Theological reformation was spreading like a plague from the spark that Luther had casted onto the Catholic church. To Luther’s surprise this spark lite the fire of reformation that would spread and even go against Luther as we find with Müntzer and the reformers at Münster. Through the examination of the “Vindication and Refutation”, Müntzer’s Sermon, the Rothmann’s Restitution, and the story of Jan van Leiden’s fate we will dig deeper into this great theological reform of this period in time.

Through the examination of the “Vindication and Refutation” we will see deeper into Müntzer hatred toward Luther and the reason why. Müntzer once considered himself a member of Luther’s had developed this hatred, but because of Luther’s badmouthing about Müntzer to the point where his own peers depicted him as Satan or some kind of devil all because he himself had reformed off of Luther’s own ideas. Müntzer has a big issue with the socio-economic state of society. The idea of theft is viewed by Müntzer as a very common occurrence. This wrongdoing of taking advantage of others Müntzer believed will lead to punishment because these kind of acts are wrong and have been stated to be wrong by God.

The Müntzer Sermon really gives us an idea of what he was truly about. He felt that he was a messenger for God, a prophet. This sermon was rather a hearing granted to Müntzer by a group of nobles and princes. Müntzer turned it into a sermon and is probably why today it is something we study. He portrays himself as the prophet with a very important message from God. That message is that they these nobles must be God’s tools. If they are to be His tools they must live a life with God and restrain from the unnecessary things in life. As long as they life their life accordingly and use the sword of God to defend him from the godless they will be protected. He backs these statements up with references to biblical passages to reinforce the message he is giving him because he wants them to know that the sword is not what they should be thankful for but the power of God.

Through the development of the Anabaptist and their strong beliefs in Müntzer’s ideas came what would become known as the “New Jerusalem” in Münster. The creation of the “New Jerusalem” and its first assigned “New King David”, Jan Mathijs  who was killed soon after they caught the attention of many, especially those of the Catholic Church and protestants. This community had some very extremist qualities and were very devoted to the old testament. Jan Van Leiden would take the seat that Mathij once held but in 1535 the strong Catholic and protestant armies came in and took back the city of Münster killing the majority of the peasant Anabaptists.