After reading up on who and what the Essenes were about, I was hard pressed to see any connection between the dope smokin, std riddled peacemakers who encouraged everyone to make love, not war and the separatist, heterodox (and some say) celibate Jews of the late Intertestamental period.
In fact, let me just share a few things that have been said about the Essenes and I will let you decide what modern group they sound like.
The Essene movement began at the time of a very explosive event in Jewish history. Judah Maccabee led a Jewish army utilizing guerrilla tactics to overthrow Seleucid control of Judea and usher in a period of quasi-Judean independence. The temple in Jerusalem was ritually cleansed and the expectation of a Jewish world-conquering king was 3-5 years away for the next 230 years.
It wasn't long before the revolt produced an insider movement of revolt. A new religious movement or sect, we now call the Essenes, rejected Maccabeen authority as corrupt and illegitimate. They would proceed to claim they were the "real heirs" of the Yadokite priestly line and refused to have anything to do with a cleansed temple. They went on to establish their own isolated community outside of Jerusalem.
This reminds me of another movement that caught fire when Allenby marched into Jerusalem in 1917 and culminated in Jewish statehood by 1948. A fast-talkin, nasally blowhard would grow a new religious movement by claiming a conquering Christ would be returning in 3-5 years for the next 45 years. He went on to establish a school to produce minions that would never stray from his control and then established rented venues around the world for adherents to meet in secret and separate from their communities,
The Essenes would go on to isolate themselves from the rest of Israel, both geographically and theologically. They rejected all things pagan and many things Jewish.
Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.”
“philosophy” is PHILOSOPHIA: “not philosophy in general but the teaching of a syncretistic religious group that claims special insight into God, Christ, astral powers, creation, that imposes a set of rules on its members and that bases the authority of its message on its age or esoteric (secret) nature.” –p.1272, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament
I believe Paul had (at least in part if not completely) the Essenes in mind when he wrote this. I will show how the Essenes fit this description in the remainder of this post and will let you decide how that compares to who modern Essenes would most likely be today under the umbrella of Christiandom.
1. The Essenes believed they were the heir of Scriptures and that all promises made in those scriptures were to them. Any Jew, no matter how devout, not in their sect was a dangerous deceiver. They believed they were in a time when God was pouring out His Holy Spirit on them alone. While physical Israelites were God's chosen people, the Essenes viewed themselves as the new elect purposed by a new covenant. They were living in the midst of the "restoration of all things" and they were the advanced guard; the spearhead of Divine purpose for the world.
[HWA claimed he restored all things back to the body of Christ and that "mainstream Christianity" was deceived. The Holy Spirit was only given to those baptized in WCG. RCM claimed that LCG was the "spearhead of the Work" that would usher in the return of Christ.]
2. The Essenes were pacifists in that they would not participate in armed conflicts, revolts or wars. They stayed away from politics except when and how it related to prophecy.
[WCG and its splinters have long taught against voting in elections, serving on juries or the military and being employed as a police officer or even carrying a gun for personal safety. BUT the churches have never been shy about being aligned, unofficially of course, with the Republican party and their "conservative values" and their political views toward the state of Israel.]
3. Their central message and symbol was prophecy and their personal fulfillment of it in the Divine purpose shortly to pass. One of their writings discovered, called the Damascus Document, speaks of a specific predicted 'Teacher' that would or did lead the community, announcing to be a fulfillment of recent and ancient prophecy.
[HWA's central message was prophecy and he made over 200 false predictions. HWA claimed to be the "Elijah" that restored true doctrine to the body of Christ. HWA claimed he fulfilled what he called his commission in Matthew 24:14.]
4. God's purpose is a mystery revealed by the prophets and are presently made known through the inspired teachers (ministers), the chief revealer being called the "Teacher of Righteousness." In their lifetime, an anointed king and priest will lead the "Sons of Light" in a great war against the "Sons of Darkness" made up of Gentiles and ignorant Jews.
[HWA wrote "Mystery of the Ages" and claimed to be an endtime apostle. He taught two witnesses from his church would precede the return of Christ. The saints will return to fight Gentiles and ignorant Christians.]
5. Essenes used what is called the Pesher Method. This is an arbitrary interpretation of prophetic events and their leading up to the restoration of Israel, into the present.
[HWA was notorious for analyzing current events and wrongly attributing it to Scripture. Often, the exact opposite of what he predicted would happen. Much of HWA's methodology in developing his teachings was through eisegesis.]
6. Studying and writing were primary practices. They put great importance on their own writings. This can be seen in their "Community Rule" and "Damascus Document." They upheld a set of esoteric teachings (or commandments of men) that they regarded as equivalent to and as coming from the Bible. Their commandments of men were not regarded as earning their salvation or membership in the sect but merely expressing it. Piety and purity as defined by the community rules was an outward sign or evidence to a members belonging to the new covenant.
