Who Are Essenes

[Christina]

The Essenes are a very interesting group. When we look at history we know the King Herod replaced the legidimate Levi Priests. He replaced them. With the Saducees and Pharisees.....An Event Christ was not pleased with as he would tell us in scripture How is it that you fail to perceive that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees." (Matthew 16:11-12) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camelEusebius, in his 4th-century Ecclesiastical History, wrote: When Herod was appointed king by the Romans, he no longer nominated the chief priests from the ancient lineage, but conferred the honour upon certain obscure individuals. . . . Herod was the first that locked up the sacred vesture of the high priest, and having secured it under his own private seal, no longer permitted the high priests to have it at their disposal. (p. 31, ch. VI, pop. ed.) This broke the custom of the high priesthood being attached to a particular family. Herod also abolished the practice of the high priest holding the position for life. According to Josephus, in the 107 years from the beginning of Herod's reign to the fall of Jerusalem, there were 28 high priests. The Talmud records that by the time of Messiah, the high priest bought the office from the government and the position was changed every year. But even after he was out of office, the ex-high priest kept his rights to the dignity of the office. These policies resulted in a group of wealthy Sadducean priestly families (primarily the Boethus, Anan, and Phiabi families) being appointed to the office on a regular basis. .....................This is a very import point in Bible history this is where the priesthood became totally defiled this is where the Kenites/Tares or Jews you say they are Jews but are not (REV 1-3) see the churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna the only two churches God was pleased with) began to fully take over the Jewish Priesthood..................................................Herod's decision to appoint the high priest had a major impact on the operation of the Temple. British historian Paul Johnson writes: By downgrading the importance of the high-priest, a hated Sadducee, Herod automatically raised in importance his deputy, the segan, a Pharisee, who got control over all the regular Temple functions and ensured that even the Sadducee high-priests performed the liturgy in a Pharisaical manner. (pp. 117-118, A History Of The Jews) So the question is What happened to the Levi Priests at this time? Were they among the Essenes as they came to called? These Essenes were the writers and the guardians of the "Dead Sea Scrolls" It is said Jesus spent much time with the Essenes. Yet he warned his disciples against the Sadducees and the Pharisees. I do not know this for fact but I find it a very intriging question With some very good evidence ? Were they hiding in plain site? Keeping their idenity somewhat quiet as to not raise the wrath of those who had replace them? They later were also called the Nazarene Essenes and talk of the "TEACHER OF RIGHTOUSNESS" was this Jesus ? EssenesNone of the four Gospels of the New Testament make any reference to the Essenes – a point of strong contention for many religious scholars. Though the scriptures do explicitly mention the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Herodians, they are surprisingly silent on the existence of this Jewish sect with mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic influences. According to historians, the Essenes flourished between the 2nd century B.C.E. and the 1st century C.E. As a people, they believed in living a life that was celibate, but communal, in being kind to others and living a peaceful life. They also adhered to strong morals, and had faith in the soul’s immortality; all teachings, it has been argued, that became the very basis under which Christianity was formed. In fact, some say their practice of purification through ritual may have influenced the development of the rite of baptism amongst Christians. Some scholars have asserted that Jesus himself was an Essene, since his teachings espoused many of the same codes of conduct. Historical and Archeological EvidenceSeveral important archeological findings have verified the existence of the Essenes, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, which have been identified as part of an Essene library. The famous historian Josephus also confirmed their existence, stating that they comprised one of three major Torah schools – the other two being the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The founders of the movement, Josephus said, were Jewish high priests who came from the house of Zadok during the time of Solomon. However, after the Jewish Revolt in the second century B.C.E., the Hasmonean kings assumed the high priesthood. The Essenes believed these priests to be usurpers and proclaimed their sacrifices to be illegal. Indeed, in contrast to the Hasmoneans, the Essenes upheld much stricter purity rules with regards to their sacrificial offerings. Among other things, their idea of ceremonial purity comprised meticulous cleanliness, the wearing of white garments exclusively, and a very strict observance of the Sabbath. In addition, the Essenes adhered to a different calendar than the one supported by the Temple authorities. Theirs was a 364-day solar calendar, which designated specific days of each year to any given festivity – so that, for example, Rosh Hashana and Passover were always celebrated on a Wednesday. This was in contrast to the Hasmonean, 354-day lunar calendar that the Essenes blamed for being too heavily influenced by the Babylonians. The fact that the two groups were celebrating Jewish holidays on different days only served to aggravate their growing disparities, and may have foreshadowed their eventual elimination around the second century B.C.E.

 

[Christina]

The name Essenes comes from the Greek for 'holy ones.' The Essenes were a Jewish sect that broke away from mainstream Judaism because of a dispute over who was qualified to be high priest. After the Maccabean revolt, the Hasmoneans claimed the office of high priest as part of the spoils of war. Some argued that the Maccabees couldn't be priests because they didn't come from the tribe of Levi, and some of these critics joined a group called the Hasideans which, it is thought, became the EssenesThe Essenes developed as group over the two centuries before the Christian era. References to the Essenes appear in the writings of Josephus, Philo, Eusebius, and Pliny the Edler. Dating was an important aspect of the Essenes’ complaints about the Hasmoneans. Greek rulers had implemented a more accurate lunar calendar which the Hasmoneans kept, but the conservative Essenes believed that this led Jews to fast or feast on the wrong dates. Where did the Essenes live?: Josephus describes the Essenes as having lived in their own communities. The Essenes preferred to live in the wilderness, cutting themselves off from the impure and purifying themselves for the future. Their wilderness community may have been very similar to that established by Christian monks. The Essenes are believed to have founded a small community in Qumran, just off the northwest coast of the Dead Sea. This may have been their primary location, but it isn’t certain. What did the Essenes do?: The Essenes were an apocalyptic movement within Judaism. Given their experiences under Greek domination and enduring what they considered to be false priests offering sacrifices in the Temple in Jerusalem, it’s not surprising that they would sincerely expect the End of the World to be coming . Josephus describes them as living simple lives, strictly adhering to the law, communally owning property, and focusing on ritual purity. One man administered each community as priest and guardian. Why were the Essenes important?: In a cave near the Qumran community off of the Dead Sea, jars of scrolls were discovered — scrolls that would come to be known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. These texts provide scholars today with remarkable insight on the religious developments within Judaism just prior to the advent of Christianity. There are some very interesting parallels between what they wrote and what later Christian authors would write, especially regarding messianic expectations

