The Essene Order
The Essenes quite clearly expected the Messiah to arise within their ranks. Moreover, they expected the Messiah soon. Evidently, they expected Him to be a layman–a kingly Messiah of the house of David. The evidence for this is in the Manual of Discipline, in the portions dealing with the protocol for meals. Always the priest blesses the bread and must (grape juice) and is the first to partake of them. Even during the Messianic Banquet, when the Messiah would be present, the priest still gives the blessing and takes the first servings. Then the Messiah. Then the others. This protocol has led some scholars to surmise that although the Essenes expected the Messiah to be of mighty stature politically they did not look to Him for spiritual leadership. These scholars point out that Dead Sea Scrolls and fragments written during the First Christian Century do not suggest that the Messiah had arrived and that He was Jesus, and, furthermore, that the Christian writings of this period make no mention of the Essenes.
Josephus, who wrote extensively on the Essenes, had this to say about Jesus in his history of the Jews:
“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man, for he was a doer of many wonderful works—a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was (the) Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him; and the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.”
An interesting aspect in Josephus’s respectful comments on Jesus is his reference to the “tribe” of Christians that still existed in his day, some sixty years and more after the crucifixion. The Christian Church did not come into being structurally on the day James became Bishop of Jerusalem, even on the day Peter became Bishop of Rome. For a long time, Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles, had to exist in tribe-like pockets, either because they were isolated geographically or because persecution forced them to operate in secret. Either way, they were distinctly different from their neighbors, giving them further attributes of a tribe; either way, the lack of communication with other groups sometimes led one group into what can be called quasi-Christianity. For example, there existed in Syria around A.D. 125 an ultra-Judaic tribe of Jewish Christians called Ebionites, named, according to tradition, after Ebion, who led them out of Jerusalem when the city fell in A.D. 70. The Ebionites rejected the writings of Paul on the grounds that he was too liberal with Jewish aspects of the religion, such as dropping the requirement of circumcision. Early Christians were sometimes called Nazarenes, after Nazareth, where Jesus spent part of His boyhood; but in the fourth century a tribe called the Nazarenes appeared in Persia. They, too, stressed the Jewish aspect of their Christianity and are thought by some scholars to be descendants of the Ebionites. The Nazarenes kept the Hebrew Sabbath as well as the Christian Sabbath; they, too, rejected Paul, and there was some division among them regarding the virgin birth.
Doubtlessly many such tribes existed from time to time and from place to place, their type of Christianity influenced by what they had been before, how well they were trained, and the circumstances that followed. Before the rise of Islam, Christian missionaries crossed North Africa, establishing thriving Christian communities from Cairo to Tangiers despite severe opposition. In fact, before the conversion of Constantine, there were more Christian martyrs at Carthage than in Rome. The westward spread of Islam put an end to Christianity in Mediterranean Africa for more than a thousand years. However, when, around 1870, French missionaries entered Algeria, they found in the mountains a tribe of Berbers who practiced a form of Christianity. Unlike the Moslems surrounding them, who regarded Jesus as a prophet only, these Berbers held Him to be the Messiah, they honored Mary, they had a form of communion service, and their properties were in common ownership—an early Christian custom. But they had adopted some Moslem traditions: facing eastward while praying five times a day, not drinking alcoholic beverages, and they practiced polygamy.
In March 1970, two French scientists, Mr. and Mrs. Jean Bourgeois, came upon some writing on a rock outcropping near the town of Laghman in eastern Afghanistan, in a valley that was once the area’s main east-west route. They took pictures of the writing and made casts of it and sent them to Professor Andre Dupont-Sommer, at the University of Paris, a man who had already gained fame for his translations of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Dupont-Sommer identified the writing as Aramaic, a Semite language which Jesus spoke, and the message made the writing something of a road sign for a nearby Buddhist monastery. And because of the message, Dupont-Sommer was able to date the inscription to 250 B.C.
This is the background: At that time, the emperor of India was named Asoka, sometimes called Pryadarsi, and because of his wealth and his vast armies he was able to expand his kingdom westward into the Middle East. He was then a Brahman. However, after realizing that his wars of expansion were causing great sufferings and death, he converted to Buddhism and adopted a policy of nonviolence. Now in peaceful expansion, he sent Buddhist missionaries westward, and they are known to have reached as far as Greece and Egypt. As they traveled, they established monasteries.
The inscription begins: “This Way To Tadmor.” Tadmor was an oasis in Syria and was better known as Palmyra. The inscription: “In the year 10 the King Pryadarsi expelled vanity from among the prosperous, the friends of that which is frivolous and of the fishing of fish-creatures. At a distance of 200 ‘bows,’ this way to the place called Tadmor.”
