The teaching of the Essenes was known as THE WAY. The Way became the final interpretation of the Law and the Prophets, as revealed by Yeshua Messiah. It became the enlightened transitional teaching in the early church.

“He shall conceal the teaching of the Law from men of injustice, but shall impart true knowledge and righteous judgment to those who have chosen the Way.  He shall guide them all in knowledge according to the spirit of each and according to the rule of the age, and shall thus instruct them in the mysteries of the marvelous truth, so that in the midst of the men of the Community they may walk perfectly together in all that has been revealed to them.*

*Community Rule IX. From Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Penguin, London, revised edition, 2004, p. 111.

Jesus accomplishes what the Essene Community believed the Messiah would do—give the final interpretation of the Law and the Prophets.  This final interpretation of the Law also becomes the final interpretation of the teaching called the Way—the structure of Law becomes restrained.  Mercy, love, and forgiveness are emphasized, the speaking of the prophets is given renewed meaning.  In doing so, Jesus revolutionized Judaism to such an extent that a new religion, those first known as Nazoreans and later as Christians, came into being.

E A R L Y   H I S T O R Y

Abraham & Melchizedek:
Note the Jesus figure overseeing both, representing his ministerial supremacy                         
over the Levitical priesthood.

The roots of the Way are first revealed in the Hebrew Bible and culminate in Jesus’s teachings.

God calls Abraham to travel to the land of Canaan (c. 1975 BC).  By departing Haran at the instruction of God, Abraham represents a true vision to which all spiritual sojourners can relate.  It is Abraham and Sarah who are first ‘set apart.’  It is Abraham who first travels in the new way God has outlined, and it is he who breaks bread and drinks wine in shared communion with Melchizedek.*

*Hebrew: Melek Zedek “King (of) Righteousness:” a real person, covenant blessing, communion, High Priest, Order of Melchizedek is the highest Nazarene Essene order.

God turns to Abraham and gives blessing, as in Gen. 15.1, “thy exceeding great reward.”  This blessing is in sharp contrast to the Adam and Eve chronicle, where curses for two people and the entity, Satan, are pronounced.  It is clear that a turning has begun and that Abraham is the first cog in God’s plan.  To Abraham’s seed God gives the land of Canaan (Gn. 12.6; 13.15-16).  God initiates a physical kingdom yet to come.

The spiritual kingdom is advanced, perhaps secured, upon Abraham’s meeting with Melchizedek (=King of Righteousness).  Abraham shares communion, bread and wine, with a priest of the Most High God (El-Elyon), which is the first useage of this term (Gn. 14.18-20).  It is interesting that such an important useage as ‘Most High God’ shows up four times within five verses, and also for the first time in scripture.  It is also written as a parenthetical clause, as if explaining or interpreting something not familiar to the reader.  Melchizedek is referring to the Most High, but he seems to also know who Abraham worships, “Blessed be Abram of the MOST HIGH GOD.”

Melchizedek is also a priest of this MOST HIGH GOD (v. 18).  Abraham would respond with the intent of One God, as he does in v. 22, “I have lift up mine hand unto the Lord, the MOST HIGH GOD, the possessor of heaven and earth [caps within text].”   This interpretation tells us they are talking about the same god.  It is as if they are sharing an understanding, and one which others around them may not possess.  ‘Most High’ also encompasses the meaning of their communion ceremony, that is, it is performed in His presence.  It seems a holy event has been consummated, for tithes were also required.*

*Within this section of scripture, these establishments of principle end with verse 15.1, “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield.”

As to the communion of breaking bread and drinking wine, this would be a traditional exchange.  It signifies a new covenant or agreement, and this is why these scriptures are associated with Jesus: Heb. 7.2, “To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all: first being by interpretation [the] king of righteousness, and after that also king of Salem, which is King of peace.”  By transposition Jesus is foreshadowed as the King of Righteousness & Peace.  But that also Melchizedek is now associated with Jesus (Heb. 5.7), and further connects Jesus to the Most High God.  Through Abraham’s response, all three appear to be talking about the same god.

