PAGAN ORIGIN OF THE DOCTRINE OF A GENERAL JUDGMENT AT THE END OF THE
WORLD.
THE Church of Rome and the other Partialist Christian Churches profess
to believe that, at the end of the world, a general judgment of all the
then living, and of all the dead, shall take place. When, in the
sixteenth century, the great Protestant scission took place, the new
Churches formed preserved this doctrine of the Church of Rome, with only
accessory modifications; and since that time they have professed it;
even now-a-days they cling to it. We shall prove in this chapter that
the origin of this doctrine is Pagan.
The origin of the doctrine of a general judgment of all the then living
and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end of the world, is
Pagan, 1st, If the Pagans held the doctrine of a general judgment of all
the then living and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end
of the world; 2d, If there is a striking similarity between the
particulars of the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the
Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the Church
of Rome, and by the other Partialist Christian Churches; 3d, If the
Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a general judgment from the
apostles of Jesus Christ; and, 4th, If the Church of Rome did not hold
this doctrine from the Jews.
But, 1st, The Pagans held the doctrine of a general judgment of all the
then living and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end of
the world; 2d, There is a striking similarity between the
particularities of the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the
Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the Church of
Rome; 3d, The Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a general
judgment from the apostles of Jesus Christ; and, 4th, The Church of Rome
did not hold this doctrine from the Jews.
These four heads of questions we are to successively prove.
1st, We prove that the Pagans held the doctrine of a general judgment of
all the then living and of all the dead, which shall take place at the
end of the world.
Plato, and other philosophers and writers of the Pagans, taught that a
solemn general judgment of the dead was to decide their fate. Minos sat
on a throne, and shook the fatal urn. By his side were the avenging
furies, and a host of evil spirits, executioners of the sentences of
Minos. Eacus, Rhadamante, and Triptolem, were his assistant judges.
Even now the Indians believe that Zomo will judge the world; so the
Japanese. The Lamas ascribe this power to Erlik-kan.
At the sound of a trumpet the earth was to deliver up her dead to be
judged. It was to be destroyed by fire after a great commotion of the
celestial spheres, and fears of the then living mortals.
The souls, at the sound of a trumpet, assembled in a vast meadow,
adorned with asphodels, where Minos sat on his throne. The dead were led
to his redoubtable tribunal by their respective guardian angels, who had
accompanied them during their whole life; watched over their conduct;
and had kept a record of all they had done, right or wrong. This meadow,
where the dead were to be judged, was called the field of truth, because
there the whole truth about the past doings of the dead was made known,
and no crime could escape the knowledge and justice of the great judge.
The dead, once assembled, were divided into three classes. The first
class was composed of those who had been virtuous on earth: they were
the smallest number. The second class was composed of those who were
guilty of great crimes; and the third class, of those who had been
neither virtuous nor great criminals.
This triple division, which we naturally find in society, was taught by
Plato in his Phædo, a work in which, writing about the judgment of the
dead, he divides them as said before. This same division we also find
in Plutarch, treating the same subject, and disserting, in his answer to
the Epicureans, about the state of the dead to be judged. Minos used
three books in judging the dead; the first was called book of life, it
was used for the righteous: the second was called book of death; it was
used for the great criminals: the third book was used for those who had
been neither righteous nor great criminals. The judge pronounced the
sentence only after the severest examination of the virtues and crimes
of every one of the dead; and he affixed a seal on their forehead as he
judged them.
Social laws and duties were the particular subjects of his judgments. He
amply rewarded social virtues, and severely punished social vices. Among
the Greeks and the Romans, this great priestly fiction was intended for
the maintenance of laws; for stimulating patriotism, national and social
virtues by the hope of the rewards of the Elysium; and also to check
crime and vice in society, by the fear of terrible sufferings in the
Tartarus. Were sentenced to the Tartarus all those who had conspired
against the State, or fostered a conspiration; those who had been
bribed; those who had delivered up a city to the enemy; those who had
provided the foes of the country with weapons, vessels, provisions,
etc.; those who had contrived to enslave their fellow-citizens, or had
tyrannized over them, etc. This last dogma had been added to the others
by the free States.
