Second Temple Judaism

The Zadokite Priesthood,

The Essenes, The Books of Enoch and the Foundations of Christian Theology

The Pharisees, and the Development of Rabbinic Judaism

Rabbi Akiba, Simon bar Kohkba,

The Destruction of Messianic Judaism and the Jewish Culture

A Master's Thesis

World Revival School of Ministry

Kansas City, Missouri

Cliff Pash

August, 2003

A very special thanks to my wife, Julie, for her

continual support and sacrifice, for so many days of

double duty in our business while I was in class or was studying.

I bless you, God, for bringing such a women into my life.

I thank you Julie for 28 years of a wonderful marriage.

Table of Contents

Introduction page 1

Part I

* The Rise of Zadokite Judaism page 8
* The writings of Jeremiah page 10
* The Legacy of Zadokite Reformation and Priesthood page 13
* The Sabbath as an example of Zadokite Holiness page 15
* The Maccabean Crises and the Hasmonaean Dynasty page 19

Part II

* The Essenes, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Foundations of
* Christian Theology page 26
* The Essenes page 27
* God at War! The Theology of a World in Rebellion Against
* the Creator The Books of Enoch, The Beginnings of
* Eschatological Theology page 30
* The Books of Enoch page 32 The Ministry of Jesus page 35
* Jesus and the Battle with Satan - Luke 11 page 35
* Jesus and Love your Neighbor page 37
* Paul and the Colossian Heresy, Angelic worship page 39

Part III

* The Pharisees, Wisdom Traditions, The Dual Torah, Establishment of
* Rabbinical Judaism, The Jewish Messiah of Rabbi Akiba, and the
* Destruction of the Jewish Culture. page 46
* Development of Sapiental Judaism-Wisdom Traditions,
* The Sages page 51
* Book of Ecclesiastes page 54
* Ben Sirach and the Book of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) page 55
* Beliefs and Doctrines of the Pharisees page 60
* The Written Law - The Torah page 62
* Oral Tradition and its Evolution into the Oral Law page 64
* First Talmudic Claim: The Oral Law is a separate divine revelation given by God to Moses at Sinai page 68
* Second Talmudic Claim: The Oral law is an extended
* interpretation and elaboration of the written Torah
* which was given to Moses. [Or, it was present as a seed
* in the written Torah, but later grew and flourished.] page 70
* Third Talmudic Claim: The oral law is a fence around the
* written Torah page 72
* Summation of Oral Torah or would Moses be able to
* recognize the Oral Torah? page 74
* The Academy at Yavneh and the beginnings of
* Rabbinical Judaism page 76
* Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph page 76
* The Office of the Rabbi page 78
* The Jewish Messiah - Simon bar Kohkba page 80
* Supremacy - From What Viewpoint?
* The Destruction of the Jewish Culture page 82

Conclusions page 84

Introduction

"(You Gentiles) at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life

of Israel. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying God's promise. You were

in this world without hope and without God. But now, you who were once far off

have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood. .......

he has made us (Jew and Gentile) both one and has broken down the barriers

which divided us...." (Eph 2:12-14a)

With such bold proclamations, the apostle Paul declares the covenants and promises that once were only reserved for Israel are now available to the Gentiles, for purposes that all men may be equal before God. Every barrier between Jew and Gentile are broken, and all peoples are to be one. The covenants and promises God had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are now and forever more to be considered the covenants and promises God has made with all of mankind. "He did this in order to create in union with himself from the two groups a single humanity and thus make shalom....( Eph 2:15)

If one of the purposes of the Messiah's time on the earth was to make both peoples one before God, then, some may argue that the mission of Jesus Christ has failed. The two peoples have become the most separated peoples on the earth, with both peoples filled with mistrust and anger and fear towards each other. The Church has claimed they are the true Israel, replacing the Jewish people before God - as the chosen people of God. This theology is commonly called "Replacement Theology". The Jews viewed the mission of Jesus to be an apostate mission that grew into a religion that is so far removed from Judaism that no comparisons could be made. However, it is written in the Talmud that Moses himself could not recognize the Rabbinical Judaism established near the end of the first century, a Judaism that has continued until the present day. Therefore, it might appear that Paul was wrong in his summation of some of the purposes of Jesus coming to the earth, or, secondly, that the plans of God were not completed by His coming, or thirdly, that both religions (Christianity and Judaism) are so far from what they were in the first century that even the question is no longer relevant.

History, however, was written by the winners. The debates that raged long ago have been forgotten and the writings and arguments have been lost. The losers of a "war for supremacy" have either disappeared or have also rewritten history from their point of view, They are seldom given the opportunity to restate their case, presenting themselves in a better light, for the winners now rule. For the historian, there is great difficulty in reconstructing the passions and the battles that once raged within the context of the world view of the people who wrote papers long ago.

For the Christian, the destruction of the temple in 70 c.e. signified the victory of Christianity over the old Judaism of the Law. Christian history records that the Jewish Diaspora began in 70 c.e. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple. It has been believed that the province was depopulated of Jewish people at this time, leaving the Jews without a country until 1948. But the economic devastation of Judea lasted only a short time since the Roman Empire needed an economically strong and populated Judean province on their frontier. The people who wrote the history were not Jews, Messianic or otherwise. Each side of the great debates of the first century wrote of a history that promoted their theological arguments.

The Jewish people rebounded from the "Great Revolt" (66-73 c.e.), but organized diversity decreased. Of the 37 separate Jewish Sects operating before 66 c.e., only two survived with any strength, the Pharisees and the Messianic Community. Both claimed to be the legitimate religion of their forefathers. A struggle for supremacy ensued, culminating in the establishment of Rabbinical Judaism through the efforts of Rabbi Akiba and the destruction of the Jewish Culture in 135 c.e. through "the Last Revolt" the Jews would ever have against the Roman Empire. Rabbi Akiba used all of his Rabbinical authority to declare Simon bar Kohkba to be the Messiah to the Jewish People, in order to establish Rabbinical Judaism and to discredit Messianic Judaism. Rabbi Akiba, before he died, would "save" Judaism from the Messianic Apostasy, no matter what the cost. Rabbi Akiba established Rabbinical Judaism which has survived until the present day.

Messianic Judaism was discredited, most of its adherents were executed by the Sanhedrin at the beginning of the Last Revolt or were slaughtered by the Romans. Never again were the Jewish Covenants and Promises taught to the Christian community by the people to whom they were originally given. The Church was severed from its Jewish Roots, and to this present day, Jewish Messianic Leadership has not been available to the Gentile Christian. The Chosen People of God would not be the Royal Priesthood for the emerging faith known as Christianity. Additionally, Judea was renamed "Palestine" to signify it would never again be populated by Jews, and the people of the Land began to migrate to the Parthian Empire.

In order to determine how the course of events unfolded for this 100 year period from the death of Jesus to the death of Akiba's Messiah, bar Kohkba, this paper will begin with the end of the Babylonian Captivity and the establishment of the Zadokite Priesthood and religion by Ezra and the returning exiles to Judea while under the rule of the Persian Empire. The tenants of this "new" Judaism were prophesied by Ezekiel, chapters 40-48. The focus would be on maintaining a level of holiness that would be pleasing to God, ensuring that He would never send them into exile again. The priests would be the rulers of the "new" nation.

