The following article was published in the October 1999 issue of Joy Magazine, Box 377, Merrivale 3291, South Africa, email: joymag@iafrica.com. The article is titled "WOW! So that's how Jesus loves me!" and was written by John & Helen Gardiner. This article came to my attention in January 2000 and confirmed and amplified much of what is written in section 9.g, page 29 and elsewhere in this book. It gives a wonderful summary of why the subject of this book is so important and, while the author's of this article clearly do not yet have the revelation contained in this book, it is apparent that what is contained in this article and what is contained in this book are, of necessity, complimentary in Yahweh's scheme of things.

"THE Lord began speaking to us recently about marriage - and giving us some understanding of why so many marriages are in a mess or out of order, and even why so few Christian marriages are what they could be.

Daily we seem to hear of people suffering the most terrible abuse and unhappiness and fear within marriages, and hear of more and more Christian marriages ending in the cataclysm of divorce.

Something that God purposed to be one of His greatest sources of joy and blessing to people often ends up as a curse and misery.

The Lord began to reveal that the reason why marriage is under such incredible attack is because of what He meant it to be.

You see, God purposed marriage to be a prophetic sign and a wonder.

Yet the enemy so often succeeds in making it a laughing stock instead of a prophetic signpost that points the way to something much deeper.

Ephesians 5:21-33 says: "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour."

"Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

"In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no-one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church - for we are members of his body."

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

Paul says this is a great or profound mystery he's speaking about. The only other great or profound mystery is found in 1 Timothy 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory."

Whenever scripture speaks of a mystery, it is something that can only be understood by divine revelation - how much more so a great mystery? However, these mysteries are something God wants us to understand - because if we don't, the enemy will run riot in that area of ignorance in our lives.

So Paul is saying, "When I'm talking about marriage, I'm talking about Christ and the church." He is saying that every time you look at a Christian marriage you should be able to say: "A-ha - so that's how Jesus loves His church, and that's how we as the church should respond to Him!

Marriage was made by God to be a sign that shows the world how much Jesus loves His church. Yet how many of us can say we've seen even a handful of marriages in our lifetimes that have been this?

Marriages where you look at the way the husband loves his wife, and you can say "Wow! That's how Jesus loves me as part of his church." Or you look at the wife and are able to say "Yes, I see now, I understand now how I as a Christian need to submit to Jesus in love."

Because this man and this woman have painted a prophetic picture for you, you now have a greater understanding of this great mystery!

Now do you begin to see why satan hates marriage - and especially Christian marriages - with such a passion?

Why he will do everything within his power to pervert, make a mockery of, and destroy marriages? Because every time he does that he's not just causing misery in the lives of the people concerned, he is also destroying and pulling down something that God purposed to be a prophetic signpost.

When there are problems in a marriage, you're not just dealing with difficult people, you're dealing with all the hoards of hell trying their utmost to make a mockery of a prophetic statement that God wanted to make.

Those who are in difficult marriage situations, or who have areas of their marriage that are out of order, must wake up to this truth. It's not just that you and your spouse cannot get along with each other - it's also because you have powerful demonic forces working against your marriage becoming a prophetic sign and statement!

You need to start pulling down those demonic strongholds over your relationship. Not just in your spouse! But strongholds in you and over your relationship that cause both of you to react and allow friction and division to rush in.

Every area of marriage was purposed to be a prophetic sign. If you want to understand what idolatry does to the heart of God, then look at what sexual infidelity does to a marriage.

If you want to gain a clearer understanding of what it does to God when we have other gods other things that elicit our love and devotion - then look at what adultery does to a marriage. It's a prophetic sign!

You will often find in a marriage the same extremes as you find in the church. Lust in marriage is the same as spiritual licentiousness in the church - the same as just binging and going overboard on grace with no boundaries.

Then, at the other end of the scale you get frigidity in marriage - which is the same as legalism and a religious spirit in the church - cold, hard, truth with no love.

You often get these two forces at work in the same marriage, just as you get them at work in the church, and they're both just as destructive. Lust in a marriage and licentiousness in the church are just as destructive as frigidity in marriage and legalism in the church.

You also find rebellion and reaction against God's order and authority are a problem in both marriage and in the church. Just as you also get domination, manipulation and control both in marriage and in the church.

We have got to start waking up to what marriage is meant to be, and why so pitifully few are what they should be!

People get married so lightly without really understanding what they're doing. Few people who go into marriage realise they are entering into something that was meant to be a blood covenant.

This is why virginity is so important.

God's purpose for marriage was that on the wedding night the marriage covenant would be sealed with blood. Again, this is a prophetic picture of Jesus' blood covenant with us. Yet how many marriages are that today?

We want to say to any young people (both male and female!) reading this: Your virginity is one of the most precious gifts God has given you. Don't ever let the devil snatch it away from you.

In biblical times if a man took away a woman's virginity they stoned him to death. Nowadays, they label him a superstud or a loverboy or something like that!

God purposed marriage to be a blood covenant, and it is our firm belief that if you have two people entering into a marriage as virgins, and with an understanding of the awesomeness and sacredness of what they're doing on their wedding night, then God will honour that covenant and protect that marriage supernaturally. If those getting married are not virgins, they at least need to have an understanding of this awesome covenant relationship they're entering into.

God cannot fully bless and anoint and rebuke the devourer over many marriages today because they were never established on the foundation of covenant. People went through all the man-made rituals of the wedding ceremony, but never entered into a true covenant with each other.

If you look at the average wedding ceremony today, much of what goes on has its roots in the occult.

The veil was originally believed to ward off evil spirits. Confetti was also originally purposed to chase away evil spirits. Tradition has it that it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding ceremony, and that it is good luck for the bride to wear something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. Then there's the whole ritual of catching the garter and bouquet and the lucky souls who catch them.

The average wedding table is filled with lucky horseshoes or wishbones, and then the lucky couple are sent on their way to the strains of "Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye..."

All this "good luck" is just a smokescreen to distract people away from the real meaning of the ceremony - that it was meant by God to be a time of two people cutting covenant with each other before their God.

The average wedding ceremony today is a total mockery of what God intended. You get two people who've been sleeping together for years going through a silly little ritual that has no real binding upon their souls. And then people wonder why the whole thing ends up in the divorce courts two years down the road!

God wants us to begin to understand the sacredness of marriage.

If you look at what marriage entailed in biblical times, you begin to understand just how much points to Jesus - and why Jesus even said some of the things He said.

At marrying age, the young man might be attracted to a young woman, or his parents might have chosen an appropriate bride for him. The procedure could be followed by one of three different parties:

The father making the arrangements for his son, as Samson's father did for him in Judges 14: 1-10.

An agent working on behalf of the father, as Eliezer did on behalf of Abraham in Genesis 24:1-67.

Or it could be done by the young man himself.

For illustration's sake, an example of the last possibility will be used.

A young man went to the home of his potential bride-to-be. He carried three things with him: a large sum of money in order to pay the price for his bride, a betrothal contract called a Shitre Erusin, and a skin of wine.

Of course, anyone arriving with these things would immediately arouse the curiosity of the household! The man approached the girl's father and older brothers. The contract was laid out, and the bride-price was discussed.

Finally, a glass of wine was poured. If the father approved, then the young lady was called in. If she also approved, then she would drink the wine. In doing so, she committed herself to this man, agreeing to follow the contract that now was a legal document between the two.

They would be called husband and wife at this time, and their union could only be dissolved by a divorce. However, their status was that of betrothed, rather than that of fully married. This is where we as the church are today: the contract has been signed, the price has been paid in full. We are betrothed.

After the wine had been drunk, the man made the statement that he would go to his father's house and prepare a place for her. This place was known as the chadar (chamber, or a bed with a canopy).

The young Jewish bridegroom would make the following speech as he was leaving: "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." Does that sound familiar to you? Our Lord Jesus spoke those same words of us in John 14:2-3!

From the time that the Shitre Erusin was ratified, the young woman was consecrated, kiddushin, set apart to her husband. That's how we as Christians should be.

She has been bought with a price and her body is no longer her own. 1 Corinthians 6:20 says "You were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body" and 1 Corinthians 7:23 says "You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men."

She must spend her time preparing to live as a wife and mother in Israel. Her days of waiting for her wedding are spent in learning how to please her husband.

Meanwhile, the young man returned to his father's home, and the chadar went under construction.

The room is provided with every comfort, as they will retire here for a whole week following their wedding ceremony. We see this seven day period in: Genesis 29:22-28. Laban says - "Finish this daughter's bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.' And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife." And read Judges 14:10-18, too.

The young man, if asked when the day of his wedding would be, replied, "No man knows except my father." In Israel the father had to be satisfied that every preparation had been made by his son before he gave him permission to go and get his bride. Jesus spoke these same words of His wedding day.

The groom secured two close friends to assist him in securing his bride and during the actual ceremony. These two are known as "the friends of the bridegroom." They functioned as the two witnesses required for a Jewish wedding. One of them was to assist the bride, and to lead her to the ceremony, while the other was stationed with the groom. He performed a special task when the couple retired into the chadar after the ceremony.

During the ceremony, known as Kiddushin, a second contract was brought forth called a Ketubah. This marriage contract was witnessed by the friends of the bridegroom and turned over to the parents of the bride. It contained the promises that the groom pledged to his wife.

As at all weddings, focus was centred on the bride and groom. For this one day they were looked at as king and queen. Every effort was made, and no expense was spared to ensure their joy. On this day, tradition says, their sins were forgiven. They stood pure, without spot or blemish as they were united.

Ephesians 5:25-32, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, And to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

Following the ceremony, the bride and groom entered the chadar. Here the groom gave gifts to the bride (Genesis 34:12 & Genesis 24:53).

