by Jean Meslier
“The faith,” he says, “of those who believe in me will be followed by all these miracles: they will cast our demons in my name, they will speak in unknown tongues, they will touch serpents without danger, and they will drink poison, which will do them no harm, and by laying their hands on the sick, they will make them healthy[329].”
Mary, the mother of Jesus said:
My soul glorifies the Lord, for He has deployed the power of His arm, He has ruined the plans that proud men formed in their hearts, He has brought down the monarchs from their Thrones and elevated the weak; He has heaped blessings on those who were pressed by hunger and reduced by famine those who lived in abundance; He has protected Israel His servant, remembering His mercy, as He promised to our Father Abraham, and all his posterity forever[330].
All these promises and prophecies are manifestly false, vain, and misleading.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He came to visit and seek His people, and He has raised up a mighty savior in the house of His servant David, as He promised with the mouth of holy Prophets in centuries past, to deliver us from the power of our enemies, and the hand of all those who hate us, to exercise mercy to our fathers, and to remember the Holy Covenant, according to the oath He gave to our father Abraham, that He would do us this favor, delivering us 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[331].
Now there was at that time in Jerusalem a just man who feared God, named Simeon, who awaited the consolation of Israel and to whom the Holy Spirit, which was in him, had revealed to him that he would see the Christ of the Lord before he died; therefore, he came into the temple by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, when the father and mother of the child Jesus had brought him there to fulfill the prescriptions of the Law, and he took him in his arms and blessed God, saying: “Now, Lord! you may allow your servant to die in peace, according to your word, for I have seen the Savior with my own eyes, whom you have destined to be shown to all the nations, to be the light to enlighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of your people Israel[332].”
“My Father has given all things to me”, he Jesus Christ once said to his disciples[333]. “When you are delivered before kings and governors or before judges, do not think,” he told them, “of what you will say or how you will say it, don’t worry about that at all, for at that time God will inspire you as to what you should say, for it is not you who are speaking,” he told them, “but it will be the spirit of your Father speaking through you[334]. ...I have prepared my kingdom for you,” he told them, “as my Father prepared it for me, so that you may eat and drink at my table, and so that you will sit on thrones to judge the 12 Tribes of Israel[335].”
It says in the Gospel of St. John that Jesus Christ has given to those who have received him the power or the ability to become the children of God to all those who believe in him, who are born neither of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but who are born of God[336]. “Verily, verily,” said Jesus Christ, “I tell you that you will see the heavens opened, and angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man[337]. The time is coming,” he said, “and has already come, when you will no longer worship the Father on this mountain, or in Jerusalem[338]. Verily, verily,” he said, “I tell you, that he who hears my word and believes in him that sent me, has eternal life, he will not be condemned, but he has passed from death to life. Verily, verily,” he continued, “I tell you that the time will come and has even now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and that those who hear will have life. Marvel not,” he said, “for the hour is coming then all those who are in the grave will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who have done good will resurrect to possess life, and those who have done evil, will resurrect for their condemnation[339].” All these promises and prophecies are manifestly vain and misleading.
“The will of my Father, who sent me,” he said, “is for anyone who knows the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day[340].” He adds: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. Verily, verily,” he added, “I tell you, that whoever believes in me has eternal life. I am,” he said, “the bread of life[341].” On the final day of the Great Feast, Jesus, standing in the public square, cried aloud: “if any be thirsty, let them come to me and drink; streams of living water will burst from the guts of those who believe in me[342]. I am the light of the world,” he said; “he who follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life[343].”
“My father and I are one[344],” he said; “I am the resurrection and the life;” he said, “he who believes in me will live, though he is dead, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die[345].” “Verily, verily,” he said to his disciples, you will weep and lament and the world rejoice, you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will change into joy; you are now in sorrow, but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice and none will take your joy from you[346].” “When I am raised up from the earth,” he said, “I will draw all things to me[347].” “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there, looking up? This Jesus, who had gone up to Heaven from among you, will descend in the same way as you have seen him rising[348]”.
We too,” said the Apostle to the peoples, “proclaim the effect of the promise, which was made to our fathers, it’s to us, who are their children, that God has shown the realization thereof, by resurrecting Jesus[349]”. “Just as death came through a man, so the resurrection will come through a man: and, as in Adam all die, so will all live again in Jesus Christ, each will appear in due order, Jesus Christ first, then those who are his own: and the end will come, when Jesus Christ delivers his kingdom into the hands of God his Father, when he will have put an end to every principality, all power, and all virtue, for he must reign until all his enemies have been reduced under his feet, by order of his Father[350].
