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86. Essene Initiation
137 There is no immediate initiation for those who are eager (to join the Essene) party. Rather, they give one a small axe, the loincloth mentioned above above, and white garments, putting him under a discipline for one year while he remains outside.
138 And if during this examination period he gives evidence of his self-control, they lead him nearer to their discipline, letting him participate in cleaner waters for purification. But he is not yet received into their common life. For after proving his endurance, his character is tested for two more years. And then, if he appears worthy, he is admitted to the community.
139 But before he touches the common meal, he professes awesome vows:
--First (1) he is to be pious towards God.
--Next (2) he is to keep justice towards men;
--(3) he is to wrong no one either deliberately or on being forced;
--(4) he is always to hate the unjust and to take the side of the just;
140 --(5) he is always to extend trust to all, especially those in power.
For no one's rule can prevail against God; and
--(6) if he should rule, he is never to vaunt his authority,
nor by dress or any outward ornament outshine those in lower ranks;
141 --(7) he is always to love Truth and challenge liars;
--(8) he is to keep his hands from stealing and his hands clean from unlawful gain;
--(9) he is neither to hide anything from party members nor to disclose anything of theirs to others, even if tortured to death.
142 Besides these, he vows:
--(10) to transmit their teachings in no way other than that in which he received them;
--(11) to keep apart from banditry; and
--(12) to protect the party's books, and likewise the names of the angels.
Such are the vows by which initiates are bound.
  --- Josephus, Jewish War 2.137-142

87. The Qumran Covenant
1 The...order for the Community: ---to seek God....
2 ---to do what is good and right before him as
3 he commanded by the hand of Moses and all his servants, the prophets; and
---to love all
4 that he has chosen and
---to hate all that he has rejected;
---to stay far from all evil
5 and
---to stick close to all good deeds; and
---to do what is true and right and just
6 on earth; and
---to walk in stubbornness no more,
with a guilty heart and lustful eyes
7 doing all evil ; and
---to gather all who are willing to do what God prescribes
8 in a covenant of grace (berith hesed), joining with the counsel of God
and walking before him in exact accord
9 with all revelations of the times appointed for the testimonies; and
---to love all the sons of light, each
10 according to his lot in the counsel of God; and
---to hate all the sons of darkness, each according to his guilt
11 in the vengeance of God.
  --- Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule (1QS) 1.1-11

88. Purification of Initiates at Qumran
6 ...For it is by the Spirit of the Counsel of Truth concerning man's ways that all
7 his iniquities shall be covered, so he may look on the light of life.
And by a holy Spirit for union with his Truth shall he be cleansed from all
8 his injustices.
And by an upright and humble Spirit will his sins be covered;
and by humbling his soul toward all that God prescribes
9 his flesh shall be cleansed for sprinkling with purifying waters,
and for sanctifying with cleansing waters.
And he shall direct his steps to walk perfectly
10 in all the ways of God,
according to his command regarding the times appointed for his testimonies.
And he shall deviate neither to the right nor to the left; and he shall not
11 go beyond one of all his words.
Then he shall be accepted by an atonement pleasing before God.
And for him this will be for a covenant
12 of Unity everlasting.
  -- Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule (1QS) 3.6-12

89. Ultimate Agent of the Holy Spirit
18 ...But in the secrets of his understanding and glorious wisdom,
God has set an end for the existence of Error.
And at the time
19 appointed for his visitation, he will destroy it forever.
Then everlasting Truth shall come forth on the earth!
For during the dominion of Error, it wallowed in the ways of wickedness until
20 the time appointed for the decisive judgment.
Then by his Truth God will purge all the deeds of a man (geber),
and he will refine for himself (one) from the sons of Man (benei Ish)
removing every spirit of injustice from
21 his flesh and purifying him from all deeds of wickedness by a holy Spirit.
And he will sprinkle the Spirit of Truth on him like waters,
purifying him from all the abominations of the Lie and of contamination
22 by an unclean spirit,
to instruct the righteous in the knowledge of the Highest
and to teach the perfect of way the wisdom of the sons of Heaven.
For God has chosen them for an everlasting covenant;
23 and all the glory of Man (Adam) is theirs!
And there shall be no more Error;
all loose behavior will be put to shame.
Until then the Spirits of Truth and of Error battle in the heart of man (gaber).
  --- Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule (1QS) 4.18-23

