Bible - Essenes, Nag Hammadi Library - The Gospel Of Thomas - Gnosticism

Discussion Description: THUBAN ~ From its Beginnings on Project Avalon - Project Camelot - into The Pivot of THE NOW
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Secrets of THE LOST BOOKS ~ ENOCH ~ enochian language, etc.,

Secrets from the Lost Bible Book Video



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noticed that topic is covered in this video


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=NfRJ34cTMRs

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Chapters 1 to 60 can be found here:
http://reluctant-messenger.com/1enoch01-60.htm

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Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Enochian_alphabet.png

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chapter 61 to 105
can be found here:
http://reluctant-messenger.com/1enoch61-105.htm

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Enochian_alphabet.png
FOR A GOOD ARTICLE ON ENOCHIAN LANGUAGE

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LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES HERE -MAYBE SOMEONE COULD POST SOME OF THEM
http://www.google.ca/search?q=ENOCHIAN LANGUAGE&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=xWsXUPPQA6uE0QGZ34GABQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ

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http://hermetic.com/achad/crystal/crystal-vision-chapter-5.htm

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this should be copied here; and, credit given to:
Welcome ~Lucy's~ to Truth about Dr. John Dee and the Enochian system

Sep 08, 2011
This video introduces the historical background necessary for understanding the progenation of John Dee's Enochian system of Theurgy into the world. This video covers the social context of Elizabethan-era England during ...
http://lucys6.blogspot.com/
Medeival Alchemy Secrets in Egypt & Europe, John Dee, Heidelberg

Sep 03, 2011
John Dee (13 July 1527–1608 or 1609) was a noted mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination, ...
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Welcome ~Lucy's~ to the Truth: Holly Tree, Necronomicon, Magic ...

Apr 09, 2011
... in Hollywood and the music industry. Magick and The Matrix-Necronomicon 1 of 4. Magic, Rituals, Preparation, Necronomicon, Abdul AlHazard, Damascus, Dr. John Dee 007, Astral Body, Igigi, Circa, and The Spheres.
http://lucys6.blogspot.com/

She has a series of videos on this topic - about JOHN DEE 007

 

Discover Thomas Jefferson’s Cut-and-Paste Version of the Bible, and Read the Curious Edition Online


Discover Thomas Jefferson’s Cut-and-Paste Version of the Bible, and Read the Curious Edition Online
http://www.openculture.com/2013/09/thomas-jeffersons-cut-and-paste-bible.html

Had he lived during the Inquisition, Thomas Jefferson would have been burned at the stake. His ideas about Jesus and Christianity were far from orthodox. A product of the Enlightenment, Jefferson believed that everything, including religion, should be examined in the light of reason.

When Jefferson examined the Gospels he came away with a strongly divided opinion. “I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence,” he wrote in an 1820 letter to William Short, “and others again of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism, and imposture, as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same being.”



As early as 1804, when he was still president, Jefferson began separating “the diamond from the dunghill,” as he later put it, to assemble his own version of the Bible. He continued the project in earnest during his later years at Monticello, poring over various editions in Greek, Latin, French and King James English. He clipped the passages he thought were genuine teachings of Jesus and pasted them, in the four languages side by side, onto pages.

In 1820 — six years before his death at the age of 83 — Jefferson produced a leather-bound, 84-page volume titled The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Extracted Textually From the Gospels in Greek, Latin, French & English. Jefferson eliminated everything in the Bible concerning miracles. He ended the Gospel story with the execution and burial of Jesus, omitting the resurrection. The retained passages, Jefferson explained in an 1813 letter to John Adams, contain “the most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.”

You can examine and read Jefferson’s complete 1820 Bible online by visiting the Smithsonian Institution’s interactive Web display. Reproductions of Jefferson’s Bible can be purchased online.



INSIDE THE JEFFERSON BIBLE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clFLBt4D27M
The images above come courtesy of The Smithsonian.

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Comments (6)
luna456m says . . . | September 25, 2013 / 5:30 am
I would LOVE to read Jefferson’s bible… Adding to my must list

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John Oliver Mason says . . . | September 25, 2013 / 7:03 am
Jefferson was quite an intellectual titan-not like SOME past Presidents!
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Delia H says . . . | September 25, 2013 / 7:27 am
I can relate to that
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Sharon Wynne says . . . | September 25, 2013 / 9:58 am
A true Renaissance Man, we need more of them in today’s times.
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Carole Di Tosti says . . . | September 26, 2013 / 9:19 am
Miracles? Too bad he eschewed them. He needed a miracle to get out of debts… and died in bankruptcy.

Also, his slave holding is anathema (he obviously picked and choose what sections he like and what to ignore, so this article is in keeping with who Jefferson is)…whereas Hamilton another believer, eschewed slavery and didn’t compromise his values, though he is often vilified for his believing in a central bank…

WHAT HE WANTED WAS NOT WHAT HE IS TARRED AND FEATHERED WITH AS SOMETHING LIKE THE FEDERAL RESERVE.

Check out what and why the bank was needed…IT WAS NOT as some would like to portray.
Also, his and Washington’s fear of mob rule is well reasoned; they saw the violence and brutality of mobs and believed a culture could operate best with order and safety…

THAT IS NOT TO SAY THEY WOULD HAVE APPRECIATED THE encroaching on the constitutional freedoms they worked hard to insure.

Lincoln, believed in miracles…also used the Bible liberally and knew it backward and forward, though he was sub rosa and didn’t stuff if down people’s throats… used Jesus’ manner of speaking in parables, tell stories and use humor also; like Jesus, he used wisdom greater than Solomon’s and reverse psychology.

If you know the Bible, this is as plain as day…if you don’t, you will miss it, and many have. Seward was even more of a Bible reader and believer…and managed to escape the assassination attempt on his life whereas Lincoln did not. Lincoln was truly a Christ-figure…sacrificed with his blood for the country… but he also said earlier during the war period, rather than to turn around his proclamation, he would rather lose his life.