Sharing wine and bread is ancient in a way all men understand.  The last supper provides a good example: “Abide in me,” Jesus says, perhaps giving a final Word summing up the whole of the Way.  To abide (stay) in me IS the communion at the last supper.  The wine and bread of the last supper symbolizes one most important principle—we have heard his teaching, but we are also to abide in his person.  We are to experience this communion.  We speak the Word from this communion, we pray from this communion, we sow good seed from this communion, and we live our lives from this communion.  The bread lies at the root of all men, representing basic sustenance; the wine is the superlative and denotes the highest standard.

Psalm 110.4, “Thou art a priest for ever after the manner of Melchizedek,” is directed toward David, and indicates a priesthood above the Leviticals, and a priesthood cloaked as if by a mist, and one held as a secret.  The Order of Melchizedek pre-dates the Aaronic priesthood by six generations, and if Jesus is a part of this priesthood, the Aaronic priesthood becomes the outer shell or structure, represented by sacrifice, ritual, and later the added laws of men (Pharisees), but the Order of Melchizedek must represent the inner core.  The inner core is about knowing God, honoring the kingdom within, not practicing a religion.  This is why Jesus would honor the Ten Sayings, but much of the rest of it had nothing to do with knowing the god Jesus called, the Father, and explains in part why the Nazarene Essene were thought to follow a different law than the laws of Moses.

The Christian appelation is that this communion prefigures Messiah, in part, because Melchizedek is High Priest (righteous) and King (Salem=peace).  This position signifies great power and status.  Hebrews 7.4-12 reaffirms the Order of Melchizedek, with v. 9 having Levi (Levitical) paying tithes unto Abraham, and Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, bringing us back to v. 4, “Now consider how great this man was.”  Melchizedek is certainly a godly figure, and why he is often associated with Shem.  

Sarai also commands blessing.  She is to become a mother to nations.  And even though Gen. 17.1-9 is spoken to the man and what is considered ‘his seed’ (patriarchal), verses 16 and 17 are more clear:

17.16, “And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her,

and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.

With David’s ascension to the throne of Israel (1000 BC), the Davidic Covenant is established.

“And Zadok, the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelek the son of Abiatat, were the priests; and Seraiah the scribe*; And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites**; and David’s sons were the chief rulers,” 2 Sam. 8.17-18.

*Scribes, the first time mentioned in scripture; record keepers, counters (2Kg. 12.10); branch of the Levites (2Ch. 34.13); they became custodians of the law.  **“Cherethites and the Pelethites,” Philistine tribes in the south of Canaan, foreign mercenaries, bodyguards for David and who were overseen by Benaiah.

The Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7.8-17) resembles covenants with Noah (Gn. 8.20-9.17), Abraham, and Moses (Ex. 19.24).  The Davidic Covenant relates to the messianic kingship lineage (2Sm. 7) established through the line of David.  It’s characteristics are: it is meant to be eternal, it is ‘granted’, but not out of man’s efforts, but given and sustained by His word.  Because it is given an eternal designation we become directed to the fulfillment of the messianic vision, and is a key event in establishing the Judaic messianic culture.  

Following, under Solomon, the Zadokites would become known to history as the Temple Priests (I Chron. 6.10).  Although some scholars marginalize the Temple Priests as performers of Temple rituals, which then allowed the scribes to come into greater power, nonetheless, scribes do not have the status of priests.  Temple priest influence became pervasive, as eventually shown during the times of Jesus.  They were viewed as the most devout keepers of the law and, therefore, the most holy.

After the return from the Babylonian diaspora, the Second Temple was established under the leadership of Ezra  (450 BC).  Due mainly to the influence of syncretism, the Hebrew Bible now takes a stronger bent toward legalism.  Marriage and divorce laws became stricter, and marriage to any pagan was especially discouraged.  The consistent appearance of the heralds of God, the great speakers, and the prophets is now curtailed, and the rule of law under an ever-growing scribal authority takes its place.  Even so, the training and education in mystic principles continue within the higher levels of the priesthood.*  It is not passed down or shared with the population at large.

*Mt. 3.32, “But His secret is with the righteous.” Secret=secret counsel (within); sealed from all except those chosen to whom He would reveal.

