Tim. 4:3 sqq.; 2 Pet. 2:1 sqq.; and the Epistle of Jude, that popery was the Antichrist predicted in
the Scriptures, and would soon be annihilated by the Lord himself at his second coming, which he
thought to be near at hand.
It is astonishing that in the midst of the war of theological passions, he could prepare such
devotional books as his commentaries and sermons, which are full of faith and practical comfort.
He lived and moved in the heart of the Scriptures; and this was the secret of his strength and success.
On the second of April, Luther left Wittenberg, accompanied by Amsdorf, his friend and
colleague, Peter Swaven, a Danish student, and Johann Pezensteiner, an Augustinian brother. Thus
the faculty, the students, and his monastic order were represented. They rode in an open farmer’s
wagon, provided by the magistrate of the city. The imperial herald in his coat-of-arms preceded on
horseback. Melanchthon wished to accompany his friend, but he was needed at home. "If I do not
return," said Luther in taking leave of him, "and my enemies murder me, I conjure thee, dear brother,
to persevere in teaching the truth. Do my work during my absence: you can do it better than I. If
you remain, I can well be spared. In thee the Lord has a more learned champion."
At Weimar, Justus Jonas joined the company. He was at that time professor and Canon at
Erfurt. In June of the same year he moved to Wittenberg as professor of church law and provost,
and became one of the most intimate friends and co-workers of Luther. He accompanied him on
his last journey to Eisleben, and left us a description of his closing days. He translated several of
his and Melanchthon’s works.
The journey to Worms resembled a March of triumph, but clouded with warnings of friends
and threats of foes. In Leipzig, Luther was honorably received by the magistrate, notwithstanding
his enemies in the University. In Thuringia, the people rushed to see the man who had dared to
defy the Pope and all the world.
At Erfurt, where he had studied law and passed three years in a monastic cell, he was
enthusiastically saluted, and treated as "the hero of the gospel." Before he reached the city, a large
procession of professors and students of his alma mater, headed by his friends Crotus the rector,
and Eoban the Latin poet, met him. Everybody rushed to see the procession. The streets, the walls,
and roofs were covered with people, who almost worshiped Luther as a wonder-working saint. The
magistrate gave him a banquet, and overwhelmed him with demonstrations of honor. He lodged in
the Augustinian convent with his friend Lange. On Sunday, April 7, he preached on his favorite
doctrine, salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, and against the intolerable yoke of popery. Eoban, who
heard him, reports that he melted the hearts as the vernal sun melts the snow, and that neither
Demosthenes nor Cicero nor Paul so stirred their audiences as Luther’s sermon stirred the people
on the shores of the Gera.^343
(^343) A full description of the reception at Erfurt, with extracts from the speech of Crotus and the poems of Eoban, is given by Professor
Kampschulte (a liberal Catholic historian), in his valuable monograph, Die Universität Erfurt, vol. II. 95-100."It seems," he says, "that
the nation at this moment wished to make every effort to assure Luther of his vocation. The glorifications which he received from the 2d
to the 16th of April no doubt contributed much to fill him with that self-confidence which he manifested in the decisive hour. Nowhere
was he received more splendidly than at Erfurt."