Three hundred years later, long after the invasion of Alexander the Great, during the rule of the Seleucid kings, Antiochus III and IV, that the office of High Priest was, for the first time, sold to raise money for the king. First, the position was purchased by Jason. This purchase of the High Priest position began a period of turmoil in Judea that might best be described as "cultural wars". It was Jason who instituted many Hellenistic cultural reforms, which angered the Zadokite priests. Next, it was a man named Menalaus who outbid Jason for the High priest position. Soon, a great cultural war broke out and the nation was very divided. In order to establish his priesthood among his enemies, Menalaus asked Antiochus IV, his patron and mentor, to help him destroy his enemies. Unforeseen by the ruling class of Judea, the actions by Antiochus IV sparked a successful revolt by a commoner, Judas Maccabee and his family, which resulted in the establishment of the Hasmonaean Dynasty, the renaissance of Hebrew thinking, the Hebrew language and the theocracy. The national symbol of the Hasmonaeans was the Palm Branch (think Palm Sunday).

During this time period, the Pharisaic interpretation of Judaism began to influence the national life of the Jews. They brought with them a unique innovation known as the Oral Tradition, which was given equal consideration with the written scripture. Except for a brief time under the Hasmonaean queen, Alexandria Salome, the Pharisees never were influential as the majority religious "denomination" in Judea, until the time of Rabbi Akiba many years later.

The Hasmonaeans never restored the Zadokite priesthood, thereby angering the now disenfranchised leadership prophesied by Ezekiel and established by Ezra. They believed they were appointed by God during the Babylonian Exile and were the only group so ordained. Their belief was there could be no other priesthood that could bring the proper sacrifices to God and still be pleasing to Him. Many believed this group left the mainstream of Jewish Life to conduct their "cult" rituals away from Jerusalem and remain pleasing to their God. Many believed this group became known by the Greek name, Essenes. Interestingly enough, the Essene theology developed over the next 230 years, and incorporated other streams of Judaism into their thinking. Much of their writings were hidden in caves, not to be discovered until the late 1940's. We know of some of these writings as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Within the Dead Sea Scrolls were many of the foundations of thought that became the New Testament theology, recorded by Paul in his epistles. Much of their redefinition of meanings of the Tanakh were the foundation for Christian thought.

After the Zadokite Priesthood was "dethroned" by Jason and the Seleucids, the position of High Priest became a political position. The Hasmonaeans held both the position of King and of High Priest. Because Hasmonaean brothers continued to fight over who would be king, Pompey, the Roman general was asked to enter Jerusalem and make peace, which he did by conquering the independent kingdom and effectively annexing it to the Roman Province of Syria. The Roman government ruled through surrogates, establishing loyal citizens within Judea as High Priests from the class of Sadducees. Their continued power depended upon their keeping the Romans in power and keeping dissent to a minimum.

Within Judea and the Galilee, tensions between the Romans and the Jews remained high. The loss of their political freedom continued to cause great stress upon the culture of the day. The fact that the Romans were invited in because the Hasmonean leadership could not stop fighting among themselves brought a sense of betrayal and a sense of desperation to the common people of Judea. The belief arose that God would reestablish the dynasty of David, for only the throne of David could rule in a manner so pleasing to God that He would send a Messiah or deliverer to save His people from their "slavery" or "bondage" to foreign rulers..

One group, known as the Zealots, believed they needed increase their faith in Jehovah enough to begin a war of independence. God would then bring them victory. Others believed their culture needed to be reformed to be in step with the rest of the Roman world, believing their currant economic prosperity depended upon a reforming of the religion of their ancestors. Others believed the standards of Holiness must be increased in order for God to hear their cry and send to them a deliverer, a messiah, who would bring them out of their slavery.

Into this political, emotional, and religious cauldron of competing ideas and strongly held views, judgments and anger, Jesus Christ, the Jewish Messiah was born. The revival that Jesus brought was to turn the people back to their God and break down the barriers between God and man. Jesus attempted to open the eyes of the people to see the season in which they were living in. People were vowing to lay down their lives for God in a way that would bring destruction upon the peoples. The people were not understanding the plans and purposes of God, therefore, their religion was powerless. The Chosen People of God were not able to find the help they needed, and the religion was not able to bring anything of life to the rest of the Roman world, or even themselves. Jesus then showed the way that the power of the living God, a power that could only come from heaven, would come and change them, and then, through them, would change the world. The message was so foreign to most of the people of God that they rejected it. In order to not offend the Romans (and to keep their treasured position with the Romans) the leadership of the church caused Him to be executed.

The Message of Christ continued to grow among the peoples as yeast will grow among a loaf of bread. The religious people, however, continued to reject it and fight against the Messianic Heresy. After the destruction of the temple, Judaism was once again reformulated by the leadership into a form the Jewish people had never known before. The foundations of Rabbinic Judaism was born at Yavneh and developed by one of the greatest sages Judaism has ever known, Rabbi Akiba. By 135 c.e., on the eve of the Last Revolt the Jews would conduct against the Romans, the authority of the Rabbi and the Oral Law were firmly established among the non-Messianic Community, and Judaism has never been the same. It must be understood that Rabbinic Judaism was the most complete reformulation of the Jewish Religion that had ever occurred, and it has lasted longer than any of the other "Judaisms" that are in the Scriptures.

Beginning with the Babylonian Captivity, then, we will attempt to follow the competing ideas and the changing theologies. We will attempt to describe the changing pressures that so influenced the culture of the people who were called God's Chosen People. At the end of this journey, we will find two completely different religions, both birthed out of Judaism, both birthed out of this period we call the Intertestamental Period or Second Temple Judaism. Both religions could be called Judaisms, but both religions had become so changed and so different that neither religion would have been recognized by the people living during the time of the ministry of Jesus Christ.

If one of the purposes of the ministry of Jesus was to bring both Jew and Gentile into a concept of "One New Man", then both Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity must explore their roots and the development of their religions beginning with Second Temple Judaism. If both religions would return to their roots, then, the possibility of God's Chosen People being united may be realized. This writer fears the walls of separation have been built so high and so thick that neither side will ever acknowledge their common beginnings, nor will they ever accept each other as the "true" people of God unless God can intervene and force His will upon mankind.

I will, then, discuss the Zadokite Priesthood, the Essenes, the Books of Enoch, the beginnings of Jewish Mysticism and the development of Christian theologies. I will discuss the rise of the Pharisees, the beginning of the Oral Law, the Books of Job, Jonah and Ecclesiastes. I will then discuss the Book of Sirach, followed by the establishment of Rabbinic Judaism. Finally, I will attempt to show very differing theologies and methods of interpretation of scriptures that resulted in extreme separation among the Jews. In the end, I will offer no real answers, but will try to clarify the roots of our Christian faith. Hopefully this journey will challenge us in our faith, and will stimulate discussion among diverse peoples who believe in diverse theologies.

