The Teacher of Righteousness and the Pierced Messiah

[Immortal4life]

The Essene Teacher of Righteousness and the Pierced Messiah

BBC Dead Sea Scrolls cover-up, Paul the Liar vs. James the Just, the Pierced Messiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Parallels in the DSS to Mark, and the origins of Christianity-







Here is another BBC documentary with Rageh Omar about how the Catholic church has covered up and concealed the contents of the Dead Sea scrolls-

about the program-
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-2623987364283059624&q=essenes

 

Rageh Omaar presents a fascinating investigation into the war time discovery, in Israel, of ancient parchments believed to have been written by a forgotten religious sect, who's ceremonies and beliefs are thought to have influenced the teachings of John the Baptist and Jesus.

The program touches on the attempts of the catholic church in the 1940's to cover-up the ancient Essenes text, in which a spiritual leader, like Jesus, was also martyred by crucifixion and how the sermon on the mount was based upon an Essenes poem.

 

The Pierced Messiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls-

 

 

 

"Pierced Messiah" text, is written in a Herodian script of the first half of the 1st Century and refers to a Messiah from the Branch of David, to a judgement, and to a killing. Hebrew is primarily made up of consonants; vowels must be supplied by the reader. The appropriate vowels depend on the context. Thus, the text (line 4) may be translated as "and the Prince of the Congregation, the Branch of David, will kill him," or alternately read as "and they killed the Prince." Because of the second reading, the text was dubbed the "Pierced Messiah."

A "piercing messiah" reading would support the traditional Jewish view of a triumphant messiah. If, on the other hand, the fragment were interpreted as speaking of a "pierced messiah," it would anticipate the New Testament view of the preordained death of the messiah.

These scrolls were written during a period extending from the last part of the third century B.C. up through more than half of the first century A.D. They were hidden in the caves, near the Dead Sea, around 68 A.D. while the Romans were invading the area. The scrolls include transcriptions of all the books of the Old Testament (excluding Esther), and many of the later scrolls were commentaries on the times (including the period during which Jesus lived in the early first century), equivalent to our newspapers.

On a “Praise the Lord” Show (tape #1202-91), aired on TBN a few months after the release of the scrolls, Christian historian Grant Jeffrey spoke about some of the newly found information. He discussed an article from the Jerusalem Post of November 16, 1991, titled, “Scrolls mention ‘piercing’ of a ‘Messiah.’” The article referred to a scroll which mentioned the execution of a Messiah-like leader of the community, as well as piercing wounds, indicating a crucifixion. As far as I know, no one in history who ever claimed to be the Messiah has been crucified—other than Jesus. Furthermore, the article said that the scroll text used Messiah-related terms such as the “Branch of David” and the “Root of Jesse” (see “Messiah’s lineage” and “Jesus’ lineage”: P-II). It went on to explain how it was said that this person had died for the sins of the people.

Also, there is an excerpt in another scroll equivalent to the following passage written by Paul: “He [God] appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory” (1 Tim. 3:16). There is a fragment in a scroll which is a reference to the episode, described by Mark, of Jesus’ feeding the four thousand (Mark 8:1-9a). And yet another reference named Jesus as the suffering Messiah who was crucified. Remember, these are commentaries of the day (like “newspapers”), not holy writings. These apparently were contemporaries of the writers of the Gospels.

Commenting on these remarkable, heretofore unknown findings in the scrolls, Bible scholar Hal Lindsey said that God essentially kept this confirmation of the Gospels in a “time-warp” until now. He added that, after the surfacing of this evidence, the committee which was formed to decide what Jesus “said and did not say” in the Gospel accounts should disband themselves if they are intellectually honest.
Scrolls #4Q521 and #4Q246

Conservative Christian scholars generally have held that the Gospel accounts in the Bible are true and were, in fact, written by the authors associated with them. On the other hand, many liberal scholars, within the past fifty or so years, have claimed that the Gospel accounts were written at least 150 years after the events they allegedly described concerning Jesus. They have said that the accounts were inaccurately written after many years of being handed down by word of mouth, and that editors created statements that Jesus actually did not say. Many insist that He was not the true Messiah He claimed to be.