The couple spent seven days under the chupah, or literally in the chamber. The friend of the bridegroom stood at the door. All the guests of the wedding assembled outside, waiting for the friend of the bridegroom to announce the consummation of the marriage covenant, which was related to him by the groom.

John 3:26-30: "They came to John and said to him, 'Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan - the one you testified about - well, He is baptising, and everyone is going to him. 'To this John replied, 'A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, "I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him. "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less."

At this signal, great rejoicing broke forth in a week long celebration, until the two emerged from the chupah to begin the actual wedding feast.

Revelation 19:4-9: "The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: 'Amen, Hallelujah!' Then a voice came from the throne, saying: 'Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!'

"Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: 'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.' (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) Then the angel said to me, 'Write: "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" And he added, 'These are the true words of God."

Do you begin to understand the enormity of what we're touching here? You need to start looking at marriage through new eyes!

Even as the first trump (shofar) announced the betrothal, so the last trump announced the wedding. Today, when the shofar is blown in churches we are reminded that we are betrothed - and that there's a wedding feast yet to come!

In Psalm 45 we are brought to the biblical portrayal of not only the wedding of the Messiah but also His coronation. The guests are assembled, and gifts are distributed.

Isaiah 61:10 - 62:5 shows the glory of the bride and groom bedecked in all their wedding finery: "For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. You will be a crown of splendour in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God. No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Heplizibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you."

But we've left the best for last...

Before the wedding the groom required three days to prepare. We know that one day is as a thousand years to the Lord. And just as with working out the three days of the death and resurrection of Jesus, we know that the Jewish method of measuring days is different to ours.

So, we are on the brink of the third millennium, the third day. Yes, the third day is almost upon us. Our bridegroom has been preparing Himself for three days. He is fully prepared and fully expectant, longing to be with His bride. The marriage supper of the lamb could be any day now.

No one knows the exact day except the Father.

The third day is upon us - and the bridegroom is fully prepared.

But are we?

God wants to release is out of much and into much when it comes to our understanding of marriage.

He wants to pull down and smash man-made myths and perceptions of marriage. He wants us throw out all the Mills & Boon and Bold & Beautiful junk, and begin to come into a Biblical understanding of what marriage is all about.

He wants to pull down demonic strongholds over existing and past and future marriages - strongholds of lust and frigidity, strongholds that have been established because the enemy has done everything in his power to make a mockery of God's prophetic purposes.

Some of you are sitting in marriages with things over you, some of you who are divorced are still bound by hurts and bitterness, others are sitting under things that keep you from being released into marriage - because of fear and demonic oppression.

There are some to whom God would say: "I've kept you from marriage. You've fought and kicked and got angry because you've never got married, but it's been My grace that has kept you and protected you from entering into something that would just be a pale, weak, wishy-washy counterfeit of what I've really purposed for you."

And as those strongholds come down, you will begin to find marriages restored and unsaved partners coming to the Lord. Good marriages will become even better as they are elevated into the realm of becoming prophetic statements. Becoming a sign and a wonder that people will look at and say, "So that's how Jesus loves his betrothed, so that's how we as the church should submit and respond to Jesus!"

Father, in Jesus' name forgive me for taking marriage so lightly, forgive me for my perverted and wrong understandings of what marriage is meant to be. And Father as You forgive me, I pray that you will deliver me from every stronghold that is over my life in the area of marriage. Strongholds that have come down through the generations, as well as strongholds that I have allowed to become established through my own fears and sin.

"Lord I ask you to give me a revelation in my heart of Your purpose for marriage - so that my marriage (or future marriage) will become the prophetic sign and wonder to the world that You purposed it be. I ask You to do this in the precious and powerful name of Jesus through the power of Your holy Spirit."

With acknowledgements to Greg Killian for his information on Biblical wedding ceremonies.

Reproduced by kind permission of the author.

The book "The Final Quest" by Rick Joyner and it's sequel, "The Call" may well constitute the most important prophetic message to the church in our generation. It provides a startling revelation of the judgment process which each of us must undergo and confirms the extent to which the church is far removed from the reality of what God has called it to be.

It also shows that both the throne room and the thrones in heaven are not filled to anywhere near capacity because the Lord's shepherds have held onto the one and not gone after the ninety nine that are lost.

R1 THE FINAL QUEST : PAGE 118 : A MEETING WITH JESUS CHRIST BEFORE THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

There was no way that I could answer "yes" to the Lord's question if I considered myself worthy to sit here. I was not worthy to sit in the company of any who were there. I knew I had been given the opportunity to run for the greatest prize in heaven or earth, and I had failed. I was desperate, but there was still one hope. Even though most of my life had been a failure, I knew that I was here before I had finished my life on earth. When I confessed that I was not worthy, He asked:

"But do you want this seat?"

"I do with all of my heart," I responded.

The Lord then looked at the galleries and said, "Those empty seats could have been filled in any generation. I gave the invitation to sit here to everyone who has called upon My name. They are still available. Now the last battle has come, and many who are last shall be first. These seats will be filled before the battle is over. Those who will sit here will be known by two things: they will wear the mantle of humility, and they will have My likeness. You now have the mantle. If you can keep it and do not lose it in the battle, when you return you will also have My likeness. Then you will be worthy to sit with these, because I will have made you worthy. All authority and power has been given to Me, and I alone can wield it. You will prevail, and you will be trusted with My authority only when you have come to fully abide in Me. Now turn and look at My household."

I turned and looked back in the direction I had come from. From before His throne I could see the entire room. The spectacle was beyond any comparison in its glory. Millions filled the ranks. Each individual in the lowest rank was more awesome than an army, and had more power. It was far beyond my capacity to absorb such a panorama of glory. Even so, I could see that only a very small portion of the great room was occupied.

R2 THE FINAL QUEST : PAGE 119 : THE LORD JESUS' TEARS FOR ALL WHO ARE LOST

I then looked back at the Lord and was astonished to see tears in His eyes. He had wiped the tears away from every eye here, except His own. As a tear ran down His cheek he caught it in His hand. He then offered it to me.

"This is My cup. Will you drink it with Me?"

There was no way that I could refuse Him. As the Lord continued to look at Me I began to feel His great love. Even as foul as I was He still loved me. As undeserving as I was He wanted me to be close to Him. Then He said:

"I love all of these with a love that you cannot now understand. I also love all who are supposed to be here but did not come. I have left the ninety-nine to go after the one who was lost. My shepherds would not leave the one to go after the ninety-nine who are still lost. I came to save the lost. Will you share My heart to go to save the lost? Will you help to fill this room? Will you help to fill these thrones, and every other seat in this hall? Will you take up this quest to bring joy to heaven, to Me and to My Father? This judgment is for My own household, and My own house is not full. The last battle will not be over until My house is full. Only then will it be time for us to redeem the earth, and remove the evil from My creation. If you drink My cup you will love the lost the way that I love them."

R3 THE FINAL QUEST : PAGE 128 : THE SHAME OF THE CHURCH BECAUSE THERE IS NO JUSTICE

...... was about His judgment. He paused to let this sink in, and then continued.

"There is a freedom that comes when you perceive truth, but whoever I set free is free indeed. The freedom of My presence is greater than just knowing truth. You have experienced liberation in My presence, but there is yet much more for you to understand about My judgments. When I judge I am not seeking to condemn, or to justify, but to bring forth righteousness. Righteousness is only found in union with Me. That is the righteous judgment, bringing men into unity with Me.

"My church is now clothed with shame because she does not have judges. She does not have judges because she does not know Me as the judge. I will now raise up judges for My people who know My judgment. They will not just decide between people or issues, but to make things right, which is to bring them into agreement with Me.

"When I appeared to Joshua as the Captain of the Host, I declared that I was for neither him nor his enemies. I never come to take sides. When I come it is to take over, not to take sides. I appeared as the Captain of the Host before Israel could enter her Promised Land. The church is now about to enter her Promised Land, and I am again about to appear as the Captain of the Host. When I do I will remove all who have been forcing My people to take sides against their brothers. My justice does not take sides in human conflicts, even those of My own people. What I was doing through Israel I was doing for their enemies, too, not against them. It is only because you see from the earthly, temporal perspective that you do not see My justice. You must see My justice to walk in My authority because righteousness and justice are the foundation of My throne.

"I have imputed righteousness to the people I have chosen, but like Israel in the wilderness, even the greatest saints of the church age have only aligned themselves with My ways a small part of the time, or with a small part of their minds and hearts. I am not for them or against their enemies, but I am coming to use My people to save their enemies. I love all men, and desire for all to be saved."

I could not help thinking of the great battle that we had fought on the mountain. We did wound many of our own brethren as we fought against the evil controlling them. There were still many of them in the camp of the enemy, either being used by him, or kept as his prisoners. I started to wonder if the next battle would be against our own brothers again. The Lord was watching me ponder all of this, and then He continued.

"Until last battle is over, there will always be some of our brothers who are being used by the enemy. But that is not why I am telling you this now. I am telling you this to help you see how the enemy gets into your own heart and mind, and how he uses you! Even now you still do not see everything the way that I do.

"This is common with My people. At this time, even My greatest leaders are seldom in harmony with Me. Many are doing good works, but very few are doing what I have called them to do. This is the result of divisions among you. I am not coming to take sides with any one group, but I am calling for those who will come over to My side......

R4 THE FINAL QUEST : PAGE 135 : INTERVIEW WITH THE APOSTLE PAUL

[Paul] put both hands on my shoulders and looked me even more resolutely straight in the eyes.

