280 Paradoxes (1690) - Page 10

Three horizontal woodcut ornaments: two foliate emblems flanking a central rosette, positioned above a solid horizontal rule.

The Scripture is a closed book with seven seals. This is a reference to Revelation 5:1. Sebastian Franck, like many radical reformers, believed the Bible remains locked and incomprehensible until Christ, through the Spirit, opens the "seals" within the reader's heart.

The letter of Scripture is the sword of the

Antichrist; it kills Christ. original Latin: "Litera Scripturæ, Antichristi gladius, occidit Christum."

The letter of Scripture, the Antichrist’s sword, kills

Christ. Franck argues that when the Bible is used purely as a set of rules or external laws (the "letter"), it destroys the living, spiritual presence of Christ in the believer.

Scripture without light, life, and the

interpreter of the spirit, is a dark

lantern, and a killing letter. original Latin: "Scriptura sine luce, vita & interprete spiritus, obscura lucerna, & occidens litera." This draws on 2 Corinthians 3:6: "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Scripture is, without the light, life, and interpretation of the Spi-

rit, a dead letter, and a

dark lantern.

Heresies and sects arise from the sectarian