Eschatology means
1
: a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world or of humankind
2
: a belief concerning death, the end of the world, or the ultimate destiny of humankind; specifically : any of various Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment.
We don’t think of Luther being a guy who thought a lot about the end of the world but that is a false assumption. Luther saw all of life and faith, death and unbelief in terms of the end of days. He saw the Muslim attacks upon Christianity in his day as a sign of the end. He believed that Islam is the “little horn” in Daniel 7 and he had practical beliefs about how politicians and rulers should approach Islam’s hatred of Christianity.
From the prophecy of Daniel 7, Luther believed that there were three theological and political realities that shaped his entire perspective on Islam: (1) it would never conquer European Christianity; (2) it would never be conquered by European Christianity; and (3) it would always oppress Christianity militarily. These details taken as a whole gave the “Turk” (the term used back in the day of the Ottoman Empire) a unique role as a temporal scourge in the hand of God to work repentance and to purify the Christian church. This role was meant to encourage Christians to witness to Christ in Word and deed and show mercy to all as a working out of faith in life.
I found this last bit if information in –
LUTHER’S ESCHATOLOGY AND THE TURKS by NICHOLAS D. PROKSCH, BETHANY LUTHERAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
2010 INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON MEDIEVAL STUDIES, KALAMAZOO, MI
