The Magic Pyramid

Of the Magician's Pyramid, the tip of the pyramid is the work performed and the power hand-me-down, and the four corners of the podium, the four sources of that power. They are, in the same way as and in no order, Imagination, Command, Plan, and Secrecy.

Imagination (Air): You prerequisite be able not righteous to cook up vigorous ways to obtain your aims, but more to the point to visualise or feel the energies you are working with and the fight of your pains. You can righteous do what you can suppose of, but you can do doesn't matter what you can suppose of. Pass yourself to let your imagination run wild and get better your artistic quality. Make use of your wildest idea, dreams and fantasies. As craving as they respect under your restriction, the wilder, richer and aristocratic spectacular the get well, but be solid not to lose disturb with dedication. Acquaint with are many who endure gone in advance you and endure gone insane, and it may well be best for you not to branch them if your burden is not strong tolerable. If you can sit for an hour with your burden deadly, not philosophy a note thought for that time, then your burden is strong tolerable, and if not, then you prerequisite practice.

Command (Fire): You prerequisite be dutiful and get hard. Symbols prerequisite lead astray you or waive you from your aims, and so you prerequisite get better your character. You prerequisite be able to carry out yourself, to allocate with any ill will and cross any wildcat strike. In your burden, donate prerequisite be nobody that can cope with you. If you do not endure the character, you do not endure the way. Now, be warned that injury is catastrophic to the character, and sometimes it is get well not to try at all than to try and dud, and endure not the character to try anew. To dud to place is to place to dud, and you cannot give somebody the loan of to dud. In this manner, place. If you can haven your relate to on the centre of a candle incandesce for an hour, fault looking elsewhere and maintaining your awareness the whole time, then your character is strong tolerable, and if not, then you prerequisite practice.

Plan (Home): You prerequisite custody in yourself impassively and, if you want upon any talismans, amulets or deities in your work, you prerequisite custody in them impassively more to the point. The slightest suspicious, silent deeply unknown in the back of your burden, can still cross over your aims. He who does not custody in himself is his own video vengeance. In the words of Paracelsus, "Guzzle Plan the Imagination is revitalized and comprehensive, for it really happens that every suspicious mars its excellence..." Indeed, every suspicious you haven character emboss your character, and whether the emboss be slur or massive, you cannot give somebody the loan of the outlay to your character. It is for this state of affairs that you prerequisite be able to depend in total upon the realism of your own words. Every time you in the region of a lie, break a agreement, make a farsightedness that does not come true, or undoubtedly say everything which is proved inexpert, whether the fail to appreciate is yours or not, it character emboss your expect. For this state of affairs you prerequisite say nobody that you cannot be with the sole purpose by all means is the truth, not of the before, the endowment, nor of the upcoming.

Secrecy (Pond): Theory is power, and to allow knowledge, and consequently power, to someone who may then use it adjacent to you themselves, or agreement it on to someone in addition who may well, is madness. You should not reveal to self any aristocratic about yourself than you wish them to know. Shield more to the point your knowledge of other trappings. Surveillance and learn all that you can, and allocation it righteous if you are unmodified everything in use. The numeral power you endure enhanced inhabit more or less you is the numeral of that which is relevant and which you know, and they do not. Never allow in to futility, and never feel that you endure to expound yourself to self. Perjure yourself your oral communication still and your ears excessive. Memory that inhabit more or less you may, and most likely character, be keeping many secrets themselves, as well as wicked to learn yours, so habitually read involving the gun emplacements, and never stay fresh doesn't matter what that self says at celebrity outlay.