Part I

The Rise of Zadokite Judaism

The Babylonian Captivity brought great social, political and religious upheaval among the people of Judea. Whenever there is defeat among peoples, there appears to always be lingering questions that continue to divide peoples for generations. Blame is often assessed, and self-righteousness exerted. In the case of Judea, some people blamed God. Others blamed priests, while others blamed weak political leadership, such as Josiah, Jehoahaz and Jehoiakim. Because Judea had many components of a theocracy, these questions caused even more division. Jeremiah and Ezekiel were divided in their prophetic statements concerning the return of the people from exile. Because Ezekiel was among the Babylonian captives, his prophetic statements reflected the attitudes of the people among whom he lived. Ezekiel wrote of the coming day throughout much of chapters 40-48, with the aim of laying the foundations of a new order for Judea that was profoundly different from what had been the norm.

Ezekiel's writings prophesied blame for the captivity to the sinful behavior of the majority of Levites, proclaiming:

"The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray and who wandered from me

after their idols must bear the consequences of their sin. They may serve in my sanctuary,

having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt

offerings and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them. But

because they served them in the presence of their idols and made the house of Israel fall

into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand that they must bear the consequences

of their sin, declares the Sovereign Lord. They are not to come near to serve me as priests

or come near any of my holy things or my most holy offerings; they must bear the

shame of their detestable practices." (Ezek 44:10-13)

Ezekiel then singled out one family, 'the sons of Zadok' for their faithfulness. Therefore, this family was the only priestly family worthy of the rights, privileges and perquisites of the priesthood when the temple was rebuilt. The remainder of the Levites were to become subservient temple personnel under the sons of Zadok.

"But the priests, who are Levites and descendants of Zadok and who carried out the

duties of my sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from me, are to come near to

minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood,

declares the Sovereign Lord. They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to

come near my table to minister before me and perform my service." (Ezek 44:15-16)

Ezekiel also blames the king and envisions the return of the exiles coming under the authority of a king reduced in power, "a prince", who did not have a role of prominence within the "cult" of the temple. From the time of King David, the king had far more authority within the temple cult than was envisioned by Moses. Without delving into the political landscape of the day, Ezekiel challenged the combining of the kingship and the priesthood as it had existed and exerted his influence to shape the future political and religious arena if the Jewish people ever returned to their homeland. The exiles believed they had been betrayed by the Davidic king, Jehoiachin.

".... And my princes will no longer oppress my people but will allow the house of

Israel to possess the land according to their tribes. This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

'You have gone far enough, O princes of Israel! Give up your violence and oppression

and do what is just and right. Stop dispossessing my people' declares the Sovereign Lord.

'You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah and an accurate bath'" (Ezek 45:8-10)

"And the prince may never take anyone's property by force. If he gives property

to his sons, it must be from his own land, for I do not want any of my people

unjustly evicted from their property." (Ezek 46:18)

The exiles were a small percentage of the Jewish population. They were the upper class, the royal family, the military leaders, the priests, a total of 4600 people (Jer 52:28-30). There were, however, as many as 90% of the population remaining in Judea. Because the majority remained in the land, life continued with religious and political activity without the deep effects of exile.

The writings of Jeremiah

Jeremiah had a different prophetic vision of the restoration of Judea after the time of the captivity. His prophetic understandings were that the royal line of David and the legitimacy of the Levitical priest would be restored. Jeremiah's prophetic vision was the true word of God, and could never be broken unless the covenant with the day and the night were also broken.

"In that day ....they will serve the Lord their God and David their king,

whom I will raise up for them." (Jer 30:9)

"For this is what the Lord says: 'David will never fail to have a man to sit on the

throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests, who are Levites, ever fail to have

a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings

and to present sacrifices.'" (Jer 33:17-18)

"The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: This is what the Lord says: 'If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, then my covenant with David my servant -- and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me -- can be broken and David will

no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. I will make the descendants of

David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the

stars of the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore..'" (Jer 33:19-22)

Ezekiel and Jeremiah had differing prophetic visions, perhaps somewhat shaped by the people they lived among. Jeremiah lived among the people who remained in the land of Judah. There are writings to indicate the animal sacrifices formerly conducted at the destroyed temple continued during the time of the captivity, although in a different city, possibly among the Samaritans. For many of the remaining peoples in Judea, life went on somewhat as it had before the exile, although the "nobility" had been taken to Babylon. The economy recovered and the Judean province was ruled by the Babylonians for their economic and political gain. Thus, the Jews were allowed to continue practicing their religion and sacrifices to YHWH if the people allowed themselves to be ruled peacefully.

The Persians, under Cyrus the Great, conquered the Babylonian empire, brought a change to the way the subjected peoples (including the Jews) were to be ruled. The Medio-Persian Empire believed that the most efficient rule of the conquered regions necessitated self-rule of the peoples, and that local religions and religious leaders were often an effective tool in keeping a region prosperous and peacable. As self-rule began to be established (beginning the post-exile period from the viewpoint of the Jews), the religious institutions needed to be updated and renewed, but not begun from scratch. The ruling class that had been in exile returned, and expected to establish their authority over the institutions and over the people living in the land. When the exiles began to return to Judea, major conflicts arose between the two groups.

A compromise was reached, giving the royal line of David through Zerubbable the kingship, while the Zadokite family of priests would control the priesthood. The city walls and temple were rebuilt. The Levitical order of priesthood submitted to the priests of Zadok. After Zerubabble, however, there is no record of a continued royal line. The prophesies of Ezekiel became the blueprint for the post-Babylonian period. The royal line of David ceased to rule and died out. Perhaps the new Testament writings that spoke of the restoration of the throne of David were nothing more than a wish that the glories of a previous age could, once again, be established if only the royal monarchy could be reestablished. If the glories of that age were to come again, God must establish the Davidic throne and, thereby, fulfill the prophecy of Jeremiah. Judaism, however, for the first time, became a religion ruled by the Zadokite priesthood. This particular "Judaism" lasted for the next three hundred years.

Thus began an interesting reinterpretation of religious history by the Priests. For the first time, the High Priest became an exalted political, social and economic position. Some may theorize that portions of the Tanakh (Old Testament) were written to "justify" these changes. Some theorize that the Books of Chronicles, sections of Isaiah (56-66), Job, Jonah, Malachi, and possibly Esther, Ruth and the Song of Songs, as well as Haggai, Zechariah and Ezra were written at this time. Some even theorize (Graf-Wellhausen Documentary Hypothesis) that the priests of Zadok, during this early post-exilic period, wrote the majority of Leviticus, and inserted various writings into other portions of the Torah. "The P or Priestly source, distinguised by its uniform style, orderly arrangement of meterials, and repetition of stereotyped phrases (e.g., "these are the generations"). This fourth major document contains liturgical and ritualistic texts, genealogical tables and statistics, laws and prescriptions - all unmistakable interests of the Israelite priesthood. The P source is assumed to be the product of postexilic priests about 500-450 b.c.e"

The books of the Chronicles were written, establishing the lineage of Zadok in the first chapters. The history of the Jewish people was rewritten to legitimize Zadokite power. Many references to the prior priestly functions of the king was eliminated from this history. Even King Uzziah was punished with leprosy for his transgression of making an offering on the altar of incense, a normal function of the kings until this time!! (2 Chron 18:17). The Priests of the line of Zadok established themselves as the true sons of Aaron, the true sons of Levi, and the true sons of Phinehas in order to fulfill every angle of legitimacy to be the true priesthood of Israel.