However, Michael O. Wise and James D. Tabor have said that Scroll #4Q521—most likely written after 100 B.C., but at least written sometime between 200 B.C. and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 A.D.—indicates otherwise:

Three striking features of this text are significant: First, it speaks of a single messianic figure who will rule heaven and earth. Second, in the clearest possible language, it describes the resurrection of the dead expected to occur during the time of this Messiah. And third, it contains an exact verbal parallel with the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. (3)

In addition, according to Wise and Tabor, Scroll #4Q246 states,

“He shall be called the Son of God; they will call him Son of the Most High ... He will judge the earth in righteousness ... and every nation will bow down to him ... with [God’s] help he will make war, and ... [God] will give all the peoples into his power.” (4)

Compare this with similar statements made, first of all, by an angel to Mary in Luke’s Gospel account: “You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. ... So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:31,32a,35b). King David said, “He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice” (Psalm 9:Cool. David also affirmed, “All kings will bow down to him and all nations will serve him” (72:11); and Paul concurred “...that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth...” (Phil. 2:10). And Zechariah declared, “Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. ... The Lord will be king over the whole earth” (Zech. 14:3,9a).

Educational video from the Israeli Antiquities Authority about the connections between the teachings of the Essenes, the teachings of John the Baptist, and the teachings of Jesus-

 

The Dead Sea Scrolls and the connections to the 4 Gospels of the New Testament-

 

Video talking about Jon the Baptist and the Essenes

more-
Introduction to the Ancient Essenes and the Modern Essene Church of Christ

 

 

Origin and History of the Ancient Essenes

We will consider the opinions of various scholars -- both ancient and modern -- on Essene origins. Most important, we will consider the opinion of the Essenes themselves in regard to their origin. We will begin with two ancient scholars, both of whom were contemporaries of the first century Essenes: Josephus Flavius and Philo of Alexandria. Josephus, born at Jerusalem in 37 A.D., was the greatest historian of the Jews in that period. Philo was the greatest Jewish philosopher of that period. Both men had personal knowledge of the ancient Essenes; thus, what they tell us has a high degree of credibility. In regard to the origin of the Essenes, neither Josephus nor Philo can give a specific date, but both make clear that the Essenian roots are incredibly ancient. Josephus declares that the Essenes have existed "from time immemorial" and "countless generations". Philo agrees, calling the Essenes "the most ancient of all the initiates" with a "teaching perpetuated through an immense space of ages". Josephus and Philo -- as well as several other ancient writers including Pliny the Elder -- are in consensus on two points in regard to the origin of the Essenes:

1. Their origin is lost in pre-history with certain ancient legends linking them with Enoch;

2. There was a major remanifestation of the Essenes by Moses at Mount Sinai.

Let us first consider the original founding of the Essenes by Enoch, then the later remanifestation by Moses. Enoch lived many centuries before Moses. In the fifth chapter of the Book of Genesis (the first book of the bible), Enoch is described as "the seventh from Adam" -- which means he was born seven generations after Adam. Since seven, in Essene numerology, is the number of perfection, it is no mere coincidence that Enoch represents the seventh generation of humanity: he represents perfected humanity. He lived on earth 365 years (the number of days in the solar year) and was so in harmony with the laws of God that he was taken from Earth to an Angelic realm without having to die first! There, Enoch was given the angelic name "Metatron", and given the duty of guiding other human beings into their angelic destiny. His main work on Earth was the founding of the Essene Church. The Essene Church is considered (by the Essenes) to be a doorway into the angelic realm, as many of the Dead Sea Scrolls make abundantly clear (see The Dead Sea Scriptures, translated by Theodore Gaster, for numerous references to the Essene belief that their order served as a doorway into the angelic realm). While much of the Enochian legend cited above is found only in Essene Kaballah texts, it stems directly from the Bible: Genesis chapter five verse twenty-four: "Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him."

The fact that Enoch was considered the "founder" or "initiator" of the Essenes can even be seen in his name; the word "Enoch" means in Hebrew: "founder", "initiator", "centralizer". A modern scholar, Edmond Bordeaux Szekely, in his excellent book From Enoch to the Dead Sea Scrolls, writes:

"The origin of the [Essene] brotherhood is said to be unknown.... Some believe it comes from Enoch, and claim him to be their founder."

