The Secret Initiation of Jesus at Qumran: The Essene Mysteries of John the Baptist

Excerpts & Samples

By Robert Feather

Publisher : Inner Traditions/Bear & Company

ABOUT Robert Feather

Robert Feather
Robert Feather is a metallurgist, engineer, journalist, and scholar of world religions. He is the founding editor of The Metallurgist, editor of Weighing and Measuring, and the author of The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran and The Secret Initiation of Jesus at Qumran. He lives in London.

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Description

An examination of the early, mysterious Essene community at Qumran that links it with John the Baptist, Jesus, and the beginnings of Christianity

• Offers an eyewitness account of the final burial place of John the Baptist

• Makes the case that Christianity grew out of a form of monotheism first formulated by the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten

• Includes physical and photographic evidence never before published

In his earlier book The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran, Robert Feather analyzed the Dead Sea Scroll engraved on copper that is considered the work of the secretive, devout Jewish sect known as the Essenes, who lived at Qumran around the time of Jesus. To continue his research into the Essene community's way of life and how its beliefs may have influenced the beginnings of Christianity, he met with Father Jozef Milik, one of the scholars who worked on deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1950s. Feather learned that during Milik's work somewhere near the Qumran ruins, he had excavated a headless corpse that he believed to be that of John the Baptist.

Feather presents persuasive, powerful evidence illustrating the strong link between the Qumran Essenes and New Testament teachings and showing that both John the Baptist and Jesus were intimately involved with this community at Qumran. He further supports the claim that early Christians continued a belief system centered on a form of monotheism first formulated by the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten and uniquely espoused by the Essenes at Qumran.
"Feather’s book appeals because of its startling thesis, its systematic presentation of the evidence, and the author’s excellent story telling, Obviously, the last word about the origins of Christianity has not been spoken as yet. Perhaps, with The Secret Initiation of Jesus at Quamram, we are getting a little closer to the truth."
Georg Feuerstein, Traditional Yoga Studies Interactive, January 17th 2006

"A fact-filled book about the Essene mysteries, and the role that John the Baptist performed with Jesus' initiation, are part of this big book of information. It is a good, old-fashioned reading experience, one the reader will deeply enjoy!"
Lee Prosser, Ghostvillage.com, Feb 8, 2006