If you are strong in Imagination, in Command, in Plan, and in Secrecy, then you are strong in magick. For instance you lack in any of these, you lack in magick. Not righteous prerequisite you be strong in each of these, but you prerequisite be strong in each of these in the same way as, for any disparity in these character shock your magick. You prerequisite ambit your Imagination, Command, Plan, and Secrecy in piazza. He who allows his artistic quality to control becomes insane, he who allows his character to control becomes megalomanic, he who allows his expect to control becomes allay, and he who allows his secrecy to control becomes obsessed. Period he who allows his artistic quality to be the matter with becomes brain-dead, he who allows his character to be the matter with becomes cold, he who allows his expect to be the matter with becomes inhibited, and he who allows his secrecy to be the matter with becomes loutish. He who develops each of these in piazza becomes powerful, he who neglects any one of these becomes nobody.

Books You Power Enjoy:

Tarostar - The Witchs Spellcraft Revised

Aninymous - The Angelical Alphabet

Solomonic Grimoires - The Inscrutability Of Armadel

Kenneth Money - The supernatural New start

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Spiritual Wheel

THE SPIRITUAL WHEEL: In many religions and spiritual cultures, there exists the concept of the spiritual circle. It has many different names: the Circle of Life, the Medicine Wheel, the Wheel of the Eight directions, the Powers of the Four Winds, the Earth Web or the Wheel of the year. There are as many names for the wheel as there are cultures that utilize one. But the basic purpose and use of the wheel is similar throughout them all. Each belief system assigns a certain section of the circle to certain elements, characteristics and energies of life. The Wheel I use has been passed through my family for generations. It is a combination of Celtic (Irish and Scottish) and Cherokee systems. How did these cultures combine belief systems? Possibly because they are very similar in nature and belief. Before and after the tragic 'Trail Of Tears' changed the boundaries and energy of the mid-Atlantic mountain lands, the Celts of Tennessee, North Carolina and southern Virginia lived in peace and balance with their Cherokee neighbors, whose nation ranged from Virginia to Florida at one time. A culmination of respect between the Celts and the Cherokee created a type of sub-culture that merged spiritual belief and concepts together. Take a quick look at their similarities and you'll see what I mean. Thankfully these new 'traditional' ways were and are still passed down to the generations that followed. I'm grateful to be part of one of those generations, and often feel as if I have been given a gift from the best of both worlds. THE PURPOSE THE WHEEL: The Wheel represents the constant movement and change of life. We are set upon the wheel at birth and continually move forward learning lessons and testing ourselves for spiritual development and enlightenment. The 'Wheel' itself is a sacred tool with an almost inexhaustible set of meanings and applications to aid in that learning and understanding. In the Celtic traditions, the wheel represents the 8 directions and the 8 seasons of the year. These 8 seasons were celebrated in the 8 festivals of the year often associated with Magik Holidays. They have become more commonly known as the Witches Holidays or the Sabbats. The wheel also denotes the energies of life, and the bridge between nature and spirit. Through learning how these natures relate to the universe, you can learn about yourself, your place on the wheel, the underlying purpose of a lesson, or even plan out the best location for the furniture in your living room, or plan the best location on the wheel to conduct a ritual or ceremony. For spiritual uses, it's important to know where each essence of nature resides so that you can match your spiritual intent with the correct orientation of spiritual energy. Now that's a fancy way of saying, you want to use the correct location for the correct purpose, or "the right use of energy in the right location". For instance, casting a wheel to help with a healing ceremony would best be done with the focus on the northern section of the wheel. But the wheel can also help you design your home,and plan the how you want the flow of energy to reside within it's walls. Think of it this