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Commentary On The Damascus Document
Discussion in the Light of Integrated Prophecy
(Numerical references are to Column and Line number in
the Document.)
The Land of Damascus
The title of the document, applied my modern scholarship,
comes from several references within it to Damascus. The way this Damascus
is treated shows that it was not a literal reference to ancient Damascus in Syria
but symbolic for some other place. Scholars seem to be in universal agreement about
this view.
Amos 5:27 states: "therefore I shall send you into exile
beyond Damascus." The kingdoms of David and Solomon extended north into what
is now Syria, including the city of Damascus. From the context of the remarks Amos
was telling the people of Israel their fate before their kingdom was destroyed.
In 722 BC the Assyrians under
Shalmaneser V, and then under Sargon II, conquered
the northern Kingdom of Israel, destroyed its capital Samaria and sent the Israelites
into exile and captivity in the "cities of the Medes," now part of eastern Iran
and western Afghanistan. This action proved to be a fulfillment of the warning that
God would send his people beyond ancient Damascus. We also know that at the breakup
of the ancient kingdom of Israel the northern Ten Tribes traveled north to Asia
Minor and around the Black Sea. They
did not settle in Damascus, Syria. As I have shown, they then spread throughout
Europe. From Europe, their descendants moved into, and controlled, the lands of
North and South America. This means that a high percentage of the white population
of the Americas is descended from the people of ancient Israel.
The natural question is why the word Damascus was used to
identify someplace beyond the northern boundaries of the land of Israel. If this
is not Damascus, Syria just what does the designation mean? This reference to some
other symbolic Damascus is noted by:
6:5 . . . the penitents of Israel who went forth out of
the land of Judah and sojourned in the land of Damascus . . .
6:19 . . . who entered into the New Covenant in
the land of Damascus . . .
8:21 . . . All the men who entered into the New Covenant
in the land of Damascus . . .
Map searches for Damascus and alternate language spellings
reveal some interesting facts. Damas (French spelling) ) towns are found in northern
Pakistan, at Guaviare, Colombia, South America, and at Puntarenas, Costa Rica. I
found Damascus streets in the Netherlands (2), Dubai, Baghdad, Beirut, Lebanon, and Belfast,
Ireland. I found a Damascus College in Victoria, Australia. I was unable to find
reference to dimashq (Arabic spelling) or dimasheq (Hebrew spelling).
Around the world the name Damascus seems sparsely used.
However, within the United States the use of the name Damascus
is prevalent. It is found as towns in Oregon, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Arkansas,
Mississippi, and Alabama. Damascus townships exist in Pennsylvania and Ohio. There
are literally hundreds of Damascus names for streets, roads, churches, businesses,
and other appellations in the United States.
The United
States is truly the land of Damascus.
We must be wary of the great use of symbolism in the Damascus
Document, illustrated in Column 7.
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14 As He said, (Amos 5:26-27) ‘And I will cause to
go into captivity the booth (Sikkut) of your King
15 and the statue (Kiyyun) of your images away from my tent
(shelter) to Damascus. Blank The books of the Law are the booth (Sikkut)
16 of the King, as He said, (Amos 9:11) ‘And I will raise
up the booth of David that is fallen.’ Blank The King
17 is the congregation and statue (Kiyyun) the images are
the books of the Prophets,
18 whose words Israel has despised. Blank And the
Star is the interpreter of the Teaching,
19 who will come to Damascus, as it is written, (Num 24:17-19)
‘There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise
20 out of Israel.’ The scepter is the prince of all the congregation.
And when he rises he shall destroy
21 all the sons of Seth.
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"The booth of your King" means that the kingship was lost.
At some future time this kingship (booth of David) would be reinstated, but in the
new world, and with Melchizedek as the new David.
The images are the books of the Prophets, the statues (not
statutes) that God provided for us, but which Israel of old despised. These would
be removed from the Israel of old, and sent to the land of Damascus, the United
States.
In this new world a Star would arise to interpret the Teachings,
the prophets, someone who will appear in the new Damascus. At that time he will
raise up a new scepter, new precepts by which the children of Israel can be guided.
