The Kingdom Study Group Questions

‘Thy Kingdom Comes’ by Brother Gregory Williams

‘The Kingdom’ Study Group Chapter 7C– p. 65-68

Factions at the Altar

Questions for Discussion

The Essenes, Healers of a Nation – cont.

1. How were the Essene communities governed, and in what way did the members grow in virtue? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What was as essential in the life of the Essene communities as breathing in and out? ________________________________________________________________________

a) What attitude toward everything that came in life was practiced among the Essenes, and why? _______________________________________________________

b) What did our Messiah say when He was crucified that exemplified these attitudes? _______________________________________________________________

3. How does Josephus testify that the Essenes met death? ________________________

a) How were they able to do this? ____________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

4. How were the Essenes viewed by the Roman army? __________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

5. What did the Essenes consider themselves to be? _____________________________

a) What was their mission? __________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but unto them it is not given.” Matthew 13:116.

a) How was the Kingdom of Heaven a present reality on the earth for the Essenes? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b) What was the way of Cain and Lamach? _______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c) In the quotation from The Dead Sea Scrolls in the text, what is the explanation of the two ways that mankind can walk in? _________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

d) According to the text, in what ways did the Essenes support the temple, and in what ways did they abstain from supporting it and what was the reason given for the lack of support in that area? ________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

e) What historical sources or documentation contemporary to the time before the destruction of Jerusalem can be used to support the understanding that the Essenes during the time of Jesus or Y’shua understood the animal sacrifices differently than the Pharisees and Sadducees? ____________________________ __________________________________________________________________

f) It appears that the Essenes may not have had all of their doctrines or ideas of how to think about their duty to our Creator in common. The text tells us that there were Essenes among the Nazarenes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Mandaeans. What was the unifying factor in their relationships? ____________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

7. “And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones; thou shalt not lift any iron tool upon them.” Deuteronomy 27:5

Food for thought and discussion: How does this Scripture fit in with the text and what do you think the author is trying to get us to think about within the context? _____________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. How did the Essene’s lifestyle relate to the social welfare systems of the Jews? _____ ________________________________________________________________________

a) What type of health insurance did the Essenes use? ____________________

b) How did they take care of the sick? _________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

c) How does the author relate the ‘living stones’ concept to their way of living? _______________________________________________________________

9. According to the text, what is the contrast between the Essene’s order and organization, and the Modern Monastic Orders of our time?________________________

a) Each individual Essene apparently had full responsibility and stewardship of the proceeds from the work of his or her hands – however, these members were also accountable to others when making decisions as to the best way to appropriate the funds…

What indications do we find in the text to show that both of the above contrasting principles were operating in the Essene’s lifestyles? _______________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________

10. How did the Essene’s function in comparison to the early church organization after Pentecost? ______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________

a) Why do many Christians have a different picture of the early church? ______ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. Herod was an Idumean.

a) What was an Idumean according to the text and why should they not rule on the throne of Israel? ______________________________________________

b) Food for thought and discussion: Why do you think the Essenes did not oppose the reign of Herod? ________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c) What reason does the text give for the support that some Essenes gave Herod? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

d) Extra Credit (not in text) – Discussion: Who were the Idumean’s historically, and what was their relationship to the nation of Judah? __________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

12. “Diaspora Essenes shared the divergent [solar] calendar, and many traditions of the Palestinian Essenes, but did not espouse their unworldliness, and strict views on morality. For the Palestinians, the Diaspora kind were seekers after smooth things, taking the easy way.”

a) Note: The wording of this passage above is interesting. Judea was the name of the country during our Saviour’s time, and it was not named Palestine by the Romans until sometime after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. So with this observation, what time period was this author observing about the Palestinian Essenes? If she is speaking of the second temple period and when our Saviour walked the earth, the terminology is not accurate for that time period.

b) Digging deeper: Food for thought and discussion- Is there enough historical evidence to support the claim above, which seems to indicate that all Essenes were on the same calendar? – or have you found historical indications that at least some of the Essenes were on a lunar method of calendation? Do you have any other historical evidence to show that all of the Essenes were on the divergent [solar] calendar?_________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________

13. In the text, we find that more than one ‘kingdom of heaven’ being preached during the times of Herod and Christ. What are the differences between them? ______________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. “Setting men free from the servitude of sin in this world is the constant theme of the Bible, sometimes called salvation; but if God is to free us from spiritual servitude, it is also mandatory to release us from greed, avarice and covetousness that leads us into physical servitude.”

a) How are the two types of servitude quoted above, related to one another? ____ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

b) What did Josephus note about the Essene’s and their beliefs about liberty and salvation? _____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c) “The Kingdom of Heaven is at first a spiritual place that begins with the incorporeal change of the individual. The change is not wrought by our will, but by the grace of God within us. That divine spark of truth should and will lead us to both a spiritual kingdom and a physical corporeal kingdom at hand. His kingdom comes as His will is done….”

Food for thought: How do I see the Kingdom of Heaven in my own experience? Is there evidence of an internal work of the spiritual kingdom in my heart? Is the divine spark of truth leading me into both a spiritual kingdom and a physical corporeal kingdom at hand?

d) “And this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” I Corinthians 15:50

For discussion: How does this Scripture fit into the text? _________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. How were the Levites related to the nation of Israel after the covenant with Yah was broken at Mount Sinai with the golden calf? ___________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

16. By the time of Christ, what were the Levites doing regarding their ancient calling; which the law of Moses indicated was their responsibility? ________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17. Who assumed the role of the Levites in Spirit and in Truth? ___________________

a) What was required to be part of the ministry in Christ’s church? ___________ _______________________________________________________________

b) What passages of Scripture noted in the text support this understanding? ____ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

c) How can we come to understand our place in God’s Kingdom of Heaven? ___ _______________________________________________________________

d) How does the origin of the Essenes relate to the calling of Enoch? _________ _______________________________________________________________

18. “The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon me, for he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to preach the gospel to the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” Luke 4:18

a) How did the Essenes fulfill this commission? _________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

19. Food for thought: What will I do with the information I have learned in this chapter on the Essenes?