The Legacy of the Zadokite Reformation and Priesthood

With the depopulation of Israel, then the exile of most of the upper classes of Judea, followed by the destruction of the first temple, the Chosen People of God were reexamining their faith in the Creator. They searched the Torah looking for answers as to their sins, repentance and how to find restoration to their God. What must be done to please their God and renew the covenants and promises their forefathers had entered into. Hill and Walton wrote:

"Israel's identity as the people of God took on a new dimension as temple and priest

replaced state and king as the stabilizing institutions of the Hebrew community. The

law of Moses became the charter or the constitution by which society was reorganized

into a priestly 'temple-state.' Religious, social and economic policy was now

determined by Torah, bringing a new emphasis on Hebrew 'exclusiveness' and

'separation' from the Gentiles and their polluted world order."

The Zadokite Priesthood interpreted Torah as a blueprint for life, believing that man could keep every aspect of "the Law", and then, become pleasing to God, thereby ensuring His continued favor and blessings upon His Chosen People. The attitudes and teachings began to place increased emphasis upon strict obedience to every word written of Torah, yet, the Spirit of the Law, or the faith of Abraham was somehow lost.

"The covenantal relationship between God and Israel, as understood by the

Zadokites, is a pact for the stability and welfare of the universe."

The theology of the day insisted that the people of God had agreed to subject themselves to God's Law, including the punishments listed in Dueteronomy when the covenant was transgressed. Martin wrote that, "The high priest .... and his priestly kinsmen served as the human community that established and maintained connection between the various orders of being. Their labor in the temple preserved all other orders of beings from collapse. Upon them, the people of Israel, the land of Israel, and, ultimately, the entire cosmos and its population all depended." Their attitude was that things could be done with an exact correctness that pleased God, and therefore, order would be sustained in the whole of God's Creation.

There is a belief in Judaism yet today that would say that as long as there is one Torah observant community left in the earth, the fullness of the judgments of God will not come to the earth. To them, Torah observance is the key to pleasing God, and it is they who sustain the universe. Strict obedience, therefore, pleases God. Because of this community, God withholds judgment from the earth, therein, the Gentiles are blessed. If the priests pleased God with their sacrifices and order, judgment will be withheld from the earth.

As time passed, the Jewish leadership further distanced themselves from the plans and purposes of God. The ultimate Jewish prophesy of God was that through Israel, "all the world would come to know Him as the Lord and their is no other"(1 Kgs 8:60). The Zadokite beliefs, however, evolved into a unhealthy separation from the 'unclean' lifestyle of the Gentile. They believed that the Gentile could never be equal to the Jew before God, and, upon completion of the Second Temple, a Gentile Court was constructed because Gentiles were too 'unclean' and would always be too 'unclean' to even approach the holiness of the Living God. Although Jewish writings acknowledge their salvation is never "earned" and has always been a gift, the leadership believed the gift was only for the Jews, and could never come in its fullness to the Gentiles. They never could understand their need for a Messiah as defined by the life of Jesus. Therefore, because the blessings of God's promise were not with their community, the Mosaic Law developed layers and layers of "insurance" or "fencing" for the people of God, and a constant quest for holiness before God became a preoccupation of the leaders.

As time progressed, the Zadokite world view affected or infected every area of Jewish thought. There arose a belief that God would send a deliverer, a Mosaic figure, a Messiah who would come and deliver them from the Roman rule. But the belief became corrupted by the Zadokite world view. The Messiah would come when the Jewish People fully accepted the rule and reign of their God. It was only then that the Creator God would then send the Messiah. Every idea of holiness and the acceptance of the rule and reign of God became incorporated in the Second Temple Judaism theology of the Sabbath.

The Sabbath as an example of Zadokite holiness

One exegetical reading of the causes of the Babylonian Captivity could lead the reader to conclude that the "desecration" of the Sabbaths was the major cause of God's wrath against His people. Therefore, if the nation would return to God, if the people would obey the rules God set down for them, if the nation could come together in some form of unity, then God would send the deliverer and Roman rule would end and the Kingdom of God would be restored to Israel. It was believed (and still is believed today) that if every Jewish person would obey the Sabbath in its entirety (interpreted by the Jewish priests), for just one day, then the Messiah would come. Therefore, during the time of the direct ministry of Jesus on the earth, the Jewish leadership believed it was Jesus who was preventing the Messiah from being sent by God. Remember, the Sabbath was established at Sinai in Ex 31:12 (f). as a sign of the covenant between the Hebrews and Jehovah:

"The Lord said to Moses, "You must also tell the Israelites: Take care to keep my Sabbaths, for that is to be the token between you and me throughout the generations,

to show that it is I , the Lord, who make you holy. Therefore, you must keep the Sabbath as something sacred. Whoever desecrates it shall be put to death...."

The leadership of the Jewish people believed that the primary reason for the Babylonian Captivity of 587 b.c.e. was the issue of the Sabbath. Because the people did not have any more understanding of Sabbath at that time than we do today, the issue was simplified into desecration of the Sabbath rules. The simplest definition of "rest" would be to do no work and to abstain from every labor. Therefore, layer upon layer of rules and regulations were formulated to define what work was, what travel was, what was acceptable and what was not. Sabbath regulations controlled the lives of the Jewish people from the beginning of the week to the end.

If not keeping the Sabbath in its entirety resulted in God's Punishment through the Babylonian Captivity, surely a renewed effort to keep the Sabbath would result in the OPPOSITE -- as in the restoration of the people of God to the covenant promises and blessings as well as the restoration of the Davidic kingdom. Secondly, if every Jewish person did keep the Sabbath in the manner prescribed by God in the Torah (with the Zadokite world view) .......Then Almighty God would send His Messiah and bring deliverance to the Chosen People. Although the Babylonian captivity was over, the national life of Judea had been controlled by foreigners since that time. It was as if the people were still in captivity - although this captivity was in their own land. Because of their years and years of strict obedience to Torah, God must and will deliver them by sending them a messiah.

from Yerushalmi Taanit 1:1

WA commentary from the Talmud, Law states

"The Messiah will come any day that Israel makes it possible. IF all Israel will keep a single Sabbath in the proper (Judaic) way, the Messiah will come. If all Israel will repent for one day, the Messiah will come. 'Whenever you want....,' the Messiah will come. .........the persistent hope of the people for the coming of the Messiah is linked to the system of Judaic observance and belief."

Many of the Jews living at the time of Jesus might have said: "we will never allow God's punishment to fall upon us again, if we can help it. We will follow every Law written in Torah to the letter. If each one of God's Chosen People will do so, the Messiah has promised he will come and rescue us from the bondage we are now in. If it was because of our sin that the Romans came, and it will be because of our Holiness, our turning back to our first love, our obedience to the Holy one that once again, He will hear our cry and rescue us, His Chosen People. Praise be His name forever.".