way: If you want to get up in the morning and have a nice warm cup of coffee as you watch the day break, you wouldn't design your 'Morning Room' on the west side of your house. The concept is basically the same when working with a wheel and the forces of nature. USING THE WHEEL: You can use the wheel in your daily life to help you make decisions, organize your furniture, or even set goals and deadlines for personal or professional development. It can be used to determine what aspect of self you are being guided to work on, or you want to work with. The key is determining the right use of energy. Some people think you can match symbology to purpose and you'll be fine. Others believe it takes a life time of knowledge and practice to learn the wisdom of the wheel. I would probably fall into the latter category. But part of achieving wisdom is practicing the knowledge you've gained. So you don't have to be 102 years old to feel comfortable with using the wheel and it's magik. You can use the wheel for a variety of things, from organizing your furniture and analyzing a dream to planing a spiritual ritual. Say for example you want to rearrange the furniture in your living room. Divide the room into directional quadrants. Now think of the purpose of your furniture. Start with the couch since it's the biggest item, what do you use it for? In this room, will it be used primarily for you and a guest to talk of the day, share information and relate stories? If so, then you might place the couch in the east where Communication resides. Or will it be a place for relaxation, chilling out after a long days work? If so, then you might place it in the West where grounding and balance reside. Perhaps in your meditations you feel as if you're being drawn eastward. This could be an indication that you're being guided to work on your communication or divination skills. Or perhaps there is something you need to learn about your self and your meditation is trying to teach about that lesson. THE ANIMAL WHEEL: The wheel represents the beginning and the end of life, along with everything in between. The beginning is symbolized by the placement of the birth totems upon the wheel. It can also give insight to your natural gifts or spiritual path by looking for the placement of your animal guide. If your born under the sign of the Deer (May 21 - June 20) for instance, you will mirror many of the characteristics of the Deer. Often graceful and at home in nature, surrounded by beautiful things. Not necessarily materialistic "things", but things of nature. Crystals, stones, plants, Deer people are often wonderful gardeners. They also represent the qualities of the Eastern section of the wheel. They hold talents in divination, communication and they are often natural teachers. They're usually at their peek during the Spring to early Summer. They have a fascination with fire, from burning candles to sitting by a warm fire during the cooler months, or even an out door bonfire where they make great story tellers. You can learn more about the other Birth Totems for the year here on the Magikal Woodlands. But the best way to learn about your personal animal is to study it in nature. One of the best books concerning animal medicine is "Animal Speak" by Ted Andrews. I highly recommend this book for those interested in learning more about how animals relate to us, both as a guide, a totem and just in passing during our daily lives. Just as you can learn about yourself based on your birth totem, you can also learn about your spiritual self by examining the placement of your animal guide upon the wheel. Like the birth totem you will mirror many of the characteristics of that animal in your life, especially though spiritual aspects. If your animal guide is the wolf for instance, you're probably a very social being. Your loyal, often times to a fault, never knowing exactly when to give up on a relationship (business, friendship and love). But you'll also inhabit the characteristics of the North as well. Spirituality, Learning and Healing are all a major focus in your life. Again the best way to learn about your personal talents is by finding your own animal guide. The link in the previous paragraph will take you to a special meditation exercise designed specifically for an individual to find their animal guide. It can be a truly enlightening experience when entered with complete openness. Give it a try and learn more about your own spiritual path.