Afterwards, philosophy turned these fictions against despotism itself,
which had invented them. Plato placed in the Tartarus ferocious tyrants,
such as Ardiee of Pamphylia, who had murdered his brother, his father,
and had committed many other crimes. The soul preserved after death all
her stains, and was sentenced accordingly. Plato represented the souls
of the kings, and of other rulers, as being the most stained. Tantalus,
Tityus, and Sisiphus, who had been kings, were the greatest criminals,
and endured in the Tartarus the most excruciating pains. However, kings
did not believe those fictions, and were not restrained from oppressing
the people.
Virgil enumerates the principal crimes which divine justice punished in
the Tartarus. He represents, here, a brother who from hatred has slain
his brother; a son who has ill-treated his father; a man who has
deceived his patrons; an avaricious man, an egotist, and a selfish man;
there, are seen an adulterer, an unfaithful servant, and a citizen who
either waged war against his fellow citizens, or sold his country for
gold, or was bribed for the enactment of unjust laws. Farther are seen
an incestuous father, and wives who have murdered their husbands.
It is to be remarked that the authors, or originators of these fictions,
pronounced pains only against crimes which might have injured society,
whose progress and happiness was one of the great ends of the initiation
to the mysteries of Eleusis and others.
In the Tartarus Minos punished the same crimes which he would have
punished on earth according to the wise laws of the Cretenses, supposing
that he had in reality reigned over them. If crimes against religion
were to be punished in the Tartarus, it was because religion, being
considered as a duty, and as the principal bond of society, it
necessarily followed that irreligion was to be one of the greatest
crimes, which was to be avenged by the gods. Hence the people were
taught that the great crime of many of the famous criminals, tortured in
the Tartarus, was their disrespect for the mysteries of Eleusis; that
the great crime of Salmone was to have tried to imitate Jove's thunder;
and that the great crime of Ixion, of Orion, and of Tityus, was to have
violated goddesses.
The fiction of the Elysium was directed to the same moral and political
aim. Virgil places in the Elysium the heroes who laid down their lives
for the defense of their country; also the inventors of arts, and all
those who have been useful to their fellow men, and have a title to
their gratitude. It was to strengthen this idea that apotheosis was
instituted; hence it was taught in the mysteries that Hercules, Bacchus,
and the Dioscores were but men, who, by their virtues and their services
had obtained immortality. Afterwards the Romans placed Scipio in the
Elysium. Cicero ascribed a high station in the Elysium to the true
patriots; to the friends of justice; to good sons; to good parents; and
to good citizens.
In the Elysium, as Plato described it, kindness and justice were
rewarded: there the true patriot, the modest and just Aristides, had
been admitted. To this divine recompense piety, eagerness in seeking for
truth, and love to it, were the surest titles. When the dead had been
judged those who had been pronounced worthy of the Elysium passed to the
right hand side, and were led to the Elysium, every one by his guardian
angel. Those who had been sentenced to the Tartarus passed to the left
hand side, and were dragged thereto, each one by the evil genius that
beguiled him while on earth. Onward they were driven, carrying on their
back their sentence of condemnation, and the enumeration of all their
crimes. Those whose vices were curable were to be released after due
expiation and reform.
According to Plato, the dead who have been guilty of murder, sacrilege,
and other enormous crimes, shall be endlessly miserable in the Tartarus.
Those whose crimes have not been so great shall be detained therein for
a year; and, at the expiration of this time they will be brought out,
near the marsh of Acheron, by the waters of the Cocyte, and of the
Pyriphlegeton rivers. Then they shall humbly beg pardon from those they
have wronged; and, if they obtain it, they shall be released; if not
they shall be taken back to the Tartarus on the rivers. Virgil also
speaks of that state of expiation and purification of the souls of the
dead.
Therefore the Pagans held the doctrine of a general judgment of all the
then living, and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end of
the world.
2d. We prove that there is a striking similarity between the
particularities of the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the
Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the Church of
Rome.