“I will show you a mystery," said St. Paul, “which is, that we will all rise again, but we would not be all changed instantaneously, in the blink of an eye, at the sound of the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, then all the dead will rise to immortality, and then we will be changed, for this mortal and corruptible body must be clothed in immortality and when it is thus dressed, death will be utterly destroyed[351].”
As this Apostle says:
If anyone is in Jesus Christ, he is a new creature; all that was the old is gone away, all has been made new, and all things come from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, for God was in Jesus Christ, reconciling to Himself the world and not imputing men’s sins to them. There is no longer Jew nor Greek, nor free nor slave, no men or women, but you are all one body in Jesus Christ; that if you are in Jesus Christ, then you are the children of Abraham and his heirs, according to the promise[352]. Jesus Christ has given grace, giving some Apostles, others Prophets, others Evangelists, and others Pastors and Doctors, to perfect the saints, until we come to the unity of the Faith and the knowledge of the Son of God[353].
All these promises and prophecies are obviously vain and deceptive.
And St. Peter said:
The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promises, as some imagine, but He waits patiently out of love to you, wishing that none should perish, but that all should be converted to him by repentance[354]. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, when least expected, then the heavens will pass away suddenly; the heat of the fire will melt the elements, the earth, and the works it contains will all be consumed… we also hope, according to His promises, for new heavens and a new earth, where justice will dwell[355].
St. John the Apostle says:
Whoever believes in the Son of God, bears within him the testimony of God; this testimony consists in the fact that God has given us eternal life, and this life in his Son. He who has the Son has life, and he who does not have the Son, has no life. There are three in heaven,
who give testimony that Jesus Christ is the truth: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit and these three are the same thing. And three give the same testimony on earth: spirit, water, and blood, and these three are the same thing[356].
“All things,” said St. Paul, “happened to them, (i.e., the Jews) as a type of what was to happen among us, who find ourselves at the end of the ages[357]. Your patience is required”, he said, “if you would enjoy the effect of God’s promises. A little more time,” he adds, “and who is coming, will come, and he will not delay.[358]”
The Revelation, or the vision of Jesus Christ, which he received from God to show His servants what must happen to them soon, for the time is near. Behold, I come soon: hold to what you have, lest your crown be given to another[359]. The 4 animals and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb; each having harps and gold vases filled with perfumes, which are the first of the Saints, and they sang a new song, saying: “Lord, you are worthy to receive the book and to open its seals, for you have suffered death and you have redeemed for God, by your blood, those of all Tribes, languages, and nations, and you have made us kings and priests to our God, and made us rulers on earth[360].
The angel swore by He who lives in the aeons, that time would be no more[361]. The seventh angel sounded the trumpet and loud voices were heard in the sky, saying: “the kingdom of this world is acquired for our Lord and His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever[362].
I saw another Beast, which rose to the land and had two crowns, like those of the lamb, who which spoke like the dragon, wielding all the power of the first beast in its presence, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first Beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. The miracles it performed were so great that it even brought heaven down to earth, in the sight of men. It seduced the inhabitants of the earth by its miracles, commanding the inhabitants of the earth to set up an image of the Beast, who did not die of its sword-wounds. It was even granted the power to make the image of the beast breathe, and it gave words to this image, to make it condemn to death those who refused to worship the image of the Beast[363].
All these fine prophecies are manifestly vain and deceptive.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had vanished, and there was more sea. I saw the holy city and the new Jerusalem, which came from God and descended from heaven, prepared and adorned like a bride who was prepared to receive her husband; at the same time I heard a loud voice from the Throne, saying: “This is the Tabernacle, where God will dwell with men; they will be His people and God Himself will be their God, God will wipe every tear from their eyes, there will be no more death, nor groans, nor crying, nor pain, for what was is now gone!” Then he who was seated on the throne said: “I make all things new”, and said: “Write, for these words are very faithful and very true.” The angel carried me away in the spirit, and showed me the holy city of Jerusalem, which descended from heaven and came from God. It was dressed in the light of God, and its light was like a precious stone, like jasper, clear as crystal... its walls were made of jasper stones, the city itself was of pure gold... the 12 gates were 12 pearls; the city’s plaza was pure gold. Beside which, I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord Almighty was the Temple thereof[364].
The angel also showed me its river flowing with living water, which came from the Throne of God and the Lamb. In the city square was the tree of life, which bore 12 fruits, and which gave new fruit each month, and the leaves of the tree healed the nations. There will no longer be any curse there, but the throne of God and the Lamb will be there, and His servants will serve Him, they will see His face, and they will have His name written on their foreheads; there will be no more night, and they will not require any lamps, or sunlight, for the Lord will give light to them and they will reign for ever and ever… I, Jesus, have sent my angel to you, to testify of these things in the Churches. I am he who came from the root of the blood of David, I am the bright star which appears in the morning[365].