[Richard Ames once referenced church literature and sermons in a single sermon over 20 times. He often attempts to shame brethren for not reading church booklets and articles and listening to sermons in all their spare time when they are not working to provide incomes for the ministry.]
7. Belonging to the Essene movement was not a casual affair. To them, it was not a social club but was a matter of life and death for the members, Israel and the whole world.
[This was true in WCG back in the day. Today, brethren are often shamed by ministers for seeking quality fellowship over "doctrinal purity" among all the ridiculous splinters. The AC alumni know they are all the same and are just vying for retirement security.]
8. Food eaten could only be produced by the community. Council meetings and meal times were solemn and sacred occasions.
[Putting aside clear Biblical references of what is clean and what is not for human consumption, dietary control has always been a mainstay of cults. WCG went beyond Biblical references and made determinations on sugar, white flour and any number of items they deemed "unclean."]
9. Life was governed by strict laws of purity with emphasis on keeping weekly and annual Sabbaths properly and on time. There were penalties for breaking community rules, the greatest being expulsion.
[75% of all sermons produced are on annual Holy Days. It is a repetitive cycle rehashed every year, year after year. The churches of God know that from a marketing standpoint, it is their only niche, their USP. Take it away (and British racism) and they are left with a very poor product compared to mainstream Christianity. As far as breaking the commandments of men are concerned, we all know someone who has been temporarily suspended from services, disfellowshipped or even marked for these violations or for having an opinion about Scripture not in line with HQ.]
10. Suffering or persecution was a measuring stick for ones future salvation. Of course, it did not matter if that persecution was real or imagined, externally induced or self-imposed.
[Rod Meredith's crowning moment of persecution was being attacked with a chair in his baptizing tour.]
To show ones self approved of God and on a pathway to salvation, the Essene would be a stickler for the communal rules (commandments of men) and a blind loyalist to the "Teacher." Let's not kid ourselves. The Essenes were a mind control religious cult. These types of religious cults exploit the fear one has in suddenly finding themselves on the outside instead of in the cult during a time of great tribulation. Many Essenes and Armstrongites were truly motivated to save their own hides. I heard Richard Ames and Doug Winnail candidly admit this in sermons. They do this by exploiting the very question of what it means to be Jewish or Jewish enough; Christian or Christian enough. Unfortunately, for people that find themselves embroiled in such mind control religious cults, they are adherents to a doctrine of salvation that falls flat concerning morality and virtue. It is the very thing Paul warned the Corinthians about: do not exalt or idolize a man claiming to be a representative of Jesus Christ. Do not chase after anything beyond what is revealed plainly in Scripture. The veil in the Temple was rent and the Romans destroyed it. You are now the temple. Thank God. We are free in Christ motivated by love.
I have seen the hippy and it is us.
V
I believe Paul had (at least in part if not completely) the Essenes in mind when he wrote this. I will show how the Essenes fit this description in the remainder of this post and will let you decide how that compares to who modern Essenes would most likely be today under the umbrella of Christiandom.
1. The Essenes believed they were the heir of Scriptures and that all promises made in those scriptures were to them. Any Jew, no matter how devout, not in their sect was a dangerous deceiver. They believed they were in a time when God was pouring out His Holy Spirit on them alone. While physical Israelites were God's chosen people, the Essenes viewed themselves as the new elect purposed by a new covenant. They were living in the midst of the "restoration of all things" and they were the advanced guard; the spearhead of Divine purpose for the world.
[HWA claimed he restored all things back to the body of Christ and that "mainstream Christianity" was deceived. The Holy Spirit was only given to those baptized in WCG. RCM claimed that LCG was the "spearhead of the Work" that would usher in the return of Christ.]
2. The Essenes were pacifists in that they would not participate in armed conflicts, revolts or wars. They stayed away from politics except when and how it related to prophecy.
[WCG and its splinters have long taught against voting in elections, serving on juries or the military and being employed as a police officer or even carrying a gun for personal safety. BUT the churches have never been shy about being aligned, unofficially of course, with the Republican party and their "conservative values" and their political views toward the state of Israel.]
3. Their central message and symbol was prophecy and their personal fulfillment of it in the Divine purpose shortly to pass. One of their writings discovered, called the Damascus Document, speaks of a specific predicted 'Teacher' that would or did lead the community, announcing to be a fulfillment of recent and ancient prophecy.
[HWA's central message was prophecy and he made over 200 false predictions. HWA claimed to be the "Elijah" that restored true doctrine to the body of Christ. HWA claimed he fulfilled what he called his commission in Matthew 24:14.]