During the time of the Roman occupation, the Jewish leadership began to view every person who was disobedient to Sabbath rules as being held responsible for keeping the Romans in power and the Jews in bondage. Because of their disobedience, it was now those people's fault

that the Messiah did not come. The Messiah would come whenever the whole community would repent and observe the Sabbath in its entirety.

The prostitutes and the tax collectors were thought to be the ones responsible for the continuing agony of life in a police state under the Roman Soldiers. Then, to top it all off, an upstart itinerant preacher (rabbi) named Jesus came and openly challenged the very Laws of Moses from the Sacred Torah. The ministry of Jesus brought revival to the majority of the Jewish people in Galilee until the Sabbath issue was raised. The Pharisaic "Messiah Investigators" might have concluded Jesus was the Messiah except for the Sabbath issue.

The Zadokite world view was so ingrained in the Jewish leadership during the first century of the common era, that they had no comprehension of what it was Jesus was saying when He said to them, "The Sabbath was made for the sake of man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27 from Exod 23:12 and Deut 5:14). The Sabbath is necessary for man because there must be something of God that comes into man in order for him to become one with God. The only substance that separates God's people from the world's people is the presence of God. The practice of obtaining it, keeping it and finding it is the true meaning of the

Sabbath. It is a time, not a day or a place. It is finding the place of intimacy with God and resting in that. In order to find that place, one must refrain from all work, but the refraining from work is not the Sabbath.

Although the Zadokite world view became a system of legalisms that robbed the Scriptures of their primary purpose, the reforms that came after the Babylonian captivity brought the people of God together with a common purpose and reestablished their common destiny. The Aaronic and Levitical priesthood was placed under the authority of the Zadokite priesthood in line with the prophetic writings of Ezekiel. The Davidic line of political authority was discredited because of the corruption of the pre-exilic time, and would never again subjugate the peoples.

"In the Zadokite world view the house of YWHW has taken the place of the house of David, the priesthood has replaced the monarchy, and Aaron has superseded Moses."

The Maccabean Crises and the Hasmonaean Dynasty

After the invasion of Alexander the Great, tremendous changes came to the world of the Jewish people and their culture. From the time of Alexander (323 b.c.e.) until 189 b.c.e., the Ptolemies of Egypt were the principle rulers of the region of Judea. They ruled with a certain amount of tolerance for the local religions, however, the Hellenistic culture was continually

challenging the institutions and lifestyle of the Jewish people. The economic, religious and political freedoms of the Greeks were challenging and bringing change to every culture. Yet, the Zadokite Priesthood met the challenges and effectively resisted the changes. Although there were undercurrents of dissent, there was a certain peacefulness in the land until the times of the Seleucids.

During the late 3rd century, b.c.e, the political and military strength of the Ptolemies began to decline. At the same time, the Seleucids had a period of strong leadership. Transference of the territory of Judea to the Seleucids was the result. Life in Judea began to be changed very dramatically. Although the Seleucids brought Judea into the sphere of their kingdom, being on the frontier with the Egyptian Ptolemies resulted in Judea being a the buffer between the two kingdoms. By 189 b.c.e., the Seleucid monarchy was in desperate financial straits after they lost a major battle at Magnesia. The monarchy could not pay the required tribute to Rome. They needed money and were open to finding it wherever it could be found. Little did their king, Seleucus IV, realize that the pent up cultural and religious pressures among the Jewish people would open up opportunities to obtain the needed monies. Treachery and bribes and the lack of unity among Jews would soon create a crises of immense proportions among the peoples of Judea. The Zadokite priesthood was soon to fall and the order they had kept was soon to explode into disorder.

The second book of Maccabees narrates that Simon, an Aaronite priest of the tribe of Bilgah "who has been made captain of the temple, had a disagreement with the high priest about the administration of the city market.... and reported to (the governor of Coelesyria) that the treasury in Jerusalem was full of untold sums of money...(which) did not belong to the account of the sacrifices, but that it was possible for them (the treasures) to fall under the control of the king" (2 Macc 3:4-6). The anger of this priest set in motion a series of events that changed the culture of the Jewish people forever. The length of this paper will not allow a full development of the events that unfolded, however, the events brought about the end of the Zadokite Priesthood and the order that came with their stable leadership. The cultural pressures of the Hellenistic civilization brought deep division within the Jewish people in much the same way the American culture influences the entire world in our day. The battle for the offices of the priesthood resulted in an attempted redefining of the office of high priest and of the entire cult of the temple sacrifices and of the entire religious system. The office of the High Priest became a political tool to keep the people peaceful. By the time of Jesus, the High Priest was responsible to the Romans arguably more than to God.

When the Zadokite high priest, Onias III, refused to surrender the temple treasures, he was seized by Antiochus IV, the new king of the Seleucids and imprisoned. Jason (Joshua) obtained the position of high priest through promising a huge bribe for the right and he was given the right to become high priest. Jason desired to implement many Hellenistic social and cultural reforms long desired by many within the Jewish society. Although much of what Jason desired to implement was offensive to many of the traditional Jews including the Zadokite priests, he had a certain legitimacy because he was of the house of Zadok, and a relative of the Tobiads, the richest and most economically powerful family in the region. Thus, the "opening" of the culture had begun, much to the distress of the Zadokite priests. Jason did not appear to be acting soley out of personal ambition, but as the leader of a reform minded group of citizens who honestly believed the Greek ways would stimulate economic growth and, thus, be beneficial to his people. It appears that Jason did not persecute the existing religious system, he only encouraged a Hellenistic change from within Jewish society itself.

As one might expect, the cultural changes were not embraced by all, resulting in many divisions, factions and movements. After only three years in power, Jason was removed from his position. Menelaus, the brother of Simon (mentioned as the angry priest above) "secured the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver" (2 Macc 4:24). Menelaus was not of the Zadokite family and had no qualification for the high priesthood according to the post-exile traditions. The people of Judea became even more divided, some supporting the still imprisoned Onias III, some the now deposed Jason, some Menelaus. No group was dominant. The problem intensified when Menelaus could not pay the tribute promised to Antiochus IV and began to sell "some of the gold vessels of the temple" (2 Macc 4:32)

Political intrigue followed and Onias III was killed. With such turmoil on his frontier, Antiochus IV brought his army to Jerusalem and took the city without a fight. He may have been invited in by Menelaus. Antiochus IV seized the majority of the temple treasures (looted the temple), and killed many of those who opposed his rule. He firmly established the authority of Menelaus who then proceeded to "lord over his compatriots worse than the others did" (2 Macc 5:23). From this day, worship in the temple underwent radical changes, the daily sacrifices were interrupted (1 Macc 1:45). A new calendar was introduced changing the Zadokite sabbatical calendar to a Macedonian lunar calendar. Large scale persecution of the Zadokite religion began. The traditional Jews and the Zadokite sect believed very strongly that the Jews were now compelled by their leaders to "forsake the laws of their ancestors and no longer live by the laws of God" (2 Macc 6:1) The voluntariness of the people to follow Greek ways now became mandated by Menelaus, and supported by Antiochus IV. Three hundred years of Zadokite order were ended.

