The Essene Story (Part 1)
They sought to obey and understand the Scriptures. They called themselves the "Community of the New Covenant" and believed that they alone possessed the true interpretation of the Law and the Prophets. Simply stated, they read the Scriptures especially the Prophets section with the idea that the words and events in them were written for them and would occur in their time.
They kept the Passover, Pentecost and other festival days of the law. But they followed a different calendar one based on the sun, solar, rather than lunar calendar. They were suspicious of the other religions and felt they had corrupted themselves by mingling in the politics of the world and corrupted by the world’s culture specifically Hellenism.
They took the words of Scripture very literally and when Isaiah 403 read to "prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" they moved to the desert. They were suspicious of the world’s ways. Their retreat into the desert was seen as the obedient response to prepare for the coming of God’s kingdom.
It was not only their belief that the prophets were to be understood in terms of their own contemporary history but also that the prophets’ words referred to the last days before the final victory of God’s Kingdom. And the Essenes believed they were living in those days.
They could read about the 4 beasts of Daniel. They knew about Babylon, Persia, Greece and now Rome. They saw that in the days of that final beast God would set up a kingdom. They believed that they alone were the true Israel, the faithful remnant, who in their way of life already pictured the anticipated fulfillment of God’s promises.
Historians such as Josephus, Philo, Pliny and Hippolytus mention the Essenes. But little was known of them until the discovery of the "Dead Sea Scrolls."
They set up a Kibbutz like community of labor. They read the Scriptures every night. They assembled every morning before going to work for prayers and Bible readings. Those who would join them had to be baptized, had to undergo a period of time and testing before they could partake of the communal meals which took place daily at noon and in he evening. These were a central part of their life.
They were held together by strict obedience and deference to the elders in a well defined hierarchical order. But they rejected slavery.
They took vows of poverty and rejected the world’s emphasis on material goods. They favored celibacy, purity (avoiding bowel movements on the Sabbath) and self-discipline. Hard work was honored. They felt that they Pharisees and Sadduccees were corrupted by their influence of the Greek culture and their control by Rome.
The Essenes believed this world was of the devil and ruled by a Belial spirit of wickedness and the prince of darkness. On the other side were God’s angels, the prince of light and the Angel of Truth. They believed that all men lined up on one side or the other. They hated the Romans because they were the "men of Belial." Actually they hated all uncircumcised people and had an inclination to kill them.
They taught that the end of the world would be a might battle and the Essenes would fight with the hosts of God against the hosts of wickedness both human and angelic. They looked to the Messiah of Israel to lead them in their victorious war. Hyppolytus claimed that they believed in the bodily resurrection, a final judgment, and an earth devouring fire at the end.
In short, the Essenes viewed the present world order pessimistically. They placed great emphasis on the lowliness of man and the perverseness of the human heart, mind, will. They felt that man was helpless apart from God.
Their sect appealed to all Jews who were world weary and who hated Rome. Their converts were many though they are not mentioned directly in the New Testament. Some scholars feel that John the Baptist who dwelt in the wilderness and who baptized must have come in contact with them. Some of their beliefs are akin to some of the New Testament teachings.
But the Essenes died out after 70 AD and by 100 AD they seemed to completely disappear. We now know that they joined the rebels and zealots to fight against the Romans. They ended up fleeing to Masada where they were besieged and died out about 70-73 AD.
DID THEY READ THESE SCRIPTURES?
If zeal could have done it, they had zeal. If dedication could have done it, they had dedication. If hard work, self-denial, love of the law could have done it, they had those things.
But did they read these Scriptures? "And he changeth the times and the seasons he removeth kings, and setteth up kings he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding (Dan. 221)
Or these? "The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will, and sets over it the lowliest of men" (Dan. 417 RSV). These passages make it clear that God sets up kings and removes them. God rules in man’s realm and sometimes He gives it to base or very low men. This concept is repeated in this chapter. See verses 25 and 32.
