LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW - Brock University

STEPHENSON: LET YOUR HOLY ANGEL BE WITH ME 37
Against this we must now also know that, although there are many devils
with evil intent, they are opposed by many, many good angels who
defend, protect, and guard. As we have heard, the evil angels do not
sleep, but conspire day and night to institute idolatry and soul murder and
to harm us in body, property, and honour. If God did not have another
government (Regiment) to counter this, the Devil would not allow your
house, wife, and child to stand for a single hour, and everything must go
to ruin. For he is so poisonous that he even begrudges you enough room
to set your foot on. So he is also vexed that you have healthy eyes, arms,
and legs, and if he could bring it about, he would not leave you a single
cow or goose alive. In short, if he could have his way, he would leave no
stick standing and allow no man to live for a moment. 19
The fact that this life proceeds as smoothly as it does prompts the remark
that, “All this shows that God has set in order a power against the Devil,
which constantly resists him and smashes his plans.” 20
In an article published in 1982 I pointed out that the Reformer’s socalled
“two kingdoms” doctrine in fact embraces four entities. 21 Small
wonder that Luther scholars get hopelessly bogged down in the minutiae of
the Zwei-Reiche-Lehre, for Kenneth Hagen has recently proved that not four
but six topics lurk under this well known heading! In addition to the
kingdoms at God’s left and right hands we must consider the third kingdom
of the Devil. And to the spiritual and secular governments we must add the
government of the angels. 22 We should thus be wrong to suppose ourselves
the only created agents at work in God’s repulsing the evil one on the
battlefields of His left and right hand kingdoms. In the ninth paragraph of
the Michaelmas sermon, Luther alludes to the Devil’s spiritual agenda at the
recent Diet of Augsburg. 23 In the eleventh he recurs to I Pet. 5:8 and scares
19 WA 32:114. 33-115.9: “Da widder mussen wir nu auch wissen, obgleich viel Teuffel
sind und boses ym synn haben, so seyen da gegen viel, viel guter Engel die wehren, schutzen
und hueten: Die bosen Engele, wie wir gehort haben, schlaffen nicht, sondern trachten tag
und nacht darnach, wie sie Abegotterey auffrichten und seelen mord stifften, darnach auch,
wie sie uns schaden thuen an leib, gut, ehre sc. wenn denn Gott nicht ein ander Regiment da
gegen hette, So wurde dir der Teuffel dein hause, weib und kind nicht ein stund lassen stehen,
es muste alles zu trumern gehen, denn so gifftig ist er wol, das er dir nicht so viel raum
vergunnet, da du einen fuss mochtest setzen, So verdreust yhn auch, das du gesund augen,
armen, beyn hast, und wenn ers thun durfte, er lies dir nicht ein kue, nicht ein gans stehen, Ja
keinen menschen ein augenclick leben.”
20 WA 32:115.15-17: “Das zeigt alles an, das ein gewalt sey von gott geordnet widder
den Teuffel, die yhm stets wehre und abbreche.”
21 John R. Stephenson, “The Two Governments and Two Kingdoms in Luther’s
Thinking”, Scottish Journal of Theology 34.4 (1981): 321-37.
22 Kenneth Hagen, “Luther’s Doctrine of the Two Kingdoms”, God and Caesar
Revisited (Luther Academy Conference Papers No. 1) 26f.
23 WA 32:114.29-32.