The next two years were the most confused in all of Jewish history. These two years may have been the most crucial to a complete understanding of why Judaism evolved as it did. It set the stage for the rise of the Essenes and the Pharisees, the establishment of the Sadducees as the priesthood of the Temple religion and the beginnings and development of the oral tradition. Also was seen the beginnings of the religious philosophy of the Essenes and the foundational development of a way of thinking which led to the New Testament teachings of Jesus and their interpretation by Paul.

This writer has read many accounts of this time period and can find no agreement as to what actually happened. Therefore, I can only conclude that the greatest enemy was often within the people (here: the Jews), and the factional pressures became overwhelming. The truth is often embarrassing and therefore, no group could objectively research and tell the story. There were times when there was not a clear right and wrong. Antiochus IV was defeated by the Egyptians and needed to strengthen his Judean "frontier against attack by the Ptolemies. Menelaus was his chosen priest for the province and had proven himself loyal. Menelaus needed to disarm his enemies and to establish order among the Jewish people. He needed to be firmly established in power and legitimized in his priesthood over the objections of the Zadokite priests. Antiochus IV and Menelaus desired a prosperous and peaceful country. The last thing Antiochus IV wanted was a tribute paying region on his frontier to be in armed rebellion against him at the very time when his greatest fear was an attack by the Ptolemies of Egypt. Boccaccini writes:

"Within this context, it is likely that Menelaus himself directed the king by suggesting to him those measures that in a very simple and effective way could identify their (common) enemies and lead to their punishment. 'The very fact that Antiochus was able to individuate precisely which Jewish practices to abolish demonstrates that the person advising him on the matter knew the Judaism of the period very well and wanted to destroy that particular Judaism, not all Judaism.'" Boccaccini further writes:

"Only in the eyes of the Zadokite law were these measures an abomination as they challenged the holiness and uniqueness of the Jerusalem temple. In every other context

the same measures of benevolent patronage would have appeared as a sign of the king's

favor and respect to the temple of Jerusalem, which Antiochus did not destroy but honored,

and to its priesthood, which Antiochus did not persecute but supported."

In order to retain and legitimize his power, Menalaus developed a plan to get rid of his enemies using the military strength of his Patron, Antiochus IV. In order to do this, he believed he needed to discredit or destroy the Zadokite purity laws and the priesthood of the line of Zadok. The plan was that through the religious reforms proposed by Menalaus, the old ways of thinking would be wiped out and the reformed religion would allow for new ways of thinking to gain dominance. Thus, the religion of the Jews, although reformed, would allow prosperity and peace to come to their land.

There was nobody who thought that a priestly family of Joarib, the Hasmoneans or Maccabees would take a radically different view of the situation. This family did not see themselves as the "leaders of just another rival priestly family seeking power, as they were, but as champions of the national tradition against the Greeks, and to turn the civil war into a war of liberation against the foreign oppressors."

The Maccabees fought a highly successful guerrilla war against Antiochus IV, and was then able to raise a standing army that could win with traditional methods. They were able to defeat the armies of Antiochus IV and establish the Hasmonaean Dynasty for the next one hundred years. The Maccabees began a Renaissance of the Hebrew culture, a reestablishment of Hebrew as the dominant language of the Jewish people, and a burst of creativity as to the plans and purposes of God and the reasons why He chose to come and dwell in the hearts of men.

The major sects of Second Temple Judaism all traced their beginnings to this period. The Sadducees, the Pharisees and the Essenes all began during the time of the Hasmoneans. The brief period of freedom reestablished a national identity among the Jewish people. In fact, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the people greeted him with palm branches, the very symbol of the independent nation of Judea during the time of the Hasmonaean dynasty. The people thought Jesus had come to reestablish the nation of Judea and deliver God's people from the Roman bondage.

Unfortunately, the Hasmonaean family was filled with the same political intrigue as was common to powerful dynasties. The infighting among the family members resulted in an appeal to Pompey to make and enforce a peace among the Jewish people. Rome not only established peace between the family members of the Hasmoneans, but their actions led to Judea being conquered and ruled by Rome. The leadership of the people of God could not lay down their lives for the good of the nation or for the good of the people.

Treachery and intrigue brought about the loss of freedom in 63 b.c.e and the hopes for the establishment of the Kingdom of God among the Chosen People of God were once again dashed. To further add insult to injury, it was the leadership of the "theocracy" who sold the people out and interfered with the plans and purposes of God. The Jewish people were in a constant state of rebellion in one form or another until 135 c.e. when the final revolt resulted in a massive defeat. Jerusalem was depopulated and an automatic death sentence imposed on all Jews within eyesight of the City of God. The Jewish state would cease to exist until 1948 c.e..

Part II

The Essenes, The Dead Sea Scrolls and The Foundations of Christian Theology

There are great problems for the historian in the determining the beginnings of a movement or a group of people who hold common beliefs. First, there are very little writings from the beginning of a social or religious (or even political) movement. Secondly, the writings must survive wars, migrations of peoples, and time. Writings that could inform us of the beginnings of the Essene movement do not appear to have survived. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls during the 1940's, we have learned much about this group, yet, the two thousand years that have passed since this group was in existence continue to pose problems of interpretation of these writings. Thirdly, history is written by the victors, therefore, most of what is known about these people has been colored by the various social movements of the intervening years. Much of what is known of the Essenes comes from Josephus, Philo, Tacitus and others. The Essenes ceased to exist after the destruction of the temple in 70 c.e. Fourthly, history is debated and uncovered and studied only within the context of broader social movements who have evolved through time. Each group studies for purposes of validating their own group and protecting the myths that are always a part of each group's legacy and history. In the case of the Dead Sea Scrolls, debate rages over the meaning of the documents uncovered, yet, each group studying these documents interprets them in light of their own purposes, protecting their myths and refusing to accept conclusions that may show their movement in a negative light. Each Judaism and Christianity of this current age derives their own differing interpretations of the DSS documents.

We have discussed the Priestly reforms in the post-Babylonian exile time period before the Hasmonaean war. We have discussed the identity of the Zadokite priesthood with the claims to legitimacy stemming from the writings of Ezekiel. The common bond that the people of Judea held was to never be punished again through exile again by their God. These people intended to would live the holiest life possible, thereby bringing sweet incense to God. They thought their obedience to the Zadokite version of Torah would keep them from judgment.

THE ESSENES

"....both groups (Sadducees and Essenes) had deep priestly roots. This seems to be indicated by the very names of the two communities; thus the Qumran group was founded and led by the sons of Zadok (the leading priest at the time of David and Solomon) while the term Sadducee seems to be derived from the name 'Zadok'. Both circles opposed the Pharisees, promoting a more rigid interpretation of the law."