The Zadokite priesthood would later split (150 BC), with the splinters forming the Essenes, among them the later known Nazarenes (new sprout).  Under the Nazarenes, the teaching of the Way will become firmly established, if for no other reason than that they live a normative life.  References to a day by day walk with God (Mt. 6.34), the sun shining on the good and the evil (Mt. 5.45), the many references Jesus makes to building, forming a firm foundation, parables concerning sowing, all point to a consistency and living the everyday life.  Ossaeans vowed celibacy, or were celibate during priesthood training, and many had retired from everyday life due to age.*

*See Essenes.

Whether imparted in parable or more directly taught, the Jesus teachings portray a hierarchy of character attributes, often illustrated by the characteristics of God, and how these attributes interact.  The Community Rule and the Temple Scroll (DSS) show the Ossaean view, usually observed as tight-fisted and harsh.  By contrast, and transitioning into Jesus, the to give unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s, and to God that which is God’s (Mt. 22.21), illustrates a spiritual comity, representing a major attitudinal shift.  Other secrets are referred to by Jesus (Mt. 24.27, 13.10-17; Mk. 4.11), and in I Cor. 13, Paul reveals the mystery and power of love.  Undoubtedly, the ascendancy of God’s character in man is to be sought.  The older Ossaean congregates remained biased toward a more legal foundation, with the hatred of enemies illustrating a clear difference from the Nazarene teaching of ascending to a greater love.

Much of the Hebrew Bible teaches the lessons of personal revelation, whether convicted from within or revealed from without (I Sam. 13.11-15, concerning Saul’s removal).  Much of Jesus’ teachings will reinforce this godly process of revelation.  For example, one common theme is the error of following the commandments of men, much as Saul did, and not the commandments of God: Mk. 7.8, “You depart from God’s command and hold onto human tradition.”  Opposed to the human tradition, Mk. 12.28-34 refers to loving God with all your heart and “…with all your soul.”  We find no rules or ritual here.  Man’s traditions in thinking and doing have never been the standard; God’s character and His hopes for you are the standard.

The Greek invasion of Palestine began in 332 BC.

During the first century of occupation, a growing clique of the Zadokite priesthood (Sadouk in Greek), which we now know as the Sadducees, became corrupted.  The Sadouks were enticed by three corruptions: money, political power, and a growing allowance for Hellenistic thinking within Judaism, or syncretism.  The money came from the Tobiad family, who were Jewish tax collectors for the Greeks and close associates of the Sadouks.  The political power came from associations with Greeks who maintained military and civil authority (see Sadducees).  This continued corruption will lead to the split in the Zadokite priesthood.  Under Greek authority, they became the Temple priests.

Within Israel, a firmly held knowledge, teaching platform, and wisdom pathway has developed within the Zadokite priesthood.  It develops into the enlightened teaching of the Way, the path to God.  With the inception of the Greek invasion, the enlightened vision of the spirit of God became fractured, leading to the rise of the Pharisees (c. 200 BC) and, ultimately, the exodus of the Teacher of Righteousness, accompanied by the many who followed him (150 BC).  Known as the Tzadikim, the righteous, we refer to them as the Hassideans (Hassidim) (Hasids=pious), also known as the Essenes.

N A Z A R E N E S  and  O S S A E A N S

A religious leader named the ‘Teacher of Righteousness,’ with his followers identifying themselves as the ‘righteous remnant,’ whom scholars now recognize as the Essene, separate from the religiously dissolute Sadducees (150 BC, approx.).  Two main groups later comprised the Essenes: the northern Essenes, also known as Nazarenes (from the word “sprig” or “root”), and the southern Essenes, later known as Ossaeans (from the word “ossuary”).