A typical Biblical principle…again if you read carefully. Jefferson was NOT the man Lincoln was…he came from wealth, had privilege handed to him and created the horrors of politics with corruption and division, arrogant and presumptuous, nevertheless, also had tremendous qualities, was a genius, but also a hypocrite and said one thing and did another. Lincoln tried not to…and was most successful as a man at doing it. But…what Jefferson did with the Bible indicates a weakness…he couldn’t swallow the supernatural… something which is HUGE today. Think about it. Why couldn’t he?

He believed more in his own powers as a man than in divine providence… an arrogance that is reflected in his behavior with his slaves and with women and with enemies
which didn’t know they were enemies because he was duplicitous for expediency sake…and his own.
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Betty B Willis says . . . | October 11, 2013 / 3:06 pm
For those who are truly believers, the Bible very plainly says that
“nothing is to be added or taken away from the WORD.” For some, ignorance is bliss.

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Which makes me wonder,
what would tony do ???
For those who are truly believers,
The Bible very plainly says that “nothing is to be added or taken away from the WORD(60).
=For some (144,000), ignorance (7,200,000,000-144,000) is bliss .= ,7,200,000,000
So, is the value of 'nothing" = -60 ??? like in MINUS 60
(the current weather patterns is certainly reflecting that)
~ Susan Lynne Schwenger

 

2,000 Year Old Techelet Fabric Discovered in Israel

http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/2000-year-old-techelet-fabric-discovered-israel/#Uf62PPq4RBy5Tbhf.01

2,000 Year Old Techelet Fabric Discovered in Israel
Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/2000-year-old-techelet-fabric-discovered-israel/#kfv4zqo74s6YyXCL.99
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“Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them that they shall make themselves tzitzit on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations. And they shall place upon the tzitzit of each corner a thread of turquoise wool (techelet).” (Numbers 15:38)



A recently discovered 2,000 year old fabric in Israel is believed to have been dyed using the murex snail. (Photo: courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority/Clara Amit)
A rare find has been revealed by the Israel Antiquities Authority this week. Scientists have confirmed that a 2,000 year old fabric was dyed using extract from the murex snail. Archaeologists in Israel have found thousands of pieces of fabric from the Roman period in the Judean Desert, the Negev, and the Arava region. However, this is the second piece of fabric to date that has ever been found in Israel that was treated with the murex-dye.

Dr. Na’ama Sukenik of the Israel Antiquities Authority who is in charge of the study is hopeful that three other fabrics in their possession from the Roman period may have also been dyed using the murex snail. The most recent find came from the Wadi Murabba’at caves located south of Qumran. Most textiles during the Roman period were dyed using plant derivatives. However, two purple-bordeaux colored textiles from the caves were discovered to be dyed with the murex snail and the American Cochineal insect.

Purple dye was considered a color of prestige during the Roman period so much so that at certain points in time the common masses were forbidden from wearing the color. Researchers are not yet sure just how the prestigious fabrics made their way to caves in the Judean desert. One theory proposed is that the fabrics may have belonged to Jewish refugees escaping the Bar-Kokhba uprising. Another theory is the fabrics were part of the possessions of a small Roman unit that was stationed near the Murabba’at caves during the revolt.

The murex snail is the source of the techelet color used to dye the coats of the high priests during the times of the Jewish temples. Techelet was also the color of the strings attached to the four corners of men’s garments known as tzitzit. It was first theorized by 19^th century scholars that the murex snail was the source of techelet but only with modern science has it proven to be true.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/8...fabric-discovered-israel/#HtaeCRBeqEB134r3.99

 

Jerusalem dig turns up priestly bathtub from Jesus' time

Behold! Jerusalem dig turns up priestly bathtub from Jesus' time
By Alan Boyle, Science Editor



The ruins of what appears to be a high-status residence were dug up on Jerusalem's Mount Zion, just outside the walls of the Old City.
Archaeologists say they have uncovered a first-century mansion on Jerusalem's Mount Zion, complete with an ancient bathtub that just might have belonged to one of the priests who condemned Jesus to death.

"Byzantine tradition places in our general area the mansion of the high priest Caiaphas or perhaps Annas, who was his father-in-law," Shimon Gibson, the archaeologist co-directing the excavation, said in a news release. "In those days you had extended families who would have been using the same building complex, which might have had up to 20 rooms and several different floors."
The mansion's location and its fancy features are the main lines of evidence for surmising that a member of the priestly class lived there, according to Gibson and the dig's other co-director, James Tabor, a scholar of early Christian history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. UNC Charlotte has been licensed by Israeli authorities to conduct the Mount Zion excavation.
"We might be digging in the home of one of Jesus' archenemies," Tabor told NBC News. "Someone who was at the trial of Jesus, and probably voted no."

So which was it: Pharisees or Sadducees? "We think Sadducees," Tabor said. "That's the class that has the wealth and more of the control of the temple, and they're in with the Romans."



The ancient bathtub, visible on the left side of this excavated bathroom, looks a lot like the modern-day equivalent.

Bathtub provides a clue

The mansion was built close to the walls of the Second Temple, erected by King Herod the Great in biblical times. It boasted a three-pit oven — a luxury in those days — as well as a private walk-in ritual pool and a separate bathroom.

The bathtub is one of the most significant clues in the mystery surrounding the mansion's owners. Only three other such tubs have been linked to the Second Temple period in Israel, Gibson said. Two of them were unearthed in Herod's palaces at Jericho and Masada, and the third was found in a priestly residence excavated nearby in Jerusalem's Jewish Quarter.

"It is only a stone's throw away, and I wouldn't hesitate to say that the people who made that bathroom probably were the same ones who made this one," Gibson said. "It's almost identical, not only in the way it's made, but also in the finishing touches, like the edge of the bath itself."



The mansion's residents could walk down these steps into a ritual bathing pool also known as a mikvah.



Three round pits served as ovens for the mansion's residents.

The excavators said they found a huge number of Murex sea snail shells amid the ruins. Some species of Murex sea snails were highly valued because a blue dye could be extracted from the creatures. In fact, historians say such a dye was specified in Jewish texts as the coloring agent for religious garments.



This is just one of the many Murex sea snail shells found amid the mansion's ruins.

It's not exactly clear why so many shells were kept in the mansion, but Gibson hypothesizes that they may have been used to identify different grades of dye, since the quality of the product can vary from species to species.