Reference: paganism-new-age.blogspot.com

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How To Start Your Satanic Coven

Have you have found the benefits of Satanism and Satanic magic? If so, you are probably progressing in your new-found art almost daily and Satan is greatly blessing you for your time, diligence and tenacity. You are probably performing rituals and magical workings in the privacy of your newly formed ritual sanctum, whether large and well furnished or small, intimate and humble. At a certain point in your pursuit of all things evil, you will probably ask yourself "How can I find like-minded individuals to share my Satanic experience?" Perhaps the thought of forming a Satanic coven crosses your mind. Well, for many, this is only a fleeting thought that is never seriously entertained however, some determined, strong-minded individuals do more than just think about it; they actually do it!

Origin: witchnest.blogspot.com

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Lunar Love

Merry Meet :)))))) Many of you who have been with me for awhile and even some of you who have just joined know that I absolutely love art. It's a huge part of me. For as long as I can remember, I've always been participating in one form of art or another be it singing, drawing, writing, painting and so on. :)))) It's a creative outlet for me and helps to keep me grounded and in tune with the world around me.

2013 honestly went by in a complete whirlwind and at the beginning of the year I found myself recreating pieces for the Artist of the Year in the Magickal times award that I got, but after that, my art took a bit of a back seat to running Wiccan Moonsong. That is one of my goals for 2014 is to get back into creating. :))))) So with that said, the piece above is my newest work. :))))))) I originally called it Moon Love but with the help of some of you on Facebook it is now called Lunar Love. :)))))))

I used Adobe Photoshop for this and a style of art called photomanipulation. Basically the piece above is comprised of about 6 different pictures meshed together to create a vision that I saw. It took me about 20 hours to complete and I honestly loved every minute of it, except when I was trying to remember how to do things in photoshop! lol :)))) As always my art usually reflects something going on in my life, or an emotion that I wish to capture.

Many of you write in to me about love and how to find it. This piece is my way of expressing my viewpoint on that. If you notice she has a sword in her hand that for me represents personal power. It is reflecting the Moon's light as well as the pentacle above which is my way of representing her joining with the divine on her spiritual path. The last few years have been much about finding my true self and learning to trust and work with my guides and come into my own personal power, giving myself permission to be myself. I've learned to love myself for who I am. The Wizard is emerging from the shadows and many will recognize him from a previous piece I did called "The Wizard." I'll show you that piece. :)))) It will help to understand how these two merge.

He was made, wow about two years ago now. Time has flown! He really represented what I wanted in a significant other. I wanted someone who was masculine yet very wise. Someone who felt at home in nature and as such knew how to harness the magick of the world around him via what has been given to us naturally by the Great Goddess. Something very important to me was someone who not only would be strong, but soft and sentimental as well and would would be able to appreciate the beauty in the simple things in life. So this is why he appears in my current work, moving out of the shadows towards the Priestess as these two lives join as one. This is where I see my path going in the coming year.

So with this work I hope to convey the message that when looking for love you must learn to love yourself first and come into your own power. Align with the path that you were meant to walk, and then if you wish to have that perfect relationship the one who you were meant to be with will then emerge from the shadows to join with you. :))))

I hope you enjoy!

Much Love and Many Blessings,

Jasmeine Moonsong

If you are interested you can find lots of products featuring "Lunar Love" in my shop here:

http://www.zazzle.com/bltshw/gifts?cg=196963300849862864

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Imbolc The Kitchen Mysteries Celebration

Chill seems to be the time for carousing. All numb the world, staff preside over on festivities encompassing both the Chill Solstice and also the Put out Equinox. These are the carousing of the Awe-inspiring Mysteries - the coming of the Rational, the ordinary of Diety, vast miracles, overcoming death - that make the grade in the realms spare our traditional right mind, in the climax foundation, as we judgment from beneath in awe and admiration. I wallow in these holidays, but they always seemed a bit too far finer my day-to-day life for me to really understand and be an essential part of.

Imbolc, which flume amongst the two in memory seasons on February 2, always seemed to me to be a completely off holiday. In the Celtic cultures in which it was extreme, it was the very old caper holiday with the lambs began to be inherent and the real McCoy plants began pushing up and the stain. Everywhere I vacation ("the screenwriter"), it occurs in the earnest of winter, with the blizzard is three feet strapping and the real McCoy crocuses are draw up to three months on view, completely encompassing very old April.

But, if we perfect at it differently, possibly it possibly will become a third holiday that celebrates the Mysteries that look as if in traditional life, the "kitchen mysteries" that do not deliver in the sky, but on earth; that we help get with what we always do at the rear triumph up in the break of day everyday; that are not extreme with international festivities, but at our breakfast tables and in our private grounds.

On the other hand I cannot see the seeds of restitution preparing to bud, it is incident all the precise in this greatest basic pressing out of the Awe-inspiring Tough one of the coming of the reincarnation of Liveliness, of Light's return, of the Terrestrial and Portend joining to make the world again. This coming back to life or voguish life occurs each day as our children shadow from juvenile voguish developed adults with lives, spirits, and personalities of their own. I see it in all of our creative accomplishments that begin with the smallest of important and coins voguish books, paintings, quilts, organizations or businesses, and so innumerable tackle.