Nazarenes were characterized as being very marriage and family oriented.*  The Nazarenes would carry on the enlightened vision of the Way.  Nazarenes espoused belief, faith, love, and forgiveness while remaining firm in teaching, knowledge, and wisdom.  Both groups emphasized the importance of the heart, not just the mind.  However, the Ossaeans emphasized a much more legal approach, one that was more intellectual, they believed in pre-destination, their judgments rang harsh.  From the Community Rule (VIII): And when these become members of the Community in Israel according to all these rules, they shall separate from the habitation of unjust men and go into the wilderness to prepare there the way of Him…This (path) is the study of the law which he commanded by the hand of Moses…”

*Josephus, Wars, Bk. II, Ch. VIII, 13. “Moreover, there is another order of Essenes, who agree with the rest as to their way of living, customs, and laws but differ from them in the point of marriage, thinking that by not marrying, they cut off the principal part of human life, which is the prospect of succession…”

This schism between legal and spiritual interpretation and the proper placement of both would define the difference between Ossaeans and the Nazarene ministry.  Nazarenes proposed a greater acceptance and love for all people, later revealed with mercy concerning individuals and toward the condition of man generally.  Jesus would direct love toward enemies, while Ossaeans would be more inclined to hate Israel’s enemies, such as the Greeks and Romans.  Jesus the Nazarene would carry this love and knowledge teaching into the world.

The southern Essenes, also known as the Ossaeans, were generally much older, practiced celibacy, and were based in Qumran (200 BC).  The Ossaeans, being separate and more legalistic, are referenced within scripture and closely associated with the scribes, as are the Pharisees.  Jesus later confronts these groups.  The confrontation centers on the attempt to achieve spiritual purity through increasingly perfect obedience to the laws as laid down in the Community Rule, a certain religiosity.  Jesus, of course, directly teaches about God’s nature.  So, the one approach is unto the law, which would be a strict religionist view, the other provided an approach to God clearly more personal and much more practical.

The Nazarenes settled near the Dan River, far north of Galilee, well out of the way of Jerusalem’s religious authority (see Nazarene Jesus).  They arrived to establish towns named Nazara and Cochaba in what was then the Arabian Desert, south of Damascus, known as the Hauran.  They also settled in Damascus itself.  As the reader might remember, Saul carried letters of arrest to Damascus for the leaders of those who “belonged in the Way” (Acts 9.1, also 24.22).  If Jerusalem is the heart of Orthodox Judaism, Damascus would qualify as the religious and spiritual center for those who followed the Way.

Josephus describes the northern (Nazarene) and southern (Ossaean) Essenes.  Of these two groups, many scholars now confirm that the scribes (scribal authority) were of this Ossaean legalistic group.  Scribes and lawyers sought uniformity within the law, leading to a preponderance of analysis (legalism), with the scribes themselves mentioned more often than any other group within the New Testament.  The view presented in this work is that the Qumran Essene Priests (Ossaeans) and scribes are somewhat identical, differing only in specific tasks.

The Ossaean Essenes’ celibacy and legalism give rise to the scripture, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like the whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness,” Matt. 23.27.  The Qumran Essenes wore white robes, also mentioned by Josephus, and provided a reference to the white sepulchers or “whitewashed tombs.”  The reference to uncleanness deals with legalism and, thus, as Jesus perceived it, a loss of an essential spirituality, perhaps a lack of compassion and mercy. “…dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” implies a complete misunderstanding of a broader spirituality applied to all situations, as noted in John 8.7-11.  Jesus viewed them as tainted by extreme legalism, to the point of dispassion, and spiritually dead.

A second scripture also focuses on this scribal group.  Matt. 23.15 mentions that these scribes “compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”  Pharisees and Sadducees were allowed to marry, as were all other groups.  Only the Qumran group had sworn celibacy, and thus, they had to have ‘recruits’ to maintain their group numbers.  Most notable among these children would be John the Baptist (see “Dear John; Nazarite John”), even though John later ascended to an extraordinary calling that exceeded Qumran’s legalistic standards and viewpoints.  