The team also explored a 30-foot-deep (10-meter-deep) cistern. "When we started clearing it, we found a lot of debris inside, which included substantial numbers of animal bones, and then right at the bottom we came across a number of vessels which seemed to be sitting on the floor — cooking pots and bits of an oven as well," Gibson said.

He and his colleagues suggest that Jewish residents might have lived in the cistern as their final refuge during the Roman siege that led to the city's destruction in the year 70. In his account of the siege, the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus said more than 2,000 bodies were found underground in Jerusalem's cisterns and water systems, most of them dead from starvation.

Why the mansion was preserved

The mansion's location, and the timing of its demise, may have been played a role in its preservation: After the Romans pillaged Jerusalem, the area was deserted for 65 years. And when the Roman emperor Hadrian rebuilt the city in 135, the Mount Zion area was left unoccupied. "The ruined field of first-century houses in our area remained there intact up until the beginning of the Byzantine period," in the early 4th century, Gibson said.

Jerusalem's Byzantine inhabitants simply built on top of the older walls. Two centuries later, the ruins were covered with landfill material that was dumped on it from above during the reign of Justinian I, due to the construction of a church complex known as the Nea Ekklesia of the Theotokos just to the northeast.
"The area got submerged," Gibson explained in the news release. "The early Byzantine reconstruction of these two-story Early Roman houses then got buried under rubble and soil fills. Then they established buildings above it. That's why we found an unusually well-preserved set of stratigraphic levels."
This year's Mount Zion excavations were conducted between June 16 and July 11, and the project is slated to continue in 2014 and 2015.

More about biblical archaeology:

• Was Jesus here? Biblical-era town found in Galilee
• Gallery: The archaeology of Christianity
• NBC News archive on biblical archaeology

Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the NBC News Science Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding +Alan Boyle to your Google+ circles. To keep up with NBCNews.com's stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/behold-jerusalem-dig-turns-priestly-bathtub-jesus-time-4B11186595

 

Documentry -- ESSENES, Healers, 'The Chosen Ones' were EGYPTIAN, taught by Akhenaton

ESSENES, Healers, 'The Chosen Ones'
were EGYPTIAN, taught by Akhenaton



Documentry
- have NOT yet watched it but posting it anyway

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excellent movie

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THE ESSENES-AKHENATON & AMARNA:

from the Dead Sea Scrolls...Why they followed the Solar Calendar of Amarna..."The texts are written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Nabataean, mostly on parchment but with some written on papyrus and bronze. The manuscripts have been dated to various ranges between 408 BCE and 318 CE. Bronze coins found on the site form a series beginning with John Hyrcanus (135-104 BCE) and continuing until the First Jewish-Roman War (66--73 CE).

The scrolls have traditionally been identified with the ancient Jewish sect called the Essenes, although some recent interpretations have challenged this association and argue that the scrolls were penned by priests in Jerusalem, Zadokites, or other unknown Jewish groups.

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Essenes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes
text updated from original posting 6/13/2014

The Essenes (in Modern Hebrew: אִסִּיִים, Isiyim; Greek: Εσσήνοι, Εσσαίοι, or Οσσαίοι, Essḗnoi, Essaíoi, Ossaíoi) were a sect of Second Temple Judaism that flourished from the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century CE which some scholars claim seceded from the Zadokite priests.^[1] Being much fewer in number than the Pharisees and the Sadducees (the other two major sects at the time), the Essenes lived in various cities but congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism (some groups practiced celibacy), voluntary poverty, and daily immersion. Many separate but related religious groups of that era shared similar mystic, eschatological, messianic, and ascetic beliefs. These groups are collectively referred to by various scholars as the "Essenes." Josephus records that Essenes existed in large numbers, and thousands lived throughout Roman Judæa.

The Essenes have gained fame in modern times as a result of the discovery of an extensive group of religious documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, which are commonly believed to be Essenes' library—although there is no proof that the Essenes wrote them. These documents include preserved multiple copies of parts of the Hebrew Bible untouched from possibly as early as 300 BCE until their discovery in 1946. Some scholars, however, dispute the notion that the Essenes wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls.^[2] Rachel Elior questions even the existence of the Essenes.^[3][4][5]

The first reference is by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder (died c. 79 CE) in his Natural History.^[6] Pliny relates in a few lines that the Essenes do not marry, possess no money, and had existed for thousands of generations. Unlike Philo, who did not mention any particular geographical location of the Essenes other than the whole land of Israel, Pliny places them in Ein Gedi, next to the Dead Sea.

A little later Josephus gave a detailed account of the Essenes in The Jewish War (c. 75 CE), with a shorter description in Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94 CE) and The Life of Flavius Josephus (c. 97 CE). Claiming first hand knowledge, he lists the Essenoi as one of the three sects of Jewish philosophy^[7] alongside the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He relates the same information concerning piety, celibacy, the absence of personal property and of money, the belief in communality and commitment to a strict observance of Sabbath. He further adds that the Essenes ritually immersed in water every morning, ate together after prayer, devoted themselves to charity and benevolence, forbade the expression of anger, studied the books of the elders, preserved secrets, and were very mindful of the names of the angels kept in their sacred writings.

Pliny, also a geographer, located them in the desert near the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the year 1947 by Muhammed edh-Dhib and Ahmed Mohammed, two Bedouin shepherds of the Ta'amireh tribe.^[8]

Name

Josephus uses the name Essenes in his two main accounts^[9][10] as well as in some other contexts ("an account of the Essenes";^[11] "the gate of the Essenes";^[12] "Judas of the Essene race";^[13] but some manuscripts read here Essaion; "holding the Essenes in honour";^[14] "a certain Essene named Manaemus";^[15] "to hold all Essenes in honor";^[16] "the Essenes").^[17][18][19]

In several places, however, Josephus has Essaios, which is usually assumed to mean Essene ("Judas of the Essaios race";^[20] "Simon of the Essaios race";^[21] "John the Essaios";^[22] "those who are called by us Essaioi";^[23] "Simon a man of the Essaios race").^[24] Josephus identified the Essenes as one of the three major Jewish sects of that period.^[25]

Philo's usage is Essaioi, although he admits this Greek form of the original name that according to his etymology signifies "holiness" to be inexact.^[26] Pliny's Latin text has Esseni.^[6][27]