Professor Dupont-Sommer expressed the opinion that there was a Buddhist monastery at Tadmor in those days and that the Aramaic sign on the road was like a billboard advertisement addressed to Semite caravans that passed this way. Buddhist monasticism developed in the Sixth Century B.C. in the Orient, and Dupont-Sommer now believes that the monastic life was probably introduced into the Middle East either by Buddhist missionaries or by Semitic caravans who had stopped for rest at Buddhist monasteries like the one at Tadmor.
He has said, “Shortly afterward, in the Second Century B.C., one sees appearing within the Jewish world robust institutions of the monastic type, based like the Buddhist monastic-communities on celibacy, poverty, obedience. I refer to the Essenes of Palestine and the Therapeutae of Alexandria. For a long time one has been wondering about the origin of these Jewish mystic brotherhoods which had no precedent, no true model, in either the tradition of ancient Judaism or elsewhere in the Mediterranean world.”
The Edgar Cayce readings, on the other hand, suggest that the monastic traffic might have moved in the opposite direction, originating on Mount Carmel, spreading out as, like the early Christians, new groups were formed, perhaps changing the format a little, either disappearing or thriving, and with new groups unfolding outward from the old. During a reading conducted by Hugh Lynn Cayce on May 5, 1941, this exchange took place:
Hugh Lynn: “Was the main purpose of the Essenes to raise up people who would be fit channels for the birth of the Messiah who later would be sent out into the world to represent the Brotherhood?”
Edgar: “The individual preparation was the first purpose. The being sent out into the world was secondary. Only a very few held to the idea of the realization in organization, other than that which would come with the Messiah’s pronouncements.”
Hugh Lynn: “Were the Essenes called at various times and places Nazarites, School of the Prophets, Hasidees, Therapeutae, Nazarenes, and were they a branch of the Great White Brotherhood, starting in Egypt and taking as members Gentiles and Jews alike?”
Edgar: “In general, yes. Specifically, not altogether. They were known at times as some of these—or the Nazarites were a branch of a THOUGHT of same, see? Just as in the present one would say that any denomination by name is a branch of the Christian-Protestant faith, see? So were those of the various groups, though their purpose was of the first foundations of the prophets as established—or as understood from the School of Prophets—by Elijah, and propagated and studied through the things begun by Samuel. The movement was NOT an Egyptian one, though ADOPTED by those in another period—or an earlier period—and made a part of the whole movement. They took Jews and Gentiles alike as members, yes.”
Hugh Lynn: “Please describe the associate membership of the women in the Essene brotherhood, telling what privileges and restrictions they had, how they joined the Order, and what their life and work was.”
Edgar: “This was the beginning of the period when women were considered as equals with the men in their activities, in their abilities to formulate, to live, to be, channels (for souls). They joined by dedication—usually by their parents. It was a free will thing all the way through, but they were restricted only in the matter of certain foods and certain associations in various periods—which referred to the sex as well as to the food or drink.”
Hugh Lynn: “How did Mary and Joseph first come in contact with the Essenes and what was their preparation for the coming of Jesus?”
Edgar: “As indicated, by being dedicated by their parents.”
Hugh Lynn: “Please describe the process of selection and training of those set aside as holy women, such as Mary, Editha and others, as a possible mother for the Christ. How were they chosen, were they mated, and what was their life and work while they waited in the Temple?”
Edgar: “They were first ‘dedicated,’ and then there was the choice of the individual through the (spiritual) growths, as to whether they would be merely channels for general services. For these (holy women) were chosen for special services at various times, as were the twelve chosen at the time (of Mary)—which may be used as an illustration. Remember, these (holy women) came down from the periods when the school had begun, you see.
“When there were the activities in which there were to be the cleansings through which bodies were to become channels for the new race, or the new preparation, these then were restricted—of course—as to certain associations (marriages), developments in associations, activities and the like. We are speaking here of the twelve women, you see, and all of the women from the beginning who were dedicated as channels for the new race, see?
“Hence the group we refer to here as the Essenes was the outgrowth of the periods of preparations from the teachings by Melchizedek, as propagated by Elijah and Elisha and Samuel. These were set aside for preserving themselves in direct line through which there might come the new or the Divine Origin, see?
“Their life and work during such periods of preparation were given to alms, good deeds, missionary activities, as would be termed today.”
Hugh Lynn: “Please tell of the contacts of Thesea, Herod’s third wife, with the Essenes, her meeting with one of the Essene wise men, and what were the names of the two wives preceding her?”