The Pagans believed that, immediately before the end of the world, there
would be mighty and frightful signs in the heavens; and that the then
living mortals would be struck with terror: likewise the Church of Rome
believes that, at the end of the world, the columns of the heavens will
be shaken; that the signs on high will be so frightful that the then
living men will be appalled: also there will be famine, pestilence, war
and murders over the whole earth. The Pagans believed that, at the sound
of a trumpet, the earth would deliver up her dead to be judged: likewise
the Church of Rome believes that four angels will sound a trumpet; and
that, when the four trumpets will resound over the earth, all the dead,
who had been buried either in the sea or in the earth, will come again
to life to be judged.
The Pagans believed that geniuses would force men to the place of
judgment: likewise the Church of Rome believes that angels will gather,
from the four cardinal points of the earth, the multitude of men to the
place of judgment. The Pagans believed that men would be judged in a
meadow covered with astophels: likewise the Church of Rome believes that
the general judgment will take place in the valley of Josaphat. The
Pagans believed that, in the meadow, a throne would be erected, on which
Minos, the great judge, would sit: likewise the Church of Rome believes
that Jesus Christ, the great judge, will descend from heaven on clouds,
and will sit on a throne erected in the valley of Josaphat. The Pagans
believed that, near to the throne of Minos, Eacus, Rhadamante and
Triptolem, his assistant judges, and good geniuses, or spirits, would
stand: likewise the Church of Rome believes, that, near to the throne of
Jesus Christ, good angels will stand.
The Pagans believed that, near to the throne of Minos, would stand
avenging furies, and a host of evil spirits, executioners of the
sentences of Minos against the wicked: likewise the Church of Rome
believes that there will be, at some distance from the throne of Jesus
Christ, a host of devils, executioners of the sentences of Jesus Christ
against the wicked. The Pagans believed that each man was led to the
redoubtable tribunal of Minos by the guardian spirit, who had
accompanied him during his whole life on earth: likewise the Church of
Rome believes that each man will be led to the redoubtable tribunal of
Jesus Christ by the guardian angel who has accompanied him during his
whole life on earth.
The Pagans believed that Minos used three books in his judgments: the
first called book of life, for the righteous; the second called book of
death, for the great criminals; and the third for those who had been
neither righteous nor great criminals: likewise the Church of Rome
believes that Jesus Christ will use two books: the one called book of
life, for the righteous; and the other called book of death, for the
wicked.
_Remark._--The Church of Rome does not hold that, at the general
judgment, Jesus Christ will use the third book; but holds that, in the
first judgment, he uses it for those of the dead who have been neither
righteous nor great criminals, and who thereby shall be sentenced to
Purgatory, which shall finish at the end of the world. Apropos of this
limitation of the duration of Purgatory, we might cursorily say that
this restriction has been wisely made by the far-sighted ministers of
the Church; for as, after the general judgment, they would be no longer
on earth, they could not say masses and other prayers, for the
deliverance of the souls detained in Purgatory; and thus it would be
quite useless to make the torments of Purgatory last any longer.
The Pagans believed that the guardian spirit of each man, who had
accompanied him through life, and had kept a record of all his good and
bad actions, would testify to Minos in his favor, or against him:
likewise the Church of Rome believes that the guardian angel of each
man, who has accompanied him through life, and has kept a record of all
his good and bad actions, will testify to Jesus Christ in his favor, or
against him. The Pagans called the meadow of the general judgment, the
field of the truth: likewise the Church of Rome calls the valley of
Josaphat, the valley of the truth. The Pagans believed that the crimes
for which Minos was to inflict the severest punishment were those
against religion, against its hierophants, and against other ministers:
likewise the Church of Rome believes that the crimes for which Jesus
Christ is to inflict the severest punishment, are those against the
Church, against its Pope, against its bishops and its priests. The
Pagans believed that the neglect or omission of lustrations, and other
practices and teachings of the priests, would be severely punished by
Minos: likewise the Church of Rome believes that the neglect or omission
of the practices, ceremonies, and other prescriptions of the priests,
will be severely punished by Jesus Christ.
