Church History In Plain Language: 5th Edition by Bruce L. Shelley

Author:Bruce L. Shelley [Shelley, Bruce L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2021-06-02T00:00:00+00:00

KINGDOM BUILDING GONE MAD

Catholic and Lutheran fears of the Anabaptist radicals deepened suddenly in the mid-1530s with the bizarre Munster rebellion. Munster was a city in Westphalia near the Netherlands. In 1532 the Reformation spread rapidly throughout the city. A conservative Lutheran group was at first strong there. But then new immigrants, who were followers of a strange figure called Jan Matthijs, persuaded some of the city’s key leaders to their extreme beliefs. Many looked for the appearing of the Lord’s earthly kingdom in Munster. Church historians call such views chiliasm, meaning belief in a thousand-year earthly kingdom of Christ, a particular interpretation of Revelation 20.

When the bishop of the region massed his troops to besiege the city, these Anabaptists uncharacteristically defended themselves by arms. As the siege progressed, the more extreme leaders gained control of the city. In the summer of 1534 a former innkeeper, Jan of Leiden, seized the powers of government and ruled as an absolute despot. Claiming new revelations from God, Jan introduced the Old Testament practice of polygamy and by September took the title King David.

With his harem “King David” lived in splendor, yet by a strange cunning he maintained morale in the city despite widespread hunger. He was able to keep the bishop’s army at bay until June 24, 1535. The fall of the city brought an end to David’s reign and his life. But for centuries thereafter Europeans associated Anabaptist with the Munster rebellion. It stood for wild-eyed religious fanaticism.

In the aftermath of Munster, the dispirited Anabaptists of the Lower Rhine area gained new heart through the ministry of Menno Simons (c. 1496–1561). Although always in great personal danger, Menno, a former priest, traveled widely to visit the scattered Anabaptist groups of northern Europe. He inspired them with his nighttime preaching. Menno was unswerving in commanding pacifism. As a result, his name came to stand for the movement’s repudiation of violence. Although Menno was not the founder of the movement, most of the descendants of the Anabaptists are to this day called Mennonite.

Surviving only as bands of outlaws in Switzerland, Moravia, and the Netherlands, these Anabaptist groups had little opportunity to coordinate their evangelistic efforts or to give united expression to their beliefs. On one important occasion, however, they did attempt to agree on a common basis of fellowship.

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