Revelation
Revelation can trace its origin to the 1300’s, and was used to mean, “disclosure of information to man by a divine or supernatural agency.” It comes from the Latin word “revelationem” and the stem “revelare,” which means “to uncover” “unveil” or “lay bare”(Online Etymology Dictionary).
In the Bible, Revelation is the name of the last book, and provides an account of John’s revelatory vision from God of the second coming of Christ. Revelation explains what to expect during the end of the world, which includes a the coming of the antichrist and a long period of suffering. Christ is meant to return, defeat the antichrist, and establish a new Eden where God and men dwell together. The stages of the apocalypse are known as pre-tribulation, post-tribulation, premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism.
During the Reformation, many reformers believed they were living in the final days before Christ’s return. For evidence, they pointed out horrible things taking place in the world including plague, famine, war, and people they considered to be false prophets. The chief enemy during the apocalypse, the antichrist, was identified as the pope (Document 7.14, p. 131). The high importance placed on the idea that people were living in “end times” only existed in Protestantism. It did not exist in Catholic writings.
Not all revelatory thinking during the Reformation was concerned with the “end times.” Karlstadt held firmly to the idea that God spoke to people through dreams and personal revelation independently from studying scripture. In Luther’s mind Karlstadt “replaced the highest with the lowest” by placing such emphasis on personal revelation (Document 3.26, p. 65). For Karlstadt, the Holy Spirit worked in people help them discern what God might be saying to them. This can be seen as dangerous for people like Luther when someone’s personal revelation contradicts the bible, and, as we can see in other cases, strong belief in the authority of personal revelation can inspire more radical beliefs.
Reformers like Thomas Müntzer considered personal revelation from God to be the ultimate authority beyond the scriptures of the Bible (Document 5.1, 5.2, p. 86) . This belief set him in stark opposition from Martin Luther, who held scripture as the highest authority. Müntzer preached from his personal revelations, and used lots of apocalyptic imagery to inspire the peasants to revolt against the lords. Telling the peasants that God was on their side and they could not be harmed (Document 5. 15, p. 96-97; 5.19 p. 99).
Hans, the Drummer of Niklashausen, preached due to his revelation from his vision of the Virgin Mary. Hans’s revelation inspired him to preach the killing of the clergy to his followers. (Wunderli, 1992, Peasant fires: The drummer of Niklashausen, p. 2).
In the city of Münster, Anabaptists, believing they end was near, attempted to create a new holy city, a “New Jerusalem,” where true believers would be protected from all the horrible things that were to come to past (Document 7.16, p. 132). They quickly fell into practicing polygamy and were destroyed soon after they took over the city.
Works Cited
- Revelation. (n.d.). In Online Etymology Dictionary. Date Accessed: 10/23/17. Retrieved
From: http://www.etymonline.com/word/revelation.
- Bernard Rothmann. (1534). A Confession of Faith and Life in the Church of Christ of
Münster. In The European Reformations Sourcebook. (2014). Edited by Carter
Lindberg, p. 131.
- Martin Luther. (1525). Against the Heavenly Prophets. In Lindberg, p. 65.
- Thomas Müntzer to Luther. (1520). In Lindberg, p. 86.
- Thomas Müntzer. (1521). Prague Manifesto. In Lindberg, p. 86.
- Thomas Müntzer to the People in Allstedt. (1525). In Lindberg, p. 96.
- The Account of Hans Hut. (1527). In Lindberg, p. 99.
- Wunderli, R. (1992). Peasant fires: The drummer of Niklashausen.
Bloomington, IN: University of Indiana.
- Appeal to the Outsiders to Join the “New Jerusalem” in Münster. (n.d.). In Lindberg, p. 132.