 

[Christina]

Dead Sea Scrolls According to the official record, in the summer of 1947, the year before the founding of the modern state of Israel, a few Bedouin boys were grazing their flocks near the Dead Sea (see The Salt Sea). One of the lads, in searching for a lost goat, climbed up among the cliffs in search for the animal. Thinking that perhaps the goat had wandered into a cave that he saw, he threw a stone into the opening in an attempt to spook the goat, if it had been in there, back out. The sound that he heard from inside the cave was unexpected - the stone hit pottery. (Recent information from American archaeologist Vendyl Jones, who claims to have spoken with the then-adult discoverer, provides a curiously different story of how the boy found the cave that contained the scrolls - however, the basic facts about the scrolls remain undisputed).And so it was that one of the most valuable archaeological discoveries of this century was made - a number of pottery jars in the cave contained the ancient scrolls of a hidden library dating from before the first century A.D. Others have since been found in the same area, and more are very likely out there somewhere in the Judean Desert waiting to be uncovered.Though there remains much disagreement among scholars, many now believe that the Dead Sea Scrolls were possibly written by the Essenes - a priestly Jewish sect who lived a very separate life, even keeping themselves apart from the Jewish religious officials in Jerusalem. They didn't want much to do with other people, and according to most accounts, most people didn't want much to do with them. What eventually happened to them is not known.The Dead Sea Scrolls themselves consist of copies of every book of the Hebrew Bible (see By The Book), with the exception of the Book of Esther, which may not yet have been considered canonical at that time. There are also a number of other non-Biblical scrolls in the collection dealing with life of the Qumran community, such as the "Manual of Discipline." Another is the mysterious Copper Scroll, so called because it is made of that metal. It seems to give a list of the locations of a number of valuable items that may have been, and very likely were, widely hidden over the countryside.The one consistent factor of every archaeological discovery in the region is that they always lend support and proof to what is already written in your Bible. Truth cannot be disproved.

 

[Christina]

Essene christian connection Are the Essenes and Christians truly connected... or do they simply share a few of the same beliefs? Below is a partial list of their parallel beliefs.... but the ones listed here make a strong case by themselves. Read through them... then YOU decide! 1. Josephus Flavius, a famous first century historian, records that "there were three (Jewish) sects, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes." The Bible makes no mention of the Essenes, but agrees there were indeed three main sects in that time... the Pharisees, Sadducees and Christians. 2. In the writings of Josephus, he gives a lengthy description of the Essenes and their customs. For each one, there is scripture in the Bible that records followers of the early Christian church observing the exact same customs. Yet Josephus also wrote that the Essenes were a very unique sect... that there were no others like them! 3. Today, many believe the Essenes were simply a small group who lived in the Dead Sea area, and kept to themselves. However the first century historian Josephus wrote that the Essenes "...do not live in any particular town, but in EVERY town the Order has its respective 'house'. ...In this 'house' the members take their abode when they arrive on their travels, and they are supplied with all they want." It is well documented that the Christians spread far and wide... and the Bible contains many passages that describe the disciples traveling from town to town and resting at the 'house' of a member from the 'church'. 4. One of the most unique 'customs' of the Essenes was that they shared all their possessions. Josephus wrote "The laws of the (Essene) Order regulate that everyone that enters into the Brotherhood gives up all his property and wealth." The Bible records that those in the early church also followed this custom. Acts 4:32 states "Now the company of believers was of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything he possessed was his own, but everything they had was in common and for the use of all." (AV Version) 5. The Essenes required a person to commit to a three year study period, prior to acceptance into the Brotherhood. The Bible records that Paul (who wrote a large part of the Bible's New Testament) withdrew for a 3 year period just prior to beginning his preaching. 6. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essenes record that a man who had studied with them for a three year period, had betrayed them, and was spreading 'lies' about their faith. This person is simply referred to in these writings as "The Liar". The Bible and several other historical manuscripts record that there was much disagreement between Paul and some of the disciples and leaders of the early church. Paul was teaching that observance of certain Jewish customs or 'laws' was not a requirement for salvation. He defends himself in the Bible, claiming "I am NOT a liar!" Is this the split between true Judah and the new Christian faith ? 7. Many claim that the Essenes lived a celibate life, and that few if any were married. However, Josephus records "The Essenes consider that everybody who does not marry, hereby affects the propagation and destination of mankind, as men would soon cease to exist otherwise." They believed you should marry, "not from lust, but to fulfill the command of God, 'Be fruitful, increase and fill the earth'." All Jewish sects seemed to share this same belief. Marriage was expected of everyone who was physically able... and it was a requirement for anyone who wished to become a Rabbi (teacher) or hold a high position in the Jewish community. As I stated above, this in itself is enough to build a strong case for them being the same group... But the evidence does tend to mont. Its also said by some historians that John the Baptist was thought to a Essene