"I am your brother. I love you as everyone here does. But you must understand. Our course is now finished. We can neither add to or take away from what we planted in the earth, but you can. We are not your hope. You are now our hope. Even in this conversation I can only confirm what I have already written, but you still have much writing to do. Worship only God, and grow up in all things into Him. Never make any man your goal, but only Him. Many will soon walk the earth who will do much greater works than we did. The first shall be last, and the last, first. We do not mind this. It is the joy of our hearts because we are one with you. My generation was used to lay and begin building upon the foundation, and we will always have the honor of that. But every floor built upon the foundation should go higher. We will not be the building we are supposed to be unless you go higher."

As I pondered this he watched me closely. Then he continued, "There are two more things that we attained in our time that were lost very quickly by the church, and they have not yet been recovered. You must recover them."

"What are they?" I inquired, feeling that what he was about to say was more than just an addendum to what he had already said.

"You must recover the ministry, and the message," he said emphatically.

I looked at the Lord, and He nodded His affirmation, adding, "It is right that Paul should say this to you. Until this time he has been the most faithful with both of these."

"Please explain," I implored Paul.

"Alright," he replied. "Except for a few small places in the world where there is great persecution or difficulties now, we can hardly recognize either the ministry or the message that is being preached today. Therefore, the church is now but a phantom of what it was even in our time, and we were far from all that we were called to be. When we served, being in ministry was the greatest sacrifice one could make and this reflected the message of the greatest sacrifice that was made - the cross. The cross is the power of God, and it is the center of all that we are called to live by. You have so little power to transform the minds and hearts of the disciples now because you do not live, and do not preach, the cross. Therefore, we have difficulty seeing much difference between the disciples and the heathen. That is not the gospel or the salvation with which we were entrusted. You must return to the cross."

With those words he squeezed my shoulders like a father, and then returned to his seat. I felt like I had received both an incredible blessing and a profound rebuke. As I walked away I began thinking of the level of salvation on the mountain, and the treasures of salvation that I had seen inside the mountain. I began to see that most of my own decisions, even the decision to enter the door that led me here, was based mostly on what would get me further,......

Deuternomy 28 - 30 states the blessings and curses of the Mosaic Covenant:

CHAPTER 28

1 "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set you high above all nations of the earth.

2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God:

3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

4 "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

5 "Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

8 "The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

9 "The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.

10 "Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall be afraid of you.

11 "And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you.

12 "The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.

13 "And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them.

14 "So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

15 "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

16 "Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country.

17 "Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.

18 "Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks.

19 "Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

20 "The LORD will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.

21 "The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess.

22 "The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish.

23 "And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron.

24 "The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

25 "The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them and flee seven ways before them; and you shall become troublesome to all the kingdoms of the earth.

26 "Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away.

27 "The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed.

28 "The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart.

29 "And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you.

30 "You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes.

31 "Your ox shall be slaughtered before your eyes, but you shall not eat of it; your donkey shall be violently taken away from before you, and shall not be restored to you; your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have no one to rescue them.

32 "Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people, and your eyes shall look and fail with longing for them all day long; and there shall be no strength in your hand.

33 "A nation whom you have not known shall eat the fruit of your land and the produce of your labor, and you shall be only oppressed and crushed continually.

34 "So you shall be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes see.

35 "The LORD will strike you in the knees and on the legs with severe boils which cannot be healed, and from the sole of your foot to the top of your head.

36 "The LORD will bring you and the king whom you set over you to a nation which neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you shall serve other gods-- wood and stone.

37 "And you shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all nations where the LORD will drive you.

38 "You shall carry much seed out to the field and gather but little in, for the locust shall consume it.

39 "You shall plant vineyards and tend them, but you shall neither drink of the wine nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them.

40 "You shall have olive trees throughout all your territory, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olives shall drop off.

41 "You shall beget sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.

42 "Locusts shall consume all your trees and the produce of your land.

43 "The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower.

44 "He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.

45 "Moreover all these curses shall come upon you and pursue and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you.

46 "And they shall be upon you for a sign and a wonder, and on your descendants forever.

47 "Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything,

48 "therefore you shall serve your enemies, whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in need of everything; and He will put a yoke of iron on your neck until He has destroyed you.

49 "The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,

50 "a nation of fierce countenance, which does not respect the elderly nor show favor to the young.

51 "And they shall eat the increase of your livestock and the produce of your land, until you are destroyed; they shall not leave you grain or new wine or oil, or the increase of your cattle or the offspring of your flocks, until they have destroyed you.

52 "They shall besiege you at all your gates until your high and fortified walls, in which you trust, come down throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you at all your gates throughout all your land which the LORD your God has given you.

53 "You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.

54 "The sensitive and very refined man among you will be hostile toward his brother, toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the rest of his children whom he leaves behind,

55 "so that he will not give any of them the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.

56 "The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and sensitivity, will refuse to the husband of her bosom, and to her son and her daughter,

57 "her placenta which comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of everything in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you at all your gates.

58 "If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD,

59 "then the LORD will bring upon you and your descendants extraordinary plagues-- great and prolonged plagues-- and serious and prolonged sicknesses.

60 "Moreover He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt, of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you.

61 "Also every sickness and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, will the LORD bring upon you until you are destroyed.

62 "You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God.

63 "And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.

64 "Then the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have known-- wood and stone.

65 "And among those nations you shall find no rest, nor shall the sole of your foot have a resting place; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and anguish of soul.

66 "Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life.

67 "In the morning you shall say, 'Oh, that it were evening!' And at evening you shall say, 'Oh, that it were morning!' because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see.

68 "And the LORD will take you back to Egypt in ships, by the way of which I said to you, 'You shall never see it again.' And there you shall be offered for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you."

CHAPTER 29

1 These are the words of the covenant which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which He made with them in Horeb.

2 Now Moses called all Israel and said to them: "You have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt, to Pharaoh and to all his servants and to all his land--

3 "the great trials which your eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders.

4 "Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.

5 "And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet;

6 "you have not eaten bread, nor have you drunk wine or similar drink; that you may know that I am the LORD your God.

7 "And when you came to this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out against us to battle, and we conquered them.

8 "We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh.

9 "Therefore keep the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

10 "All of you stand today before the LORD your God: your leaders and your tribes and your elders and your officers, all the men of Israel,

11 "your little ones and your wives-- also the stranger who is in your camp, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water--

12 "that you may enter into covenant with the LORD your God, and into His oath, which the LORD your God makes with you today,

13 "that He may establish you today as a people for Himself, and that He may be God to you, just as He has spoken to you, and just as He has sworn to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14 "I make this covenant and this oath, not with you alone,

15 "but also with him who stands here with us today before the LORD our God, as well as with him who is not here with us today

16 (for you know that we dwelt in the land of Egypt and that we came through the nations which you passed by,

17 and you saw their abominations and their idols which were among them-- wood and stone and silver and gold);

18 "so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood;

19 "and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, 'I shall have peace, even though I walk in the imagination of my heart'-- as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.

20 "The LORD would not spare him; for then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the LORD would blot out his name from under heaven.

21 "And the LORD would separate him from all the tribes of Israel for adversity, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Law,

22 "so that the coming generation of your children who rise up after you, and the foreigner who comes from a far land, would say, when they see the plagues of that land and the sicknesses which the LORD has laid on it:

23 'The whole land is brimstone, salt, and burning; it is not sown, nor does it bear, nor does any grass grow there, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and His wrath.'

24 "All nations would say, 'Why has the LORD done so to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?'

25 "Then people would say: 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt;

26 'for they went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods that they did not know and that He had not given to them.

27 'Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against this land, to bring on it every curse that is written in this book.

28 'And the LORD uprooted them from their land in anger, in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day.'

29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

CHAPTER 30

1 "Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you,

2 "and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul,

3 "that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you.

4 "If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.

5 "Then the LORD your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.

6 "And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.

7 "Also the LORD your God will put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.

8 "And you will again obey the voice of the LORD and do all His commandments which I command you today.

9 "The LORD your God will make you abound in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, in the increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your land for good. For the LORD will again rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers,

10 "if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, and if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

11 "For this commandment which I command you today, it is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off.

12 "It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'

13 "Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?'

14 "But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

15 "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,

16 "in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.

17 "But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them,

18 "I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.

19 "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;

20 "that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." (NKJ)

As I was led by the Holy Spirit to research the subject of this book, I came across the book, "After Polygamy was made a sin, the social history of Christian Polygamy", by John Cairncross, published by Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, in 1974.

Various extracts of this book are quoted verbatim below:

The idea of writing this book goes back to a winter's day on the Paris quais, some twenty years ago, when I discovered a rare French eighteenth-century book. It was a defence of monogamy, and it turned out to be dull and prolix. However, a second reading revealed that the work was not just a conventional moral treatise but was an attempt to counter a very real campaign in favour of polygamy.

I tracked down the - equally rare - studies referred to by the author. My appetite was whetted. I began to dig deeper into this new and bizarre controversy. One discovery led to another. A lucky find in a London bookshop showed that Milton had secretly held pro-polygamy views. Another buy, also in London, brought to light the indignant attacks of B. Higgons, Gent. on Bishop Burnet's heterodox opinions on matrimony. A month's intensive research at the British Museum and a delightful professorial year at Western Reserve University in Cleveland brought in a rich harvest, especially of German and American material.

From all this detective work there emerged a long but largely underground tradition of Christian polygamy (supplemented and sometimes intertwined with a mainly French freethinking current), which extends from the first half of the sixteenth century to about 1800, and indeed, in isolated areas of Utah, to the present day.

