by Jean Meslier
13) Jesus Christ[394] said that he would be seen descending from heaven and that he would be seen coming in the clouds of heaven with a great Power and Majesty, that he would send his angels who, with the mighty sound of a trumpet, would gather all the elect from the four corners of the world, and from one end of heaven to the other, that the sun would go dark, that the stars would fall from the sky, and that then all the nations on earth would despair at this misfortune, and he claimed that all these things would happen soon after, that is, during the very lives of those men who then lived. “Verily,” he told his disciples[395], “I have told you that this generation will not pass but all these things will happen.” And on another occasion, this is what he said to his disciples: “Verily, I tell you, that some of you present here will not die without seeing the Kingdom of God coming in power, and seeing the coming of the Son of Man into his kingdom[396].” That couldn’t be more direct, and it should have happened shortly after it was said. But it’s obvious that no such thing came about. Now, so many generations have come and gone since then, and none of those who should have seen the fulfilment of this prophecy are still alive, nearly 2000 years later; and thus, it’s no less clear that this prophecy wasn’t fulfilled, than that it’s completely false.
14) Jesus Christ said[397] that, when he was raised from the earth, he would draw all things to himself, i.e., as our Christ-cultists say, he would draw all men to himself, i.e., to his knowledge and love. This word is far from turning out to be true, since the number of those who know and worship him is almost nothing in comparison with those who don’t know or serve him. If it’s claimed that these words are true enough, since he has drawn to himself people of all ages, sexes, and conditions, this is a vain interpretation, since any impostor could make the same boast.
15) It is said that[398], similarly, death came by a single man, and so likewise the resurrection and justification will come by a single man; that just as all men die in Adam, they will all be raised in Jesus Christ. It is predicted and proclaimed, as a mystery of divine faith[399], that all the dead will resurrect to be immortal, and that this mortal body must be dressed in immortality, and it is said that God[400] would make new Heavens and a new Earth, in which justice would dwell. All those promises and predictions are clearly false, since they turn out to have no effect, nor any likelihood; it’s said with that, that God doesn’t delay in his promises, but how long must we wait when He defers the execution of things which should be done for many thousands of years?
16) Finally, the advent[401] and birth of Jesus Christ are spoken of as the advent and birth of he in whom God would fulfil all the fine and advantageous promises that He had made to the ancient Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, this is also why Mary, his mother, thinking herself pregnant with a wholly divine child, in which God would display the extraordinary wonders of His Omnipotence, rejoiced within, and glorified the Lord, saying that He had performed great things in her, that He would reveal the power of His arm, to bring to naught the evil designs of the proud and haughty, to knock the Monarchs off their Thrones and raise the humble in their place; that He was going to lavish blessings on those who were hungry and in famine, those who lived in abundance, and that finally He would watch over the people of Israel, His servant, remembering His mercy, which He had promised to their Father Abraham and his posterity forever… And Zachariah[402], the High Priest, said on the same subject:
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has come to visit and redeem His people, and has raised up among us a mighty savior, in the house of His servant David, as He had promised by the mouth of His holy prophets, who lived in past ages, to deliver us from the power of our enemies and the hand of all those who hate us, in order to exercise His mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His holy Covenant, according to the oath He swore to our father Abraham, that He would do us this favor, so that, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, we would serve Him without fear, walking before Him in holiness and righteousness, all the days of our lives[403].
That is also why Paul the Apostle, preaching the faith of Jesus Christ to the Jews of Antioch, told them:
It is to you, my brothers, who are the children of the race of Abraham, that the word of salvation is addressed; we proclaim the effect of the promise that He made to our Fathers; it’s to us, their children, that God has shown the event itself, by resurrecting Jesus Christ. Know then, my brothers, he told them, that it’s by him[404], that is, by Jesus Christ, that I proclaim to you the forgiveness of sins and the remission of all things, of which you were unable to be justified by the law of Moses; whoever believes in him is justified.
And Jesus Christ himself, speaking to his Apostles on the subject of his coming, told them that[405] all that had been said of him in the law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms was fulfilled, and that the repentance and remission of sins was preached in his name, among all nations. And it was with respect to this supposed fulfilment of the promises that he himself proclaimed and commanded his disciples to proclaim[406] everywhere the soon coming of the kingdom of heaven, meaning by this kingdom of heaven the fulfilment of all these fine and magnificent promises, which he believed had been made by God to their ancient fathers; by which it is evident that the coming and birth of Jesus Christ were seen in those dimes, at least by his disciples, as the coming of he who would fulfil all these fine promises, which are supposed to have been made by God to the ancient Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That is also why this disciple once asked him whether he would be reestablishing their kingdom of Israel soon, Domine si de tempore hoc restitues regnum Israel[407].