The Pagans believed that those found righteous would be placed at the
right hand side of Minos, but the wicked at his left hand side: likewise
the Church of Rome believes that the righteous will be placed at the
right hand side of Jesus Christ, but the wicked at his left hand side.
The Pagans believed that the righteous would be destined, by Minos, to
eternal bliss in the Elysium; but that the wicked would be sentenced, by
Minos, to endless misery in the Tartarus: likewise the Church of Rome
believes that the righteous will be destined, by Jesus Christ, to
eternal bliss in Paradise; but that the wicked will be sentenced, by
Jesus Christ, to endless misery. The Pagans believed that the wicked
would carry on their back their sentence of condemnation, and the
enumeration of all their crimes: likewise the Church of Rome believes
that the wicked will carry on their back their sentence of condemnation,
and the enumeration of all their crimes.
The Pagans believed that the guardian spirits of the righteous would
lead them to the Elysium: likewise the Church of Rome believes that the
angels of the Lord will lead them to heaven, in a procession preceded by
Jesus Christ. The Pagans believed that Furies, and other evil spirits,
would drag the wicked to the Tartarus: likewise the Church of Rome
believes that the devils will drive, with whips, the wicked to hell. The
Pagans believed that, after the general judgment, the earth would be
destroyed by fire: likewise the Church of Rome believes that the earth
will be destroyed by fire, and that then will the world end.
Therefore there is a striking similarity between the particularities of
the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by the Pagans, and the
doctrine of a general judgment as held by the Church of Rome.
3d. We prove that the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a
general judgment from the apostles of Jesus Christ.
The Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a general judgment from
the apostles of Jesus Christ, 1st, If the Roman Catholic theologians did
not understand the 24th chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses
of the 25th; the 24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter
in Mark, and also the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the 21st
chapter in Luke, as meaning a general judgment; 2d, If nearly all the
Christian sects, or denominations, of the first and of the second
centuries, did not believe the doctrine of a general judgment; and, 3d,
If the doctrine of a general judgment is irrational.
But, 1st, The Roman Catholic theologians did not understand the 24th
chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses of the 25th; the 24th,
25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter in Mark; and also the
25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the 21st chapter in Luke, as
meaning a general judgment; 2d, Nearly all the Christian sects, or
denominations, of the first and of the second centuries, did not believe
the doctrine of a general judgment; and, 3d, The doctrine of a general
judgment is irrational.
1st. We prove that the Roman Catholic theologians did not understand the
24th chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses of the 25th; the
24th, 25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter in Mark; and also
the 25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the 21st chapter in Luke, as
meaning a general judgment.
_Remark._--To save the reader the trouble of referring to his Bible, we
insert here the above passages of the Gospel, which the Partialists
suppose to teach the doctrine of a general judgment.
Matthew, chap. 24.-1. "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple:
and his disciples came to _him_ for to show him the buildings of the
temple. 2. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily
I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another,
that shall not be thrown down.
3. And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him
privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what _shall
be_ the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4. And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5. For
many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
6. And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not
troubled; for all _these things_ must come to pass, but the end is not
yet. 7. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes,
in divers places. 8. All these _are_ the beginning of sorrows. 9. Then
shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye
shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. 10. And then shall
many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one
another. 11. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
12. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
13. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14.
And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 15. When ye,
therefore, shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel
the prophet, stand in the holy place; (whoso readeth, let him
understand;) 16. Then let them which be in Judea flee into the
mountains: 17. Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take
any thing out of his house: 18. Neither let him which is in the field
return back to take his clothes. 19. And wo unto them that are with
child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20. But pray ye that
your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: 21. For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of
the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22. And except those days
should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's
sake those days shall be shortened. 23. Then if any man shall say unto
you, Lo, here _is_ Christ, or there; believe _it_ not. 24. For there
shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great
signs and wonders; insomuch that, if _it were_ possible, they shall
deceive the very elect. 25. Behold, I have told you before. 26.
Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go
not forth: behold, _he is_ in the secret chambers; believe _it_ not. 27.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28. For wheresoever
the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 29.
Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 80. And
then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall
all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31. And he
shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to
the other.
32. Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When his branch is yet tender,
and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33. So likewise
ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, _even_ at
the doors. 34. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass,
till all these things be fulfilled. 35. Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but my words shall not pass away. 36. But of that day and hour
knoweth no _man_, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37.
But as the days of Noah _were_, so shall also the coming of the Son of
man be. 38. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that
Noah entered into the ark, 39. And knew not until the flood came, and
took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 40.
Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other
left. 41. Two _women shall be_ grinding at the mill; the one shall be
taken, and the other left.
42. Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43.
But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch
the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered
his house to be broken up. 44. Therefore be ye also ready; for in such
an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45. Who then is a
faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his
household, to give them meat in due season? 46. Blessed _is_ that
servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. 47. Verily
I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48. But
and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his
coming; 49. And shall begin to smite _his_ fellow-servants, and to eat
and drink with the drunken; 50. The lord of that servant shall come in a
day when he looketh not for _him_, and in an hour that he is not aware
of, 51. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint _him_ his portion with
the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew, chapter 25.-31. "When the Son of man shall come in his glory,
and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of
his glory: 32. And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he
shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth _his_ sheep
from the goats: 33. And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but
the goats on the left. 34. Then shall the King say unto them on his
right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world: 35. For I was a hungered, and
ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger,
and ye took me in: 36. Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye
visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37. Then shall the
righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee a hungered, and fed
_thee_? or thirsty, and gave _thee_ drink? 38. When saw we thee a
stranger, and took _thee_ in? or naked, and clothed _thee_? 39. Or when
saw we thee sick, or in prison, and come unto thee? 40. And the King
shall answer and say unto them. Verily I say unto you. Inasmuch as ye
have done _it_ unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done
_it_ unto me. 41. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand.
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil
and his angels: 42. For I was a hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43. I was a stranger, and ye took me
not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye
visited me not. 44. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when
saw we thee a hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick,
or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45. Then shall he answer
them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did _it_ not to one
of the least of these, ye did _it_ not to me. 46. And these shall go
away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal."
Luke, chapter 21.-25. "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the
moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with
perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; 26. Men's hearts failing them
for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the
earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. 27. And then shall they
see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with power and great glory. 28.
And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up
your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
Mark, chapter 13.-24. "But in those days, after that tribulation, the
sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light. 25. And
the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall
be shaken. 26. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the
clouds with great power and glory. 27. And then shall he send his
angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from
the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost parts of heaven."
Bergier, one of the most classical of the Roman Catholic theologians,
says, in the first volume of his works, article Agnoetes, that, in the
sixth century, the theologians answered the Agnoetes as follows: "In
these texts, it is not a question of the day of the general judgment,
but of the day when Jesus Christ was to come to punish the Jewish nation
by the sword of the Romans." Then the Roman Catholic theologians did not
understand these texts as meaning a general judgment.
Moreover, Bergier, writing against the Millenaries, says, article
World:--"The disciples of Christ, sometime before his resurrection,
spake to him of the structure of the temple of Jerusalem, Matthew, ch.
24, Mark, ch. 13, Luke, ch. 21. Jesus Christ told them that it shall be
destroyed; and that not one of the stones will be left upon the other.
The disciples, surprised, asked him when this shall take place; what
will be the signs of his coming, and of the end of the century. Then
there will be, he said, wars and seditions, earthquakes, pests, and
famines; ye yourselves will be persecuted and put to death; Jerusalem
will be surrounded with an army; the temple will be polluted; false
prophets will appear; there will be signs in the heaven; the sun and the
moon will be darkened, and the stars will fall from the firmament. Then
the Son of man will be seen coming in the clouds with great power and
majesty; his angels will gather the elect from one end of the world to
the other, etc. He announces all this as events to be witnessed by his
apostles; and he adds: 'Verily I say unto you, this generation shall
not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.'