Afterwards, after all the calamity and woe, when the people of Israel can look back,
they will understand how he would be regarded as the "prince of all the congregation."
He will not personally destroy all the sons of Seth, a symbol
for the Devil, but will be instrumental in bringing judgment upon them, through
God's help and guidance. Thus they will be destroyed.
This is a full quotation of the passage in the book of Numbers,
showing how it was adapted to the message of the Scroll:
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Num 24:17-19
17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of
Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the
skulls of all the sons of Sheth.
18 Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow
strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city."
In this land
a New Covenant will be formed.
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The New Covenant
The idea of a New Covenant is also found in Column II, Lines
3 - 10 of the Habakkuk Scroll. There it refers to those who betrayed the
New Covenant and did not believe when they heard all the things that were to happen
in their final generation. They rejected the Priest whom God appointed in those
days to interpret the prophets through whom he told of that impending disaster.
The Hebrew word cohen, a priest, is used in the Habakkuk text for
this individual. At the time of the establishment of the Old Covenant God called
upon Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons to be priests. Prior to that time they were
not priests. This created the official Hebrew institution. The important concept
behind the priesthood was that they were men chosen to mediate between God and man.
They were to act as teachers of the Law, i.e., the Holy Teachings. This individual
also serves in that role. This does not mean that he comes from the Jews, nor does
it mean that he was formally ordained into such a social function. Rather it means
that he was called by God for his particular role in the teaching and destiny salvation
of God's people.
As shown in the Habakkuk Scroll and the Damascus
Document, this Priest is clearly an individual who does not offer prophecy of
his own inspiration, but interprets the Great Truths of the prophecies of the Bible.
As stated in Num 24:12-13 — And Balaam said to Balak, Did I not tell your messengers
whom you sent to me, "If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold,
I would not be able to go beyond the word of Yahweh to do either good or bad of
my own will; what Yahweh speaks, that will I speak." Thus the words
of God this individual conveys to his fellow man are not words coming directly out
of his mouth from God. Who would believe him? Prophecy requires much time to "prove"
but now there is little time left to formulate decisions. Since his role is as an
interpreter or expositor of Biblical Prophecy it is a faith exercise that unbelieving
persons can easily reject. But they do so at their own peril.
We can see that these people, these penitents, make a New
Covenant with God. This is not a reaffirmation of the Old Covenant, nor it is a
renewal of the Christian Covenant.
We can obtain an idea of the Christian Covenant by this statement
from a United Methodist Women web site at:
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/Bible/covenant.stm
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The church did affirm the Jewish Scriptures as part of Christianity,
designating them the Old Testament or Old Covenant, and understanding their purpose
as preparing the world for Christ. Orthodox Christian theology developed and enhanced
the teachings of Paul and the apostles, summarizing the Jewish Law as a whole, and
interpreting its purpose as creating a faithful people who live out the will of
God.
The legalistic details of Torah were submerged in the metaphor
of the whole Covenant, which the coming of Christ completed. The New Covenant law
of love freed believers from the details of the Old Covenant, with its sacred center
in Jerusalem and its faith community, the Jews. For Christians the center of holiness
and purity was the human heart and the entire community of believers that transcended
race, culture, and class. Sin could separate a person from the community of the
faithful brothers and sisters, but repentance and forgiveness could reinstate them.
No obedience to a code of rules established holiness, if a person’s heart was not
repentant; and no behavior was so grievous that it could not be forgiven, with repentance.
Ritual purity had been replaced by purity of heart.
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Jews have always understood their faith as a practice of
codes and rules. The Ten Commandments were such a codified definition of human conduct.
But Jesus, when he lived here in the flesh, lifted us above Mosaic Law to understanding
of a relationship with God that was founded on the intent of the heart. When asked
which was the greatest commandment, he said:
This freed everyone from Mosaic Law and opened the teachings
of Jesus to the entire world. Christians referred to this as a New Covenant.