4. God's purpose is a mystery revealed by the prophets and are presently made known through the inspired teachers (ministers), the chief revealer being called the "Teacher of Righteousness." In their lifetime, an anointed king and priest will lead the "Sons of Light" in a great war against the "Sons of Darkness" made up of Gentiles and ignorant Jews.
[HWA wrote "Mystery of the Ages" and claimed to be an endtime apostle. He taught two witnesses from his church would precede the return of Christ. The saints will return to fight Gentiles and ignorant Christians.]
5. Essenes used what is called the Pesher Method. This is an arbitrary interpretation of prophetic events and their leading up to the restoration of Israel, into the present.
[HWA was notorious for analyzing current events and wrongly attributing it to Scripture. Often, the exact opposite of what he predicted would happen. Much of HWA's methodology in developing his teachings was through eisegesis.]
6. Studying and writing were primary practices. They put great importance on their own writings. This can be seen in their "Community Rule" and "Damascus Document." They upheld a set of esoteric teachings (or commandments of men) that they regarded as equivalent to and as coming from the Bible. Their commandments of men were not regarded as earning their salvation or membership in the sect but merely expressing it. Piety and purity as defined by the community rules was an outward sign or evidence to a members belonging to the new covenant.
[Richard Ames once referenced church literature and sermons in a single sermon over 20 times. He often attempts to shame brethren for not reading church booklets and articles and listening to sermons in all their spare time when they are not working to provide incomes for the ministry.]
7. Belonging to the Essene movement was not a casual affair. To them, it was not a social club but was a matter of life and death for the members, Israel and the whole world.
[This was true in WCG back in the day. Today, brethren are often shamed by ministers for seeking quality fellowship over "doctrinal purity" among all the ridiculous splinters. The AC alumni know they are all the same and are just vying for retirement security.]
8. Food eaten could only be produced by the community. Council meetings and meal times were solemn and sacred occasions.
[Putting aside clear Biblical references of what is clean and what is not for human consumption, dietary control has always been a mainstay of cults. WCG went beyond Biblical references and made determinations on sugar, white flour and any number of items they deemed "unclean."]
9. Life was governed by strict laws of purity with emphasis on keeping weekly and annual Sabbaths properly and on time. There were penalties for breaking community rules, the greatest being expulsion.
[75% of all sermons produced are on annual Holy Days. It is a repetitive cycle rehashed every year, year after year. The churches of God know that from a marketing standpoint, it is their only niche, their USP. Take it away (and British racism) and they are left with a very poor product compared to mainstream Christianity. As far as breaking the commandments of men are concerned, we all know someone who has been temporarily suspended from services, disfellowshipped or even marked for these violations or for having an opinion about Scripture not in line with HQ.]
10. Suffering or persecution was a measuring stick for ones future salvation. Of course, it did not matter if that persecution was real or imagined, externally induced or self-imposed.
[Rod Meredith's crowning moment of persecution was being attacked with a chair in his baptizing tour.]
To show ones self approved of God and on a pathway to salvation, the Essene would be a stickler for the communal rules (commandments of men) and a blind loyalist to the "Teacher." Let's not kid ourselves. The Essenes were a mind control religious cult. These types of religious cults exploit the fear one has in suddenly finding themselves on the outside instead of in the cult during a time of great tribulation. Many Essenes and Armstrongites were truly motivated to save their own hides. I heard Richard Ames and Doug Winnail candidly admit this in sermons. They do this by exploiting the very question of what it means to be Jewish or Jewish enough; Christian or Christian enough. Unfortunately, for people that find themselves embroiled in such mind control religious cults, they are adherents to a doctrine of salvation that falls flat concerning morality and virtue. It is the very thing Paul warned the Corinthians about: do not exalt or idolize a man claiming to be a representative of Jesus Christ. Do not chase after anything beyond what is revealed plainly in Scripture. The veil in the Temple was rent and the Romans destroyed it. You are now the temple. Thank God. We are free in Christ motivated by love.
I have seen the hippy and it is us.
V
I just want to say how much I've enjoyed your posts. I was born and raised in the COGs (I'm in my mid 30s) and it was only after experiencing first hand the verbal/emotional abuse of a COG pastor, two years ago, that I began questioning the COG system and the traditions of HWA and the splinters that have followed. I appreciate this blog because it aims to highlight what's truly wrong and unbiblical with the COGs without walking away from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I have read Banned for over a year, and while I agree with a number of the posts, I don't agree with some contributors anti God stance. But they are free to post and I am free to keep scrolling. ;-) While I'm grateful that I have finally woken up to the truth of these traditions and unbiblical treatment of the brethren, I only wish it hadn't taken me so long to have eyes to see. So thank you for speaking out. Seeing this blog and some things on Banned have allowed me to see that I'm not alone and it's given me courage to stand firm for the Lord and not for the traditions of men.
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