Perhaps we can make Imbolc a time to celebrate persons Mysteries in our traditional lives the precise way we do the other holidays, with decoration, foods, and activities that exemplify the murder of this time. Lone as we begin to likely to for persons other holidays for weeks, I image to get stubborn for Imbolc starting now.

Being impose we do to honor persons seeds of so innumerable tackle that are the act as a go-between amongst the winter and caper, a backwoods and amply, the old and the new?

"My thoughts:"

I hang on or begun watering a pioneer full of crocus bulbs I hang on habitual a small bit ago. I hang on afterward begun an inner recesses Sage Sector which I am not sure if I point to hold up meeting point but I'm musing of bringing it inaccessible on my inner recesses terrace. If I had tolerable light in my position, I would person on the inside chief seeds for plants, vegetables and herbs.

Being can you begin to plant?

We can make an Imbolc mix of seeds, silly, and dried out fruits to put out for food and drink happening these weeks promote. We can dispense meals to ourselves and our families that are high in nutrients, full of the life of the limestone as it prepares for its journey to the snooty world, and that are full of the spirit of the earth. These impose include chief seeds, lentils, beans, root vegetables and, to celebrate the coming amply, grains.

"My Thoughts:"

We can read or listen to a retelling of the story of Innana (My Matron God). This story is, to me, a style Imbolc tale in the function of it recreates the journey of basis to the underworld someplace she is purified and complete meticulous so that she can rematerialize voguish the earth first-class deep to dispense.

We can find ways to introduce children and help them bring forth their own inner powers. We can misuse chief time with our own children or others for whom we hang on caregiving everyday jobs, asking chief questions about their interests and thoughts. We can offer or confer on to organizations that work for children with special requirements, nurture, or other go well together causes. We can play a part our skills and nibble to competent children who may come across our paths at this time and about the meeting.

We can misuse some time bill at token one creative put on that has lain sedentary for whatever argument. It may be tongue about a liable that scares us. It may be tricky some new media - if you are a poet, paint; if you reduction, make no matter which out of clay; if you are a dancer, try fare.

Zone In black and white By God In A Teacup~ with supplementary added extras writen by "Me~"

This new sort of Imbolc is a holiday that you can make your own.

Being DOES IT Set TO YOU AND Being WOULD YOU Like IT TO BE?

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Red Ice Creations Paul Levy Awaken In The Dream

as earlier discussed, I've always had vivid dreams that are easy to remember, catalogue. Recently, the dreams have still been there, I'm aware of having dreamt them, but they 'disappeared' too quickly. Like they were hiding.Yesterday, I...thought about how the French, then the Russians, first brought their aborigianl 'shamanism' to what we call America (using the Atlantic and the Pacific 'ice bridges', respectively) during the Free Planet of our more recent Ice Ages when no restrictions were put on man's free roaming of his once-beautiful homeworld. wrote the most amazing (though I say it myself) apocalypse of Collected Creativity embed'd within the Custodian Movement's seemingly-insane global solution in my on-going Free Planet novel.This morning, I had the MOST SPIRITUAL i.e. paranormal ghosts, powerfully shocking telekinesis, sympathetic haunting, time stretching reversing replaying visitor investigation dreams EVER and I recieved this presentation (Red Ice Creations - Paul Levy - awaken in the dream) in emails from TWO SEPARATE SOURCES. It talks about the Wetiko Psychosis and how our full alertness to our global consciousness will either kill us or liberate us."Connect with our GENIUS, our TRUE CALLING, our VOCATION," sounds good to me!Come on, seven billion of you, FREE PLANET!