But Christians tied themselves to another concept that restricted
the use of this commandment from Jesus. This concept caused the name Christian
to be applied to them. It was the idea that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ. As
John stated:
When John made this remark he threw the new faith back into
Law. If one did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, then he was
not a Christian, and would be condemned. He would become the Antichrist, or one
opposed to Jesus. Thus, the Christian New Covenant became not a matter purely of
heartfelt relationship with God, but also a system of beliefs. It grew from an expression
of the longings of the heart to an intellectual system of theology. The apostle
Paul carried on lengthy dissertations about Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, expanding
upon this belief system. Paul laid the foundation for generations of Christian theologians.
Human beings cannot live together without coming to some
agreement about their social conduct and about their ideas of the universe. In their
present state they simply are not built to stand above law. If we had followed the
commandment of Jesus we might elevate our understanding of human laws, and obey
the leadings of our hearts, but such developments are in the farther future of this
world.
Furthermore, according to Christian understanding, if Jesus
were to return to this world he would return as the Christ, the Messiah. Since the
Messiah would be an earthly physical ruler, he would have to return as a man.
This is one of the most serious mistakes of Christianity.
Jesus is not returning as a man; he is returning as God. Hence, the Christian definition
of a New Covenant is not the New Covenant described in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Here
another Covenant is formulated that is not dependent upon Christian interpretation
of the teaching of Paul and the other apostles. Since those ideas were centered
around the event of the life of Jesus upon earth, and his return, it was a religion
about Jesus. As such the Christian religion, regardless of its historic form,
Catholic or Protestant, always held ideas centered on Jesus as the Messiah. But
if Jesus returns to this world, not as the expected Messiah, but as God, then the
Christian theological framework is not sufficient to such an event.
The question becomes this: When Jesus returns how many people
will be able to recognize him as God and welcome him in that form?
We surely cannot expect him to return without vivid demonstration
of his power as God. Since he is a spiritual being, he must bring with him a spiritual
manifestation equal to his status as a divine being.
But many men may not be able to respond to this mighty spiritual
demonstration. They may have their minds so clouded with Messiah expectations or
godlessness they cannot cope with this event. Christians will reject him because
he is not returning as the Messiah. Secularists will reject him because they believe
there is no God. Both groups may find other explanations for his spiritual presence.
Modern scientists may think his presence in light is merely the results of a supernova.
Or there may be other godless explanations.
On the other hand some human response, on which depends the
future of the world, is that of recognizing his presence as God. This requires a
major transformation in our conceptual structure. We must abandon the Christian
Messiah image. And we must recognize the nature of the great spiritual battle that
will break forth on our world. With a murderous onslaught by Devil's agents commencing
on all sides, we will earnestly seek an ensuing reaffirmation of a closer relationship
with Jesus. This longing of our hearts will bring a New Covenant. This New Covenant
will not be dependent upon the interpretation of men in theological pursuits, but
the development of a direct relationship with God through a great and soul searching
Spiritual Experience.
This would be a dramatic movement away from the old Jewish
and Christian covenants, the Old Covenant and the New Christian covenant. This would
be a surgical severing of historic religious ties, from Moses and from Jesus as
the Messiah.
This New Covenant will be welcomed by both Jews and Christians
who have their hearts centered on God. This New Covenant will bind together people
who did not know one another for two thousand years. No longer would there be allegiance
to man-defined covenants that would divide the two people.
The Jewish and Christian covenants would not be completely
abandoned. They would be redefined into a grander understanding of God and his actions
on our world. Just as Christians redefined the Old Mosaic Covenant by the event
of Jesus, so the New Covenant would redefine the old Messiah covenant by new and
dramatic understanding of God. Moses was the basis of the Jewish covenant. Jesus
was the basis of the formulation of the Christian Covenant. Now the Return of Jesus,
as God, and as Creator, with spiritual responses from his people, will define this
New Covenant.
To restate:
First, there will be the Return of Jesus. Not as a human
mortal, but as God. He will bring about such an extraordinary change in world conditions
that everyone will take notice. Atheist, agnostic, and religious believer will witness
this new event on our world. Because of the extreme separation from God numerous
godless interpretations of this event will be offered. No one, from our traditional
religious understanding, can adequately place this event into a framework familiar
to them. But those people who respond in a spiritual sense will come to know
that this is God present among us. As a consequence there will be such trembling
of the heart as to cause both Jews and Christians to reassign their spiritual loyalties.