The reconstruction of the tradition was no easy task, precisely because it was underground. Orthodoxy in Western Europe, or for that matter in the Christian world as a whole, has been fiercely opposed to polygamy in any shape or form since at least A.D. 600, and has shown itself particularly ruthless in suppressing the hated monster whenever it raised its head in their own ranks. This constant opposition explains both-why the Christian polygamists rarely put their views into practice and why their writings are often to be found in scarce, or out-of-the-way editions. For the same reason, most of the studies of the subject are fragmentary, uncritical and biased.

By going back to the original texts, I have tried to present a less distorted picture of the tradition. The exposition of the material in its historical sequence and perspective has led to not a few curious discoveries, such as the relation between Mormon polygamy in its early stages and the private life of the founder of that religion.

This book does not of course set out to argue the advantages of polygamy, of which there are as many kinds as there are of revolution. In particular, Christian polygamy, as I have attempted to show in Chapter 1, is very much sui generis. It is therefore pointless, in this book and elsewhere, to talk of polygamy as such. While I discuss the possible reasons for the emergence of the tradition and its eclipse, my main aim is simply to portray each of the phases of its evolution, which are often not causally connected but arise from the combination of certain constant ingredients at various points in time between 1530 and 1900.

Despite the lengthy research and analysis which went to the making of this book, I greatly enjoyed writing it, and only hope that it will also divert the reader.

NOTE

The correct term is 'polygyny' meaning 'many women'). 'Polygamy' literally means having man spouses

Pages 1 to 3:

On 23 July in the year of grace 1534, the northwest German city of Munster proclaimed polygamy as the ideal form of marriage. The event is unique in the history of Christian Europe, and the reaction to this announcement explains why the experiment was never repeated. For it was greeted with unanimous revulsion and horror.

This condemnation (both then and subsequently) reflects a loathing for polygamy which is very deeply rooted in western man. True, the idea of cohabiting both with a wife and one or more mistresses has often been tolerated and even covertly admired. But the open and legal possession of several wives permitted by polygamy has been strictly taboo. For most Europeans, such a practice has always seemed the acme of libertinage and has exercised a guilty fascination. It conjures up visions of voluptuous oriental harems and uninhibited caresses on sunny south sea beaches. As Briffault points out in his comprehensive work on marriage, The Mothers,[1] 'there is scarcely a feature of non-European societies which excites the same zealous denunciation....Every other departure from European sexual codes,

every vice even, is looked upon with lenience' in comparison.

Almost from the outset,[2] Christianity has set its face sternly against plural marriage. In fact, if 'polygamy was made a sin', this was the Church's doing. To quote Briffault again, before the coming of Christ, polygamy was universally established and practised:[3]

The terms 'monogamy', 'bigamy', 'polygamy', in the sense in which we use them, were unknown, and there existed no words to indicate what they denote. The 'prohibition' of polygyny [is not a natural, innate inclination of humanity, but] was promulgated for the first time in any part of the world in the code of Justinian in the sixth century of our era.... No authenticated instance is known outside Christian nations of a people among whom polygyny is an object of moral reprobation or is condemned or forbidden by tribal custom.

Conversely, 'even today, the grounds of European objections to polygamy are incomprehensible to uncultured peoples'.

How was it possible for such an unChristian institution to emerge in the heart of Europe? The answer is not a simple one, but it is undoubtedly connected with the outbreak of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. when the great Reformer, Martin Luther, nailed his protest against papal indulgences to the church door in Wittenberg in 1517, he started an earthquake. The authority of the Pope and the Catholic hierarchy in northern Germany was rapidly undermined, and in its place was set the Gospel, now available in the vernacular to all and sundry and no longer a Latin text reserved for priests and scholars. Moreover, both the Old and the New Testaments were held to be literally inspired and hence equally deserving of reverence. Admittedly, in the Catholic Middle Ages the patriarchs had been treated as the forerunners of Christ, but the Lutherans placed them on an even higher pedestal, Hence the polygamous proclivities of the Old Testament fathers began to loom larger and larger in theological discussions. And they were viewed with considerable indulgence. If Luther rejected pleas for the re-introduction of polygamy, this was not because he thought such a move would be morally wrong but because he was convinced that it was not at all expedient, since it would be bound to discourage potential converts to the new faith.

But these discussions were merely on stream in the flood of controversy unleashed by Luther's defiance of clerical authority/ Far more important that the validity of the patriarchal example was the denunciation of monastic celibacy as the root of all sexual evil. Reacting violently against medieval practice, he urged all but those with a genuine vocation for chastity to marry and propagate the species, especially women. For the first time in Europe, the text 'Increase and multiply' resounded with predictable regularity from the pulpit.

These doctrines were enthusiastically taken up by the more radical Protestant sects, especially the Anabaptists. And the men who proclaimed the Munster were of the persuasion. Among many other things, the sect was fiercely exclusive. Members regarded themselves as the elect, and everyone else, including Lutherans, as infidels. No marriage was valid unless contracted between sectarians and blessed by the elders. such an attitude was bound to lead to some degree of contempt for orthodox morals and some relaxation of the marriage bond. A marriage within the community might be held to be indissoluble, but this was small comfort to the unbelieving spouse who, having refused to follow his or her partner in joining the elect, was summarily abandoned.

The factor which probably had an even greater influence on Anabaptist morals (especially in Munster) was the belief of the sectarians in the Second Coming of christ who would restore all things to their pristine purity before the Fall. Millennialism is as old as the world and has assumed innumerable forms. It has always, however, been the religion of the poor and the afflicted who looked to apocalyptic future to compensate them for their present sufferings. the Anabaptists were drawn from the poorer classes. They were also excessively Puritanical in their sexual morals. these various elements combined to produce the conviction that the begetting without sin or lust of a certain number of children would hasten the Coming of Christ.

Such a conception of marriage and parenthood clearly represents a potential move towards polygamy. Add to this the new emphasis on the Old Testament, Luther's teaching on marriage, the state of flux of religious belief in general, and in particular the domination of the sectarians by prophets receiving direct revelations from God. It will then be clear why theories which would ordinarily be dismissed as visionary could, given the right combination of circumstances, personality and leadership, produce a kind of theological mutation which was totally unexpected at the time. Cases of plural marriage can be traced spasmodically in central Germany during the 1520s but the anabaptists as a whole did not subscribe to polygamy. that institution was formally adopted by a group only when the anabaptists took control of Munster and, even then, only after John of Leyden had assumed power after the death of the previous leader, Jan Matthys.

Pages 31 - 52:

'If only', observes Pascal, in one of his penetrating Pansees, 'Cleopatra's nose had been a fraction shorter, the course of world history would have been altered.' An equally plausible, though less edifying supposition is that, if only Philip the Magnanimous of Hesse had followed the current practice of taking a concubine and not married a second wife, the Reformation might have swept irresistibly through the whole of Germany and possibly even central Europe as well. As it was, the Landgrave (to use his German title) felt impelled by his reverence for the sacraments to mend his first marriage by contracting a second one even while his wife was alive.

And he did so with the sanction of the Fathers of the Reformation. 'The first paladin of German Protestantism', notes the scholarly Rockwell in the opening page of his book on Philip's bigamy, was, with Luther's and Melanchthon's permission, a bigamist.' Protestant historians have never recovered from the shock. One of Luther's biographers denounces the step as the greatest stain on his reputation and indeed on the Reformation. Other writers have sought to shift the blame to the unfortunate Landgrave.

Philip indignantly denied that he was at fault. And it is difficult not to feel some sympathy for him. At the youthful age of sixteen, before he knew what he was doing, he was railroaded into an engagement with Christina, the daughter of Duke George of Saxony (of the house of Meissen). She had given him six children (some historians say seven) at the time of his bigamous marriage. 'Nevertheless,' says Rockwell with professorial candour, 'Philip was dissatisfied with his wife.' The reasons for his unhappiness are not far to seek. Christina was desperately plain. She drank and stank and had unpleasant (if unspecified) habits. Little wonder that Philip 'never felt love or desire for her.' His revulsion must have been intense, for he describes himself as having a strong constitution, and he is credited with the possession of three testicles and a correspondingly powerful sex drive.

He stuck it out for three weeks, and thereafter settled down to a steady diet of fornication and adultery, seasoned with occasional bouts of homosexuality. At assemblies of the German Princes, he was particularly exposed to the temptations of the flesh during the long sessions of riotous carousing. As Philip put it to the Lutheran preachers, how could he, in all fairness, avoid sin when he could not always 'take a large harem along with him'?

It was not that he lacked a moral sense. He was a God-fearing prince, well versed in the Bible. Well enough to know that, according to Saint Paul, adulterers and fornicators would never enter the kingdom of heaven. So that, if he died in battle, the Devil would carry him off to eternal damnation. He was constantly being urged by his spiritual advisers to suppress immorality, but how could he punish offenders when he was himself guilty of the sin? His feeling of guilt was such that, soon after his marriage (in 1523), he consistently refrained from observing communion, although he longed to partake of it. His pangs of conscience rose to a paroxysm in 1539 when, like so many of his illustrious contemporaries, he had a serious attack of syphilis - obviously, he felt, a punishment from on high for his excesses.

His sufferings, both physical and spiritual, became intolerable. But what was the remedy? Divorce was out of the question, both on legal and political grounds. However, if he could not repudiate Christina, could he not marry another, more attractive wife, and thus escape from the toils of Satan? He had long and openly proclaimed his belief that it was not an offence in God's eyes to have two wives, and he was encouraged in this view by some of the court preachers. His interest in bigamy revived, and it became intense when he suddenly fell in love with a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl called Margarete von der Sale - a lady-in-waiting to his sister Elizabeth (wife of Duke Henry of the house of Dresden).

