433. Luther: The Man Who Changed the World (Part 1)
The Rest Is History
Context of Apocalyptic Prophecies in the time and town of Luther!
In the late 15th century, the time when Luther was a teenager, apocalyptic prophets were in vogue due to the chaotic and dreadful events happening in Europe. The invasion of Italy by the French in 1494, followed by the Ottomans expanding under Mehmet and Selim, instilled a sense of impending doom. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 and the occupation of the Italian city of Tranto in 1480 by the Ottomans heightened fears of the end times. People believed that Christendom was in danger of being overtaken by Islam. Luther, growing up in this environment, would have been influenced by such prophecies, including those of the Franciscan monk Johann Hilton, who prophesied the ruin of the papacy, the conquest of Germany and Italy by the Turks, and the emergence of a reformer in 1516, setting the stage for the Reformation.
