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this

scepter

is

nothing

else

than

the

office

of

the

public

ministry,

which

the

Lord

Christ

began

Himself

and

later

on

commanded

to

be

extended

by

His

messengers,

the

apostles

and

their

successors,

and

to

be

continued

until

the

Last

Day.

In

this

consists

His

entire

kingdom

and

government

as

far

as

it

can

be

seen

or

grasped

outwardly,

for

here

He

indicates

and

mentions

nothing

else

by

which

this

King

will

rule

except

this

scepter.

There

will

be

no

other

external

sign

or

mark

by

which

His

kingdom

can

be

recognized.

For

.

.

.

this

King

is

not

going

to

rule

with

the

sword

or

physical

power

and

might,

as

do

the

secular

kings

and

lords

in

their

governments. . . .

Nevertheless,

He

must

also

have

a

power

by

which

He

can

rule

and

promote

and

maintain

His

kingdom.

This

will

be

done

only

through

the

oral

Word

or

the

office

of

the

ministry,

sounding

forth

among

the

people

about

this

King

and

thus

entering

their

hearts

so

that

He

may

be

known

and

accepted. . . .

Note

well

that

the

psalmist

says

this

scepter

is

to

be

sent

forth

'from

Zion.'

This

is

as

useful

a

text

as

can

be

found

against

all

the

schismatics

and

erring

spirits

of

the

devil,

to

show

that

God

ordained

a

special

and

certain

locality

on

earth

where

this

preaching

of

the

Gospel

is

to

begin.

Thereby

He

binds

the

ears

and

hearts

of

all

men

so

that

they

know

which

is

the

true

doctrine

of

God's

Word,

and

do

not

gape

at

this

or

that

or

flutter

about

confusedly. . . .

Now,

it

is

a

fact

that

no

other

teaching

was

published

in

Zion

than

the

one

we

have

and

preach

according

to

the

four

evangelists,

the

same

one

that

was

preached

by

the

holy

apostles.

Hence

this

is

the

touchstone

by

which

all

doctrine

is

to

be

judged.

One

must

take

care

and

see

whether

it

is

the

same

doctrine

that

was

published

in

Zion

through

the

apostles.

For

instance,

we

can

and

should

cheerfully

condenm

the

doctrine

of

Mohammed

and

his

Turks,

or

of

the

pope

and

his

monks,

because

it

was

not

published

in

Zion

or

derived

from

the

Gospel

but

from

their

Alcoran

or

decretal,

or

out

of

their

own

heads

and

dreams.

The

same

thing

applies

to

our

Jews,

who

reject

the

preaching

of

this

Christ

and

His

apostles

and

seek

and

hope

for

another

Messiah.

You

can

see,

therefore,

how

the

dominion

of

this

King

works.

In

his

invisible

essence

He

sits

at

the

right

hand

of

God;

but

He

rules

visibly

on

earth

and

works

through

external

visible

signs,

of

which

the

preaching

of

the

Gospel

and

the

Sacraments

are

the

chief

ones,

and

through

public

confession

and

the

fruits

of

faith

in

the

Gospel.

These

are

the

true

marks

whereby

one

can

really

recognize

the

kingdom

of

the

Lord

Christ

and

the

Christian

Church:

namely,

wherever

this

scepter

is,

that

is,

the

office

of

the

preaching

of

the

Gospel,

borne

by

the

apostles

into

the

world

and

received

from

them

by

us.

Where

it

is

present

and

maintained,

there

the

Christian

Church

and

the

kingdom

of

Christ

surely

exist,

no

matter

how

small

or

negligible

the

number

of

the

flock.

On

the

other

hand,

those

who

do

not

maintain

and

foster

this

but

even

persecute

it,

as

the

papal

mob

does,

should

not

be

considered

a

part

of

the

Christian

Church;

nor

should

they

be

heard,

even

though

they

arrogate

this

name

and

title

to

themselves

and

defiantly

and

gloriously

boast

that

they

have

inherited

the

apostolic

sees.

They

do

not

speak

for

the

apostles,

nor

do

they

preach

their

message.

Therefore

this

kind

of

boasting

and

claiming

is

improper

for

them,

nor

will

it

help

them.

Rather,

it

will

damn

them

all

the

more

severely

for

having

usurped

the

place

and

office

of

the

apostles.