Edgar: “There was the knowledge of same (Essenes) through the giving of information by one of those in the household who had been so set aside for active service. Through the manner and conduct of life of that individual, and the associations and activities, the entity gained knowledge of that group’s activities.”
Hugh Lynn: “Please describe the Essene wedding, in temple, of Mary and Joseph, giving the form of ceremony and customs at that time.”
Edgar: “This followed very closely the forms outlined in (the Book of) Ruth. It was not in any way a supplanting but a cherishing of the sincerity of purpose in the (Essenic) activities of individuals.
“When there was to be the association, or the wedding, of Joseph and Mary—Mary having been chosen as the channel by the activities indicated upon the stair, by the hovering of the angel, the enunciation to Anna and to Judy and to the rest of those in charge of the preparations at that time—then there was to be sought out the nearer of kin, though NOT in the blood relationships. Thus the lot fell upon Joseph, though he was a much older man compared to the age ordinarily attributed to Mary in the period. Thus there followed the regular ritual in the temple. For, remember, the Jews were not refrained from following their rituals. Those of the other groups, as the Egyptians or the Parthians, were not refrained from following the customs to which they had been trained, where were not carried on in the Jewish temple but rather in the general meeting place of the Essenes as a body-organization.”
During the Israeli-Arab Six-Day War in 1967, the Palestine Archaeological Museum in Old Jerusalem was a prime Israeli target. Israeli troops reached the building on the first day of the fighting, June 5, and found it well fortified by the Arabs. Within twenty-four hours, however, the Arabs were routed and a sign was placed over the main door that this was now a museum of the State of Israel. Because of continuing danger, Israeli scholars were not able to enter the building until June 12, two days after the ceasefire. The main display room was a mess, with showcases broken and scroll fragments strewn about. At first, the main body of the scrolls, in the form of thousands of fragments, could not be found, and it was presumed that the Jordanians had earlier taken them away because of the threatening war but then, during the cleaning up, a large display cabinet was moved away from the wall where it stood, and there was a safe. In it was everything the Jordanians had accumulated over the years except, perhaps significantly, the copper scrolls listing the hidden treasure. Still present at the museum were two French priest-scientists—Pierre Benoit and Roland de Vaux—who had supervised the Jordanian work from the start and who had earned positions of great honor in their fields. Their first impression was that the Israelis would move everything to their own facilities at the Hebrew University and take over the translating themselves, excluding them from their life’s work. General Yadin promptly assured them that he wanted them to stay on and to continue their work there, in the new museum of the State of Israel.
At times, Kando, the Bethlehem cobbler, would arrive with two or three fragments in a matchbox. Other times, he would arrive with fragments by the bushel. The Qumran caves have been generous. One cave—Cave Four—has produced all or parts of four hundred different manuscripts. But parts of the same manuscript have been found in three or four different caves, arriving at the museum months, even years, apart. Obviously, the chore of piecing together all the fragments, some of them badly damaged, demanded the utmost scientific detective work by the French priests and their staff.
It was, in fact, the detective work of Father de Vaux that led to the uncovering of the Qumran monastery, which for so long had been mistaken for an old Roman fort. During the excitement following the discovery of the first Scrolls, the priest went to Qumran to make his own inspection of the caves. What he saw led him to dismiss the prevalent theory that the caves had been repositories for discarded sacred books, which had been written somewhere else, Jerusalem perhaps. The place simply was too remote, too difficult to reach, even for the most devout Jerusalem Jews to go to all that trouble. De Vaux also dismissed the possibility that the scrolls had been written in the caves. By summer day, the caves were unbearable hot ovens, and even the most dedicated scribe could not have worked in them for more than a few minutes at a time. De Vaux looked down at what he knew was supposed to be a Roman fort, and he wondered.
The excavation took three years, and what was finally uncovered had clearly been a monastery, a house of studies. The central building was about one hundred and twenty-five feet square and was a complex of rooms, passageways and cisterns. There were seven inside cisterns in all, which may have had some mystical significance. A two-story tower, with three-foot walls, stood on the northeast face of the building and was probably a watchtower. An aqueduct brought water down from the hills to a walled reservoir. There were enclosed courts, one of which may have been a stable. The main building had an assembly hall, a library, a scriptorium, a refectory and—judging from the coins found—an accounting office. There was a kitchen, an indoor oven, and in the pantry were found over a thousand bowls and jars. There were latrines, a communal washroom and several storerooms. Outside the main building but within the walls was a pottery with a kiln. Sherds indicate that the jars made here were the same as those found containing scrolls in the caves. Near the east end of the main building is a crack, clear through, showing a twenty-inch drop of the outer portion, caused, most likely, by the earthquake which is known to have occurred here in 31 B.C. The absence of roofing substances suggests that the roof was made of reeds that grew along the sea. The absence of living quarters suggests that the occupants of the monastery lived in tents outside the walls. On the compound has been found a mysterious wall, dating back to 700 B.C., but because it does not appear to have any relation to the monastery Father de Vaux concluded that there was no association between the two structures.
