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.

The call of protest issued by Martin Luther gave rise to many other groups who wanted to reform from the current state of the church. The Anabaptist movement took off first as a group lead by scholars and pacifists, but after facing persecution the movement quickly became one of radical expression through rebellion and hopes set in violent revolution. In hopes of a New Jerusalem Anabaptists looked to Strasbourg to become the city where the kingdom of God could be developed. But the government of Strasbourg pushed back and repressed the large numbers of Anabaptists coming to the city. Then the suggestion arises that the New Jerusalem actually be established in Munster, which already had a large Protestant and Catholic presence, so Anabaptists did not experience push back in Munster. The lack of persecution in Munster ment that a large population of Anabaptists went there and also presumably meant that the Kingdom would come and Munster would be the New Jerusalem.

Before the Anabaptist move to Munster occurred, past catholic priest Thomas Muntzer joined Luther’s movement in 1518. By 1522 Muntzer had turned, becoming Luther’s opponent in the reforming world. Muntzer pushed for radical social transformation by violent means and his ideology progressively headed towards an apocalyptic viewpoint. Muntzer raises high disagreement with the socio-economic state of current affairs. Muntzer see’s the world as one where theft is a daily occurrence, but not just simply by the poor but heavily by the rich. The greed driven upper class holds out from those in need and to Muntzer this is a great injustice to all man. Muntzer continually references biblical prophets to not only strengthen his argument, mainly to Luther for authority, but also to warn of the punishment he understood would be rightfully placed on those who have done wrong in the eyes of God. The exploitation of the people would not go unnoticed by the ultimate judge and Muntzer was making a point about it.

On July 13, 1524, Thomas Muntzer gave a sermon to a group of princes and nobles where he called upon them to be God’s instrument in the revolution. Muntzer presents himself as the next Daniel, another prophet of prophets here to bring together the princes of peace. With this self diagnostic and usage of scripture Muntzer presents a seemingly consistent notion that he is presenting the will of God to man.

The growth of the Anabaptists through the push from Muntzer eventually lead to the establishing control of Munster by the Anabaptists. The New Jerusalem had been established in Munster and Jan Mathijs served as the New King David. It was understood to the Anabaptists that the Kingdom would come to this New Jerusalem because of a list of scriptural reflections they had achieved and now perceived to be fulfillments of prophecies. The community was very pious in regards to the old testament and the mosaic covenant. There was also no un-believers in the community. Jan Mathij was only king for six weeks before he was killed. Jan Van Leiden assumed the throne of kingship. In the summer of 1535 protestant and catholic forces retook the city of Munster, killing the majority of the inhabitants and beheading Jan Van Leiden.