, as the only, eternal Son. The right remains to him alone. Secondly, as earned through his suffering. This right and merit he gave us, because he suffered for our sake. To these Bernards and Moabites or paternal Christians God has reserved much, as in the time of Elijah the seven thousand of the people of Israel [1 Kings 19:18].
38. the third, principium filiorum Am- mon, that is, the firstfruits of the children among the people. Moab and Ammon were brothers; so they want to be
1) Erlanger: "also" instead of: from. Our reading is found in the Weimar Bible and Freder.
these Ammonites become brothers of the paternal, fraterni. These I understand to be the young, innocent bunch, born again out of baptism, which goes along before it recognizes or respects the pope's Mausim, can neither strengthen nor weaken it, as the Edomites and Moabites do. Therefore they are called the firstfruits and children of the people, that is, in the people of God, in the church, recently born through baptism. The end Christ had to leave them unfallen and unconverted. These are the three orders of the saints: Martyrs, confessores, virgines...
(39) Against these three peoples the angel sets other three nations that the end Christ will plunder, Egypt, Libya, the Moors. These three are neighbors and live next to each other, just as Edom, Moab and Ammon did before. Antiochus never ruled over all of them, nor did the pope. Therefore we must interpret the countries differently and spiritually until someone else does it better. Thus we divide the people of Pabst into three parts.
40 Let Egypt be the highest, the noblest, the rich, the great, the kings, the princes, the lords, who have the goods and the power of the world, and who want to be quite pious. For Egypt has always been a fine, glorious kingdom among others.
41. libya, their neighbors, let be the neighbors afterward, the mediocre, as citizens, scholars, and whoever is or can be something.
The Moors are the riffraff, peasants, farmhands, and what is black and sinister, that is, unpromoted, lowly, of no repute.
(43) He is not satisfied with these, that he hath devoured them by his mice, and seduced them in body and soul; he must also enter into their bags and chests (saith the angel), and seek to have dominion over their treasures, gold, silver, and precious things, that is, over their goods, that he may clear them all up. This is what he does (says he):
Cap. 11, 42. He sends his hand out into the lands, and Egypt will not escape him.
44 Here are the legals a latere, the cardinals and messengers, so he sends to the kings and lords, yes, even well into the countries.
1) fairly - to some extent.
He sets and plots to catch and fool the kings, so that they serve him with body and goods, get for him, give him land and cities and great gifts, and then visit them with bulls, indulgences, letters of confession, as he sells them grace, freedom, wives, eggs, butter, milk, meat, home fairs, sin, purgatory, hell and heaven, the Turks, God and the devil, himself also (who can tell the fair to all), steals, and steals by force as a lord; takes the money and treasures, and wipes his mouth as if he had done well. The pope was particularly careful to practice this with the indulgences and letters after he was struck, so that he would sit down all the stronger and firmer.
45 From this text comes the common saying among Christians that the end Christ should lift up the treasures of the earth. I mean, he found them and lifted them up until the world does not have half of its goods. This and all the rest must be further crossed out by the rhetorica, so one can see what an abomination the pope is; I now sketch it a little to understand the Daniel. Follows further:
Cap. 11, 44. And a shout shall terrify him from the morning and from the north [and he shall go forth with great fury, willing to destroy and perish many].
(46) Here it (praise be to God) will once become very bad with the priest; for the blows have not been able to fell him, although they knocked and admonished him to repentance; but it has been lost and in vain. But now there comes over him no armor, no army, no people of war, no thrusting, but a voice or a cry; at this he is terrified and falls to the ground. O thou wondrous God in thy works! This abomination, which hath trampled all kings under foot, and hath overpowered God Himself, must despair and fall before a poor voice. How hast thou stood terrible, great power on such loose ground, that thou art blown over by a breath! Such words of Daniel transfigured St. Paul [2 Thess. 2, 8.] thus: "The Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth."
47. This is now the 2) last and our time,
2) Erlanger: this one. The Weimar Bible and Freder have our reading.
932 - Erl. 3IS-3I4. interpretation of the prophet Daniel, Cap. 11, 44. 45. W. VI, I478-I48I. 933
The gospel has sounded, and the pope is crying out in despair, not knowing what to do or how to act. He cannot and will not suffer a concilium, he will not let it be acted upon or spoken of anywhere in the light; only he thinks to muffle the clamor by force. He shows great fury, says Daniel, through his armor, through his clergy, through legates, through bulls, writings and many evil books, wants to destroy and kill many things, incites emperors, kings, all devils, and all evil men, and whatever he can stir up. There is no lack of will, one would like to do it. But his end has come, no one can help him, says Daniel. The cry is too powerful; for the pope will not return to his former state, his own will not suffer it now, as Revelation 18:4 ff. says, and must therefore be broken without hand and sword stroke, Dan. 8:25, like his model, Antiochus.
48 But that such a cry is heard from morning and from midnight is because such a gospel comes from above, from the right morning or from the right exit. For no one can truthfully say nor boast that from his head, or premeditated counsel, or will, such teaching has come forth. We all came to it by chance and by accident. And it has happened to us, as Isaiah [Cap. 65, 1.] says: "I am found of them that sought me not, and appeared unto them that asked not after me." For I too, who am one of the first, sought and thought a great deal of something else in the beginning of my writing, namely, only the abuse of indulgences, not the indulgences themselves, much less the pope, or a hair on the pope, understood neither Christ nor the pope rightly. But such a cry has also come from midnight (he says), that is, from the pope's own realm. For we ourselves were also papists and end-Christians at that time, much more vehement neither they were. Follows:
Cap. 11, 45. He planted the huts of his palace between two seas, on the precious, holy mountain.
Jerusalem lies between the great sea and the dead sea. Rather, Rome lies between two great seas, the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic. And Rome can be called a holy mountain, because there lie many hundred thousand martyrs, in the beginning there was also the finest church, and great things happened there until the devil sat down there. If someone wanted to interpret all this spiritually, that the Pope has sat down as a god on the holy mountain, that is, in holy Christendom, and planted his kingdom with his filthy and abominable teachings. For Christ means to teach "planting", Matth. 15, 13: "All plants, which my heavenly Father does not plant, they are cut off.
Between two seas.
This may be understood by the church, that this holy mountain lies between two seas; that is, Christianity lives between this world's life and hell, that the dead sea is that world, where the wicked are lost to the bottom, the living great sea is this world. But Christianity does not live in the world, nor does it die there, but goes between the two, and lives in faith and in the spirit of Christ. But where the two seas are to be understood from the pabst's chair or seat, not from the holy mountain, this is the opinion that the pabst rules over the living and the dead with his plants or filth. For with his mausim he helps all the living in the world, and all the dead in purgatory.
51 He calls it "planted", because the pope has made a paradise of all pleasure in Rome or in the church, since he needs all the world's goods, power and honor freely according to his will.
1) This "there" Freder translates: xost dano vitam ----after this life.