29. THE VANITY AND FALSENESS OF THE SPIRITUAL, ALLEGORICAL, AND MYSTICAL SENSES THAT THE CHRIST-CULTISTS GIVE TO THEIR SO-CALLED HOLY SCRIPTURES AND TO THE PROMISES AND PROPHECIES IN THEM.
But, it’s obvious that He has not fulfilled the promises mentioned above, and that their fulfillment never took place in him; this is easy to demonstrate, by comparing what is said in the above-mentioned promises with what Jesus Christ was and what he did. The promises specifically state, as I noted earlier, that God would make an everlasting covenant with the people of Israel, which is now the Jewish people, that when He scattered this people among all the nations of the Earth as punishment their sins, He would deliver them from bondage, He would gather them from all across the world, wherever He had scattered them, and that, to this effect, He would send them His mighty liberator to deliver them, who would gather them from all the nations of the Earth, and who would lead them gloriously back into possession of their country, where they would faithfully serve their God forever, and where they would enjoy forever, in safety and peace, of all manner of blessings and felicity, without fear of being ever exposed to the insults of their enemies. These promises state clearly, as I’ve said, that the city of Jerusalem, which is the capital city of this nation, would be the holy city, the city chosen by God to establish the throne of his glory forever, and that for this purpose He would make it the finest, richest, more glorious, and most flourishing city on Earth. These promises have been repeated many times by the so-called prophets, who have predicted and proclaimed wonders on this subject, as I’ve also noted above, and, according to all these fine promises and predictions, the Jewish people should not be, not only freed from all servitude, but they should also be the holiest, most blessed, happiest, most powerful, most glorious, and the most triumphant of all the peoples on Earth, and the city of Jerusalem should currently be the most holy, most glorious, the happiest, richest and most triumphant city in the universe. And since it is obvious that none of all this is the case, and that none of it has occurred, and doesn’t seem to have happened since the birth and advent of Jesus Christ, any more than before his birth and advent, it is also obvious that the fulfillment of said promises took place neither in him, nor in anyone else, and that, consequently, it is obvious that said promises and prophecies are completely vain and false.
I know very well that our Christ-cultists consider it
vulgar to take the aforesaid promises and prophecies literally, as they are expressed, and think they’re being fine, subtle, and clever interpreters of the mind of their God, to set aside the natural and literal meaning of words, to give them their own meanings, which they call their “mystical” and “spiritual” sense, or the “allegorical” and “tropological”, saying, for example, that by the people of Israel and Judah, to whom these promises were made, actually means the Christians, who are, as they themselves claim, the Israel of God, that is, the true chosen people, for whom the fulfillment of the above-mentioned promises was reserved, for their fulfillment in a wholly spiritual and divine manner; that, by the deliverance promised to the people, to free them from the captivity of all their enemies, what is meant is not a physical deliverance of a single captive population, but the spiritual deliverance of all men from servitude to the Demon and sin, which was to come through Jesus Christ, their divine Savior, who delivered himself, as they say, for the salvation of all men; which are vain illusions and ridiculous interpretations.
That by the abundance of riches, property, and all manner of temporal felicity, which were promised to this people, we should understand the abundance of spiritual favors and blessings, which God communicates in the Christian Religion to holy souls, by the merits of Jesus Christ, their divine Savior. And finally, that by the city of Jerusalem, which is so favorably mentioned in these promises and prophecies, he meant not the earthly Jerusalem, but the spiritual Jerusalem, which is the Christian Church or the heavenly Jerusalem, which is Heaven itself, and which is, as our Christ-cultists say, the true dwelling-place of God, the very location of the throne of His glory and of His supreme majesty, the preeminent location of all possible blessings and happiness, which can ever be enjoyed, where nothing that is stained can enter, and where the truly Elect will be eternally blessed, no longer fearing any evil. And thus, according to this spiritual and mystical interpretation of the promises made to these ancient Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, when God promised to bless them and multiply their race and their posterity like the sand of the sea, or the particles of dust on the earth, this is only a figurative expression, by which He meant or would have it understood that He would bless and multiply the Christians, who were spiritually designated as this posterity of the ancient Patriarchs; when He promised to make an eternal and Covenant with them, this referred to the eternal and spiritual Covenant which He would make with the Christian Church, by giving them the Evangelical law, which would remain until the end of time. When He promised to them and all their posterity to give them a Redeemer, who would deliver them from all bondage and all misery, who would gather from all the countries in the world, where they would have been scattered and led captive, and who would lead them triumphantly back into possession of their lands and country of Canaan and Palestine, that was not meant literally, of a temporal Redeemer, but spiritually, of a redeemer who would deliver men from spiritual captivity to the Demon, to sin, that he would bring all of them to the knowledge of the true God, and not of a Redeemer, who would only deliver the Jewish people from their temporal captivity. And when He promised to make them enjoy an abundance of blessings in their country, after their deliverance, and promised them plenty of wheat, wine, oil, milk, honey, and all other goods, this meant, not the temporal goods of the earth, like wheat, wine, and other temporal wealth, but the spiritual riches of grace, which were represented by the temporal goods, and that the spiritual Savior of souls would bring to men, after having delivered them from their sins. What vain illusions and ridiculous interpretations. And, finally, when He promised to make the city of Jerusalem so holy, so rich, so abundant, so flourishing, and so happy; that referred, not to the earthly Jerusalem, but to the spiritual Jerusalem, which would be the Christian Church, or the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the true dwelling of God and the true abode of the blessed souls… And so on with all the other promises or prophecies which were given in favor of this people of Israel and in favor of their city of Jerusalem. Which promises or prophecies, being patently false in their natural sense, and our Christ-cultists being nevertheless unwilling to openly acknowledge their falsity, since their religion is based on these supposed promises and prophecies, they have been driven to apply a different meaning to them, in an effort to conceal their falsity and to find in them, if possible, some truth or other, which neither is nor ever will be in them.