Additionally, many members joined when they were elderly or had lost their spouses.  As men and women grew older, some would commit to legalism in an effort to achieve sanctity.  Celibacy was also much easier to maintain; thus, the retreat at Qumran would work well for them.  A woman’s retreat must have also existed, for hundreds of female burials are nearby.  Even though separated, women’s participation reveals how and why women were present in Jesus’ ministry.  Women also maintained a spiritual vision that was inclusive within the community.*  

*From Robert Feathers, “The possibility that John the Baptist had an association with the Qumran-Essenes is for most modern and many early scholars much stronger than they would allow from Jesus.  The enigmatic last verse of Luke (ch. 1, regarding John living in the desert) makes little sense unless it is saying John the Baptist was, from his childhood, a member of the Qumran Community: the verse becomes clear, asserts l’abbe (Rene Laurentine), a French authority of the Church Counsel, when the testimony of Flavius Josephus is considered, when John says of the Qumran community that it was their custom to adopt children from others, at an age when their spirit is still malleable enough to easily accept instruction’ (Jewish Wars 2).” Robert Feather, The Secret Initiation of Jesus at Qumran, Watkins Publishing, London, first edition 2006, p. 178.  Recommended reference for those studying Qumran.

The fanatic legalism of the Essenes/scribes and lawyers increased due to their separatist notions and behavior.  Unless for good reason or the person was an associate, the Ossaeans were known not to speak to others outside their sect; they lived almost wholly unto themselves.  The Essene Gate is still marked on maps, located along the southwest wall of Jerusalem.  The main Essene synagogue within Jerusalem was nearby, allowing for an even greater avoidance of normal society.

The Pharisees compounded law upon law and left the spirit of God to wander endlessly through such laws and further commentaries.  Jesus took contention.  They pay their tithes “…but omit the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith…” (Mt. 23.23).   Jesus preached that satisfaction cannot lie in such an unenlightened intellectual journey.  A specific knowledge may abound within it, but the spirit is lacking.

In the introduction to The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Geza Vermes writes,

“Thus, compared with the ultra-conservative rigidity of the Essene Rule, rabbinic Judaism reveals itself as progressive and flexible, while the religion preached and practiced by Jesus of Nazareth stands out invested with religious individuality.  Also, by comparison to all three, the ideology of the Gentile Church sounds a definitely alien note.  …the common ground from which they all sprang, and their affinities and borrowings, show themselves more clearly than ever before. It is no exaggeration to state that none of these religious movements can be properly understood independently of the others.”

He writes shortly thereafter:

“And although the Teacher of Righteousness clearly sensed the deeper obligations implicit in the Mosaic Law, he was without the genius of Jesus the Jew who succeeded in uncovering the essence of religion as an existential relationship between man and man and man and God.”*

*Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Penguin, London, revised edition 2004, p. 25.

Under Community Rule IX of the Dead Sea Scrolls: “He (the Master) shall conceal the teaching of the Law from men of injustice, but shall impart true knowledge and righteous judgment to those who have chosen the Way.” Note that the cap ‘W’ is the formal name of the actual teaching.

That the Essene maintained the secret teachings of the Way is now clear—the Elect receive secret knowledge, others do not.  Since most citizens belonged to the Pharisee sect, actual knowledge was scarce among the population.  The problem within Judaism had become one of division, which the Phariseess had exacerbated with even more laws, purity rituals, and behaviors, which, to them, initiated a certain righteousness.  Jesus, just as clearly, represents those who maintained the actual spiritual base of the enlightened teaching of the Way, certainly not the legalistic version his Ossaean brothers proposed.

In the thinking of the Essene scribes, man’s relationship was to the law, and the law was unto God.  A person could only know God through the Law as if the Law were a vehicle or pathway of understanding.  Thus, being more ‘enlightened’ in that fashion, meant more precisely attempt to keep the Law.  The notion of grace was understood as a principle; however, the problem arose from the legalistic requirements associated with receiving grace.  ‘Are you as righteous as was Noah?  If not, you need to practice and study within the law until you are,’ might describe their approach.  Naturally, those more advanced within the legal study thought of themselves as already having achieved this brand of ‘holiness.’  Jesus would propose that grace is not an achievement but a state of being or blessing.

Similar to the scribes, and as mentioned, Pharisees were somewhat similar in their legalistic* outlook.  What had started as a service-oriented ministry had become bogged down.  To Jesus, Pharisaic legalism leaves man one step removed from God.  Contrary to the Ossaean Essene and the Pharisees, Jesus preached that man himself is God’s focus, not the Law, and then the Law is attributed (given) to man.  Engaging in Jesus’ teaching into the spirit of God, a man steps fully into his proper relationship—he becomes a full member of God’s family, not enjoined through particular legal means.  Employing mercy, love, and knowing God in the fuller sense, spirit to spirit (within and without), each man becomes equal in God’s eyes.  Nothing should exist or prosper to separate the complete unity.