Gabriele Boccaccini implies that a convincing etymology for the name Essene has not been found, but that the term applies to a larger group within Palestine that also included the Qumran community.^[28]

It was proposed before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered that the name came into several Greek spellings from a Hebrew self-designation later found in some Dead Sea Scrolls, 'osey hatorah, "observers of torah."^[29] Although dozens of etymology suggestions have been published, this is the only etymology published before 1947 that was confirmed by Qumran text self-designation references, and it is gaining acceptance among scholars.^[30] It is recognized as the etymology of the form Ossaioi (and note that Philo also offered an O spelling) and Essaioi and Esseni spelling variations have been discussed by VanderKam, Goranson and others. In medieval Hebrew (e.g. Sefer Yosippon) Hassidim ("the pious ones") replaces "Essenes". While this Hebrew name is not the etymology of Essaioi/Esseni, the Aramaic equivalent Hesi'im known from Eastern Aramaic texts has been suggested.^[31] Others suggest that Essene is a transliteration of the Hebrew word chitzonim (chitzon=outside), which the Mishna (e.g. Megila 4:8) uses to describe various sectarian groups. Another theory is that the name was borrowed from a cult of devotees to Artemis in Asia Minor, whose demeanor and dress somewhat resembled those of the group in Judaea.^[32]

However, Flavius Josephus – born Yosef ben Mattathias – was the son of a priestly family on both sides and a self-described Pharisee.^[33] "From ages sixteen to nineteen, according to his autobiography, Josephus experimented with the various Jewish sects in order to choose the best, finally deciding on the Pharisees as the most attuned to the people. In an apparent chronological conflict, however, Josephus also states that he spent these three years with a desert ascetic named Bannus, a period that ended when he was nineteen."^[34] We come to understand his true feelings about these so-called "Essenes" in Chapter 8 of "The Jewish War" as follows:

"2.(119)For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers of the first of which are the Pharisees; of the second, the Sadducees; and the third sect, which pretends (italicized for emphasis) to a severer discipline, are called Essenes. These last are Jews by birth, and seem to have a greater affection for each other than other sects have."^[35]

Location



Remains of part of the main building at Qumran.

According to Josephus, the Essenes had settled "not in one city" but "in large numbers in every town".^[36] Philo speaks of "more than four thousand" Essaioi living in "Palestine and Syria",^[37] more precisely, "in many cities of Judaea and in many villages and grouped in great societies of many members".^[38]

Pliny locates them "on the west side of the Dead Sea, away from the coast… [above] the town of Engeda".^[27]

Some modern scholars and archaeologists have argued that Essenes inhabited the settlement at Qumran, a plateau in the Judean Desert along the Dead Sea, citing Pliny the Elder in support, and giving credence that the Dead Sea Scrolls are the product of the Essenes. This theory, though not yet conclusively proven, has come to dominate the scholarly discussion and public perception of the Essenes.^[39]

Josephus' reference to a "gate of the Essenes" in his description of the course of "the most ancient" of the three walls of Jerusalem,^[12] in the Mount Zion area,^[40] perhaps suggests an Essene community living in this quarter of the city or regularly gathering at this part of the Temple precincts.

Rules, customs, theology and beliefs

The accounts by Josephus and Philo show that the Essenes led a strictly communal life – often compared by scholars to later Christian monastic living. Many of the Essene groups appear to have been celibate, but Josephus speaks also of another "order of Essenes" that observed the practice of being engaged for three years and then becoming married.^[41] According to Josephus, they had customs and observances such as collective ownership,^[42][43] electing a leader to attend to the interests of the group, and obedience to the orders from their leader.^[44] Also, they were forbidden from swearing oaths^[45] and from sacrificing animals.^[46] They controlled their tempers and served as channels of peace,^[45] carrying weapons only for protection against robbers.^[47] The Essenes chose not to possess slaves but served each other^[48] and, as a result of communal ownership, did not engage in trading.^[49] Josephus and Philo provide lengthy accounts of their communal meetings, meals and religious celebrations.

After a total of three years' probation,^[50] newly joining members would take an oath that included the commitment to practice piety towards "the Deity" (το θειον) and righteousness towards humanity, to maintain a pure lifestyle, to abstain from criminal and immoral activities, to transmit their rules uncorrupted and to preserve the books of the Essenes and the names of the Angels.^[51] Their theology included belief in the immortality of the soul and that they would receive their souls back after death.^[18][52] Part of their activities included purification by water rituals, which was supported by rainwater catchment and storage.

Ritual purification was a common practice among the peoples of Palestine during this period and was thus not specific to the Essenes. Ritual baths are found near many Synagogues of the period.^[53] Purity and cleanliness was considered so important to the Essenes that they would refrain from defecation on the Sabbath.^[54]

The Church Father Epiphanius (writing in the 4th century CE) seems to make a distinction between two main groups within the Essenes:^[31] "Of those that came before his [Elxai, an Ossaean prophet] time and during it, the Ossaeans and the Nazarean."^[55] Epiphanius describes each group as following:

The Nazarean – they were Jews by nationality – originally from Gileaditis, Bashanitis and the Transjordan… They acknowledged Moses and believed that he had received laws – not this law, however, but some other. And so, they were Jews who kept all the Jewish observances, but they would not offer sacrifice or eat meat. They considered it unlawful to eat meat or make sacrifices with it. They claim that these Books are fictions, and that none of these customs were instituted by the fathers. This was the difference between the Nazarean and the others…^[56]

After this Nazarean sect in turn comes another closely connected with them, called the Ossaeans. These are Jews like the former… originally came from Nabataea, Ituraea, Moabitis and Arielis, the lands beyond the basin of what sacred scripture called the Salt Sea… Though it is different from the other six of these seven sects, it causes schism only by forbidding the books of Moses like the Nazarean.^[55]

If it is correct to identify the community at Qumran with the Essenes (and claim that the community at Qumran are the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls), then according to the Dead Sea Scrolls the Essenes' community school was called "Yahad" (meaning "community") in order to differentiate themselves from the rest of the Jews who are repeatedly labeled "The Breakers of the Covenant".