However, it takes two to make a marriage, especially a bigamous one. Philip realized that the struggle would be a hard one, and he prepared for it with the meticulous but daring generalship that he brought to his strategic campaigns. The girl, or rather her widowed mother, Anna, had to be won round, and Anna had very clear ideas as to what she wanted. Ambition, reinforced by respect for conventional morality, enabled her to put formidable pressure on the Prince. She was not prepared to let her daughter become Philip's concubine, or even (by a secret bigamous marriage) to be put in a position which suggested as much. Initially, therefore, the most that she would concede was that Margarete would be pre-empted for the Landgrave for three years. If Christina died within this waiting period, Margarete would be his. And she sweetened her semi-refusal by permitting Philip to visit her daughter in the family house as often as he wished.

Philip was not discouraged. Gradually he wore down the mother's resistance. His first victory was to obtain her agreement to a bigamous marriage if its legitimacy was openly defended and if others were allowed to follow the Prince's example, that is, if bigamy were made generally and publicly permissible. This demand was at once rejected. But Philip kept up the pressure and in the end Anna yielded further ground. She now accepted that the marriage be kept secret, but she held out for the attendance at it of state and church dignitaries. Her list of prospective wedding guests is impressive. It includes Johann Friedrich, the Elector of Saxony, some of Philip's senior councillors, his wife Christina, she herself of course, her brother, Ernst von Miltitz, and, on the clerical side, Luther, Melanchthon and Bucer (the three leading figures in the German Reformation), or, at the very least, two of them. However, in the end, she relented to some extent. If the Elector and the Duke were unable to attend, their delegates would do.

The Landgrave was not daunted by these exacting terms. From Augsburg (still in 1539), he summoned one of his most trusted agents - a certain Dr Sailer, who then spent three months at Philip's court. During his stay, he was induced to try to persuade Bucer, an eminent theologian and an old friend and adviser of the Landgrave, to act as intermediary in the delicate task of obtaining the support of his fellow Reformers - Luther and Melanchthon - and of the Elector. And in November Sailer set out for Strassburg where Bucer was then settled.

When he learned that Philip was planning to commit bigamy, Bucer was 'utterly horrified'. He feared the devastating effect of such 'novelties' (i.e., radical doctrines) on the weaker brethren in the Reformation, and hesitated to commit himself. Thereupon, Sailer played his trump card. Was Bucer prepared to stand by and see the Landgrave, the Captain of the Protestant forces, make his peace with the Catholic faction, as he would undoubtedly do if he were refused the moral backing that he was requesting. Rather than see the whole movement come crashing down in ruin, Bucer accepted the invitation to broach the question of bigamy to the Reformers.

By the end of November, he was at the Landgrave's castle at Melsungen,

where he was treated to an uninhibited and exhaustive confession by the Prince of all his variegated sins, his physical sufferings and deprivations, and his obsessive Angst about damnation. Under this massive assault, Bucer's

last scruples crumbled. To buttress him for the encounter with Luther, he was given a detailed brief on Philip's request which - it was carefully underlined - was a modest one, covering only one additional wife. What was wanted, ran the instructions to the Reformer,was a written testimony that the Prince would not be committing an offence against God if he contracted such a marriage. The ceremony would be secret, but Luther and Melanchthon were requested 'to spy out a way' to make it public at some later date.

The issue was raised in general terms. Margarete's name was never mentioned in the discussions, and indeed Bucer was probably unaware that the Landgrave had already made his choice of a second wife. This silence on Philip's part has frequently been trounced as disingenuous, both at the time and later - as if the principle involved was of secondary importance and the morality or otherwise of bigamy depended on the identity of his 'fiancee' and the date of his marriage to her. On any reasoning, Philip's tactics were justified. He saw no ground for bringing Margarete into the picture until the obstacles to his union with her were removed. However, he can have had little doubt that his plans would succeed, for, early in November, Sailer had been instructed to order the wine for the wedding, and to observe the most scrupulous discretion in making the purchase.

It is doubtful if Bucer felt the same confidence as his master. However, armed with his brief, he set out on the journey and arrived on 9 December in Wittenberg, where he immediately submitted the Landgrave's suit to the other two Reformers. They were horrified. They realized at once the 'unbounded offence' which such a bigamous marriage would cause. The reaction among the Protestants would be one of utter dismay, especially when it came to the womenfolk. Bucer was himself later to write: 'It must be most painful above all for women to hear [of this marriage]. Of all the thousands of pious and kindly women, there will not be a single one whom the news will not stab to the heart.'

And, if this was the effect of one marriage, there would be a cataclysm if the example were followed and a tidal wave of Munsterite polygamy surged across Germany. The prospect was by no means fanciful. Some two years later, Bucer foresaw that the publication, with Philip's endorsement, of a work in favour of polygamy would 'raise up a new sect of wild fanatics'. People would imagine that Philip's bigamy could be imitated with impunity -even, as Luther was to put it, by the veriest clodhopper. But it was not only from the masses that danger threatened. Another Protestant divine was to issue the solemn warning that many men of the highest rank shared Philip's views and he feared therefore 'a violent bloody war if this evil or this untimely madness [was] imprudently fanned'.

If dissension would burst into flame within the Protestant camp,

danger from the enemy was equally serious. In the early 1520s, the

Pope had instructed his legate to the Diet of Worms to represent the

Protestant doctrine as pernicious because it favoured polygamy.

And Sir Thomas More had used the same gambit in his defence of Henry VIII against the Lutherans' attack (in the days before he broke with Rome). Lastly and more immediately, the Reformation might, as already shown, be hamstrung if Philip defected to the side of the Emperor, as he openly threatened to do if the Reformers were obstinate in giving him their approval.

And this approval Philip was determined to have. For it both enabled Philip to secure Anna's consent to the marriage, defend his action if it came to an open clash, and, perhaps most important of all, give him some protection against the Emperor. Bigamy had been made a capital offence in 1532. If therefore the marriage became public, Philip could be tried and sentenced by his overlord. The Holy Roman Empire might, as Voltaire put it in a famous joke, be 'neither holy, Roman nor an Empire', but it was still the greatest power in Europe, and Charles V, the ruling Emperor, was the master of Spain and the Austrian dominions, lord of the German principalities, and a brilliant statesman and strategist.

In this delicate situation, Luther and Melanchthon found themselves between the devil of Philip's pressure and the deep sea of potential Protestant disintegration. For two days, they wrestled with the intricacies of the problem and with their consciences. And, on the second, they set their signatures (jointly with Bucer) to a document which is unique in European history - the Wittenberg Deliberation. It bears the scars of the travail that attended its birth. Much of it is taken up with an examination of the Biblical authority for polygamy. And there is a long homily on the virtues of chastity

which quotes the dictum of the Albanian hero, Skanderbeg, to the effect that nothing weakens a warrior's strength so much as indulgence.

But the nub of the matter lies in three relatively short passages. The first, inserted by Melanchthon, stresses the danger that (if Philip were to take a second wife) the enemies of the Gospel would lump the Protestants together with the polygamous Turks and wild Musterites. The second warns against the temptation of many of the faithful to follow Philip's example in an age when, to a far greater extent than nowadays, 'the acts of Princes cause[d] more of a stir than those of their subjects'. Hence, if the common people saw 'a Prince take another wife, they [would] claim to be allowed similar latitude'. However, 'if [Philip] was bent on marrying again', and they were well aware that he was, there was no alternative. They were being forced at gunpoint to pronounce, and had to come off the fence. 'Bucer [was] pressing to be allowed to go back', and they could not let him leave without an answer. And so, they agreed, with obvious distaste, in the third and conclusive passage that they would not object, provided the marriage were kept strictly secret. 'And so', they wrote, 'you have our written testimony in case of need.'

Having overcome the first hurdle, the Landgrave's ambassador set off on the next leg of his whirlwind tour. On 15 December, he was received by the Elector of Saxony, Johan Friedrich. Bucer's mission to the prince was facilitated by the grant of the Deliberation and possibly even more by an assurance from Philip that he would back the Elector for Emperor if a war of religion were to break out and the Protestants were to defeat the Catholics, and thus be able to nominate an Emperor of their own faith. Even though sweetened by such assurances, the news staggered the Saxon ruler. His reply was studiedly cautious. It repeatedly urged the Landgrave to desist

from his plans. If, however, his resolve was unalterable, be should observe the strictest secrecy. And the message ended with vague and diplomatic professions of friendliness and offers of help.

Philip himself had not been inactive. On 11 December he obtained the consent of his wife, by promising that her children would be sole heirs to the throne and - an assurance that may have been appreciated even more - that he would show her more and not less kindness than before through sleeping with her and through other actions befitting married people.

Having secured the approval, or at least the complicity, of the main persons involved, he was now ready to lay siege to Anna. After Bucer had reported on his mission, the Landgrave despatched two messengers to her (on 23 December) with copies of all the various dispensations and agreements. On 12 January 1540, the messengers returned, but without the unequivocal reply which Philip had expected. Anna had not only maintained her previous demands but had actually added new ones. She now insisted that Christina should issue an invitation to her for the wedding. It appears that the Landgrave ignored this proposal. But he confirmed his agreement to all the other terms, with the exception of the suggested invitation to Ernst von Miltitz, Anna's brother, on the grounds that, 'as a Papist, he was not sufficiently well versed in the Scriptures to grasp the legitimacy of the second marriage.'

For the rest, he now regarded the wedding as certain, and, for the first time, revealed to a few chosen councillors the identity of his 'fiancee'. His court preachers thereupon appended their names to the Wittenberg Deliberation, and (on 18 January) he obtained a further clearance from his wife. Far from being taken aback on learning of his plans for Margarete, Christina - at least so the Landgrave alleges - was even more agreeable to his plans than when they had been put to her in general terms.