And several other similar visions, revelations, prophecies or promises can be found in the so-called holy and sacred books of what is called the New Testament, but it would take too long to share all of them here. But there is not one of these supposed prophecies, visions, revelations, and promises, which is not absolutely false, or vain, or even silly or absurd. And it is easy to show their vanity and falsehood.
Firstly, it is said that the Christ will deliver his people from their sins, but there is no discernible mark in any people of this supposed deliverance, since they have always been as they are now, equally subject to all sorts of vices and sins, and equally enslaved to their worst drives, as any other people, and that they are no less vice-ridden, as they might have been before this supposed deliverance and before the coming of their supposed Redeemer or Savior. And in this sense, it is evident that they are have not been delivered from their vices and sins, and it is therefore evident that the promise or prophecy is false, since it has not proved to be true. If it’s said that this deliverance is not meant in this sense, but that it only means the deliverance from the eternal penalties and punishments that men deserve and would have deserved for their sins; and that Jesus Christ has effectively delivered them from this penalty by the infinite merits of his death and passion. To this I respond: 1) That if that were the prophecy or promise regarding the alleged issue, then it shouldn’t be said that he would deliver his people from their sins; but that he would deliver them from the punishments or the penalties they would have merited or that they would merit for their sins. When some Lord, for example, wants or wanted to redeem some criminal or other who deserved the death penalty, we wouldn’t think it proper to say that this Lord had delivered them from their vices and wickedness, since their vices and wickedness might still remain intact, but instead it would be said that he had delivered them from the gallows or the wheel which they had coming, since they would have actually been hanged or punished if he hadn’t redeemed them.
Similarly, it would not, it seems, be right to say that the Christ would deliver his people from their sins, if he was going to leave them forever in their vices and sins, and if he should only redeem them from the eternal penalty, that they earned with their sins, for it’s not truly to deliver anyone from a vice, to deliver them only from the penalty they would have merited for their vice. When a doctor heals patients, and heals, for example, those who had fevers, or pleurisy. But it is also sure that as far as they are not free of their illnesses, it can’t truly be said that he delivered them from their illnesses, since they would still have them. Likewise, as long as men are or will be subject to them, as they are, to their vices and sins, it can’t really be said that they were delivered of them, and consequently the prophecy or promise which states that the Christ will deliver his people from their sins, turning out to be untrue, it is obviously false, or else another Christ must be awaited, to see whether he will more truly deliver men from their vices and sins. It would be very desirable for one to actually come, who could do such a favor and give such a blessing to men as to truly deliver them from all their vices, instead of truly delivering them from the tyranny of the princes and the powerful; for they have a great need to be delivered from these despicable evils. And as confirmation that this supposed deliverance from sins is what is meant, as I’ve said, we have the fact that it is said in many other similar promises or prophecies, that they will all be saints and that none of them will commit iniquity, or will utter lies ever again. Besides, if this supposedly divine savior had intended to grace men with such a favor as to deliver them from their sins, he would at the same time have made them all holy, wise, and virtuous; for it’s not credible that he would have meant to leave them just as enslaved and guilty of their vices and sins as they were before: he would have truly delivered from all their nasty wickedness, and would truly have made all of them pure and clean and saintly, otherwise this supposed deliverance would have been worthless to them, since they would still be just as ensla
ved and guilty of their vices and sins as they were before. But the first Christians didn’t claim that, they believed they truly were delivered and cleansed of all the filth of sin: this is why they all called themselves saints, sanctified, and beloved of God, as is evident in the Epistles of their great Mirmadolin Paul: Omnibus qui sunt Romae dilectis Dei vocatis, sanctis. Rom. 1: 7. Sanctificatis in Christo Jesu, vocatis sanctis. 1 Cor. 1:2. Ecclesiae quae est Corinthi cum omnibus sanctis qui sunt in Achaia. 2 Cor. 1:1. Omnibus sanctis qui sunt Ephesi. Eph. 1. Omnibus sanctis qui sunt. Philippis. Phil. 1. Christus dilexit ecclesiam et se ipsum tradidit pro ea, ut illam santificaret mundans lavacro aquae in verbo vitae, ut exhiberet ipse sibi gloriosam non habentem maculam aut rugam aut aliquid hujusmodi, sed ut sancta et immaculata. Eph. 5:25, i.e., as St. Paul says, that “Jesus Christ loved the Church, giving himself up for her, in order to sanctify, purifying it in the waters of baptism, with the word of God, and make it glorious, sinless, and without a wrinkle, without defect, but holy and undefiled. Also see Titus 1:14… Which clearly shows that all of our Christ-cultists should be holy, pure, and unstained by sin, and thus as claimed, their divine savior should have delivered them from their sins. But this is patently false, and hence this promise and prophecy is clearly vain and false.
