The Gospel of Love and Peace: Essene Books I - IV

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

From the remote ages of antiquity a remarkable teaching has existed which is universal in its application and ageless in its Wisdom. Fragments of it are found in Sumerian hieroglyphs and on tiles and stones dating back some eight or ten thousand years. Some of the symbols, such as for the sun, moon, air, water and other natural forces, are from an even earlier age preceding the cataclysm that ended the Pleistocene period. How many thousands of years previous to that the teaching existed is unknown.

To study and practice this teaching is to reawaken within the heart of every man an intuitive knowledge that can solve his individual problems and the problems of the world.

Traces of the teaching have appeared in almost every country and religion. Its fundamental principles were taught in ancient Persia, Egypt, India, Tibet, China, Palestine, Greece and many other countries. But it has been transmitted in its most pure form by the Essenes, that mysterious brotherhood which lived during the last two or three centuries B.C. and the first century of the Christian era at the Dead Sea in Palestine and at Lake Mareotis in Egypt. In Palestine and Syria the members of the brotherhood were known as Essenes and in Egypt as Therapeutae, or healers.

The esoteric part of their teaching is given in the Tree of Life, the Essene Communions with the Angels, and the Sevenfold Peace, among others. The exoteric or outer teaching appears in Book One of The Essene Gospel of Peace and the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls.

The origin of the brotherhood is said to be unknown, and the derivation of the name is uncertain. Some believe it comes from Esnoch, or Enoch, and claim him to be their founder, their Communions with the Angelic world having first been given to him.

Others consider the name comes from Esrael, the elects of the people to whom Moses brought forth the Communions at Mount Sinai where they were revealed to him by the Angelic world.

But whatever their origin, it is certain that the Essenes existed for a very long time as a brotherhood, perhaps under other names in other lands. The teaching appears in the Zend Avesta of Zarathustra, who translated it into a way of life that was followed for thousands of years. it contains the fundamental concepts of Brahmanism, the Vedas and the Upanishads; and the Yoga systems of India sprang from the same source. Buddha later gave forth essentially the same basic ideas and his sacred Bodhi tree is correlated with the Essene Tree of Life. In Tibet the teaching once more found expression in the Tibetan Wheel of Life.

The Pythagoreans and Stoics in ancient Greece also followed the Essene principles and much of their way of life. The same teaching was an element of the Adonic culture of the Phoenicians, of the Alexandrian School of Philosophy in Egypt, and contributed greatly to many branches of Western culture, Freemasonry, Gnosticism, the Kabala and Christianity. Jesus interpreted it in its most sublime and beautiful form in the seven Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Essenes lived on the shores of lakes and rivers, away from cities and towns, and practiced a communal way of life, sharing equally in everything. They were mainly agriculturists and arboriculturists, having a vast knowledge of crops, soil and climatic conditions which enabled them to grow a remarkable variety of fruits and vegetables in comparatively desert areas and with a minimum of labour.

They had no servants or slaves and were said to have been the first people to condemn slavery both in theory and practice. There were no rich and no poor amongst them, both conditions being considered by them as deviations from the Law. They established their own economic system, based wholly on the Law, and showed that all man’s food and material needs can be attained without struggle, through knowledge of the Law.

They spent much time in study both of ancient writings and special branches of learning, such as education, healing and astronomy. They were said to be the heirs of Chaldean and Persian astronomy and the Egyptian arts of healing. They were adept in prophecy for which they prepared by prolonged fasting, in the use of plants and herbs for healing man and beast they were likewise proficient.

They lived a simple regular life, rising each day before sunrise to study and commune with the forces of nature, bathing in cold water as a ritual and donning white garments. After their daily labour in the fields and vineyards they partook of their meals in silence, preceding and ending them with prayer. In their profound respect for all living things they never touched flesh foods, nor did they drink fermented liquids. Their evenings were devoted to study and communion with the heavenly forces.

Evening was the beginning of their day, and their Sabbath, or holy day, began on Friday evening, the first day of their week. This day was given to study, discussion, the entertaining of visitors and the playing of certain musical instruments, relics of which have been discovered.

Their way of life enabled them to live to advanced ages of 120 years or more and they were said to have marvellous strength and endurance. In all their activities they expressed creative love.

They sent out healers and teachers from the brotherhoods, amongst whom were Elijah, John the Baptist, John the Beloved and the great Essene Master, Jesus.

Membership in the brotherhood was attainable only after a probationary period of a year and three years of initiatory work, followed by seven more years before being admitted to the full inner teaching.

Records of the Essene way of life have come down to us from the writings of their contemporaries. Pliny the Roman naturalist, Philo the Alexandrian philosopher, Josephus the Roman historian, Solanius and others, spoke of them variously as a race by themselves, more remarkable than any other in the world, the oldest of the initiates, receiving their teaching from Central Asia, teaching perpetuated through an immense space of ages, constant and unalterable holiness.