"Is it a question of the end of the world in all this? Opinions are
divided on this point. Some commentators think that, in these texts,
Jesus Christ simply prophesied the ruin of the religion, republic, and
nation of the Jews; and that all the circumstances were verified when
the Romans took and destroyed the nation; that, however, a few
expressions ought not to be taken literally, such as the fall of the
stars, etc.; that Jesus Christ has used the same style, and the same
images used by prophets, when they prophesied other events. Consequently
these commentators say that these words of Jesus Christ, 'This
generation shall not pass,' etc., signify, the Jews who now live will
not all be dead when these events will take place. In fact, Jerusalem
was taken and ruined less than forty years after. In this opinion it is
not a question in these texts of the end of the world.
"Other commentators believe that Jesus Christ has joined the signs,
which were to precede the devastation of Judea, to those which will
appear at the end of the world, and before the general judgment; that
when he says: 'This generation shall not pass,' etc., he means that the
Jewish nation will not be entirely destroyed, but will subsist till the
end of the world. It cannot be denied that the word generation is used
several times in this sense in the Gospel."
From this passage of Bergier we draw the following argument:
Since the Roman Catholic theologians were, and are, divided in regard to
the meaning of the above texts, it follows that the Church of Rome did
not rest her doctrine of a general judgment on the above text. Therefore
the Church of Rome did not understand the above texts, namely, the 24th
chapter of Matthew, and the last sixteen verses of the 25th:--the 24th,
25th, 26th, and 27th verses of the 13th chapter in Mark; and also the
25th, 26th, 27th, and 28th verses of the 21st chapter in Luke, as
meaning a general judgment.
2d. We prove that nearly all the Christian sects, or denominations, of
the first and of the second centuries, did not believe the doctrine of a
general judgment.
The Basilidians, the Valentinians, the Marcionites, the Marcosians, the
Theodotians, the Carpocratians, the Docetes, the Tatianists, the
Apellites, the Montanists, the Artotyrites, the Ascites, the Ascodrutes,
the Ophites, the Cainites, and the Hermogenians believed in
Metempsychosis, and denied the resurrection of the body. From the fact
that these sects believed in Metempsychosis, and denied the resurrection
of the body, we argue:
The doctrine of a general judgment supposes the resurrection of all the
dead; but the above sects denied the resurrection of the dead. Therefore
they denied also the doctrine of a general judgment. Therefore nearly
all the Christian sects, or denominations, of the first and of the
second centuries, did not believe the doctrine of a general judgment.
More, we might say all the Christian sects of the first two centuries;
for, it was only at the end of the second century, that the sect of the
Millenaries, who believed in a general judgment, sprung up; and,
besides, history is silent about the belief of the Church of Rome (which
then was confined within the boundaries of the Province of Rome,) in
regard to the doctrine of a general judgment.
3d. The doctrine of a general judgment is irrational, because a first
judgment, by Jesus Christ, having taken place, a second one would be
useless.
4th. We prove that the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a
general judgment from the Jews.
The Roman Catholic authors never pretended, and still now do not
pretend, that the Jews believed the doctrine of a general judgment.
Then the Church of Rome did not hold the doctrine of a general judgment
from the Jews.
We draw the general conclusions of this chapter:
It has been proved, 1st, That the Pagans held the doctrine of a general
judgment of all the then living, and of all the dead, which shall take
place at the end of the world; 2d, That there is a striking similarity
between the particularities of the doctrine of a general judgment, as
held by the Pagans, and the doctrine of a general judgment, as held by
the Church of Rome; 3d, That the Church of Rome did not hold the
doctrine of a general judgment from the apostles of Jesus Christ; and,
4th, That the Church of Rome did not hold this doctrine from the Jews.
Therefore the Church of Rome borrowed the doctrine of a general judgment
from the Pagans.
_Therefore the doctrine of a general judgment of all the then living,
and of all the dead, which shall take place at the end of the world, is
of Pagan origin._