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Dead Sea Scrolls

"Juma was beginning to get nervous. Some of his goats were climbing too high up the cliffs. He decided to climb the face of the cliff himself to bring them back. Little did Juma realize as he began his climb on that January day in 1947 that those straying goats would eventually involve him in "the greatest archaeological discovery in the twentieth century." Such thoughts were far from his mind when he saw two small openings to one of the thousands of caves that dot those barren cliffs overlooking the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea.He threw a rock into one of the openings. The unexpected cracking sound surprised him; what else could be in those remote caves but treasure? He called to his cousins, Khalil and Muhammed, who climbed up and heard the exciting tale. But it was getting late, and the goats had to be gathered. Tomorrow they would return-perhaps their days of following goats would come to an end once the treasure was uncovered!The youngest of the three, Muhammed, rose the next day before his two fellow "treasure-seekers" and made his way to the cave. The cave floor was covered with debris, including broken pottery. Along the wall stood a number of narrow jars, some with their bowl-shaped covers still in place. Frantically, Muhammed began to explore the inside of each jar, but no treasure of gold was to be found... only a few bundles wrapped in cloth and greenish with age. Returning to his cousins, he related the sad news-no treasure.No treasure indeed! The scrolls those Bedouin boys removed from that dark cave that day and the days following would come to be recognized as the greatest manuscript treasure ever found-the first seven manuscripts of the Dead Sea Scrolls!Such was the discovery of a group of manuscripts which were a thousand years older than the then-oldest-known Hebrew texts of the Bible (manuscripts, many of which were written more than 100 years before the birth of Jesus). These manuscripts would excite the archaeological world and provide a team of translators with a gigantic task that even to this day has not been completed.The story of how those scrolls traveled from the hands of young Bedouin goat herders to be under the scrutinous eyes of international scholars is stranger than fiction. Although all the details of the next few years will probably never be known for sure, this much is clear. After hanging from a pole in a Bedouin tent for a period of time, the seven original scrolls were sold to two separate Arab antiquities dealers in Bethlehem. From there, four were sold (for a small amount) to Athanasius Samuel, Syrian Orthodox Metropolitan at St. Mark's Monastery in the Old City of Jerusalem. Scholars at the American School of Oriental Research, who examined them, were the first to realize their antiquity. John Trever photographed them in detail, and the great archaeologist William F. Albright soon announced that the scrolls were from the period between 200 BC and AD 200. The initial announcements were then made that the oldest manuscripts ever discovered had been found in the Judean desert!Three of the other original scrolls found by the Bedouin boys were sold to E. L. Sukenik, archaeologist at Hebrew University and father of Yigal Yadin (a general in the Israeli army who later became a famous archaeologist and excavator of Masada and Hazor). It should be noted that the drama of these events was heightened because these were the last days of the British Mandate period in Palestine, and tensions between the Arab and Jewish population were great. This made examination of the scrolls by scholars extremely dangerous.All of the scrolls finally came together at Hebrew University under another strange set of circumstances. After touring the U.S. with his four scrolls and not being able to find an interested buyer, Metropolitan Samuel placed an ad in the Wall Street Journal". By coincidence (or divine providence?) Yigal Yadin happened to be lecturing in New York and saw the advertisement. Through intermediaries, he was able to purchase these priceless scrolls for around 250,000. In February of 1955, the Prime Minister of Israel announced that the State of Israel had purchased the scrolls, and all seven (including the three purchased earlier by Professor Sukenik) were to be housed in a special museum at Hebrew University named the Shrine of the Book, where they can be seen today.Needless to say, the initial announcement about the scrolls prompted feverish searches in the area of the original discoveries. An official archaeological expedition was begun in 1949 which eventually resulted in the discovery of ten additional caves in the surrounding area also containing scrolls. The archaeologists then directed their attention to a small ruin nearby called "Khirbet (ruins of) Qumran," which had been thought of as the remains of an old Roman fortress. After six seasons of intensive excavation, the scholars were sure beyond any reasonable doubt that the scrolls found their origin in this community which flourished between 125 BC and AD 68. The scrolls had been stored in haste in the caves as the community fled the encroaching Roman army, which was in Judea to put down the Jewish Revolt of AD 66-70.The ruins of Qumran, which can be visited today, revealed that a substantial group of Jewish ascetics inhabited this community. Storehouses, aqueducts, ritual baths and an assembly hall were all uncovered. One of the most interesting rooms uncovered was a scriptorium, identified by two ink wells discovered there along with some benches for scribes. It was in this room that many, if not all, of the discovered manuscripts were copied.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SCROLLS