Some of the outer teaching is preserved in Aramaic text in the Vatican in Rome. Some in Slavic text was found in the possession of the Habsburgs in Austria and said to have been brought out of Asia in the thirteenth century by Nestorian priests fleeing the hordes of Genghis Khan.

Echoes of the teaching exist today in many forms, in certain rituals of the Masonic order, in the symbol of the seven-branched candlestick, in the greeting Peace be with you, used from the time of Moses, and even in the seven days of the week, which have long since lost their original spiritual meaning.

From its antiquity, its persistence through the ages, it is evident the teaching could not have been the concept of any individual or any people, but is the interpretation, by a succession of great Teachers, of the Law of the universe, the basic Law, eternal and unchanging as the stars in their courses, the same now as two or ten thousand years ago, and as applicable today as then.

The teaching explains the Law, shows how man's deviations from it are the cause of all his troubles, and gives the method by which he can find his way out of his dilemma.

Edmond Bordeaux Székely

(From his introduction to Book IV)

We have nothing to add to this text. It speaks for itself. The reader who studies the pages that follow with concentration, will feel the eternal vitality and powerful evidence of these profound truths which mankind needs today more urgently than ever before.

Edmond Bordeaux Székely

PART I

PREHISTORY

Chapter 1

From the Essene Book of Moses ²

The Ten Commandments

And Mount Sinai was altogether in smoke because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.

And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount: and Moses went up.

And the Lord called unto Moses out of the mountain, saying, Come unto me, for I would give you the Law for your people, which shall be a covenant for the Children of Light.

And Moses went up unto God. And God spoke all these words, saying:

I am the Law, your God, which has brought you out from the depths of the bondage of darkness.

You shall have no other Laws before me.

You shall not make unto you any image of the Law in Heaven above or in the Earth beneath. I am the invisible Law, without beginning and without end.

You shall not make unto you false laws, for I am the Law, and the whole Law of all laws. If you forsake me, you shall be visited by disasters for generation upon generation.

If you keep my commandments, you shall enter the Infinite Garden where stands the Tree of Life in the midst of the Eternal Sea.

You shall not violate the Law. The Law is your God, who shall not hold you guiltless.

Honour your Earthly Mother, that your days may be long upon the land, and honour your Heavenly Father, that Eternal Life be thine in the Heavens, for the Earth and the Heavens are given unto you by the Law, which is your God.

You shall greet your Earthly Mother on the morning of the Sabbath.

You shall greet the Angel of Earth on the second morning.

You shall greet the Angel of Life on the third morning.

You shall greet the Angel of Joy on the fourth morning.

You shall greet the Angel of Sun on the fifth morning.

You shall greet the Angel of Water on the sixth morning,

You shall greet the Angel of Air on the seventh morning.

All these Angels of the Earthly Mother shall you greet, and consecrate thyself to them, that you may enter the Infinite Garden where stands the Tree of Life.

You shall worship your Heavenly Father on the evening of the Sabbath.

You shall commune with the Angel of Eternal Life on the second evening.

You shall commune with the Angel of Work on the third evening.

You shall commune with the Angel of Peace on the fourth evening.

You shall commune with the Angel of Power on the fifth evening,

You shall commune with the Angel of Love on the sixth evening.

You shall commune with the Angel of Wisdom on the seventh evening.

All these Angels of the Heavenly Father shall you commune with, that your soul may bathe in the Fountain of Light, and enter into the Sea of Eternity.

The seventh day is the Sabbath: you shall remember it, keep it holy. The Sabbath is the day of the Light of the Law, your God. In it you shall not do any work, but search the Light, the kingdom of your God, and all things shall be given unto you.

For know you that during six days you shall work with the Angels, but the seventh day shall you dwell in the Light of your Lord, who is the Holy Law.

You shall not take the Life from any living thing. Life comes only from God, who giveth it and takes it away.

You shall not debase Love. It is the sacred gift of your Heavenly Father.

You shall not trade your Soul, the priceless gift of the loving God, for the riches of the world, which are as seeds sown on stony ground, having no root in themselves, and so enduring but for a little while.

You shall not be a false witness of the Law, to use it against your brother: Only God knows the beginning and the ending of all things, for his eye is single, and he is the Holy Law.

You shall not covet your neighbour's possessions. The Law gives unto you much greater gifts, even the Earth and the Heavens, if you keep the Commandments of the Lord your God.

And Moses heard the voice of the Lord, and sealed within him the covenant that was between the Lord and the Children of Light.

And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tablets of the Law were in his hand.

And the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tablets.

And the people knew not what became of Moses, and they gathered themselves together and brake off their golden earrings and made a molten calf. And they worshipped unto the idol, and offered to it burnt offerings.

And they ate and drank and danced before the golden calf, which they had made, and they abandoned themselves to corruption and evil before the Lord.

And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing, and the wickedness of the people: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tablets out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people: You have sinned a great sin, you have denied your Creator. I will go up unto the Lord and plead atonement for your sin.