The Essenes are discussed in detail by Josephus and Philo. Most scholars believe that the community at Qumran that allegedly produced the Dead Sea Scrolls was an offshoot of the Essenes; however, this theory has been disputed by some, for example, by Norman Golb:

Scholarly discussion

Golb argues that the primary research on the Qumran documents and ruins (by Father Roland de Vaux, from the École Biblique et Archéologique de Jérusalem) lacked scientific method, and drew wrong conclusions that comfortably entered the academic canon. For Golb, the amount of documents is too extensive and includes many different writing styles and calligraphies; the ruins seem to have been a fortress, used as a military base for a very long period of time – including the 1st century – so they could not have been inhabited by the Essenes; and the large graveyard excavated in 1870, just 50 metres east of the Qumran ruins was made of over 1200 tombs that included many women and children – Pliny clearly wrote that the Essenes that lived near the Dead Sea "had not one woman, had renounced all pleasure ... and no one was born in their race". Golb's book presents observations about de Vaux's premature conclusions and their uncontroverted acceptance by the general academic community. He states that the documents probably stemmed from various libraries in Jerusalem, kept safe in the desert from the Roman invasions.^[57]

Other scholars refute these arguments—particularly since Josephus describes some Essenes as allowing marriage.^[58]

Another issue is the relationship between the Essaioi and Philo's Therapeutae and Therapeutrides. It may be argued^{[by whom?]} that he regarded the Therapeutae as a contemplative branch of the Essaioi who, he said, pursued an active life.^[59]

One theory on the formation of the Essenes suggests that the movement was founded by a Jewish high priest, dubbed by the Essenes the Teacher of Righteousness, whose office had been usurped by Jonathan (of priestly but not of Zadokite lineage), labeled the "man of lies" or "false priest".^[4][5] Others follow this line and a few argue that the Teacher of Righteousness was not only the leader of the Essenes at Qumran, but was also identical to the original Jesus [Essa] about 150 years before the time of the Gospels.^[39] Lawrence Schiffman has argued that the Qumran community may be called Sadducean, and not Essene, since their legal positions retain a link with Sadducean tradition.^[60]

The Saint Thomas Christians ("Nasrani") of southwestern India may have connections with the Essenes, according to the Manimekalai, one of the great Tamil epic poems, which refers to a people called "Issani".^[61] The high presence of Cohen DNA amongst today's Nazareans make further support to the full or part Essene origin of the Malabar Nazareans. The Essenes were often of Levite or Cohen heritage and this may further explain the frequent 'priestly heritage' claims of several Nazerean families of India.^[62]

Connections with Kabbalah

According to a Jewish legend, one of the Essenes, named Menachem, had passed at least some of his mystical knowledge to the Talmudic mystic Nehunya ben HaKanah,^[63] to whom the Kabbalistic tradition attributes Sefer HaBahir and, by some opinions, Sefer HaKanah, Sefer HaPeliah and Sefer HaTemunah. Some Essene rituals, such as daily immersion in the mikveh, coincide with contemporary Hasidic practices; some historians have also suggested that the name "Essene" is a Hellenized form of the word "Hasidim" or "Hasid" ("pious ones"). However, the legendary connections between Essene and Kabbalistic tradition are not verified by modern historians.

Essenes in modern times

There are several modern Essene movements that sprung up before and after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls that are modeled on the Ancient Essene Order. The Order of the Essenes founded by Grace Mann Brown at the turn of the 19th-20th century, Rosicrucianism took it under its curriculum.

The Order of the Nazorean Essenes, founded in the United States by Abba Yesai Nasrai (Davied Asia Israel) in 1981, is a syncretic school of religious thought which draws on Nazarean, Gnostic Christian, Buddhist, and Manichaean beliefs and practices.^[64]

In Quebec, Canada and in France there is a French movement named The Essene Spirit which was founded by Olivier Manitara.^[65]

In the United States there are several new Essene movements and Essene churches.^[66][67][68]

Edmund Bordeaux Szekely published the modern pseudepigrapha 'Essene Gospel of John' from 1936, based on a claim to have discovered The Essene Gospel of Peace, the existence of which is denied by the libraries where Szekely claimed to have found it.^[69]

See also

• Dead Sea scrolls
• Ein Gedi
• Jewish eschatology
• Jewish vegetarianism
• Mount Carmel
• Qumran
  • Qumran-Essene Hypothesis
• Therapeutae, Hellenistic Jewish sect in Egypt
• Vegetarianism and religion
• Hellenistic Judaism
• Ctistae, celibates in ancient Thrace.
• Ebionite, early Judaizing Christian group
• Rosicrucianism, a 13th-century philosophical secret society that associated its lineage back to the Essenes.