As soon as the announcement of the scrolls' discovery was made, the scholarly debates about their origin and significance began. The debates increased when the amazing contents of the scrolls were successively revealed.The seven original scrolls, from what came to be called "Cave One," comprised the following:

* a well-preserved copy of the entire prophecy of Isaiah-the oldest copy of an Old Testament book ever to be discovered

* another fragmentary scroll of Isaiah

* a commentary on the first two chapters of Habakkuk-the commentator explained the book allegorically interms of the Qumran brotherhood

* the "Manual of Discipline" or "Community Rule"-the most important source of information about the religious sect at Qumran-it described the requirements for those aspiring to join the brotherhood

* the "Thanksgiving Hymns," a collection of devotional "psalms" of thanksgiving and praise to God

* an Aramaic paraphrase of the Book of Genesis

* the "Rule of War" which dealt with the battle between the "Sons of Light" (the men of Qumran) and the "Sons of Darkness" (the Romans?) yet to take place in the "last days," which days the men of Qumran believed were about to arrive.

Those seven original scrolls were just the beginning. Over six hundred scrolls and thousands of fragments have been discovered in the 11 caves of the Qumran area. Fragments of every Biblical book except Esther have been found, as well as many other non-Biblical texts.One of the most fascinating of the finds was a copper scroll which had to becut in strips to be opened and which contained a list of 60 treasures located in various parts of Judea (none of which have been found)! Another scroll, which Israeli archaeologists recovered in 1967 underneath the floor of a Bethlehem antiquities dealer, describes in detail the community's view of an elaborate Temple ritual. This has been appropriately called the "Temple Scroll."The contents of the Dead Sea Scrolls indicate that their authors were a group of priests and laymen pursuing a communal life of strict dedication to God. Their leader was called the "Righteous Teacher." They viewed themselves as the only true elect of Israel-they alone were faithful to the Law.They opposed the "Wicked Priest"-the Jewish High Priest in Jerusalem who represented the establishment, and who had persecuted them in some way. This wicked priest was probably one of the Maccabean rulers who had illegitimately assumed the high priesthood between 150-140 BC. Most scholars have identified the Qumran brotherhood with the Essenes, a Jewish sect of Jesus' day described by Josephus and Philo.Whoever the men of Qumran were, their writings provide us with a marvelous background picture of one aspect of the religious world into which Jesus came. Some have sought to draw parallels between figures in the scrolls and John the Baptist or Jesus, but an objective examination of such parallels reveals that the differences are greater than the similarities. Any contact of Jesus with Qumran is entirely speculative and most improbable. The suggestion that John the Baptist may have spent some time with the Qumran community is possible, since the Gospels tell us that he spent considerable time in the wilderness near the area where the Qumran community is located (Mt. 3:1-3; Mk. 1:4; Lk. 1:80; 3:2-3). John's message, however, differed markedly from that of the Qumran brotherhood. The only real common point was that they both taught that the "kingdom of God" was coming.One of the most important contributions of the Dead Sea Scrolls is the numerous Biblical manuscripts which have been discovered. Until those discoveries at Qumran, the oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures were copies from the 9th and 10th centuries AD by a group of Jewish scribes called the Massoretes. Now we have manuscripts around a thousand years older than those. The amazing truth is that these manuscripts are almost identical! Here is a strong example of the tender care which the Jewish scribes down through the centuries took in an effort to accurately copy the sacred Scriptures. We can have confidence that our Old Testament Scriptures faithfully represent the words given to Moses, David and the prophets.