And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said: Lord, you hast seen the desecration of your Holy Law. For your children lost faith, and worshipped the darkness, and made for themselves a golden calf. Lord, forgive them, for they are blind to the light.

And the Lord said unto Moses:

Behold, at the beginning of time was a covenant made between God and man, and the holy flame of the Creator did enter unto him. And he was made the son of God, and it was given him to guard his inheritance of the first-born, and to make fruitful the land of his father and keep it holy. And he who casts out the Creator from him does spit upon his birthright, and no more grievous sin does exist in the eyes of God.

And the Lord spoke, saying:

Only the Children of Light can keep the commandments of the Law. Hear me, for I say thus: the tablets which you did break, these shall nevermore be written in the words of men. As you did return them to the earth and fire, so shall they live, invisible, in the hearts of those who are able to follow their Law. To your people of little faith, who did sin against the Creator, even whilst you stood on holy ground before your God, I will give another Law. It shall be a stem law, yea, it shall bind them, for they know not yet the Kingdom of Light.

And Moses hid the invisible Law within his breast, and kept it for a sign to the Children of Light. And God gave unto Moses the written law for the people, and he went down unto them, and spoke unto them with a heavy heart.

And Moses said unto the people: These are the laws which your God has given you:

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make unto you any graven image.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Honour your father and your mother.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

You shall not covet your neighbour's house, nor your neighbour's wife, nor anything that is your neighbour's.

And there was a day of mourning and atonement for the great sin against the Creator, which did not end. And the broken tablets of the Invisible Law lived hidden in the breast of Moses, until it came to pass that the Children of Light appeared in the desert, and the Angels walked the Earth.

Chapter 2

The Vision of Enoch²

The Most Ancient Revelation God Speaks to Man

I speak to you.

Be still

Know I am God.

I spoke to you

When you were born.

Be still

Know I am God.

I spoke to you

At your first sight.

Be still

Know I am God.

I spoke to you

At your first word.

Be still

Know I am God.

I spoke to you

At your first thought.

Be still

Know I am God.

I spoke to you

At your first Love.

Be still

Know I am God.

I spoke to you

At your first song.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the grass of the meadows.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the trees of the forests.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the valleys and the hills.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the Holy Mountains.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the rain and the snow.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the waves of the sea.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the dew of the morning.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the Peace of the evening.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the splendour of the sun.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the brilliant stars.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the storm and the clouds.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the thunder and lightning.

Be still

Know I am God.

I speak to you

Through the mysterious rainbow.

Be still

Know I am God.

I will speak to you

When you are alone.

Be still

Know I am God.

I will speak to you

Through the Wisdom of the

Ancients.

Be still

Know I am God.

I will speak to you

At the end of time.

Be still

Know I am God.

I will speak to you

When you have seen my Angels.

Be still

Know I am God.

I will speak to you

Throughout Eternity.

Be still

Know I am God

I speak to you.

Be still

Know I am God.

PART II

REVELATION

Chapter 3

Witness of the Light

(Fragments from the Essene Gospel of John ²)

In the beginning was the Law, and the Law was with God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was Life; and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

From the far place in the desert came the brothers, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through them might walk in the Light of the Holy Law. For the true Light does illumine every man that cometh into the world, but the world knows it not. But as many do receive the Law, to them is given the power to become the Sons of God, and to enter the Eternal Sea where stands the Tree of Life.

And Jesus taught them, saying: Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven.

And one man said: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

And Jesus answered: Verily, verily, I say unto you: Except a man be born of the Earthly Mother and the Heavenly Father, and walk with the Angels of the Day and the Night, he cannot enter into the Eternal Kingdom. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. And the flesh of your body is born of the Earthly Mother, and the spirit within you is born of the Heavenly Father. The wind blows, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it comes. So it is with the Holy Law. All men hear it, but know it not, for from their first breath it is with them. But he who is born again of the Heavenly Father and the Earthly Mother, he shall hear with new ears, and see with new eyes, and the flame of the Holy Law shall be kindled within him.

And one man asked: How can these things be?

Jesus answered and said unto him: Verily, verily, I say unto you: We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and you receive not our witness. For man is born to walk with the Angels, but instead he does search for jewels in the mud. To him has the Heavenly Father bestowed his inheritance, that he should build the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, but man has turned his back on his Father, and does worship the world and its idols. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into this world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light. For we are all Sons of God, and in us God is glorified, and the light which shines around God and his children is the Light of the Holy Law. And he who hates the light, does deny his Father and his Mother, who have given him birth.

And one man asked: Master, how can we know the light?

And Jesus answered: Verily, verily, I give unto you a new commandment: that you love one another, even as they love you who work together in the Garden of the Brotherhood. By this shall all men know that you too are brothers, even as we all are Sons of God.

And one man said: All your talk is of the brotherhood, yet we cannot all be of the brotherhood. Yet we would worship light and shun darkness, for none there is among us who desires evil.

And Jesus answered: "Let not