References

1. F.F. Bruce, Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls. Paternoster Press, 1956.
2. Hillel Newman, Ph.D Bar Ilan University : Proximity to Power and Jewish Sectarian Groups of the Ancient Period Brill ISBN 90-04-14699-7.
3. Ilani, Ofri (13 March 2009). "Scholar: The Essenes, Dead Sea Scroll 'authors,' never existed". Haaretz. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
4. McGirk, Tim (16 March 2009). "Scholar Claims Dead Sea Scrolls 'Authors' Never Existed". Time. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
5. "Rachel Elior Responds to Her Critics". Jim West. 15 March 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2009.^{[unreliable source?]}
6. Historia Naturalis. V, 17 or 29; in other editions V,(15).73; the passage in question: "Ab occidente litora Esseni fugiunt usque qua nocent, gens sola et in toto orbe praeter ceteras mira, sine ulla femina, omni venere abdicata, sine pecunia, socia palmarum. in diem ex aequo convenarum turba renascitur, large frequentantibus quos vita fessos ad mores eorum fortuna fluctibus agit. ita per saeculorum milia — incredibile dictu — gens aeterna est, in qua nemo nascitur. tam fecunda illis aliorum vitae paenitentia est! infra hos Engada oppidum fuit, secundum ab Hierosolymis fertilitate palmetorumque nemoribus, nunc alterum bustum. inde Masada castellum in rupe, et ipsum haut procul Asphaltite. et hactenus Iudaea est.". cf. English translation.
7. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.119.
8. Barthélemy, D.; J. T. Milik, Roland de Vaux, G. M. Crowfoot, Harold Plenderleith, George L. Harding (1997) [1955]. "Introductory: The Discovery". Qumran Cave 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 5. ISBN 0-19-826301-5. Retrieved 31 March 2009.
9. Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. 2.119, 158, 160.
10. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 13.171-2.
11. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 13.298.
12. Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. 5.145.
13. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 13.311.
14. Josephus (c. 94). Antiquities of the Jews. 15.372.
15. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 15.373.
16. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 15.378.
17. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 18.11.
18. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 18.18.
19. Josephus. The Life of Flavius Josephus. 10.
20. Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. I.78.
21. Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. 2.113.
22. Josephus. The Wars of the Jews. 2.567; 3.11.
23. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 15.371.
24. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 17.346.
25. And when I was about sixteen years old, I had a mind to make trim of the several sects that were among us. These sects are three: - The first is that of the Pharisees, the second that Sadducees, and the third that of the Essenes, as we have frequently told you - The Life of Josephus Flavius, 2.
26. Philo. Quod Omnis Probus Liber. XII.75-87.
27. Pliny the Elder. Natural History. 5.73.
28. Boccaccini, Gabriele (1998). Beyond the Essene hypothesis: the parting of the ways between Qumran and Enochic Judaism. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 47. ISBN 0-8028-4360-3. OCLC 37837643.
29. Goranson, Stephen (1999). "Others and Intra-Jewish Polemic as Reflected in Qumran Texts". In Peter W. Flint and James C. VanderKam. The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment 2. Leiden: Brill Publishers. pp. 534–551. ISBN 90-04-11061-5. OCLC 230716707.
30. For example, James C. VanderKam, "Identity and History of the Community." In The Dead Sea Scrolls after Fifty Years: A Comprehensive Assessment, ed. Peter W. Flint and James C. VanderKam, 2:487–533. Leiden: Brill, 1999. The earliest known proposer of this etymology was P. Melanchthon, in Johann Carion, Chronica, 1532, folio 68 verso. Among the other proposers before 1947, e.g., 1839 Isaak Jost, "Die Essaer," Israelitische Annalen 19, 145–7.
31. Lightfoot, Joseph Barber (1875). "On Some Points Connected with the Essenes". St. Paul's epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: a revised text with introductions, notes, and dissertations. London: Macmillan Publishers. OCLC 6150927. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
32. Essenes, Lawrence H. Schiffman, Reclaiming the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, 1994.
33. Whiston and Maier, 1999, Introduction, p.8
34. Ibid.
35. Whiston and Maier, 1999, "The Jewish War" - Chapter 8, p.736
36. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.124.
37. Philo (c. 20–54). Quod Omnis Probus Liber. XII.75.
38. Philo. Hypothetica. 11.1. in Eusebius. Praeparatio Evangelica. VIII.
39. Ellegård, Alvar; Jesus – One Hundred Years Before Christ: A Study in Creative Mythology, (London 1999).
40. cf. map of ancient Jerusalem.
41. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. book II, chap.8, para.13.
42. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.122.
43. Josephus (c. 94). Antiquities of the Jews. 18.20.
44. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.123, 134.
45. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.135.
46. Philo, §75^{[verification needed]}
47. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.125.
48. Josephus (c. 94). Antiquities of the Jews. 18.21.
49. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.127.
50. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.137–138. Josephus' mention of the three-year duration of the Essene probation may be compared with the phased character of the entrance procedure in the Qumran Rule of the Community [1QS; at least two years plus an indeterminate initial catechetical phase, 1QS VI]. The provisional surrender of property required at the beginning of the last year of the novitiate derives from actual social experience of the difficulties of sharing property in a fully communitarian setting, cf. Brian J. Capper, 'The Interpretation of Acts 5.4', Journal for the Study of the New Testament 19 (1983) pp. 117-131; idem, '"In der Hand des Ananias." Erwägungen zu 1QS VI,20 und der urchristlichen Gütergemeinschaft', Revue de Qumran 12(1986) 223-236; Eyal Regev, “Comparing Sectarian Practice and Organization: The Qumran Sect in Light of the Regulations of the Shakers, Hutterites, Mennonites and Amish”, Numen 51 (2004), pp. 146-181.
51. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.139–142.
52. Josephus (c. 75). The Wars of the Jews. 2.153–158.
53. Kittle, Gerhardt. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Volume 7. pp. 814, note 99.
54. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_a4hAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=essenes defecate sabbath&source=bl&ots=LGqywrrjsl&sig=uhzP4s-3Ecm8FWCeEZ54Yk6sjEE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=K4CjUvmgGcWh0QWewICICQ&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=essenes defecate sabbath&f=false
55. Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 378). Panarion. 1:19.
56. Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 378). Panarion. 1:18.
57. Golb, Norman (1996). Who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls?: the search for the secret of Qumran. New York City: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-80692-4. OCLC 35047608.^{[page needed]}
58. Josephus, Flavius. Jewish War, Book II. Chapter 8, Paragraph 13.
59. Philo. De Vita Contemplativa. I.1.
60. James VanderKam and Peter Flint, The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls, p.251.
61. Manimekalai, by Merchant Prince Shattan, Gatha 27
62. Weil, S. (1982)"Symmetry between Christians and Jews in India: The Cananite Christians and Cochin Jews of Kerala. Contributions to Indian Sociology.
63. Kaplan, Aryeh (1997) [1990]. Sefer Yetzirah: The book of Creation (2nd ed.). York Beach, Maine: Red Wheel Weiser Conari. xvii. ISBN 0-87728-855-0. OCLC 36017140.
64. "Who is the founder of the Order of Nazorean Essenes?". Retrieved 5 November 2012.
65. "Who Are The Essenes?". Essenia Foundation. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
66. "The First Essene Church". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
67. "The Order of the Essenes - Los Angeles Chapter". Retrieved 30 December 2012.
68. "The Essene Ministry Cathedral City CA". Yelp.com.au. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
69. Beskow, Per (May 1983). Strange tales about Jesus. Fortress Press. ISBN 9780800616861.