Judging from the coins found in and around the building, occupancy probably began around 136 B.C. Because some of the scrolls found in the caves are older than that, they must have been brought in from some other similar settlement. There was a gap in the dated coins between 37 B.C. and 4 B.C., and this may have been the period when, because of the earthquake, the Essenes went somewhere else. Found nearby was a time-buried mound of rubble, which gives the impression that the damaged part of the building was cleaned out when the people returned. Identifiable coins then proceed to A.D. 68, the eve of the fall of Jerusalem. There is a gap then of about sixty years, the later coins being of the period of Bar-Kochba’s unsuccessful revolt against the Romans at which time refugees might have occupied the monastery. Among the early fragments found in the caves by Father de Vaux was part of a letter from Bar-Kochba to a military officer, complaining about the lack of support he was getting from the “Gallileans” for the revolt. The pacifists must surely have been Christians.
The Manual of Discipline demonstrates that daily life in the monastery was austere and strict, but both Josephus and Philo attest to the fact that the Essenes were a happy, industrious and optimistic people. They were also clean. The Manual and the archaeological evidence shows that they washed several times a day, not merely as ritual but in the course of turning from one task to another. They had special clothes for their two meals a day, one at eleven in the morning, the other after sunset. Novices were not allowed to eat with the regular members for three years, their cleansing period; they were not to have any contact with the food or drink for others, and they even had to defecate in a separate place. For food and drink, the Manual mentions only bread and must or wine, but it is known that the Essenes farmed and kept herds. Since they did not offer animals as sacrifices, as did other Jews, the animal bones found at Qumran probably mean that the Essenes ate meat, at least on occasion. Moreover, the Manual applies to life at the monastery. Essenes living elsewhere undoubtedly led the usual daily life of devout Jews of their time.
Both Josephus and Philo comment on the silence at Qumran, but this would be proper demeanor in any monastery, any house of serious study, even today. The members were not to argue or bear grudges or be critical of anyone to others. If a disagreement developed, the two involved were first to discuss it between themselves. If they reached no compromise, a third person was to listen to a second discussion and try to settle the matter. This failing, the two went before the council of twelve elders and three priests, where the decision was final. (In Matthew 18:15-17, Jesus gives the same instructions for settling differences.) Punishments for infractions could be severe: for speaking brusquely “so as to undermine the composure of a fellow,” the offender’s food ration was cut for a year; for falling asleep or spitting in a public session it was cut for a month. Then why was everybody so happy? Probably because they were convinced that of their own free will they were involved in something important, something important to them as individuals, to their sect, their religion and to their country, which were indivisible for them, and to mankind.
The Essenes, it would appear, were well aware of their role in the Messianic destiny, and they had been, regardless of what they were called, for a long time. They were aware, too, at least some of them were, of the Caycean definition of souls and the soul’s choice of the body it enters for another sojourn. As had been indicated in the readings, a soul, having benefited spiritually, so to speak, during a particular sojourn, would often choose to return to human form in the same circumstances, even into the same family, with the hope of benefiting even more. Thus it was not uncommon for the readings to show that many people who consulted Edgar Cayce had known each other in previous incarnations and had even been related in previous incarnations, though in different ways, in terms of husband and wife and parent and child. Because of its “twinness,” a soul could enter either a male or female. If, in one incarnation, the body entered became that of a celebrity, while, in another, the body became a John Doe, this did not matter greatly to the soul, which had principally been seeking a vessel toward perfection, and this could be achieved at any social level. The world changed; the ways of life changed; perhaps souls were now seeking perfection along the simpler paths.
