# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_Mai 1863_S157
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Church and Contemporary History. 157

...are willing to grant. But it is just as certain that it contains a wealth of Scripture-born, profound and original ideas, which were in part only hinted at by their own author, now more faintly, now more strongly, and in part have not yet received in the doctrine of the church the attention or elaboration they deserve. The new theology, for its part, has no reason to assign Luther merely a distinguished place of honor in history. Whoever occupies himself with him more closely will soon recognize that here a treasure of genuinely theological, fruitful thoughts still remains to be raised, one that secures our father in the faith a future in theology as well, and that it is well worth the trouble of digging after it."

Revision of Luther's Bible. On this the Union theological literary review of Dr. K. Zimmermann itself expresses itself, under date of Jan. 21, as follows: "In this trial (one published in Switzerland), great doubts have again arisen in us as to whether Luther's Bible translation can be revised at all, whether the various revisions would not give rise to a confusion whose disadvantages would be at least as great as the undeniable defects and inaccuracies of Luther's translation, and whether it is not time to undertake a new translation in earnest. Such a work could, of course, hardly be brought to completion by a commission. Only a personality filled with the idea of such a work and equipped with the necessary scholarly gifts — such as the late Bunsen (?!!) was — would be able to render this service to the Christian congregation, and thus this work is, at bottom, a work of God, who alone sends the prophets when it is time." Strange as it is that the writer should on this basis regard a man like Bunsen as the right man for an entirely new Bible translation, the thought is nonetheless correct that only one man — one awakened and equipped by God for it, and we would add, one sealed as such and acknowledged by the whole of German Christendom — could solve this unparalleled task; although we are firmly convinced that our age has the least need of such a man for this work.

Chiliasm. At the recent Kirchentag in Brandenburg, Dr. Wichern spoke of the struggle against the anti-Christian powers of this age, and after showing that Pietism does not lead to victory here, he added: "A like or kindred position toward these opponents (of Christianity) is occupied by chiliasm. It is no longer in flight, but has already fled entirely." The chiliasts naturally took this very much amiss from Dr. Wichern. The Neuendettelsau Freimund writes on this: "Thus spoke Dr. Wichern at the recent Kirchentag. We, however, take all the greater interest in this remark, since among our readers there are certainly also some who are "chiliasts." Now when such persons hear this reproach, must they not be led astray from the hope of the prophets and apostles? Or should God's word teach what renders one unfit for the struggle against the adversaries of Christianity? — It would be another matter yet had Dr. Wichern spoken of chiliasts; but just as he did not name the Pietists but rather Pietism, so too not the chiliasts but chiliasm. Thus chiliasm itself, not merely the abuse of this doctrine, in his view renders the Christian unfit to enter the holy struggle. Of chiliasm he says: It is no longer in flight, but has already fled entirely.

Whence this phenomenon should come, Dr. Wichern does not say, but it may be surmised. Chiliasm consists essentially of two elements. First, it teaches that the world will in the end unite against Christ and his church in order to wipe the church from the earth, and will instead set up the kingdom of Satan through Antichrist, the deputy of Satan. Second, it professes that when this distress has risen to its height, Christ our Lord will gather his people Israel and lead them back into the holy land, will then appear himself, will destroy the enemies who advance upon the holy city, and at the same time will raise the martyrs from death and establish a kingdom of peace and glory of which Israel shall be the center, but in whose blessings the whole world of nations shall have a part.