I have been reading about the Essenes lately and have found the brotherhood very interesting indeed. The Essenes are thought to have been a very ancient sect of Judaism, existing as far back as the time of Moses, and beyond. Actually they claim to have their beginning while Enoch was still active. They were an important sect during the time of Moses and the Ten Commandments. "The Children of Light," as they were referred to at that time, received the holy, pure, (esoteric) teachings from God through Moses--these teachings were meant for all people originally, but when Moses first decended from Mt. Sinai and saw the people worshiping the "golden calf" and offering "burnt offerings," he sought guidance from God, and climbed Mt. Sinai a second time--the Ten Commandments were the result of his second meeting with God, and these he gave to the Israelites. The Essenes were separate from other Jewish sects, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees at the time of Christ. Jesus along with Mary and Joseph were Nazareans, from the northern branch of the Essene sect. A different southern branch of Essenes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.
It is little wonder that the Essenes portrait of Jesus, is one of “Messiah/Savior.” His Truthful Teachings and His Heart Full of Unconditional Love for ALL should inspire many of us to reach our highest potential they said. Jesus truly wanted men to love one another, and not just our fellow humans, but all living creatures. The Nazareans did not believe in, or participate in the practice of animal sacrifice at any time. The Nazareans did not approve the slaughter of animals and were vegetarian. These people were my kind of people. I have never believed that God wanted or expected animal sacrifice. I haven’t gone so far as to be a vegetarian yet.
After the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus into heaven, his earthly followers, (his brother James being the head of this group), fled into Gileaditis. After James too was murdered, Hellinistic Christianity eventually became the ruling power by 4th century A.D. The Essene Nazareans became one of several other "Jewish-Christian" groups who did not follow first, Hellinistic Christianity, then, the Catholic Church of Rome. By 323 A.D, the Nazareans had already fled and were reappearing in South Upper Egypt. From this point on, their trail becomes harder to trace. By 364 A.D, the Church decreed "death" for any "Jewish-Christian" who observed the 7th day Sabbath. The Nazareans, for obvious reasons, sought obscurity to hide from religious persecution.
Today, we can still read and learn from these various forgotten manuscripts, follow the Essene philosophy, live a vegetarian lifestyle, learn the True Teachings of Jesus meditate/ contemplate/ pray/ & fast. We can reach out to others, be helpful and kind. It really is challenging to think about.
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