1 Letter to the League at Allstedt Thomas M ntzer April 26 or 27 1525 Thomas M ntzer wrote this emotionally charged letter from the free imperial city of M hlhausen which he helped to make a center of the Peasants War in Thuringia At the height of the conflict he wrote to former followers at Allstedt He urged them to rise up participate in the rebellion and spread the message of the insurrection to others The inspirational letter expressed M ntzer s burning religious conviction that the time was right for the commoners to overturn the authority of the lords and seize power for themselves He also warned his followers not to be lured into misconceived compromises with the rulers out of a sense of mercy As a greeting may the pure fear of God be with you dear brothers How long are you going to sleep How long will you fail to acknowledge the will of God because in your view he has forsaken you Oh how often have I told you how it must be God cannot reveal himself otherwise You must stand before him in resignation If you do not do this then the sacrifice of your heartfelt tribulation is in vain Afterward you have to start suffering again from the beginning This I tell you if you do not want to suffer for the sake of God s will you will have to be the devil s martyrs Therefore guard yourselves do not be so timid and negligent do not flatter any longer the perverted fantasizers the godless evildoers Get going and fight the battle of the Lord It is high time Make sure that all your brothers do not mock the divine witness otherwise they are all lost All of Germany France and Italy is in motion The master God wants to present his play and no the evildoers are in for it During Easter week four churches belonging to religious foundations were destroyed at Fulda the peasants in Klettgau and Hegau in the area of the Black Forest have risen three thousand strong and the band is getting bigger every day My only worry is that foolish people will allow themselves to be drawn into a false compromise because as yet they do not recognize the harm the godless have caused Even if there are only three of you who are firm in God and who seek only his name and honor you need not fear a hundred thousand Now at them at them at them It is time The evildoers are obviously as timid as dogs Stir up the brothers so that they arrive at peace and give witness to their soul s agitation It is infinitely infinitely necessary At them at them at them Do not be merciful even though Esau of the godless They will bid you in a friendly manner for mercy cry and plead like children Do not let yourselves be merciful as God commanded through Moses Deuteronomy 7 1 5 And God has revealed the same thing to us Stir up the villages and cities and especially the miners with other good fellows who would be good for our cause We must sleep no longer Look as I wrote these words I received a message from Salza informing me how the people wanted to take the official of Duke George from the castle because he secretly wanted to kill 2 three of them The peasants of the Eichsfeld have taken up arms against their lords and shortly they will show them no mercy May events of this kind be an example for you You must go at them at them The time is here Balthasar and Barthel Krump Valentin and Bischof advance first to the dance 1 Pass this letter on to the miners I have received word that my printer will come in a few days Right now I can do nothing else Otherwise I would give the brothers enough instruction for their hearts to become greater than all the castles and armor of the godless evildoers on earth At them at them while the fire is hot Do not let your sword get cold do not let your arms go lame Strike cling clang on the anvils of Nimrod 2 Throw their towers to the ground As long as the godless live it is not possible for you to be emptied of human fear You cannot be told about God as long as they rule over you At them at them while you have daylight God leads you follow follow The story is already written Matthew 24 Ezekiel 34 Daniel 74 Ezra 16 Revelation 6 scriptural passages that are all interpreted by Romans 13 Therefore do not let yourselves be frightened God is with you as it is written in 2 Chronicles 12 God says this You shall not be fearful You shall not fear this great multitude for it is not your fight but rather that of the Lord It is not you who fight there Act bravely You will see the hip of the Lord above you When Jehoshaphat heard these words he fell down Do likewise and through God may he strengthen you without fear of man and in true faith Amen Source Michael G Baylor The German Reformation and the Peasants War A Brief History with Documents New York Bedford St Martin s 2012 98 100 1 These individuals were key followers of M ntzer at Allstedt The Old Testament figure of Nimrod was a tyrannical ruler and the builder of the tower of Babel Here he symbolized the German territorial princes 2
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