As to the question of Antichrist’s
identity was raised, it was natural to raise also the question of whom the two
witnesses might be. . . . Luther was aware of this use of our text, even of the
designation placed upon him as an Elijah. However, while he may have at first
entertained the thought of some usefulness of the title, he rapidly moved away
from any appropriation of it; the name of Elijah stood for the Elijah spirit,
the preaching of the gospel. A revival of gospel hope set within the context of
an apocalyptic framework guided Luther’s eschatology. Although he believed his
evangelical breakthrough might be fit into a temporal scheme of development,
this was muted by his belief that the world’s last hour began with Christ’s
first advent.
Luther has left a trail that
allows us to follow the development of this perspective in those crucial years.
His thinking about the name of Elijah begins at least with the completion of
his treatise to the German nobility (WABr, 2, 167:7f). A similar reference is
found in a letter from the Wartburg, dated May 26, 1521, in which Luther wrote
that he was only an “Elijah” in comparison with Melanchthon, his “Elisha” (Ibid.,
p. 348.49-50). In September, he writes somewhat remorsefully that he had failed
to play the role of Elijah at the Diet of Worms (Ibid., p. 388.23-25). More
pointedly, in his sermon for Christmas Day, which he was preparing at this
time, Luther dealt with the implies question of Hebrews 1;2, namely, Who should
preach in “these last days.” His answer is, Christ through the gospel. He is
willing to entertain the idea of a returning Elijah, particularly in a
representative sense, but he does not extend such speculation to Enoch or the
Evangelist John:
What does one say then of Elijah
and Enoch that they shall come against Antichrist? I answer: About the coming
of Elijah I am caught between heaven and earth and waver much harder toward the
idea that he will not come bodily, but I do not fight hard against it. I leave
it to be believed or not, do what one will. I know well that St. Augustine says
at one place [De civ. Dei, xx, 29] . . . that the return of Elijah . . . is
firmly in the mind of Christians. But I know well that no Scripture bears
witness to it. (WA, 10.1.1, pp. 147.14-148.1)
. . .
In a popular work of the period,
Michael Stifel, an Augustinian and disciple of Luther, identified Luther with
the angel of Revelation 14:6, who proclaims the eternal gospel to all the
inhabitants of the earth, warning of God’s imminent Judgment. . . . Melanchthon
did as much as any in stimulating this apocalyptic vision of Luther. Times had
reached such a crisis point that extreme care and attention needed to be given
to a proper understanding of the Bible. Biblical exegesis, the prophet of
Elijah, the precarious state of Christendom, and the Turkish menace—these and
other signs all pointed to the fact that these times were indeed the last days.
In a letter written by Melanchthon to Georg Spalatin on February 3, 1521,
Luther is referred to as “Hercules noster” (CR, 1 [Melanchthonis Opera
1], no. 100, p. 282). Again, Luther was one upon whom the spirit of Elijah had
descended in his conflict with the prophets of the new Baal, the priests of the
papacy, and Antichrist (CR, 1, no. 103, pp. 287-88). In writing to Spalatin a
further time Melanchthon makes reference to the Apocalypse commentary by
Joachim of Fiore in which the abbot illustrated how the papacy of the future
would take on the characteristics of Antichrist. In this context, he refers to
Luther as “the Elijah” in these latter times (Cr, 1, no. 204, p. 565).
This view of Luther began to catch
on in the early 1520s. In a pamphlet that appeared in 1521 the writer rejoiced
that God had sent Elijah out of paradise. Luther has come from God to reveal
the secret and subtle conduct of Antichrist and his messengers. He is filled
with fervency of spirit characteristic of Elijah. The phrases of the time that
refer to Luther see him as the “Elijah of this most ruinous and last age,”
“Martin—in the spirit of Elijah,” “God has awakened for us such an Elijah,”
“Elijah of the last times, who restores all things,” and “Luther = Moses, John,
Elijah, and Enoch in one person.” Others saw in Luther. Others saw in Luther
and Melanchthon the spirit of Elijah and Enoch and date letters from this
"Elijah’s” appearance. (Rodney L. Petersen, Preaching in the Last Days:
The Theme of ‘Two Witnesses’ in the 16th and 17th Centuries [New York:
Oxford University Press, 1993], 98, 99, 102-3)
Further Reading:
“Elias” as a “forerunner” in LDS Scripture