Further reading

• Alexander, David; Pat Alexander (1983). The Lion handbook to the Bible. Tring: Lion Hudson. ISBN 0-86760-271-6.
• Baldwin, James (1995) [1963]. The fire next time. New York City: Modern Library. ISBN 0-679-60151-1.
• Bauer, Walter; Robert A. Kraft (1996) [1971]. Orthodoxy and heresy in earliest Christianity. Mifflintown, Pennsylvania: Sigler Press. ISBN 0-9623642-7-4.
• Bennett, Chris; Lynn Osburn and Judy Osburn (1995). Green gold the tree of life: marijuana in magic & religion. Frazier Park, California: Access Unlimited. ISBN 0-9629872-2-0.
• Bergmeier, Roland (1993). Die Essener-Berichte des Flavius Josephus: Quellenstudien zu den Essenertexten im Werk des judischen Historiographen. Kampen, Germany: Kok Pharos Publishing House. ISBN 90-390-0014-X.
• Bultmann, Rudolf (1987). "Significance of the Historical Jesus for the Theology of Paul". Faith and understanding. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress. ISBN 0-8006-3202-8.
• Burns, Joshua Ezra (2006). "Essene Sectarianism and Social Differentiation in Judaea After 70 C.E". Harvard Theological Review 99 (3): 247–74. doi:10.1017/S0017816006001246.
• Durant, Will (1993). Caesar and Christ. MJF Books. ISBN 5-552-12435-9.
• Eisenman, Robert H. (1997). James, the brother of Jesus: the key to unlocking the secrets of early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. New York City: Viking Press. ISBN 0-670-86932-5.
• Ewing, Upton Clary (1994) [1963]. The prophet of the Dead Sea scrolls: the Essenes and the Early Christians, one and the same holy people: their seven devout practices. Tree of Life Publications. ISBN 0-930852-26-5. OCLC 30358890.
• Ewing, Upton Clary (1961). The Essene Christ. New York City: Philosophical Library. OCLC 384703.
• Legge, Francis (1964). Forerunners and rivals of Christianity, from 330 B.C. to 330 A.D. New Hyde Park, New York: University Books. LCCN 6424125 Check |lccn= value (help). OCLC 381558.
• Golb, Norman (1995). Who wrote the Dead Sea scrolls?: the search for the secret of Qumran. New York City: Scribner. ISBN 0-02-544395-X. OCLC 31009916.
• Lewis, Harvey Spencer (1997) [1929]. Mystical Life of Jesus. San Jose, California: Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis. ISBN 0-912057-46-7. OCLC 43629126.
• Koester, Helmut (1971). "The Theological Aspects of Primitive Christian Heresy". In James McConkey Robinson. The Future of our religious past: essays in honour of Rudolf Bultmann. New York City: Harper & Row. OCLC 246558.
• Larson, Martin Alfred (1977). The story of Christian origins: or, The sources and establishment of Western religion. Washington: J.J. Binns. ISBN 0-88331-090-2. OCLC 2810217.
• Larson, Martin Alfred (1967). The Essene heritage: or, The teacher of the scrolls and the gospel Christ. New York City: Philosophical Library. OCLC 712416.
• Sanders, E. P. (1992). Judaism: practice and belief, 63 BCE–66 CE. London: SCM Press. ISBN 1-56338-015-3. OCLC 243725142.^{[page needed]}
• Savoy, Gene (1980) [1978]. The Essaei Document: Secrets of an Eternal Race : Codicil to The Decoded New Testament. Reno, Nevada: International Community of Christ. ISBN 0-936202-03-3. OCLC 13952564.
• Schiffman, Lawrence H. (1991). From text to tradition: a history of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism. New York City: Ktav Pub. House. pp. 113–116. ISBN 0-88125-372-3. OCLC 23733614.
• Schonfield, Hugh J. (1984). The Essene Odyssey: The Mystery of the True Teacher and the Essene Impact on the Shaping of Human Destiny. Tisbury: Element Books. ISBN 0-906540-49-6. OCLC 12223220.
• Schonfield, Hugh J. (1991) [1968]. Those Incredible Christians. Tisbury: Element Books. ISBN 0-906540-71-2. OCLC 13536522.
• Shaw, George Bernard (2004) [1912]. Androcles and The Lion. Fairfield, Iowa: 1st World Library - Literary Society. ISBN 1-59540-237-3. OCLC 63203922.
• Smith, Enid S. (October 1959). "The Essenes Who Changed Churchianity". Rays from the Rose Cross.
• Vaclavik, Charles P. (1986). The vegetarianism of Jesus Christ. Three Rivers, California: Kaweah Publishing Company. ISBN 0-945146-00-0. OCLC 26054343.
• Vermes, Geza and Martin Goodman. The Essenes According to the Classical Sources. JSOT on behalf of the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studie: Sheffield, 1989.
• Lillie, Arthur (1887). Buddhism in Christendom, or, Jesus, the Essene. 1 Paternoster Square, London: Kegan Paul & Co.,.

External links

• Historical Facts on Essene Culture
• Encyclopædia Britannica: Essenes
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Essenes
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Essenes
• Scholar: The Essenes, Dead Sea Scroll 'authors,' never existed - Haaretz, 13 March 2009.
• Essenes and Others: argues that the Hebrew original form of the name later spelled "Essenes" is in some Qumran scrolls as a self-designation.
• "Jannaeus, His Brother Absalom, and Judah the Essene," Stephen Goranson, identities of Wicked Priest and Teacher of Righteousness, relevant to history of the Essenes.
• (Thematically compiled comparison of the parallels in the ancient sources) Dead at 2009/09/22.
• The Digital Dead Sea Scrolls/ Essenes

 

THE BIBLE - an interesting reference / website

http://bible.cc/2_kings/2-1.htm

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check that website is still there

 

BIBLE CODES


www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MmJlz6rdiuc

The Pentagon and National Security Agency discover codes in The Bibles which can only be Supernaturally explained. This is truly fascinating information.

