Scientists around the world have long drawn attention to the strange lack of any kind of historical evidence about the existence of Jesus Christ in reality. None of the writers of that time mentions him. How, then, in a relatively short period of time, dozens and hundreds of Gospels about the life of Christ and his miracles appeared (of these Gospels the Church later recognized as true only four), which served as their basis? It is clear that they could not just appear in someone's head as a kind of literary fantasy. The Gospels had to be based on some primary source.
Gospel Texts - Compilation?
This question remained open until then. until in the middle of the last century on the shores of the Dead Sea, in the caves of the Qumran Mountains (the territory of modern Egypt), the sacred texts of the Essenes religious sect (II century BC - I century AD) were not discovered.
These so-called Qumran scrolls, the most recent of which date back to 63 CE, also do not contain any mention of Christ. But this was not even what struck scientists. Examination of the scrolls has led to completely shocking conclusions. It turned out that all known Gospels, both canonical and apocryphal, date back to the writings of the Essenes!
Since most of the scrolls found are much older than the Christian Gospels, it is clear that these latter are a compilation that includes descriptions of many moments in the history of the Essenes movement and the main ideas of the Essenes' religious doctrine. Thus, the biography of Jesus Christ is surprisingly reminiscent of the life path of the founder of the Essenes sect, called in the scrolls the Teacher of Justice. Many of their statements and events from the life of both of them coincide. The head of the Essenes, like Jesus, acted as a prophet who received revelation from God, and traced his lineage from Abraham (Jesus on the maternal side descended from David, also a descendant of Abraham). The Teacher of Justice, like Christ, had a forerunner - a predecessor in the management of the sect. He, like John the Baptist, preached an unusual message to people who came to the wilderness to see him,and foretold the imminent arrival of a true prophet. The Teacher of Justice also appeared as the expected anointed of God, the messiah. And he died at the hands of the Pharisees (Orthodox Jews), nailed, like Christ, to a wooden crossbar.
Scientists are almost unanimous that this Essene Teacher, in contrast to Christ, is a real historical person who, in the 2nd century BC. preached in Galilee and was martyred. The famous biblical scholar I. Tantlevsky in his book "History and Ideology of the Qumran Community" (St. Petersburg, 1994} defines the time of the Teacher's activity as the period from 176 to 136 BC, that is, almost a century and a half earlier than similar events described in Gospels.
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At the center of the cult is the veneration of the teacher
In those days in the Middle East, many different religious movements and sects competed for influence on the population. The ideology of the Essenes had a most active influence on Christianity, which arose at the beginning of the 1st century A. D., and moreover, according to scientists, Christianity arose precisely on the basis of the Essene ideology. This fact was deliberately consigned to oblivion already at the dawn of Christianity, when the followers of the new Church purposefully searched for and destroyed Essene manuscripts (and at the same time their own apocryphal texts), and floated out only in the 20th century, thanks to a find in the Qumran caves.
An extensive literature is now devoted to the manuscripts of the Essenes community found by archaeologists. The Essenes professed Judaism, but believed that the Pharisees defiled the religion of Moses with impiety and hypocrisy, distorted the divine teaching. Therefore, the Essenes broke with orthodox Judaism and proclaimed a "new union" (or "new covenant") with God, because the old union "(" old covenant ") was broken by the Pharisees.
The life of the Essenes was preparation for the decisive battle between the "sons of light" and the "sons of darkness", in which the "sons of light" would prevail. The Essenes, like the early Christians later, sharply opposed wealth, believed in the predetermination of all events in the world by God, but at the same time left for a person free will, thanks to which he could choose the path of salvation; believed in their chosenness as "sons of light", believed in the end of this world and in the last universal judgment, as well as in the coming of the Savior of the world, the anointed of God. At the center of the Essene cult is the veneration of the Master of Justice as God. It follows from the Qumran texts that a certain "wicked priest" came out against him. Scientists, as already mentioned, do not doubt the reality of these figures, but attempts to identify them with famous historical figures have not yet yielded results.
Misogynist sect
The Essenes were incorruptible ascetics, enemies of all pleasures, demanded the truth in all cases, regardless of the consequences. They lived separately, separately from the different believers, worked the land, did not keep servants, did not marry, denied charity and hospitality. Women were considered the offspring of the devil and did not have the right to be members of the sect, but the Essenes tolerated them in their communities, where everything was socialized, including the fairer sex. The Essenes did not categorically reject childbirth, however, fearing to be defiled, they often feared even touching women. The intransigence of the Essenes in this matter was manifested even in the fact that they called all women only prostitutes. This line is especially felt in the statements of their Teacher, who was not only a formidable denouncer of the "bourgeoisie" of that time,but also a guardian of morality and an ardent enemy of women (the same thoughts, albeit in a somewhat softened form, are also present in the Christian Gospels). The description of the Great Harlot from the "Revelation of John the Evangelist" - a woman "dressed in purple", is literally taken from the Essene texts. The life of the Essenes was subject to strict rules. Most of the time was occupied by work, interrupted by short communal meals. A third of the night was devoted to the study of sacred texts. An important feature of the Essene cult was spiritual cleansing - internal repentance (a trait that later became especially pronounced in early Christianity). The life of the Essenes was subject to strict rules. Most of the time was occupied by work, interrupted by short communal meals. A third of the night was devoted to the study of sacred texts. An important feature of the Essene cult was spiritual cleansing - internal repentance (a trait that later became especially pronounced in early Christianity). The life of the Essenes was subject to strict rules. Most of the time was occupied by work, interrupted by short communal meals. A third of the night was devoted to the study of sacred texts. An important feature of the Essene cult was spiritual cleansing - internal repentance (a trait that later became especially pronounced in early Christianity).
The Essenes were mostly destitute people who did not see any other way out for themselves. Pliny the Elder wrote about the Essenes in his Natural History: "Every day their number is growing due to the appearance of a mass of aliens tired of the hardships of life, who are attracted to the customs of the Essenes by their own miserable fate."
The tree is destroyed, but its seeds have sprouted
During the time of the Teacher of Justice (II century BC), the Roman protégés Aristobulus and Hyrcanus ruled Judea, who fought among themselves for sole power. The Essenes did not recognize either one or the other. According to the Essenes, says Diodorus of Siculus, "… the nation should be ruled by a priest, not a king." Such a priest, the only one worthy to lead the country, was, as they believed, their Teacher. The Orthodox Jews hated him. In the end, he was captured and sentenced to torture and death. “At the close of the feast day of Atonement, he appeared in all his splendor before them (to his enemies, including the“wicked priest”who persecuted him. - IV). in order to suffer for their faith and to spoil this Sabbath day for them,”says the Habbakuk's Essential Papyrus.
Under the emperor Nero (60s AD), the Essenes were subjected to terrible persecution and almost all were destroyed. The Qumran community, hiding in caves and transferring their holy books there, lasted probably longer than others, almost until 80.
The study of the Qumran texts opened before the researchers a picture obtained not from third hands, but from their own descriptions of the Essenes. Now we can rightfully say that the influence of the Essenes in antiquity was so deep that their belief, giving birth to Christianity, determined the entire further course of the history of the Western world.
At the same time, it turned out that the Essenes were not only unshakable ascetics and truth-seekers, but also very dangerous sectarians, limited by their disgusting antihuman doctrine, who acted sacrilegiously towards people and towards God. It can even be assumed that if their worldview became dominant, then Europe would die out due to the cessation of childbearing.
Source: Magazine "Secrets of the XX century" № 13. Igor Voloznev