After the original founding of the Essenes by Enoch, many centuries passed in which the Essenes existed as a Mystery School, out of the eyes of the public. Finally, it was time for a major remanifestation of the Essenes, for their numbers had dwindled to the point of near extinction. Moses was the man chosen by God to guide the remanifestation of the Essenes. Both the ancient scholar Philo, and a modern scholar, Rabbi Harvey Falk (in his Another Look at the Jewishness of Jesus), informs us that Moses trained thousands of disciples as Essenes. The Essenes themselves describe that event in one of their most important texts: The Essene Book of Moses. In that text, God, at Mount Sinai, gave Moses the Essene Communions on a stone tablet. It was hoped that all the Jewish people would follow the way of life described on that tablet. But when Moses descended Mount Sinai and met with the people, it was clear that the majority were not ready to follow the esoteric Essene teachings engraved on that tablet. Heavy of heart, Moses again climbed Mount Sinai and asked God for an exoteric, easier set of teachings for the masses who were not ready to receive the esoteric Essene teachings. ("esoteric" means "inner circle"; "exoteric" means "outer circle".) God responded by giving the famous Ten Commandments on a second stone tablet; those commandments would be for the masses. Moses was to keep the esoteric Essene Communions for "the Children of Light," for only they could understand them. We read:

"And the Lord called unto Moses out of the mountain, saying, 'Come unto me, for I would give thee the Law for thy people, which shall be a covenant for the Children of Light'.... And God spake all these words, saying, 'I am the Law, thy God, which hath brought thee out from the depths of the bondage of darkness.... I am the invisible law, without beginning and without end.... If thou forsake me, thou shalt be visited by disasters for generation upon generation. If thou keepest my commandments, thou shalt enter the Infinite Garden where stands the Tree of Life in the midst of the Eternal Sea.'"

 

 

At that point, God then gave Moses the Essene Communions on the first tablet. Besides the Communions, that tablet included a synopsis of the main Essene teachings, including vegetarianism: "Thou shalt not take the life of any living thing." Our text then continues:

"And the people knew not what became of Moses, and they gathered themselves... and made a molten calf. And they worshipped unto the idol, and offered to it burnt offerings. And they ate and drank and danced before the golden calf... and they abandoned themselves to corruption and evil before the Lord."

The reference above to "burnt offerings" is a reference to "animal sacrifice". When Moses returned he found the people offering bloody animal sacrifices to their golden idol. Although he knew that these people had not "the ears to hear" the esoteric Essene tablet, -- they were given the exoteric Ten Commandments instead -- Moses preserved the Essene teachings for the Children of Light (the Essenes became known as the "Children of Light"); we read:

"And Moses hid the invisible Law within his breast, and kept it for a sign for the Children of Light."

It was at this time, according to both the ancient scholar Philo and the modern scholar Falk, that Moses trained 2,000 of the spiritual "elect" -- those Jews who had remained vegetarian and refused to participate in animal sacrifice and idol worship -- to be Essenes. AND FROM THIS TIME ON THE ESSENES EXISTED AS AN ESOTERIC MINORITY SECT. (Note: When modern scholars assert that the Essenes of Qumran were founded about 200 years before the time of Jesus, they are correct in regard to that one Essene group at Qumran; but the overall Essene movement is far more ancient.)

Although the Essenes began as an esoteric minority sect within Judaism, they went on to become the very first "Christians," called "Essene-Nazarenes" or "Ebionites". That happened as follows. Several hundred years before the birth of Jesus, the head priest of the Essenes, known as the "Teacher of Righteousness", had a vision: An Angel told him that a great Avatar, the Mashiakh (Christ Messiah), would come to Earth through the Essenes. But for this to occur, according to the Angel, the Essenes must follow certain disciplines in order to create a physical body capable of withstanding the powerful vibrations of the Christ Spirit, as well as a group energy powerful enough to open an "energy vortex" or "doorway" into this space-time dimension through which the Christ would enter. The prescribed disciplines were called the "Essene Halakoth". The group energy for the creation of an "energy vortex" was generated by forming Essene communal villages dedicated to practicing the "Halakoth" in a group context. In the Winter issue of "The Essene Path", Rev. Michael Robinson provided related information:

"Essene prophets who were attuned to the will of the Almighty, by virtue of their Holy meditations and their lifestyle of Righteousness, prepared for generations for the arrival of the Messiah of Peace. Genealogies were consulted and candidates were chosen and raised to a holy life. Pure diet, free of the taint of death and blood, as well as training in the Essene mysteries, brought forth children of a Holy nature, from which new candidates were chosen."

In the book, Edgar Cayce's Story of Jesus, edited by Jeffrey Furst, we read:

"... the Essenes... dedicated their lives, their minds, their bodies to a purpose, to a seeking for that which had been to them a promise of old.... Hence, there was the continued preparation and dedication of those who might be the channels through which this chosen vessel might enter -- through choice -- into this material realm. Thus in Carmel -- where there were the chief priests and leaders of this faith -- there were the maidens chosen who were dedicated to this purpose.... Among them was Mary, the beloved, the chosen one."

Again from Cayce:

"The Essenes were dedicated to their purpose and made holy Mount Carmel their headquarters. This was the original place where the school of prophets was established during Elijah's time....

"Here, the Essenes prepared themselves for several generations to open as it were a door into this realm for the Messiah.... And he became known as Jesus the Nazarene, for he was of the Essenian sect of Nazarenes in the region of Carmel."

In regard to the above references to the Essene headquarters at Mount Carmel and Jesus being affiliated with the Essenian sect of Nazarenes in the region of Carmel, there is much supporting evidence. Indeed, it is quite clear that the headquarters of the entire Essene movement was Mount Carmel in Northern Israel, not Qumran in Southern Israel, and that Jesus was primarily associated with Carmel. Equally clear is the fact that the Northern Essenes in the region of Mount Carmel were called "Nazarenes". The fact that nearly every major event associated with the life of Jesus occurred in Northern Israel, is strong evidence that Jesus lived most of his life in Northern Israel. Only four events of Jesus' life occurred in Southern Israel (his birth in Bethlehem; his visit to the temple when he was 12; his baptism by John; and his final journey to Jerusalem) and each of those events is clearly described as occurring after making a long journey from his home in Northern Israel. Mount Carmel, the Essene-Nazarene headquarters, was in Northern Israel; Qumran, the Essene Monastery where John the Baptist lived (and where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered), was in Southern Israel. THERE IS SOLID CONSENSUS AMONGST SCHOLARS THAT JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS FROM QUMRAN: the location on the Jordan river where tradition tells us John performed his baptisms is exactly where the Jordan river connects with the Dead Sea near Qumran, and everything we know about John matches up perfectly with what is known about the Qumran Essenes. When Jesus came to be baptized by his cousin John, The New Testament and other manuscripts tell us that John did not recognize Jesus; obviously, if Jesus and John lived together at Qumran, they would have recognized each other. This is strong evidence that Jesus was a Northern Essene associated with Mount Carmel, not a Southern Essene from Qumran. In Mystic Christianity, by Yogi Ramacharaka, we read:

"Jesus came unannounced to, and unrecognized by John.... Although the two were cousins, they had not met since childhood, and John did not at first recognize Jesus. The traditions of the Mystic Orders further state that Jesus then gave to John the various signs of the Mystery Schools to which they both belonged, working from the common signs up until Jesus passed on to degrees to which John had not attained, although he was an eminent high-degree Essene. Whereupon John saw that the man before him was no common applicant for Baptism, but was, instead, a highest-degree Mystic Adept, his superior in rank and unfoldment."

While the New Testament does not include all of the esoteric information above, it does declare that John -- the Qumran Baptist -- DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIS COUSIN JESUS.