{Part 2} www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5tt5iPWaow&feature=related
{Part 3} www.youtube.com/watch?v=947nUArs-Zw&feature=related
{Part 4} www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuuNMynQYmI&feature=related
{Part 5} www.youtube.com/watch?v=ph1Ehj1GJo4&feature=related
{Part 6} www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZYR9Cxr6rw&feature=related
{Part 7) www.youtube.com/watch?v=32pHO9F3riI&feature=related
{Part 8} www.youtube.com/watch?v=90ZuHTjhj0o&feature=related

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www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N5tt5iPWaow
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=947nUArs-Zw
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LuuNMynQYmI
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ph1Ehj1GJo4
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hZYR9Cxr6rw
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=32pHO9F3riI
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=90ZuHTjhj0o

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www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FvCMxiwFIsE

Bible Code Updates - Michael Drosnin Part 1

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PART 2

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=y7J1USKWpbg

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is there a free site online to do bible codes, that is worthwhile to explore ???

 

THE HISTORY of RELIGION - over the past 5000 years


Earth Religion 5000 Years Time Lapse Map




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This is an eye opener for most people

 

KJV - JERIMAH Chapter 19: VERSE 7 & 8 - Zombie attacks

Jeremiah 19: 8-9 kjv
1 Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests;
2 And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee,
3 And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
4 Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;
5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
6 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

8 And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof.
9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.

10 Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee,
11 And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury. 12 Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet: 13 And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.14 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house; and said to all the people, 15 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.

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yup, zombies

 

Jesus' Great-Grandmother Identified ~ Tribe of King David ~ St. ISMERIA

Jesus' Great-Grandmother Identified
Medieval legends suggest that Ismeria, a descendent of the tribe of King David, was the grandmother of the Virgin Mary.

By Jennifer Viegas


The legend of St. Ismeria marks a shift in belief, as sanctity was previously more often earned by blood martyrdom rather than piety.

THE GIST

- According to medieval manuscripts, the great-grandmother of Jesus was St. Ismeria.
- The legend of St. Ismeria emphasizes sanctity earned by a life of penitence as opposed to blood martyrdom.
- St. Ismeria likely served as a role model for older women during the 14th and 15th centuries.
The great-grandmother of Jesus was a woman named Ismeria, according to Florentine medieval manuscripts analyzed by a historian.
The legend of St. Ismeria, presented in the current Journal of Medieval History, sheds light on both the Biblical Virgin Mary's family and also on religious and cultural values of 14th-century Florence.

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The great-grandmother of Jesus was a woman named Ismeria, according to Florentine medieval manuscripts analyzed by a historian.
The legend of St. Ismeria, presented in the current Journal of Medieval History, sheds light on both the Biblical Virgin Mary's family and also on religious and cultural values of 14th-century Florence.

----

SLIDE SHOW: The Shroud of Turin Throughout History

"I don't think any other woman is mentioned" as Mary's grandmother in the Bible, Catherine Lawless, author of the paper, told Discovery News. "Mary's patrilineal lineage is the only one given."
"Mary herself is mentioned very little in the Bible," added Lawless, a lecturer in history at the University of Limerick. "The huge Marian cult that has evolved over centuries has very few scriptural sources."
Lawless studied the St. Ismeria story, which she said has been "ignored by scholars," in two manuscripts: the 14th century "MS Panciatichiano 40" of Florence's National Central Library and the 15th century "MS 1052" of the Riccardiana Library, also in Florence.

SEE ALSO: Oldest Portraits Of Apostles Found

"According to the legend, Ismeria is the daughter of Nabon of the people of Judea, and of the tribe of King David," wrote Lawless. She married "Santo Liseo," who is described as "a patriarch of the people of God." The legend continues that the couple had a daughter named Anne who married Joachim. After 12 years, Liseo died. Relatives then left Ismeria penniless.
"I'm pretty sure one is supposed to believe that it was either her dead husband's relatives or, less likely, her natal family," Lawless said. "The family of the Virgin Mary would not have been cast in such a light."
Ismeria then goes to a hospital where she finds refuge. She is said to perform a miracle, filling a shell with fish to feed all of the hospital's patients. After this miracle she prays to be taken away from the "vainglory of this world."

WATCH VIDEO: Leonardo da Vinci used mirrors to hide biblical images in his most famous masterpieces.

After God called her to "Paradise," a rector at the hospital informed the Virgin Mary and Jesus of her passing. They departed for the hospital with the 12 Apostles, Mary Magdalene, Mary Salome and Mary Cleophas. There they paid honor to St. Ismeria.
The legend marks a shift in belief, as sanctity was previously more often earned by blood martyrdom rather than piety. Lawless credits that, in part, to the rise in the belief of Purgatory, an interim space between heaven and hell where sins could be purged.
"The more sins purged in one's lifetime (through penitence, good works, etc.) the less time needed in purgatory -- for either oneself or one's family," she said.
She also pointed out that "the great bulk of Christian martyrs of the west died under the Roman persecutions, which ended in the fourth century."

SEE ALSO: Moses' Red Sea Parting Explained by Computer Model

While the author of the Ismeria legend remains unknown, Lawless thinks it could have been a layperson from Tuscany. During the medieval period, "the story may have been used as a model for continent wifehood and active, charitable widowhood in one of the many hospitals of medieval Florence."
"The grandmother of the Virgin was no widow who threatened the patrimony of her children by demanding the return of her dowry, nor did she threaten the family unit by remarrying and starting another lineage," she added. "Instead, her life could be seen as an ideal model for Florentine penitential women."
George Ferzoco, a research fellow at the University of Bristol, commented that the new paper analyzing the legend is "brilliant" and "reveals an exciting trove of religious material from late medieval and renaissance Florence, where many manuscripts were written specifically for females."

SEE ALSO: King Herod's Palace Contained Luxury Theater Box: Big Pic

"What is so striking about St. Ismeria," Carolyn Muessig of the University of Bristol's Department of Theology and Religious Studies told Discovery News, "is that she is a model for older matrons. Let's face it: Older female role models are hard to come by in any culture."
"But the fact that St. Ismeria came to the fore in late medieval Florence," Muessig concluded, "reveals some of the more positive attitudes that medieval culture had towards the place and the importance of women in society."

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http://news.discovery.com/history/jesus-great-grandmother.html
LOTS of COMMENTS on the actual article - quite interesting to read them

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Quite a bit of interesting info on this thread

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moved to right section