We think that rulers of nations must be men or high principles or honor. Was Nebuchadnezzar a great and moral man? Probably not. He was influenced by convenience and was totally selfish. God performed miracles in front of him and finally had to drive him into madness before he could come to acknowledge that God was great than he was!
Daniel had to speak to Nebuchadnezzar’s son and explain that it was God who gave Nebuchadnezzar all his power and his total, absolute rule. But when Nebuchadnezzar’s pride became overwhelming, he was driven from men until he learned this lesson "…until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men, and sets over it whom he will" (Dan. 518-21).
Even earlier in the Bible we read of God’s power over the affairs of this world and the rulers of this world’s nations. God tells Pharaoh that He could have destroyed him and his entire nation. But he let him live for a purpose to show God’s great power (Exodus 914-17)!
Did the Essenes read this passage? "He makes nations great, and he destroys them he enlarges nations, and leads them away" (Job 1223 RSV).
WHO REALLY CHOOSES OUR LEADERS?
If we take the Bible at its word, it is saying that God has power in the affairs of men. Jesus knew this when He was in front of Pilate. "Pilate therefore said to him, ‘You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.’" (John 1910-11 RSV).
Jesus knew rulers had been given their powers by God. In the United States, we assume that our leaders are chosen by us. But there was an elected vice-president chosen by a man who ran for an unprecedented 4th term. He probably would never have run for president on his own. He was not charismatic, he was not well-known. But he became president when the president died. He walked into a job that was hard and complicated. He had to make the tough decisions and he did so. Today, Harry S. Truman is considered one of the outstanding presidents of the USA.
There was a man who was never elected president or vice-president. Yet, because of his good reputation as a person, he was able to heal much of the damage that had been done because of the previous president. He was Gerald Ford.
God was considered to have such an active role in the affairs of this world that it is written in the New Testament like this "And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation" (Acts 1726 RSV).
In the next Sabbath Thoughts we will understand more what was the position of Christ’s teaching and the teaching of the New Testament regarding the governments of this world and their leaders.
They kept the Passover, Pentecost and other festival days of the law. But they followed a different calendar one based on the sun, solar, rather than lunar calendar. They were suspicious of the other religions and felt they had corrupted themselves by mingling in the politics of the world and corrupted by the world’s culture specifically Hellenism.
They took the words of Scripture very literally and when Isaiah 403 read to "prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God" they moved to the desert. They were suspicious of the world’s ways. Their retreat into the desert was seen as the obedient response to prepare for the coming of God’s kingdom.
It was not only their belief that the prophets were to be understood in terms of their own contemporary history but also that the prophets’ words referred to the last days before the final victory of God’s Kingdom. And the Essenes believed they were living in those days.
They could read about the 4 beasts of Daniel. They knew about Babylon, Persia, Greece and now Rome. They saw that in the days of that final beast God would set up a kingdom. They believed that they alone were the true Israel, the faithful remnant, who in their way of life already pictured the anticipated fulfillment of God’s promises.
Historians such as Josephus, Philo, Pliny and Hippolytus mention the Essenes. But little was known of them until the discovery of the "Dead Sea Scrolls."
They set up a Kibbutz like community of labor. They read the Scriptures every night. They assembled every morning before going to work for prayers and Bible readings. Those who would join them had to be baptized, had to undergo a period of time and testing before they could partake of the communal meals which took place daily at noon and in he evening. These were a central part of their life.
They were held together by strict obedience and deference to the elders in a well defined hierarchical order. But they rejected slavery.
They took vows of poverty and rejected the world’s emphasis on material goods. They favored celibacy, purity (avoiding bowel movements on the Sabbath) and self-discipline. Hard work was honored. They felt that they Pharisees and Sadduccees were corrupted by their influence of the Greek culture and their control by Rome.