Certain information conflicted with widespread beliefs and was, of itself, unorthodox, perhaps heretical for some. For example, numerous readings state, in one way or another, that after Jesus was about ten years old and away at His studies with the Essenes, Mary and Joseph entered a normal marriage relationship and had three children of their own, two boys and a girl. The Roman Catholic Church, for which Edgar Cayce had such great respect and admiration, has traditionally held that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. Theologians will probably debate this from now to the Omega. Yet there are other areas regarding Mary in which the Catholic position and the readings’ information are somewhat in tune. Catholic theologians have referred to Mary as the Second Eve; the readings suggest that as the twin-soul of the entity who was both Adam and Jesus, she would be. The Catholic Church regards Mary as the co-Redemptress of mankind; the readings would agree, on the same grounds. The Church considers Mary to be the mediatrix of all graces; the readings would concur, and again on the same grounds. If, then, there is indeed anything in the readings which might be offensive to anyone, whatever his beliefs, the fact the Edgar Cayce was unconscious while giving them might minimize the effects. If so, what then evolves is a staggering drama of holy conspiracy the likes of which the world may never see again.
On February 24, 1932, Edgar Cayce had the occasion to add a letter to the transcript of a Life reading he was sending to an inquirer who had requested it, and he said, “I am hoping that the information proves to be just that needed for you at this time. It is quite often hard for us to judge what is answered and what isn’t answered satisfactorily. “It may appear so to us, when it doesn’t answer to the individual seeking at all.” This concern was typical of the man throughout his life. He saw no reason for the readings, no purpose for his faculty, unless it was to serve for the good of others seeking guidance, especially spiritual guidance. He often worried when there was no follow-up on a Life reading or when a follow-up ceased. As far as he was concerned, he was giving people information, but he knew many of them were taking it as advice, and so it was important to him to know that people who had made inquiries of him and through him were well. For this reason, he maintained a large correspondence, becoming friends with people who had come to him as strangers.
Cayce’s utterances during trance were taken down in shorthand verbatim by Gladys Davis. He made no effort to dictate, in terms of organized sentences or thoughts, with the result that, though it must have been fascinating to listen to him, it is today often difficult to read him. Sometimes one sentence goes on endlessly, with two or three different thoughts included, requiring a jungle of punctuation which makes the readings something that cannot be skimmed. Though Cayce was sometimes vague and sometimes changed minor details, he was impressively consistent, particularly in view of the fact that readings on the same historic event or personage were often done as much as fifteen or twenty years apart. How much good the readings achieved for the individuals who requested them will obviously never be established. The value of the readings today is in the information they offer the student of Cayce or of any of the subjects, which came up during them. And the value is great.
Typed and photocopied transcripts of the readings fill scores of loose-leaf notebooks that line the walls of the library in the A.R.E. headquarters at Virginia Beach. Each reading has a code number, for the sake of the privacy of the individual involved, and the readings are filed chronologically in terms of the date when they were done. If an individual had follow-up readings, all of them nevertheless are filed under one code number on the date of the first Reading. However, references to a specific historic event or personage are scattered throughout the readings, depending on the previous sojourns of the entity under consideration. It is in the course of weaving these scattered references into a historically chronological pattern that one becomes most aware of the consistency of the readings.
For example, on May 18, 1924, very early in his experiences with Life readings, Cayce informed a woman of fifty-five: “Before that we find the entity in the Holy Land when there were those admonitions being given just before the entering by the lawgiver, Moses. The entity was then among the children of Elijah the Priest, in the name then Miriam, and the entity became one to whom those in active service in the temple harkened.” Apparently, two sojourns are indicated, one at the time of Moses, in the thirteenth century B.C. and the other at the time of Elijah, in the eighth century B.C. This was Cayce’s first reference to Elijah and the temple on Mount Carmel, and it is interpreted that Miriam was not an actual child of Elijah but among the children placed in the care of Elijah’s prophets—the first Essenes.
Forty years later, Cayce made another reference to an entity of Elijah’s time. This was on April 3, 1944, to a woman of sixty: “Before that the entity was in the Holy Land among those of the household of the prophet, during the period of Ahab’s and Jezebel’s rule in the land. The entity then was the daughter of that prophet, in the name of Adah. The entity knew trials; the entity knew the wrath of those surrounding the entity and those periods of turmoils and wickedness among those in high places. Yet the entity kept the faith through the period. The entity was acquainted with the activities of Jehu and the entity’s sister. The entity kept the faith and saw the fulfilling of the prophet’s words about Ahab, Jezebel and those people of that day. Hence the prophecies as well as the promises throughout the Book have meant and do mean much to the entity.”
There was some discussion after the reading on whether Adah was the daughter of Elijah, and Cayce thought not. He felt she was the daughter of Obadiah, the priest who was the major domo of King Ahab. As such, she most likely knew Elijah and was influenced by him. The woman’s love of the Bible was indicative in Caycean terms. A person’s interests, his talents, even his preferences in personal relationships can be carry-overs from a previous sojourn. We are not, after all, accidents. We are part of a plan, and a part of us knows that.