Flip Flop View on Death: the Evil Spirit's inversion

"On our deathbed, it is neither fitting nor timely to brood over our sins; this we should do while we are living. But thus, the Evil Spirit turns everything upside down for us. While we are living and ought to have the picture of death, sin and hell constantly before our eyes he closes our eyes for us and hides these pictures. At death, when we should have only life, grace and salvation before our eyes, he opens our eyes for us first of all and then frightens us with untimely pictures to keep us from seeing the proper ones. " - Martin Luther, Weimar edition of Martin Luther’s complete works, 2 687

🔄 A Reversal of Vision

Luther is describing a spiritual inversion that often happens at the end of life. He says:

• During life, we should be mindful of sin, death, and hell—not to despair, but to live in repentance and dependence on grace.

• At death, we should be focused on life, grace, and salvation—the promises of Christ, not the weight of guilt.

But the Evil Spirit (Satan) flips this:

• He blinds us during life to the seriousness of sin and the reality of death.

• Then, at death, when we should be comforted by the gospel, he terrifies us with guilt and fear.

  
  

🕊️ Luther’s Pastoral Wisdom

Luther’s point is not to ignore sin, but to deal with it while we live, through confession, repentance, and faith. That way, when death comes, we’re not scrambling to make peace—we’re already resting in Christ’s finished work.

He’s warning against last-minute panic, and encouraging a life of daily preparation. It’s a call to live with spiritual clarity, so that death doesn’t catch us spiritually off-guard.