Decodes the Dead Sea Scrolls to reveal Christianity’s hidden Essene origins
• Reveals the Essenes as key figures behind Jesus’s trial, torture, and crucifixion
• Shows how Jesus, a former Essene himself, was deemed “the Wicked Priest” for his liberationist politics and humanist bent
• Examines the lost Christian doctrine of reincarnation and the secret role of Gabriel in the Virgin Birth
The Dead Sea Scrolls, discovered in 1947 at Qumran, are generally believed to have been written by a Jewish sect known as the Essenes between 350 BCE and 70 CE--but until now no convincing methodology has linked the Scrolls to the actual life and teachings of Jesus. Marvin Vining builds from the controversial work of Barbara Thiering to demonstrate that the Scrolls do speak directly to the origins of Christianity and even reflect a mirror image of the Gospels from the perspective of Jesus’s enemies.
Christianity arose out of a schism between the exclusivist, rigid, and militant views of the Essenes and the inclusivist, tolerant, and nonviolent views of Jesus. Jesus was raised an Essene, but he refused to follow their orthodoxy. Vining shows that the Dead Sea Scrolls are written in a secret coded language called pesher in which Jesus emerges as the Wicked Priest, the antagonist to the Teacher of Righteousness who was the leader of the Essenes. Jesus the Wicked Priest revitalizes the Gospel message by revealing Jesus’s true role as a tireless social reformer and revolutionary teacher. Vining’s study reopens Christian doctrinal questions supposedly long settled, such as reincarnation and the Virgin birth--even demonstrating that these two issues are related. He discloses that the angel Gabriel was incarnate in a living human being and transmitted the seed of a holy bloodline to the Virgin Mary.
By:
Marvin Vining
Imprint: Bear & Company
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 230mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 18mm
ISBN: 9781591430810
ISBN 10: 159143081X
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 27 March 2008
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments 1 A New Day Dawns in Dead Sea Scrolls Research 1 Is This Work “Fringe” Scholarship? 2 A Question of Science 3 Paleography 4 Let the Reader Decide 5 Unashamedly Apologetic 2 Identifying the Essenes in the New Testament 6 The Historical Paradox 7 Recovering Jesus’s Formative Background 8 The Christology Question 9 A Dynamic Relationship 10 Did Jesus Himself Lead an Essene Schism? 11 The Real Jesus 12 The Essenes: Still a Mystery 13 Herodians: A Minor New Testament Name for the Essenes 14 A Door Is Opened 15 Scribes: The Primary New Testament Name for the Essenes 16 Etymology: The Essenes Are “The Pious” 17 The Scribes Emerge as an Order 18 The Pious/Hasideans Are the Scribes 19 The Curious Copper Scroll Explained 20 The Scribes Are the Essenes 21 An Exegesis Showing the New Testament Scribes Are the Essenes 22 We Have All Missed the Forest for the Trees 3 Understanding the Essene Pesher Method 23 The Furious Young Lion 24 Pesher as Sympathetic Magic 25 Interpreting the Nahum Pesharim 26 Unacceptable Anomalies 27 Who Is the Furious Young Lion? 28 Paul’s “Damascus” 29 Identifying the Manneseh and Ephraim 30 A New Paradigm 4 The Lost Christian Doctrine of Reincarnation 31 A Brief History of Reincarnation within Christianity 32 Origen’s Unique View of Reincarnation 33 The Essene Belief in Reincarnation 34 Did Pythagoras Learn Reincarnation from the Essenes? 35 Reincarnation in Judaism and Early Christianity 36 Hasidism and the Kabbalah 37 Angels in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Other Jewish Literature 38 Melchizedek 39 Enoch 40 Christian Reincarnation Doctrine 5 The Teacher of Righteousness Revealed 41 Three Messianic Figures Expected by the Jews 42 Three Messianic Figures Expected by the Essenes: The Prophet, the King, the Priest 43 John the Baptist, the Prophet 44 Elijah Come to Life 45 Essene Baptism as Early Christian Baptism 46 Telltale Essene Lifestyle and Doctrines 47 An Identifying Exegesis 48 Jesus the King 49 A Divergence in Doctrine: Early Gnostic Influences 50 A Difference in Messianic Expectations 51 A “Pierced” or “Piercing” Messiah? (4Q285 v) 52 The Teacher of Righteousness, the Priest 53 Astrology 54 The Birth of Noah 55 The Teacher of Righteousness Prophesied by Malachi 56 The Messianic Anthology (4Q175) Revisited 57 A Brief Scroll Exegesis on the Teacher’s Self-understanding 58 The Historical Name of the Teacher Revealed 6 The Secret Role of Gabriel in the Virgin Birth 59 Parthenos or Almah? 60 The Septuagint 61 How Far Back Does the Doctrine Go? 62 Is the Virgin Birth Doctrine Traceable to the Essenes? 63 Thiering’s View 64 A Knights Templar Tradition and Thiering’s Identification of Gabriel 65 Jesus’s First Birthday Hymn 66 Gabriel’s Reflection on His Secret Task 67 Comments in Anticipation of My Critics 7 The Teacher of Righteousness and the Passion of Christ 68 The Trial According to Nicodemus 69 The Sabbath and the “Son of Man” 70 The Prosecutors Cut Their Losses 71 The Aftermath 72 Pilate Passes from the Scene 73 Assessing the Real Responsibility for the Crucifixion 74 Recovering the Teacher of Righteousness’s “House of Exile” 75 Recovering the “Nahum” of the Nahum Pesharim 76 Why Write Pesharim on the Book of Nahum? 77 Capernaum: The Birthplace of Christianity 78 Capernaum: The Center of an Essene Schism 79 Correlating the Scroll and Gospel Descriptions 80 Amassing Further Evidence 81 The Crucifixion Mentioned 82 The Fatal Law 83 The Teacher Passes from the Scene 84 The Akedah 85 “Righteousness Is Not in a Hand of Flesh” Benediction Notes Selected Bibliography Index of Ancient Writings Index of Modern Authors Index of Subjects
Marvin Vining, an attorney who is in the process of ordination in the United Methodist Church, spent 14 years researching and writing this book. He is a Biblical scholar who holds a master's degree in philosophy and has studied theology for many years. He lives in Mississippi, and his website is www.MarvinVining.com.
Reviews for Jesus the Wicked Priest: How Christanity Was Born of an Essene Schism
Vining shows the reader why Jesus is the Wicked Priest for reacting against some of the strict ascetic and often self-defeating doctrines of the Essenes. . . . This is a controversial work. It does challenge many Christian doctrines. Vining has done detailed research and it is apparent in his writing that he is a man of great faith. . . . suitable for both the interested lay person as well as the biblical scholar.
