What Do the Dead Sea Scrolls Tell Us About the Essenes?

The Jewish brotherhood of the Essenes had been written about by ancient authors such as Josephus, Philo, and Pliny the Elder; and today we are able to corroborate these descriptions thanks to the records left behind by the Essenes themselves in the form of the Scrolls from Qumran, otherwise known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

These people comprised a secret order. Initiation into their brotherhood required several years, and was finally samctified with the taking of severe oaths, one of which was to never reveal their hidden truths. The Essenes were characterized by humility, piety, and camaraderie. They honored their fellowship by sharing all of their possessions and taking their meals together.

They believed, above all, that God demonstrated his providence in all of life. They hoped for His promised heaven just as much as they feared Judgment and hell-fire. Angels and demons battled constantly within their mystical world-view.

In what survives today as the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essenes described their first leader, a priest from Jerusalem whom they called by various titles: "teacher of Righteousness", "Interpreter of the Law", and "the Priest". He embodied, for them, the piety and noble qualities that distinguished the great prophets of Scripture. Under the direction of the teacher of Righteousness, the Essenes were gathered together to be a community of elect souls to later Inhabit the Kingdom of Heaven in the Last Days.

The accounts within the Scrolls also describe the Essene's spiritual revolt against their countrymen and the religious leaders of their time. They saw the jewish faith as being polluted by the greed and deceit of the priesthood.

The Essenes reacted to this widespread corruption by retreating into the desert - most notably, to the City of Salt that lay within sight of the Dead Sea. This was the city we now know as qumran. The Essene's retreat involved leaving their homelands, and sometimes even family and friends, to seek God through privation and meditation. What emerged was a brotherhood that was strongly disciplined, doling out strict punishments to those who would fall under the spell of the devil's various temptations.

The spiritual community of the Essenes persisted until they were forced to make their last desperate stand against the Roman army in the summer of A.D. 68. Though the Romans made use of their settlements as barracks for Legionaries, much of what the Essenes left behind remained intact for centuries - most notably, the records of their beliefs and worship that were preserved in the Scrolls.