"Some entitle the document (Dead Sea Scrolls) the Zadokite Fragments because of its

allegiance to Zadok, high priest of Solomon. The traditional theory informing

this choice of title is that the DSS community rejected the Hasmonaean priesthood established by Judas Maccabeus and his brothers because it departed from

the Zadokite lineage. .... the DSS community believed itself to be the restored Israel;

hence its emphasis on strict obedience to the Torah." (emphasis mine)

During the Babylonian captivity, Ezekiel prophesied that the only legitimate priesthood was through the family of Zadok (Ez 44:9-31) and cited above. For three hundred years, the Zadokite priesthood ruled the spiritual and earthly life of Judea - being legitimized as the only acceptable high priesthood before God. The rapid overthrow of the Priestly system of government by Jason, Menalaus and the Hasmoneaen dynasty threw the established order into disarray. If the people appointed by God were not allowed to rule Israel and govern the temple cults, what punishment of God must be coming upon the people? The Damascus Document (3:20-4:4) states:

"Those who remain steadfast in it will acquire eternal life, and all the glory of Adam is for them. As God established for them by means of Ezekiel the prophet, saying: Ez 44:15 'The priests and the sons of Zadok who maintained the service of my temple when the children of Israel strayed far away from me, shall offer the fat and the blood." The priests are the converts of Israel who left the land of Judah; and the 'levites' are those who joined them; and the sons of Zadok are the chosen of Israel, ' those called by name' who stood up at the end of days"

The leadership of this group were "priests of the House of Zadok." Through the many decades of Essene existence, a belief was developed, a continuation, actually, of the belief that the true Israel must do things in strict accordance with the Mosaic Torah, as defined by the Zadokite priesthood. Since the high priesthood of Israel was corrupted by political appointees, and the religion of the people of Judea was being corrupted by the religious practices of the newly emerging Pharisees, their belief was that only the Essenes would be delivered by the expected Davidic Messiah.

Because of the ongoing apostasy, the rest of Israel could not be saved, and, consistent with most of the Judaisms of the day, the Gentile nations were not a part of the salvation picture. The Essene group gradually became an apocolyptic cult with a sense of their own importance as they saw the plans and purposes of God. Because Essene roots were established with the Zadokite priesthood, the sacrifices conducted by them were the only sacrifices acceptable to God. As long as there was one Torah observant community properly sacrificing to God, He would not come and judge the world. Therefore, it was the Essene community at Qumran that kept the judgments of God from coming upon the rest of the world.

According to Essene teaching, their members were expected to be a people who seemingly loved everybody with the love of their God, yet, who believed all who did not join them were damned. They were the "Sons of Righteousness" and all others, including other Jews, were "Sons of Darkness". The Essenes, however, appeared to love each of the "Sons of Darkness", causing acceptance by the general population as a people of holiness. They were accepted by most of the nation's leadership because they were not a threat to the governing structure.

Documents found in the caves at Qumran have brought a tremendous understanding to the development of New Testament (or Messianic Writing) theology. The development of Essene theology and scholarly writings in the years preceding the ministry of Jesus Christ, points to an emerging strain of theological thought that was separate from the other prevailing Judaisms of their day. Many of these theological ideas are the foundations of our Christian faith. Ideas of eternal reward and punishment (heaven and hell), the necessity of a new Priesthood to be established (the order of Melchizedek in Hebrews). the need for a new heaven, a new earth and a new Jerusalem to be established after the current creation was destroyed were all Essene theologies. If Jesus came to "destroy the works of the devil", the majority of Jewish people would not have understood the need for such a mission, since God was in complete control of His universe. Once again, the "war" between the adversary and God was established within the writings of the Qumran sect. Due to space limitations, we will only discuss three of these Essene ideas in the context of the ministry of Jesus Christ and the Christian faith.

God at War! The Theology of a World in Rebellion against the Creator

The Books of Enoch, The Beginnings of Eschatological Theology

During the intertestamental period being discussed in this paper, the Jewish leadership and scholars, sages and priests were overcoming the shock of the Babylonian Captivity. Their captivity might have been viewed as the failure of Yahweh to protect His Chosen People and utilizing the heathen to punish them. The assimilation of the Northern Kingdom (Israel) into the Assyrian empire and the exile of the Southern Kingdom caused a deep crises of faith among many of the returning exiles.

The prophetic writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, as well as some of the minor prophets, kept most of the people focused upon their sins and their need to repent. The prophetic promises were that both Israel and Judea would be restored and the Kingdom of God would be established upon the earth, with the Chosen People of God being the royal priesthood. The people either did not understand what it was God was expecting of them, or they were disobedient. Others had begun to believe that the entire Jewish Religion was just a religion of men.

With the passage of time, the fullness of the prophetic visions did not occur and the "chastisement theology" of Ezekiel and Jeremiah and others began to wear thin. Alexander the Great defeated the Persians, introducing Hellenistic culture to the Middle East. After his death, the conquered areas were divided among his four generals. The Ptolomies gained control of Egypt and ruled Judea. Later, Judea became a battle ground between the Ptolomies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria. The Maccabean Revolt and the establishment of the Hasmonaean dynasty brought continued (increased) strife as discussed above. The people of Judea were never really free and the reign of God was never established. Finally, as a last straw, the inability of the Hasmonaean rulers to make peace among themselves caused Jewish leadership to invite the Roman Empire to rule over the people of God. They willingly gave up their independence because of their inability to work together for the good of their country. Boyd wrote:

"Increasingly, Jews of the second and third centuries b.c. began to believe that

what was happening to them could not be all their own fault."

If the disasters and foreign domination were not their fault, and if it was not God's fault, then, what was happening? Many began to search the Scriptures for an answer. They began to notice the warfare paradigm that repeated itself throughout the Tanakh. They speculated of a universe created by their God, Yahweh, in which there was a spiritual rebellion of beings placed by God over the various regions and territories of the earth. These rebellious beings might have become the cause of their pain and frustration. Perhaps the princes and principalities were involved in an actual rebellion against God. In the Watcher Traditions developed in the Books of Enoch, it was the Watchers who were appointed by God to administrate His Kingdom, but now it was they who had become the problem. In the Books of Enoch, God is seen as attempting to restore order to His creation. It is creation itself that will not submit to the King of Kings. Therefore, Jesus came to "destroy the works of the devil".

"The apocalyptic authors intensified the relatively minor Old Testament concept of Yahweh engaging in battle against opposing forces to preserve order in the world. Yahweh must now do battle against these same forces to actually rescue the world." (emphasis mine)

The Books of Enoch

The Books of Enoch were probably written during the period of the Hasmonaeans. The Books of Enoch developed a whole new world view of God's creation and its apparent decline. It is from these foundational books, all Jewish mysticism (Kaballah) has developed. These writings were the beginnings of Apocolyptic and Escatological thought, and to some foundational Christian thought. The problem, as defined by the Enochian view, is that God had created a world in which He appears to have lost control, but continued salvage operations to save it. These salvage operations would culminate in the "end of days" in which there would be a final judgment, punishment and reward. Then, God would create a new heaven and a new earth which would once again be perfect and not be subject to evil.

The ideas of Enoch were extremely radical and were diametrically opposed to the Books of Wisdom and Sirach, (written about the same time), and had never been theologically accepted by the ruling Priesthood. These writings were a radical departure from the Zadokite world view and the developing Pharisaical theologies which later became Rabbinic Judaism. It appeared that the Essene/DSS/Qumran community primarily accepted these writings and it was Jesus and the New Testament authors who later developed them into what was to became Christian theology.