The Essenes believed this world was of the devil and ruled by a Belial spirit of wickedness and the prince of darkness. On the other side were God’s angels, the prince of light and the Angel of Truth. They believed that all men lined up on one side or the other. They hated the Romans because they were the "men of Belial." Actually they hated all uncircumcised people and had an inclination to kill them.
They taught that the end of the world would be a might battle and the Essenes would fight with the hosts of God against the hosts of wickedness both human and angelic. They looked to the Messiah of Israel to lead them in their victorious war. Hyppolytus claimed that they believed in the bodily resurrection, a final judgment, and an earth devouring fire at the end.
In short, the Essenes viewed the present world order pessimistically. They placed great emphasis on the lowliness of man and the perverseness of the human heart, mind, will. They felt that man was helpless apart from God.
Their sect appealed to all Jews who were world weary and who hated Rome. Their converts were many though they are not mentioned directly in the New Testament. Some scholars feel that John the Baptist who dwelt in the wilderness and who baptized must have come in contact with them. Some of their beliefs are akin to some of the New Testament teachings.
But the Essenes died out after 70 AD and by 100 AD they seemed to completely disappear. We now know that they joined the rebels and zealots to fight against the Romans. They ended up fleeing to Masada where they were besieged and died out about 70-73 AD.
DID THEY READ THESE SCRIPTURES?
If zeal could have done it, they had zeal. If dedication could have done it, they had dedication. If hard work, self-denial, love of the law could have done it, they had those things.
But did they read these Scriptures? "And he changeth the times and the seasons he removeth kings, and setteth up kings he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding (Dan. 221)
Or these? "The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom he will, and sets over it the lowliest of men" (Dan. 417 RSV). These passages make it clear that God sets up kings and removes them. God rules in man’s realm and sometimes He gives it to base or very low men. This concept is repeated in this chapter. See verses 25 and 32.
We think that rulers of nations must be men or high principles or honor. Was Nebuchadnezzar a great and moral man? Probably not. He was influenced by convenience and was totally selfish. God performed miracles in front of him and finally had to drive him into madness before he could come to acknowledge that God was great than he was!
Daniel had to speak to Nebuchadnezzar’s son and explain that it was God who gave Nebuchadnezzar all his power and his total, absolute rule. But when Nebuchadnezzar’s pride became overwhelming, he was driven from men until he learned this lesson "…until he knew that the Most High God rules the kingdom of men, and sets over it whom he will" (Dan. 518-21).
Even earlier in the Bible we read of God’s power over the affairs of this world and the rulers of this world’s nations. God tells Pharaoh that He could have destroyed him and his entire nation. But he let him live for a purpose to show God’s great power (Exodus 914-17)!
Did the Essenes read this passage? "He makes nations great, and he destroys them he enlarges nations, and leads them away" (Job 1223 RSV).
WHO REALLY CHOOSES OUR LEADERS?
If we take the Bible at its word, it is saying that God has power in the affairs of men. Jesus knew this when He was in front of Pilate. "Pilate therefore said to him, ‘You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above; therefore he who delivered me to you has the greater sin.’" (John 1910-11 RSV).
Jesus knew rulers had been given their powers by God. In the United States, we assume that our leaders are chosen by us. But there was an elected vice-president chosen by a man who ran for an unprecedented 4th term. He probably would never have run for president on his own. He was not charismatic, he was not well-known. But he became president when the president died. He walked into a job that was hard and complicated. He had to make the tough decisions and he did so. Today, Harry S. Truman is considered one of the outstanding presidents of the USA.
There was a man who was never elected president or vice-president. Yet, because of his good reputation as a person, he was able to heal much of the damage that had been done because of the previous president. He was Gerald Ford.
God was considered to have such an active role in the affairs of this world that it is written in the New Testament like this "And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation" (Acts 1726 RSV).
In the next Sabbath Thoughts we will understand more what was the position of Christ’s teaching and the teaching of the New Testament regarding the governments of this world and their leaders.
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