Everything then was ready for the ceremony. But what of the bride herself? Hitherto Margarete had received Philip's attentions passively, without pleasure or aversion. She may not even have known of his intentions, since the Landgrave had not confided in her - though her mother had probably given her some inkling of what was afoot. What was more, Margarete was not on good terms with her mother, and might not take kindly to the engagements entered into by Anna on her behalf. Philip was therefore afraid that, at the last moment, the girl might jettison the understanding and try to escape to her friends and relatives. Indeed, he had laid plans to counter any such move by producing Margarete's letters (however innocuous) and thus spoil her marriage prospects.

But his fears proved groundless. Margarete showed herself happy at her fate. By mid-February, she had moved from Dresden to her mother's estate. And on 4 March the marriage took place at the small town of Rothenburg an der Fulda.

Philip kept his word as to the invitations. The Elector and the house of Meissen sent representatives, and Bucer and Melanchthon arrived as well. Strangely enough, the Reformers do not seem to have been told whom Philip was marrying until they entered the church. Philip's written instructions (also dated 4 March) to Melander and Lening, two of his preachers, as to what they were to tell their colleagues do not mention Margarete, but refer to her as 'a person who is now disposed to take me in marriage'. The brief is also revealing as to the preoccupations uppermost in the Landgrave's mind. 'It is vital', says the note, that the Reformers and his own counsellors be present to bear witness that he plans 'a marriage and not whoremongering'. The Reformers are urged never to use the word 'concubine', since that usually refers to a whore. Philip must have a wife whom he likes, since he means to retain his first wife! Should Christina die, he plans to keep his second wife as his only one, thus returning to the monogamist fold. Hence, she cannot be 'a person of lowly rank such as a peasant girl'. And he concludes with a statement of what he will say if asked by the guests about the reasons for his marriage. It is intended 'as a medicine and remedy for evil conduct and dissolute living', and it will help him to lead a better and more Christian life.

The Landgrave's instructions were faithfully followed by Melander as the wedding certificate testifies. After paying tribute with the starched pomp of the times to 'our most mighty, most invincible and most gracious Emperor, Charles V,' the document records the presence of 'his Highness, Prince and Lord Philip, Landgrave, Count of Katzelnbogen, Diez, Ziegenhayn and Nidda, with certain councillors of His Highness on the one hand, and the honourable and virtuous maiden, Margarete von der Sale, and certain relatives on the other.'

Melander then explained that Philip wished to marry Margarete although his Highness's first wife was still alive. In order, however, the address continued, 'that this step is not decreed as capricious or frivolous and no offence be caused hereby and the good name of the said maiden and her honourable relatives be not jeopardized, [his Highness swears before God] that it is motivated by important and unavoidable considerations of conscience and body and that it is impossible for him to be saved unless he takes a second wife in addition to his first one.' The marriage was a quiet one, since 'in our times it is unusual to have two wives at the same time ... although in the present case it is licit and Christian.' Thereupon the couple, joined in marriage by the preacher, 'swore undying love and troth to each other.' The following day, Melanchthon himself then urged the Prince, as thanks for the dispensation granted, to take better care of the Lutheran clergy and teachers in church schools, and to abstain from fornication, adultery and boys.

The Landgrave was so overjoyed that he took little notice of such exhortations. Far from being plagued with moral scruples, he was proud of his action. 'I have done it', he said a fortnight later, with God and a good conscience.' And on 5 April, he wrote to Luther thanking him for the dispensation and telling him that he had taken Easter communion 'with a merry conscience', and would as a result be able to further the cause of the Reformation with greater zeal. He added the piquant detail that Margarete had turned out to be a relative of the great theologian's wife, and hence, to his delight, he was Luther's brother-in-law! He was convinced of the legitimacy of his marriage, but what answer should he give if he were asked point blank about it? Luther replied immediately that the bigamy

be kept secret because of the bad example it might set.

But it was too much to expect that all those in the know would be

discreet. Some of them even had an interest in provoking a scandal.

Nor did the Landgrave's friends all help. In April, the court preacher,

Melander, was foolish enough to defend bigamy from the pulpit. And the feverish building work on Margarete's new residence in the country set tongues wagging. By 25 May, another court divine was writing in anguished tones to the Prince that a 'terrible rumour' was all over the land, and was likely to cause widespread defections fromthe Gospel. A country parson, he added, had even asserted that Luther's permission to celebrate the marriage had been bought at the cost of a cask of wine.

The tales soon reached the car of Duke Henry of Dresden. He

was the husband of Elizabeth, Philip's sister, and Elizabeth herself

was Margarete's mistress. Henry realized that it would be automatically assumed that he and his wife were a party to the marriage, and he determined to get to the bottom of the reports. It was not hard for him. Anna von der Sale was one of his subjects. On the last day of May, she was fetched to court by a posse of cavalry and forced to make full confession. The next day, she was escorted back to her estate together with two secretaries, and obliged to deliver up the documents in her possession for copying. As it happened, she surrendered only Philip's declaration to his wife of 11 December and a long document by Bucer, setting out his views for and against polygamy. In the confusion, this had been substituted for the

Wittenberg Deliberation.

The story soon made the rounds of Germany and beyond. Preachers fell to denouncing Philip for his lapse from grace. Other reactions were of unbelieving hilarity. Had one ever heard of anything so silly? asked the Markgrave of Brandenburg. The Emperor himself, who had sired children all over Europe and then had them legitimized by the Pope, felt that it was all a huge joke (but one that could be turned to solid political advantage). And in France there was ribald Gallic laughter. More serious men were profoundly disturbed. Ferdinand, who was to succeed Charles V as Emperor, is said to have been deflected by the scandal from turning Protestant.

The men who had granted Philip his secret dispensation were on tenterhooks, and hastily looked to their defences. Luther wrote to the Elector that he had been misled by the Landgrave. He had thought Philip had meant to take 'only a simple girl' who would be kept in a quiet spot out of harm's and gossip's way. But the Prince, as it now turned out, had married a lady-in-waiting - no less - who and been set up in an imposing country residence. The moral issues appeared to be of less concern to Luther than the social ones. And indeed, to judge by his Table Talk (1540) at the time, he saw the only hope of salvation in the possibility that, who could say? Margarete might soon die!

Melanchthon, for his part, tried to beat a retreat, and delivered himself of a revised, and unfavourable, pronouncement on the marriage. Thereupon, under the weight of the 'mounting evils' springing up all around him, he prayed to God 'to avert the monstrous danger and scandal', and broke down. For days he was unable to touch food or drink, and hovered between life and death. He only rallied when Luther rode out to breathe confidence into him with the power of his robust faith.

The Elector was equally concerned. He had only agreed to the marriage with the utmost hesitation and on the express condition that it was kept strictly secret. He now sent Philip a letter full of veiled reproaches for having caused Melanchthon's collapse - an accusation which Philip heatedly rejected. There was of course no question of Saxon support for the Landgrave's position now that the bigamy was the stock subject of conversation in Germany.

The common factor in all these reactions was an insistence on the need to keep this gigantic skeleton in its cupboard. Philip on the contrary was perfectly prepared to drag it out into the light of day. From the start (as his instructions to Bucer show), he had been eager to have the marriage recognized by all and sundry and not kept as a subject for snickering whispers or open denunciation. The subtle distinction drawn by Luther between what was right in God's eyes and what at could be defended to the world seemed to him the flimsiest of casuistries. He may have been the founder of the great university of Marburg, but he was essentially a bluff military man, more at home on the battlefield or with his hunting dogs than with 'the sapient sutlers of the Lord'. He had clear, straightforward ideas,

and he stuck to them with laudable tenacity. For him, what was right was right and he was prepared to defend his convictions even at the cost of political eclipse. Rather than see his marriage questioned, he would content to retire to a house or two (doubtless for his two establishments), and hand over his state to his children or the Emperor.

He was not disturbed by the prospect of opposition. 'From the world', he wrote to Luther, 'we do not count on extorting recognition of Margarete.' He felt that his position on that score was by no means weak. It was an age when marriage was in a state of flux. Priests had forsworn celibacy and taken wives to themselves on turning Lutheran, but Catholics still regarded such unions as invalid and sacrilegious. Other radical innovations, such as bigamy, would naturally meet with similar condemnation, at least to start with. But this did not make them any less justifiable than priestly marriages. Luther, the ex-monk, married to an ex-nun, need therefore not be so self-righteous. And, in the same letter just quoted, Philip, after affirming that he considers Margarete his wife by God's word and Luther's advice, administers a savage thrust at the Reformer: 'God grant that the world may so regard the wives of our preachers in this and other lands.'

Nor was it merely a question of Philip's own marriage. The relief afforded him should be granted to others as well. To Bucer he wrote acidly that he would not dispute whether bigamy was sinful or not, or whether it was formerly a general usage, 'for we leave that toyou, the learned, in your superior wisdom'. 'But', he noted pointedly, 'if anyone falls into the same difficulty, we would not hesitate to countenance a similar remission in his case', though he qualified this threat by making the marriage conditional on the approval of the man's confessor, the state authorities, and, if pressed, the freely given consent of the first wife as well.

Strong in the assurance of the justice of his case, Philip even assembled his notables (on 22 June) at Cassel and tried to induce them to back his stand. He was unsuccessful. His advisers were well aware that such a course would provoke a violent intervention by the Emperor. They therefore suggested a more diplomatic line. The Landgrave should admit to having a concubine, but quibble as to the meaning of the word. The public would take it as synonymous with a mistress, whereas Philip would understand it in the biblical sense of an additional wife, a helpmeet before the Lord, such as those taken by Abraham, David and other holy men. Very reluctantly, the Landgrave agreed, for he had always heartily disliked the immoral associations of the word suggested.

