"By a strange inconsistency, Luther justified all wars of self-defense except those waged by subjects against tyrannical rulers. He unconditionally condemned rebellion and revolution. In referring to the peasants' revolt. ... To the soldiers who took the field against the peasants, he said: "If you die in battle against them, you could never have a more blessed end, for you die obedient to God's Word in Romans 13, and in the service of love to free your neighbor from the bands of hell and the devil.""