The Books of Enoch were the first written Judaic material to question the continued "goodness" and sovereignty of God over His creation. God's order appeared to have been overthrown by rebellion and disorder in the heavenlies. His rule appeared to have been challenged or even replaced by the kingdom of darkness. A corruption or contamination of God's creation had occurred. These evil forces had made human beings, and especially God's Chosen People "to be victims of evil they have not caused and cannot resist" Within this world view, the Watcher traditions were developed. It was the Watchers who were given authority over various territories of God's creation, but they began to mate with the women of the earth. Their offspring were the Nephilim, the giants in the time of Noah. Their offspring became the evil spirits that have led all humanity astray. (1 Enoch 15:11-12) Once the rebellion began against the authority of Yahweh, it spread like wildfire. The great adversary became the ruler of this age, of the air and of this earth. The creation was infested with hordes of unclean spirits or demons. All manner of evil was in the world and propagated by these fallen angels. Perhaps God was powerless to help his chosen people.

In one of the visions given to Enoch, he was taken on a heavenly tour (Chapters 17-36 of the Book of Enoch). He is shown the garden of Eden in which he described a "fragrant tree that will be given to the righteous when God 'comes down to visit the earth for good'" Another of the Books is a Book on Astronomy, which sets forth a fairly accurate solar calendar to replace the existing lunar calendar. This book also described the heavens and the myriad of angels that served there. Finally, in Book 81, Enoch spoke of the death of the righteous and implies some form of afterlife -- possibly the very beginnings of the idea of a resurrection..

The fifth Book of Enoch, the Apocalypse of Weeks (1 Enoch 93:1-10) probably also originated with the Maccabean era and was also important to the Qumran community - the Dead Sea Scrolls. To the writers of Enoch, history was divided into "weeks" or weeks of years, with numerous eschatological details being revealed to him in each of these periods. Sinners will be destroyed by the sword in the eighth week, righteous judgment will be revealed to the whole world in the ninth and eternal judgment will be executed upon the Watchers in the tenth. At the end of the Apocalypse of Weeks, the rebellion against God is so great that God, himself, can not redeem it. Therefore, He will need to destroy the old in order to create a new heaven and a new earth.

"Then the first heaven will pass away, and a new heaven will appear. After this

'there will be many weeks without number forever in goodness and righteousness."

Before the Hasmonaean Period, salvation for the Jewish people had always been something that God did for His people in the here and now. There was salvation from one's enemies, from poverty, from sickness, and from death as announced in the Dueteronomic blessings. The fullness of salvation was consistently the fullness of the Rule and Reign of God upon the earth. When people died, they went to a place called Sheoul, simply a place for the dead.

Within the Enochian world view, a much greater salvation was needed. The rebellion of the "Sons of God" in Genesis was not simply a sin of the time before the flood, but a sin that continued into the present age, corrupting and contaminating all of God's creation. Secondly, as God began to "win back" his creation, the process would culminate in the "end of days", the day in which He would punish all of His enemies with eternal judgment and reward His people with eternal reward. The final battle would once and for all, destroy these rebellious beings. Finally, God would create a Second, more perfect creation, in which the rebellion of this first creation would be noticeably absent. Thirdly, the idea of a corrupt priesthood was raised. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews writes of a new priesthood was that became necessary for God to redeem His creation. This change of Priesthood was inaugurated through Jesus, that being of the order of Melchizedek, that semi-mythical priest to whom Abraham gave his tithe to in Genesis. A theology of Melchizedek was developed during this period as God's answer to the terrible corruption seen in the priesthood, especially from the time of Jason onwards and outlined above. Boccaccini wrote:

"It was only the Maccabean Revolt that caused Enochic Judaism to grow and expand into something different and larger -- a movement of dissent that would be ultimately known as Essenism. What at the beginning was probably only the experience of exclusion of a

few priestly families generated a sophisticated theological alternative that would attract a large portion of the Jewish population and become a powerful and potentially

schismatic component of ancient Jewish thought, ultimately fostering

the most radical schism of all, that of Christianity." (emphasis mine)

The Ministry of Jesus

Later, during the time of Jesus, we might notice that "Jesus never once appeals to a

mysterious divine will to explain why a person is sick, maimed or deceased. In every

instance, He comes against such things as the byproducts of a creation that has gone

berserk through the evil influence of a satanic army. Many times, he attributes

sicknesses to direct demonic involvement."

Sickness, then, was viewed as a casualty of war. Sickness departed as the Kingdom of God drew near. Sickness was viewed as "scourgings" or "whippings" of the Adversary. The people of God were then "saved" from these scourgings (trials) when they were set free. In short, the mission of Jesus Christ was to "destroy the works of the Devil". Boyd wrote:

"What the kingdom of God means, therefore, is that the hostile alien kingdom of

demonic captivity, oppression, poverty and blindness (physical and spiritual) is

coming to an end through the ministry of Jesus. He is the bringer of the Kingdom

of God, for He is the vanquisher of the kingdom of Satan."

Jesus and the Battle with Satan - Luke 11

Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians that "our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Eph 6:12) Therefore, a person's evil behavior is really an overpowering influence by spiritual forces that have gained a "legal right" to influence his behavior. Paul taught that we are not to attack the person directly, but to struggle with these unseen forces of evil. Through our prayer, intercession and ministry, he is set free from the "whippings" of the Adversary, bringing him or restoring him into a loving relationship with his Creator, Jehovah God. Jesus brought such a freedom to a mute man who was "possessed" by a "demon". When the demon left, the man spoke. Some of the crowd said Jesus could only do this by the power of Baal-zebub, the prince of demons. Jesus, then, said "if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you." (Luke 11:20) Jesus, then, began to teach the crowd. The stronger man "takes away the armor in which the (strong) man trusted", that being an armor that was in the house. The house is commonly accepted to be the person who was being "scourged" by the "whippings" of the enemy. It would be understood that the man was, in some way, being forced to act in ways not of his own choosing.

Jesus said there was "armor" within the man (house) that could be used by the strong man (the Adversary) to fight against the kingdom of God. This armor could be used offensively by the strong man at will because Jesus said the Adversary trusted in this armor. To any casual observer of revival, the truthfulness of this instruction is shown every time there is a strong move of God among a people. Without repentance, hidden sin will produce dissension and the move of God will either stop or accomplish only part of what God desired.

The third part of this teaching concerns an evil spirit that had been cast out of a man, yet the "armor" had not yet been taken away by the stronger man. The context of the teaching was that the stronger man should take away all of the Adversary's armor. If the armor is not taken away, the evil spirit cast out will return to the house, bringing seven more of his friends. "The final condition of that man is worse that the first.." (Luke 11:26b) There is an implied understanding that if the "armor in which the strong man trusted" is taken away, there is no "legal right" for the evil spirit to return. All of this instruction on evil spirits having some measure of control over one of God's Chosen People came from the Enochian world view, a world view that was increasingly the view of the Essene community headquartered at Qumran. It was a world view that said God's creation had somehow rebelled against their creator and had gained a measure of autonomy from the desires and plans and purposes of the Creator, Jehovah. Jesus, then, came to destroy the works