Therefore, you must not ignore these facts, and meanwhile strive
after something else. You are not to go along in false security or
sleep and snore as though there were no danger. You must rather know
that you have not been placed in a garden of roses here, but in the
midst of heavy conflicts, where you must be on your guard, always
watchful and prepared for resistance. For you have an adversary who
is not insignificant or to be despised, but is strong, mighty, and
moreover wicked and ferocious. He does not fight with stone and wood,
destroying rocks and trees, but he has his eye fixed on you
Christians. He never grows tired or weary, but without rest and
ceasing he pursues you; not only to spy upon you and to harass you,
in which he can be withstood, but he desires utterly to devour you.
44. His sole purpose and plan is to murder and destroy men,
spiritually and bodily; even as, at the beginning, when man had been
created, he led and cast him into death. He practices his schemes
with awful and deadly effect in the world against those who do not
believe in Christ, and he will never stop until the judgment day. One
can perceive his incessant activity. He bustles about and openly
raves and roars against all Christendom. He uses for his purpose the
Turks, and other tyrants and godless people, not to speak of the
sorrow and murder he works by so possessing people that in their
frenzy they do themselves injury, or without cause murder others. He
otherwise, through wicked and shameful snares, leads men into
misfortune and sorrow.
In short, the world is nothing else than the devil's murderous cave,
both spiritually and physically. God, in order to somewhat hinder and
restrain physical murder, has ordained temporal government, parental
and other authority. These in their office are to be sober, watchful,
and diligent. We ought to thank God for his preservation of such
authority, for otherwise there would be no peace--everywhere on earth
nothing but murder. Nevertheless, the awful murder the devil
perpetrates on those who are without God's Word and faith, is not
thereby checked.
45. Some other defense and protection, then, another kind of
watchfulness, must be sought, in order that men may remain
undestroyed and unharmed in the presence of this bloodthirsty
murderer. Of this Peter speaks here to the little company of
Christians, and says: Ye, through Christ's blood and death rescued
from the devil's lies and murderous intent, have been made alive and
have been transplanted into the heavenly life, like your beloved
fathers, Adam, Abel, and others. They are no longer under bondage to
Satan, but live in Christ, though the body lie for a time in the
earth and truth and life must be supplied to their body and soul. But
because ye still dwell in the world, ye are exposed to all danger.
Physically, ye are yet in the murderer's house; therefore ye must
take good heed, that he may not kill you again, and murder your souls
dwelling in these mortal bodies. It shall harm you none that the soul
was ruined and the body is yet subject to death. "Because I live,"
says Christ (Jn 14, 19), "ye shall live also." However, ye must
struggle if ye are to abide in the truth and life. To this ye are
appointed whilst ye live here on earth; otherwise ye would already be
in Paradise. But the devil has not yet been consigned wholly to the
punishment of his damnation, which will be at the last day, when he
will finally be cast down from his airy height, and from the earth,
into the abyss of hell. Then he will no more be able to attack us,
and there will no longer be cloud or veil between us and God and the
angels.