"Another Franciscan, the mysterious Friar Melchor, was a converso, as were most of the Illuminists.
He spent his youth at the English court, where he had his first experiences of revelations from on high. As a result of divine inspiration, he decided to go to north Africa to convert the Moors.
Stopping off in Spain, he met Maria de Santo Domingo, whose
visions confirmed his hopes of converting the Saracens to the true faith. Other beatas also encouraged his good work: in Toledo, Maria de la Cruz quoted certain miraculous words about him from one of her visions; in the region of Salamanca, a humble woman named Francisca [Hernandez?] full of the spirit of God, gave him many testimonies of his chosen calling.
Thinking to further his work through the religious orders, Melchor became a Franciscan, but soon aroused the animosity of his brethren.
Proclaiming himself to be an instrument of God and scolding his fellow friars in the same language which Paul used with the Sanhedrin,
he prophesied the immediate future in catastrophic detail.
--By 1517 a series of miraculous events would transpire.--The Roman Empire would be destroyed.
--The rulers of Europe would die and their kingdoms would disappear.
--The See of Saint Peter would be thrown down and all the clergy, including the Pope, would be beheaded.
--The Church would be removed to its ancient seat in Jerusalem, where all men would live freely in the promised land of milk and honey.
All this would be accomplished without violence because Melchor, God's chosen instrument for this work, scorned human force and was sustained only by divine virtue.
By the year 1517, when these events were scheduled to take place, Friar Melchor had disappeared from view, his prophecies long since forgotten."
Luther'sGhostInSpain/JohnLonghurst
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