Prophecy and the Radicals

Several radical groups—particularly Anabaptists and Spiritualists—in Wittenberg, Zurich, and Strasbourg proffered different performances of prophecy that emphasized its visionary, ecstatic forms and even affirmed the possibility of new revelation above and beyond Scripture. Luther, Zwingli, and Bucer responded to Andreas Karlstadt, Gabriel Zwilling, the Zwickau Prophets, Thomas Müntzer, Swiss Anabaptists, Melchior Hoffman, Balthasar Hubmaier, Hans Denck, Caspar Schwenckfeld, and Pilgram Marpeck by casting many of them as false prophets and often lumped them together under their most extreme forms rather than recognizing the variations among them. Radical groups differed on the topic of prophecy: some prioritized Scripture, while others prioritized the Spirit. Luther and Zwingli reframed their view of the prophet and prophecy in direct response to these radical threats to tighten the parameters of lay participation and identify the prophet more closely with the Protestant pastoral office.