But it is easy to see that this supposed allegorical sense is a sense that is alien, imaginary, and forged by the whim of the interpreters, which can in no way show the truth or falsehood of a proposition, promise, or prophecy, and it’s even ridiculous to forge spiritual senses in this way; for it is clear that it’s only with respect to the natural and true meaning of a proposition, promise, or prophecy, that its truth or falseness can be judged! A proposition, for example, a promise, or a prophecy which turns out to be true in the proper and natural sense of the terms in which it is conceived, won’t turn out false in itself, on the pretext of lending it a sense that is foreign to it, which it wouldn’t have had. Likewise, a proposition, a promise, or a prophecy which turns out manifestly false in the proper and natural sense of the terms in which it is conceived, cannot become true in itself on the pretext of giving it a foreign sense, one it never had. Thus, when there is, and when we find a clear and distinct sense in a speech, a promise, or a prophecy, a sense that is proper and natural to it, it’s an abuse and a folly to wish to forge extrinsic senses for it, in an effort to find truths or falsehoods for it, which don’t belong to it, and it is ridiculous, as I’ve said, to want to take away the truth of a clear sense, a proper and natural sense, in an effort to find a forged and imaginary sense for the sake of truths, which are only imaginary.
But this is exactly what our Christ-cultists do when they discard the proper and natural sense, and the true meanings of promises and prophecies, as I’ve just mentioned, and forge spiritual and mystical senses for them, which are certainly only imaginary, even ridiculously imaginary senses, for by leaving this, as our Christ-cultists do, the proper and natural sense of these prophecies and promises, they are setting aside the real and true sense, in favor of senses which are only imaginary and do nothing but establish new errors, to cover the old ones. I say that these spiritual and allegorical senses are only imaginary, since it truly depends only on the imagination of the interpreters to give them whatever spiritual and mystical sense they like; such that if it’s only about forging spiritual, allegorical, and mystical senses, to make promises or supposedly true prophecies, one might easily, by this means, verify all the falsest and most absurd of all, which would also be quite ridiculous to do.
Besides, to want to give different senses to supposedly divine promises or prophecies than what they clearly contain in themselves, is a temerity or a presumption which is insupportable in men, because this is to absolutely change, alter, and corrupt, and even destroy in a way, these promises and prophecies, it is, I say, to destroy them, at least to the extent that they would emanate from God, and still it is not claimed that the spiritual, allegorical, and mystical sense, that our Christ-cultists give them, are truly of God, or even the Prophets. For there is no claim that it is God Himself, or the Prophets, who said that they should be understood and interpreted spiritually, allegorically, and mystically, as our Christ-cultists do. Thus, it’s not our Christ-cultists themselves, who forge, as they like, or who have forged, as they’ve pleased, all these fine, supposedly spiritual, allegorical, and mystical senses, by which they vainly maintain and nurture the ignorance of the poor peoples; and thus, when they offer us, on one hand, the supposed promises and prophecies, as coming from God Himself, and then subsequently they explain them, not in their proper and natural sense, but in a forged and dubious sense, or an analogical or tropological sense, as they like to call them, it’s no longer the word of God that they’re offering and proposing with these senses; but only their own thoughts, their own whims, and the crude ideas of their false imaginations, and thus they deser
ve absolutely no attention. And what shows even better the illusory nature and the vanity of these supposed spiritual and mystical senses, is that there would be no sect or nations which couldn’t equally use these same pretended promises and prophecies in favor of their false Religion, like our Christ-cultists do in favor of theirs, if they wished, like them, to give them spiritual and mystical senses compatible with their own beliefs, their own mysteries: for anyone can invent and forge whatever they like, and apply them as they please to whatever they want, that only depends on the genius and imagination of those who want to give them these sorts of significations or interpretations.