However, the Pharisees had fallen asleep within the law, of which the law as practiced became this separation.  Jesus intends that the law be sublimated to mercy (love) and grace (forgiveness), which broker a true fellowship with God.  These two attributes, love and forgiveness, will become cornerstone values, even functioning as the guiding principles, as Jesus provides the final interpretation of the Law and the Prophets.

*Many purity rituals and the prayers to go with them; also, a stricter application of the law than Jesus would interpret.

Righteousness does not come from sacrifice, or from man’s works, or man’s configured obedience (legalism), but develops from the relationship to God Himself.  Much like Moses established the Sabbath, Jesus now comes with a further developed and final revelation.  Jesus states that God loves you whether you are better at keeping the law or perhaps not so good.  Thus, entering into a relationship with Him becomes the clarion call for the ages.  From such commitment, the now awakened mind can be taught (renewed) by the spirit of God within and enlightened into God’s nature, essentially providing the teaching of the Way.

By simple deduction, the law becomes the stumbling block, explaining why Jesus went out of his way to break the law, especially on the Sabbath.  In Jesus’ teaching, proper understanding or revelation must replace staid laws.  Mercy expressed as forgiveness reverses all legalistic thinking.  John 8.11 provides a good example.  Mercy turns the law inside out and replaces religious law or purity rituals—Jesus seeks clean hearts, not clean hands. Thus, the groundwork for enlightenment into God is laid out.  Commitment and conversion go hand in hand, forming the impetus.  Mainly, spiritual sin is no longer subject only to the law, but is mitigated by the foremost principle of forgiveness (grace).

A person may have a discipline of rules or laws, but one can never reach greater enlightenment by discipline alone.  The intent is to know God directly and then obey from that perspective, and not groveling from the bottom, but ever looking upward, to assume an ever-expanding enlightened understanding of His nature and His ways.  Jesus’ preachment of the kingdom of God within places God close to each individual, in fact, a part of the individual, a hitherto unknown understanding for the ordinary person.  The Shekinah, experienced by many converts, becomes wonderful and glorious in a manner never before conceived.

God the Father is at last revealed and experienced for all who seek, personal and direct, and that is what Jesus begins to teach—the journey of enlightened renewal becomes the continued revelation into God’s nature, reflected to you by the kingdom within.  Born out of the ever-deepening knowledge of the Way and pointing toward practice through relationship instead of rules, allowing the full breadth of the spirit of God to be exhaled through us, such becomes the outstanding pathway and teaching of the Way.  It is to these ends that this website is dedicated.

§

Both groups of Essenes would nonetheless denote themselves as the Sons of Light, keepers of the ‘light of Truth.’  This theme continues in the Essenic vision of Messiah, “I will raise up for them a prophet,” from Deut. 18.18.  Also, the light of God shining forth is a recurring theme— “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven,” Matt. 5.16.  The Matthew scripture would typify Nazarene Essenic beliefs.

Although other Jewish sects would generally agree with the above statements, they would focus on the legalism within the task, with pretentious behavior toward holiness (Mt. 5.20, ch. 23).  The Essene/scribes believed these good works concerned the law; Jesus thought that the good works moved through man by the spirit of God.

The Nazarene Essenic vision is a relationship with God, practicing wholeness (or perfection) with God, “just as your Father in heaven is perfect (whole),” as stated in Matthew, 5.48.  Nazarenes sought the light of God, the enlightenment received from God, communion with Him, and, as a group, were foremost among Jews in anticipating the Messiah.  Jesus gives the final witnessing of the Law and the Prophets.  This final testimony is essentially the final interpretation of the Way, the proper pathway, and the proper teaching that those who awaken would follow.  For those who awakened, love and forgiveness became the new standard.  They would become the Tzadakim, the ‘righteous’.

God Bless!