DOCTRINE OF THE SCROLLS

The men of Qumran fervently believed in a doctrine of "last things." They had fled to the desert and were readying themselves for the imminent judgment, when their enemies would be vanquished and they, God's elect, would be given final victory in accordance with the predictions of the prophets. It was in connection with these end-time events that one of the most fascinating teachings of the sect emerges. The messianic hope loomed large in the thought of the brotherhood. As a matter of fact, evidence shows that they actually believed in three messiahs-one a prophet, another a priest and the third a king or prince.In the document mentioned earlier called the "Manual of Discipline" or the "Rule of the Community," it is laid down that the faithful should continue to live under the rule "until the coming of a prophet and the anointed ones [messiahs] of Aaron and Israel" (column 9, line 11). These three figures would appear to usher in the age for which the community was making preparation.In another document found in Cave Four and referred to as the "Testimonia," a number of Old Testament passages are brought together which formed the basis for their messianic expectations. The first is the citation from Deuteronomy 18:18-19 where God says to Moses: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee." Next comes a quotation from Numbers 24:15-17, where Balaam foresees the rise of a princely conqueror: "a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab," etc. The third passage is the blessing pronounced by Moses upon the tribe of Levi (the priestly tribe) in Deuteronomy 33:8-11. The way in which these three quotations are brought together suggests that the writer looked forward to the advent of a great prophet, a great prince and a great priest.There were three individuals in the Old Testament writings that were referred to as "my anointed ones"-the prophet, the priest and the king (refer to Ex. 29:29; 1 Sam. 16:13, 24:6; 1 Kg. 19:16; Ps. 105:15). Each of these was consecrated to his work by an anointing with oil. The Hebrew word for "anointed" is meshiach, from which we get the word Messiah.The marvelous truth of the New Testament doctrine of the Messiah is that each of these three offices found fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth! The people were amazed at His feeding of the multitude and said, "This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world" (Jn. 6:14; also Jn. 7:40; Acts 3:22, 7:37). Jesus also was a priest, not from the order of Levi but from the order of Melchizedek (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 7), who offered Himself as a sacrifice and appears for us in the presence of His Father (Heb. 9:24-26; 10:11-12). Also, Jesus was announced as the One who will receive "the throne of his father, David. And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Lk. 1:32-33). He will be acclaimed "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS" (Rev. 19:16).Thus, we have found an interesting point of contact between Qumran and Christianity-a point of contact which is also a point of cleavage. The Qumran community and the early Christians agreed that in the days of the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies there would arise a great prophet, a great priest and a great king. But these three figures remained distinct in Qumran expectation, whereas the New Testament saw them unified in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.One more manuscript that has come to light in recent years provides a fascinating background to the New Testament messianic hope. It has been reconstructed from twelve small fragments, furnishing less than two columns of writing; but this much can be ascertained from its brief contents. It is a prediction of the birth of a Wonderful Child, possibly drawing on Isaiah 9:6-7: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... and his name shall be called Wonderful." This child will bear special marks on His body and will be distinguished by wisdom and intelligence. He will be able to probe the secrets of all living creatures, and He will inaugurate the new age for which the faithful fervently awaited.Is it not striking that soon after this manuscript was composed, a child wa sborn who fulfilled the hopes of Israel and inaugurated a new age? Although the men of Qumran were mistaken in the details of their messiah, they did expect one whose general characteristics were strikingly illustrated by Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God and Messiah. It is not known if some early Christian brought the message of Jesus to this wilderness community. We are left only to speculate on how they would have responded to the Wonderful Child born in Bethlehem who was the Prophet, Priest and King of Israel.source

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