The fact that Jesus was not from Qumran DOES NOT MEAN HE WAS NOT AN ESSENE. Often, when orthodox Christian scholars are attempting to prove that Jesus was not an Essene, they point out certain differences between the teachings of Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls. (They often point out that Jesus' doctrine is less strict in some matters than the 'Community Rule' of the Qumran Dead Sea Scrolls; by doing so, they think they are proving that Jesus was not an Essene.) But they are missing the point: QUMRAN WAS ONLY ONE OF MANY DIVERSE ESSENE COMMUNITIES. Whereas Qumran was a strict monastic commune for celibate men, some other Essene communities -- such as Mount Carmel and the related Nazarene stronghold of Nazareth -- were for entire families and naturally had more relaxed rules. The teachings of Jesus were more a product of the Northern Essene environment of Mount Carmel than Qumran. I quote from Peter Lemesurier's The Armageddon Script:

"Admittedly, Jesus was often considerably more forthcoming (less secretive) than the typical Qumran Essene, but then it should be remembered that he was not a Qumran Essene. Not only was he a 'Carmelite' or 'Nazarene', a product of the Essene movement's necessarily 'ecumenical' headquarters-group, but he was the intended messianic Priest-King, the ultimate 'Interpreter of the Law'.... As such, his rank was superior by far to the rest of the Essene leadership, even to the original Teacher of Righteousness. Consequently, he was free to interpret the Law and the Prophets in his own way and to whom he pleased, as the spirit guided him."

Thus, the differences between the teachings of Jesus and the Qumran Essenes are due to:

Jesus was raised at the more ecumenical, family-oriented Essene community at Mount Carmel; and,

The Dead Sea Scrolls, wonderful as they are, were written by Essenes who were prayerfully preparing for the coming of the Universal Messiah, the Prince of Peace. Obviously, once the Messiah of the Universe came to earth, the words that came out of his mouth were far transcendant of even the best of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

When the holy family returned from Egypt after Herod's death, we are told they settled in Nazareth. Nazareth is very near Mount Carmel, the headquarters of the entire Essene movement. However, in those days, there was no town called "Nazareth"; rather, it was simply a cooperative village of Essene "Nazarenes". We read in The Armageddon Script:

"... historical evidence that it (Nazareth) existed at the time is entirely lacking. The tradition almost certainly goes back to the fact that the family were members of the Nazarene sect of the Essenes. This group seems to have become the dominant one on Carmel, to the point where the word 'Nazarene' came to be applied to the Northern Essenes in general. It is possible, of course, that the Essenes had a camp in the vicinity of the modern Nazareth."

Thus, the term "Jesus of Nazareth" was originally "Jesus the Nazarene", and a "Nazarene" is a "Northern Essene" associated with Mount Carmel. Which is why in the New Testament Book of Acts, the early Christians' are referred to as "the sect of the Nazarenes."

Article about the Dead Sea Scrolls-
http://www.atlantisrising.com/issue3/ar3dsscroll.html

Here's an article by a non-religous writer-
An Update on the Dead Sea Scrolls

 

Edited January 18, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Immortal4life]

More with Dr. Robert Eisenman-

[Mokona]

If your not Christian, does it matter?

[Immortal4life]

Yes, I believe it does. It's not just a matter of seeing the shortcomings and misunderstandings in modern christian beliefs and interpretations. The implications go farther than just one religion. The ramifications concern all spirituality, and what is actually true when it comes to spiritual development and the spiritual path in general.

[dwai]

Yes, I believe it does. It's not just a matter of seeing the shortcomings and misunderstandings in modern christian beliefs and interpretations. The implications go farther than just one religion. The ramifications concern all spirituality, and what is actually true when it comes to spiritual development and the spiritual path in general.

Unfortunately i dont have time to go through all the links etc. would it be possible for you to summarize what is being said?

 

Thanks.

[Immortal4life]

There is a piece of text in the dead sea scrolls which mentions a leader of the community and messianic figure, who was killed by being "pierced". Other scholars have interpreted the text as saying the leader was the one doing the piercing and doing the killing, in order to maintain the status quo and not cause any trouble in the academic world. It all depends on a single word in the the text that could be interpreted either way.

 

Also some people believe that Paul was evil and created his version of chritianity in order to compete with and overtake the original christianity of James the Just, the brother of Jesus.