90. Two Spirits
15 ...From the God of Knowledge is all that is and shall be;
before they were, he made all their designs.
16 And when they come to be they testify to his glory as planned,
fulfilling their deeds and changing nothing. In his hand
17 are all judgments, and he will support them in all their needs.
And he created Man (enosh) for dominion
18 over the earth;
and he appointed two spirits for him to walk in until the time of his visitation.
These are the Spirits
19 of Truth and of Error.
Those born of Truth are in a spring of Light;
and those born of Error are from a well of darkness.
20 In the hand of the Prince of Light is dominion over all the sons of Righteousness
who walk in all the ways of Light.
But in the hand of the Angel
21 of Darkness is dominion over all the sons of Error,
who walk in the ways of darkness.
  --- Dead Sea Scrolls, Community Rule (1QS) 3.15-21

John the Baptizer

91. Rabbinic Proselyte Baptism
1 He who wants to be a proselyte is not received right away.
They say to him:
--"Why do you want to be a proselyte?
Have you not seen that this people is poorer
and more oppressed and humiliated than all peoples?
Troubles and trials come upon them, and they bury their sons and their sons' sons. They are killed on account of circumcision and immersion
and all the rest of the commandments.
And they do not behave in public like all the rest of the nations."
2 If he says, "I am not up to this!," they dismiss him and he goes his own way.
3 If he takes this on himself, they lead him down to the place of immersion (beth tebilah).
They cover him with water around the place of his nakedness,
and they tell him some of the details of the commandments...
5 And they say good and comforting words to him:
--"Happy are you! Who have you joined? Him who spoke and the world was!
The world was created only for the sake of Israel.
Only Israel is called "sons of God" (cf. Deut 14:1),
and there is none beloved before God except Israel.
All the words that we spoke to you we told you only to increase your reward!"
  --- Babylonian Talmud (appendix), Gerim 1.1-5

92. Proselytes likened to Israel
3 Proselytes (gerim) are beloved, 
for in every place the texts compare them with Israel...
(1) "Love" is mentioned in connection with Israel, as it is said:
--"I have loved you, says the Lord" (Mal 1:2)
and "love" is mentioned in connection with proselytes, as it is said:
--"And he who loves the stranger (ger), 
giving him food and clothes" (Deut 10:18).
(2) Israel is called "servants," as it is said:
--"For the children of Israel are servants to me" (Lev 25:55)
and proselytes are too, as it is said
--"(And the strangers who join themselves to the Lord), 
to be his servants" (Isa 56:6)...
(3) Our father Abraham called himself a "stranger," as it is said:
--"(I am) a stranger and sojourner (with you)" (Gen 23:4)
(4) Likewise, David, the king of Israel, called himself a "stranger," as it is said:
--"I am a stranger with you" (Ps 39:13).
(5) And similar to this, it says (of Israel):
--"For we are strangers before you" (1 Chron 29:15)
  --- Babylonian Talmud (appendix), Gerim 4.3

93. Christian Baptism
26 For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, 
there is neither male nor female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  --- Paul, Galatians 3.26-28

94. Christian Unity
4 There is one body and one Spirit just as you were called 
to the one hope of your calling;
5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
6 one God and Father of us all, 
who is above all and through all and in all.
7 But grace was given to each of us 
according to the measure of the gift of Christ...
13 until we all reach the unity of faith 
and knowledge of the son of God, 
in the perfect Man, 
in maturity's measure of the fullness of Christ.
  --- "Paul," Ephesians 4.4-7, 13*
* Though the author of this letter calls himself "Paul," most modern NT scholars regard this as a pseudonym.  Despite stylistic and logistical reasons for questioning Pauline authorship, however, this text invokes concepts that are close enough to the patterns of thought in genuine writings of Paul (like Galatians above) to be classed as "deutero-Pauline"---i.e., echoes of Paul.

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