However, the Reformers felt that even this concession was not enough to save the situation. They were particularly apprehensive of the danger of a general tolerance for bigamy. Bucer repeatedly urged the Landgrave to tell a deliberate, holy lie when asked about the rumours, and quoted Scripture in support of his views. Had not Abraham deceived his host when asked about Sarah? And did not even God Himself mislead His enemies by visions and illusions? Bucer even suggested that Philip should revise the marriage contract to make Margarete a concubine, though continuing to treat her as a wife. And he made other improving proposals, such as that Philip sould devote less time to hunting and other amusements and more to matters of state and to his wife. The Landgrave, to be fair, heeded the last suggestion, for Christina bore him three further children after his second marriage. But, for the rest, he was adamant. Margarete and her mother, he wrote, would rather be torn to pieces than incur such a dishonour:

We are willing to reply as long as it is possible in dubious and

ambiguous terms, but to say that there is no marriage, that advice should be given to another, and not to us. We cannot and will not lie, for lying does nobody any good, and besides [to show that he, too, knew his Bible] God has forbidden false witness.

The only effect of this sterile round of letters was to cause mounting irritation all round. Philip decided that the one hope of breaking out of the impasse was to meet round a table and thrash out the disagreements. And, at his request, delegates from himself and the Elector met with Luther at the Eisenach Conference and battled over the issue for four whole days (15 to 19 July).

Any hope of agreement soon faded. Luther upbraided the Hessians for having revealed the details of the marriage, which Philip's men indignantly denied. The dispensation, Luther went on, was valid only for the Landgrave's conscience, and ceased to have meaning if it became known. A private Yes signified a public No. Hence, if the news of the Deliberation leaked out, he would deny its existence. He did not accept the view that what was right in God's eyes was automatically right in itself. For instance, a child by a man other than the husband must be regarded as the legitimate heir.

As a statesman of the church, the Reformer dwelt on the disastrous consequences of a public defence of bigamy. Most of the Lutheran clergy (and all the Calvinists) were opposed root and branch to it. If he were known to have countenanced it, however discreetly, the Protestant church would be rent by a schism. And, if he were to defend his action in writing, the results would be even more appalling.

Quite apart from the purely ecclesiastical aspects of the case, the rules of public morality could not be flouted. If they were, the whole Empire would collapse in anarchy. More concretely, the Emperor would intervene, and Philip, discredited by his unorthodox marriage, would see his army melt like snow.

Luther therefore made no bones about calling on Philip to tell

a good strong lie' for the sake of the church. If the Emperor were to question him, the Landgrave should reply that he did indeed have a concubine, and that he was willing to send her away if all the other princes with a similar attachment would do the same. If Philip were really determined to publish the Deliberation, he (Luther) would take the whole blame on himself and admit that he had blundered, but this was a counsel of desperation.

The Elector's men were equally forthright. The Landgrave's action, they maintained, was against God and public morality, and could not be defended, however close the links between Hesse and Saxony. Philip would have liked to have submitted his case to a General Council of the Protestant movement in Germany and ask the other princes to guarantee him protection until judgment had that been given. But the Elector was afraid, and with good reason Philip would use any such assurance to force the issue into the open, and thus involve the Saxons in what had every appearance of being

a major war - and one fought on very dubious grounds.

The Landgrave, for his part, was just as intransigent. In a letter dated 18 July to his delegates, he expresses bitter disappointment with 'the inconstancy of Luther and the Elector'. He realizes that Luther is a contrary character who digs in his toes the more one contradicts him. He therefore counsels moderation in dealings with the Reformer.

But he himself tackles the Reformers vigorously in some of their arguments, and to considerable effect. He is accused of having had an affair with Margarete before he married her. He flatly denies the charge. He is asked why he chose Margarete and not another, as if his love for Margarete were the cause and not the occasion of the bigamy. He points out that he could easily have had any other girl from the aristocracy on the same conditions. And he agrees that he married Margarete because he was fond of her. But, he says, 'I see that you holy people also take those you fancy.' Had he been allowed to follow his inclinations in his first marriage, the whole debacle might have been avoided.

But the central argument is the one advanced by John of Leyden:

'Better several wives than several whores.' He had been repeatedly urged to desist from immorality, but the whole point of the marriage was to enable him to stop fornicating. Had he taken another whore, he would have been left in peace. But, because he fell in love with a girl and married her, he is being bounded and deserted. How can be be pilloried for following the example of the Patriarchs, including the pious Abraham?

He realizes that his conduct may cause offence, but he is not prepared to spare others' feelings at the cost of his own salvation. 'Oh, would to God', he cries Luther, 'that you and your colleagues would chastise such vices as adultery and drunkenness not merely in word and speech but also in fact.'

He is horrified at the prospect of Luther revoking the Deliberation. 'Oh God, dear Doctor Luther,' he writes, 'what are we coming to ... when excellent people suffer a falling off for fear of other scholars, ... and even only of the world.... If you can answer for the marriage before God, why such fear as regards the world?' His action was Christian, and, if the theologians think otherwise, they should not have lent it their moral sanction by attending the ceremony.

The most that he will promise is to maintain his previous line of equivocation. But he will not lie. Let them crucify him if they will. If the situation becomes intolerable, he will publish the Deliberation and fight for what he regards as a perfectly legitimate marriage. As for the Elector, his delegates should be informed that he (Philip) will no longer act as a Captain of the Protestant cause and that they should withdraw from all negotiations with France for a grand alliance against the Emperor, and take precipitate leave - pretexting urgent business at home. The break was complete, although apearances were saved.

The Eisenach Conference marked a turning point in Philip's relations with the Protestant movement. He had always threatened to turn to the Emperor if his brothers in the faith refused to stand by him. Now they had abandoned him. In July (probably immediately after he learned of the result of the Conference), he drafted a plan of reconciliation; in September it was put into effect. Negotilations between the Landgrave's ambassadors and the Imperial Secretary dragged on, till at last (in January of the following year) Philip demanded a straight reply to the proposals and obtained (on the 24th of that month) a written pardon from the Emperor and a safe conduct to the Imperial Diet at Regensburg for which he set out on 1 February. In return, he made a number of far-reaching political concessions. Under the terms of the agreement, Philip undertook to exclude France and any other non-German power from the Protestant Alliance (the League of Schmalkalden). This move decisively altered the balance of power in Europe in favour of the Emperor - and most historians trace the decline of Protestantism as a political force in Europe back to this agreement.

Philip's defection was not the end of Luther's troubles. The bigamy offered Catholic pamphleteers too good an opportunity of ridiculing and vilifying their opponents. And a steady stream of scurrility poured out, attacking Philip and his Munsterite ways'. The Landgrave, with his militant convictions, could not resist the urge to reply. For his defence, he turned to his specialist on polygamy, an ex-Carthusian called Lening. This preacher had already composed more than a score of briefs on the subject, including fifteen for the Eisenach Conference and several to set Margarete's conscience at ease. He is not reported as having actually put his theories into practice, but for him monogamy was far from monotonous. He maltreated his first wife, and then, when her sufferings were ended, married, at the ripe age of eighty, one of Margarete's maids.

In response to this latest appeal by Philip, Lening surpassed himself and produced what is the first full-scale apologia for polyamy in Europe, the Dialogus Neobuli which, despite its Latin title, was written in German. Philip meant to ensure that his point of view was placed within the reach of the literate public and not just of a learned elite!

The book is, as the title indicates, in the form of a discussion between a supporter of plural marriage and an opponent. It is a remarkable work. 'In spite of its involved sentences and repetitious mode of argument', says one critic, 'the Dialogue is written with great skill, so as to make bigamy [or rather polygamy] appear not only right, but, if that is admitted, attractive.' The work is far too long to analyse. The essence of the argument is that polygamy is not contrary to divine, natural, canonical or Imperial law. Opposition to it has come solely from a perverted view of marriage as something evil in itself and a desire to be holier than God Himself. Polygamy, Lening concludes, would alleviate the prevailing immorality and help to drive back the Turks who were then pressing on the south-east flank of Europe. Polygamy was not of course to be made obligatory. It was only for those who felt a calling, as men in the Middle Ages had responded to a vocation for celibacy.

The book was referred to Bucer for his comments, and he not only examined it, but 'corrected and improved it a little', as he admitted. Indeed, as late as 1900, he was credited with having written it. He did, however, try to restrain the Landgrave from publishing it, but the most that he could achieve was that the work be distributed privately -in mid-August 1541.

For Philip's missionary zeal in the cause of polygamy was unabated. He took the clergy to task for faintheartedness when they remonstrated with him. 'If', he wrote to Melanchthon, 'we, you, Luther and others suffer death, yet there will be found people who more godly and trusting than we who will accept this solution which is not forbidden by God and is free and permissible.'

Far from contemplating martyrdom in the cause of polygamy, the Lutheran clergy was outraged at Lening's book. Luther had to persuade a friend of his, Justus Menius, to hold back a counterblast to the Dialogue, but Luther himself castigated the author as a garrulous fool. He also composed a refutation of which one of the milder passages reads: 'Whoever follows this idiot and his book and thereupon takes more than one wedded wife, and desires his action to be regarded as righteous - may the devil bury him in the abyss of hell.'

But Luther in his turn was restrained by the Elector from publishing his work. After a long estrangement, Philip and the Reformer finally met. The discussion was remarkably cordial, Luther merely criticized Lening's book for having used too many arguments of unequal force, rather than a few really sound ones. And Philip thereupon withdrew as many copies of the Dialogue from circulation as he could.

Somehow, the wounds healed and the scandal died down. An open break between the Landgrave and the Protestant Church was avoided, and the issue of polygamy was shelved. (The fact that Philip soon afterwards took his troops into battle for the Protestant cause, and suffered defeat and imprisonment at the hands of the Emperor no doubt helped to reconcile the former hostile allies.) It was not till well on in the seventeenth century that the Wittenberg Deliberation and the other documents on the bigamy were published by the great French Catholic controversialist, Bossuet, and used to devastating effect in his Variations of the Protestant Church (1688).

Nowadays, the whole episode leaves most readers unmoved, if not unamused. Old Testament polygamy has long ceased to be of interest. And Philip's bigamy is mainly interesting as an illustration of the eternal conflict between the crusader who puts principles above everything else and the lets the realist who lets practical considedrations weigh heavily in the scales. But, if Luther

showed great statesmanlike qualities in his handling of the affair, it is Philip who comes out of it most creditably, if the moral issues alone are examined.

He had scored a very shrewd hit by insisting on the revolutionary character of priestly marriage, introduced by the Reformation. If, he asked, it should suddenly be possible to overthrow such a firmly established institution as the celibacy of the clergy, why should the institution of bigamy be a priori excluded? The only effective answer would have been that polygamy is condemned by Christian doctrine. This is the reply which most Protestant thinkers (such as Calvin) have been stamped unequivocally as a radical or a heretic. But this was a stand that Luther and his colleagues never took - and for very good reasons. They could not. They themselves did not believe that polygamy was against divine or natural law. They took their stand solely on grounds of expediency.

Luther, it is true, had curious views on a number of subjects, including sex. 'Had God consulted me,' he wrote, 'I would have advised Him to propagate the species by fashioning human beings out of clay, the way Adam was created.' However, sexual activity was an essential part of life (though sinful), like eating and drinking. Luther even alleged that Jesus had probably committed adultery with Mary Magdalene and other women in order to partake fully of the nature of man.

But the main reason for his indulgence to polygamy had little direct connection with sex. His attitude stemmed from a problem that had faced the Church from the beginning - how to defend certain acts of the patriarchs which were of questionable morality when judged by Christian ethics. The Manichaeans (an early Christian sect), for example, had laid it down that Abraham was not a Christian since he was guilty of sensuality in his conjugal relations. Saint Augustine immediately sprang to his defence. Abraham, he argued, had lived more chastely with his several wives than most men in monogamy, and in any case polygamy in his time was the custom, and hence no sin. Luther took the same line. For him, Abraham was the first Christian 'and more important than all the Popes together'. His morals had to be stoutly defended. And so, right from the start, Luther lays it down that polygamy is not wrong in itself, and definitely preferable to divorce. He was never to diverge from this position.

He had frequently occasion to pronounce on the question himself Early in 1525, a pastor called Karlstadt sponsored a request from one of his congregation for permission to take a second wife, since his first one was a leper. Luther replied that the man's confessor must first give his permission. He himself could not forbid such a marriage, but he would not advise it either. What was permissible must often be sacrificed for the general good. In 1526, Philip, who was even then looking for a way out of his marriage troubles, asked Luther whether polygamy was permissible in principle. The reply ran that no Christian should have more than one wife, because that would give offence, and because there was no positive word from God suggesting that polygamy be revived. Heathens and Turks might do as they pleased. True, some of the patriarchs had been polygamous, but it was because they had a definite reason (such as the need for progeny). A Christian, before adopting polygamy, must first have a calling from God. Plural marriages, therefore, were to be rejected except in case of extreme need. Philip did not insist, and the matter was dropped for the time being.

A little later, Luther admitted (contrary to the doctrine of the Catholic church) that polygamous converts had been admitted into the early church.

His convictions were put to the test when, in 1531 he was asked by one of Henry VIII's agents whether that king could regard his marriage with Catherine of Aragon as void - the annulment of his marriage being an essential precondition of wedding Anne Boleyn and having a male heir. Most of the theological authorities consulted (many for interested reasons) agreed that he could repudiate his queen. Luther - as well as bucer and Melanchthon - took the opposite view, and advised him to keep Catherine but take a second wife. 'I would allow the King', wrote Luther, 'to take another queen

in accordance with the examples of the patriarchs of old who had two wives at the same time.'

Melanchthon was equally favourable to this course. 'Henry', he opined, 'could try to obtain a male heir without any peril to his conscience or to anyone else's by a second marriage.' He would not, however, concede polygamy to all. And he added the piquant observation that the Pope would, in his view, accord the necessary dispensation 'as an act of love'. If such permission were refused, Henry should disregard the Pope's ban and take a second wife notwithstanding.

Bucer joined his voice to those of his fellow Reformers. Bigamy, which had been practised by the patriarchs, could not be denied to Christians in modern times. It was in accordance with the law of Moses and did not offend against decency.

Philip was well aware that these pronouncements formed a very strong card in his hand. His brief to Bucer goes over the familiar Biblical propositions from which, he was certain, Luther could not dissent. There were the patriarchs who walked (unreproved for their numerous wives) with God, the absence of a ban on polygamy in the New Testament (despite the long list of things forbidden to new converts), the injunction in Timothy that a bishop should have only one wife (and hence that others might have more). And later he was to draw the conculsion from the situation as to the early converts. If it is possible for a Christian to keep his many wives a man can

be a Christian and take more than one wife.'

If it makes effective play with the Reformers' opinions on Henry VIII's submission. If that King could be allowed a second marriage, why not he? Admittedly, Henry needed a male heir to avoid civil war. But he, Philip, would suffer damnation unless he was helped to put a stop to his sins by a second marriage. And were not spiritual matters more deserving of care than mere worldly issues such as the stability of the English government?

And so, when Bucerlearned of the Landgrave's proposal, he found

it difficult to resist, not only on political, but also on theological

grounds. The Reformer subjected himself to a long examination of

conscience, the results of which are recorded in a work (not published

till 1878) which sets out the arguments for polygamy and those

against. The nub of this exhaustive dissertation is that polygamy

should be left to the individual conscience. Like marriage, it is a remedy against fornication. Each case must be judged according to its need, and, for Bucer, there was little doubt, in the light of Philip's sad tale of spiritual and physical woes, that the Landgrave's need was real and justified.

Luther and Melanchthon were equally vulnerable to Philip's theological arguments. They were in the dilemma where the poor heart would fain deny but dare not. The agonies stemming from their hesitation are visible at almost every turn in the Wittenberg Deliberation. The document agrees that polygamy (though inferior to the ideal of monogamy laid down in the Bible) was allowed under the Mosaic Law, and was not forbidden in the New Testament. It is permissible in the case of a man with a leper wife or of a captive who badly needs to be looked after. Provided that the approval of the confessor is forthcoming, therefore, a dispensation may also be given in cases of extreme need. But all this does not alter the rule of outward life, and there can be no question of a general introduction of bigamy. Hence, to avoid offence, the dispensation in Philip's case must be secret.

Small wonder that Luther found it difficult to defend his position at the Eisenach Conference. All he could muster by way of theological argument was that his earlier writings should not be regarded as infallible, and that he was learning every day. Who could say what he would change next in his theories? Paul had said: 'Let every man have his own wife', and there were no examples of polygamy in the New Testament. Luther was usually more cogent than this.

The truth is that the Deliberation was taken on political, not doctrinal grounds, and Luther knew it. The same considerations had prevailed when he advised Henry VIII to take another wife (though his horror of divorce was genuine enough). That approval, as he was later to put it, was accorded because bigamy was more tolerable than a situation in which both country and people would be torn asunder in civil war. Luther was at that point in time not so concerned about the possible extension of bigamy to the lower orders. The Munsterite rebellion lay in in the future. And besides, England was a foreign country, and a Catholic one at that (since Henry had not yet broken with the Pope), so that there was no danger of the King going over to the other side.

For Bucer, political considerations - those of status in particular - were just as important as for Luther. Latitude for bigamy, he wrote, 'as the Scriptures show, is accorded more generously to Kings than to others ... and hence should be refused least of all to great lords'.

The decision was political, too, in Philip's case. If he were not given his way, he would defect to the Emperor and work against the Reformation. 'It was', said Luther, 'an emergency that could only be patched up with the help of Moses [i.e., of the Mosaic law]'. But the threat was a serious one only because of the Landgrave's power and rank. Luther was far less forthcoming to the anonymous but humble petitioner of 1525 afflicted with a leper wife. Conversely, he was shocked to learn that Philip had committed bigamy with

lady-in-waiting and not a simple peasant girl.

There is no need to veil one's face at the Reformer's recognition of the power of social hierarchy in the sixteenth century. He was merely taking account, as any statesman should, of the dominant forces at work. In particular, he dreaded the impact of a bigamous marriage contracted by someone of Philip's standing. 'The actions of princes', quoted the Deliberation rightly, 'cause more of a stir than those of private persons.' Others, down to 'the veriest clodhopper', would seek to copy such a prestigious example. There is no mystery as to the ideas guiding Luther's policy in the whole affair. He was obsessed by the danger to social stability inherent in peasant revolts such as the risings of the 'twenties when he had urged on the German rulers to hunt down 'the mad dogs' and suppress the revolt in a river of blood. And more recently (and even more pertinently) there was the visionary Munsterite Kingdom in which polygamy had formed a diabolical adjunct to the wildest social radicalism. If, as Bucer explicitly feared, popular agitation were to find leaders in the nobles eager to introduce polygamy, a match would be set to a powder barrel which might blow up the whole of Germany. And, had Bucer's nightmare been realized, the whole evolution of European mores would have been utterly different.

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