Second, concomitant with the Return of Jesus will be a great
spiritual and physical tribulation. Jesus will let loose our former Planetary Prince
in order for him to prove his true spiritual state. In the prospect of destroying
God's people he will bring miraculous demonstrations of his power. Thousands upon
thousands of Christians and Jews will be slaughtered to his insane purpose. No one
on the planet will be safe. The hearts of men will turn to God as never before.
They will seek after God in a manner not known in world history. They will abandon
the old worn traditions of our historical religions. Now a truly New Covenant will
be formed.
Third, the intense spiritual warfare between our God and
our former Planetary Prince will multiply political tension among the nations. This
will lead to the destruction of our civilization.
We cannot come to a New Covenant without mighty demonstration
of spiritual power from God and his divine Sons, the rebellious gods.
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The Divine Visitation
The visitation of Jesus is told to us plainly in this document
and throughout the Dead Sea Scrolls. Repeatedly, time and again, we are told that
we will be visited by our God.
To be faithful to the revelation given to us we must deal
with the Visitation to take place at the time of the Great Judgment. A description
is provided in the text, but it is so clouded with symbolism, and subject to such
diverse and extraordinary interpretations, that we must consider it in detail.
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Column
1
1 Blank Now, therefore, hearken (unto me) all ye who
know righteousness, and have understanding in the works of
2 God. For He hath a controversy with all flesh, And will
execute judgment upon all who despise Him.
3 For because of the trespass of those who forsook Him, He
hid His face from Israel and from His Sanctuary,
4 And gave them over to the sword. But when He remembered
the covenant of the forefathers, He left a remnant
5 to Israel, and gave them not over to destruction. And in
the period of the wrath three hundred and
6 ninety years after He had given them in the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,
the King of Babylon
7 He visited them, and He made to spring forth from Israel
and Aaron, a root of His planting to inherit
8 His land, And to grow fat through the goodness of His earth.
And they had understanding of their iniquity. And they knew that
9 they were guilty men, And had like the blind been groping
10 after the way twenty years. And God considered their
works; for they sought Him with a perfect heart
11 And He raised them up a Teacher of Righteousness to lead
them in the way of His heart.
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Here the Judgment is specified. He gave them over to the
sword, but remembered the covenant he made with their forefathers. He preserved
a remnant and did not give them completely over to destruction.
Since this is a specification of world conditions at the
time of Judgment, we must interpret the symbolism to that effect. Nebuchadnezzar,
the King of Babylon, is not a description of ancient Babylon and that Nebuchadnezzar,
but of some land and some rulership at the end of the age. That is why no one could
make heads or tails of this passage. It was not intended to be taken as a reference
to ancient Babylon, but to some other time period. This means that the 390 years
must be understood in terms of our times. For example, if we were to take the demarcation
point at the onset of the settling of the New Land, the new Damascus, we might take
the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock in 1620. 390 years elapsed from that
point would be 2010.
This is a remarkable coincidence to today.
While we recognize the settling of the lands of Central and
South America more than a hundred years prior to 1620 the reference to the new Damascus
concentrates the remark to North America, and the United States. Hence, we do not
necessarily mean this to be literal to the exact year, but to a close approximation
of that date. God would then raise up for them a Teacher of Righteousness to lead
his people in the way of his heart. This is the time of the Visitation. He will
now return to this world. Then the 20 years in which they groped their way must
be understood as events to follow the Great Judgment. This would be a groping for
20 years after the Great Earth Events. Then the earth will spring forth in abundance,
in 1:8 the goodness of the earth. When he raises up a Teacher he does so
before the great events, not after.
The arrangement of the clauses in this statement makes it
very difficult to understand the time sequence.
But many will reject this teaching, with the great price
of death to pay for their refusal to accept.
Here we see a promise of the Visitation, and the recompense
upon unbelievers. Fortunately for this world,
Compare with the "B" version, XIX and the fragment 4Q266,
3:3.
Those who believe the Teacher of Righteousness shall escape
from nuclear destruction.
We can understand
that the Teacher of Righteousness will arise at the end of the age. This is the
time of the visitation of God.
A description of the perversity within man and God's action
to remove it, and his visitations, are described in the Rules of the Community (The
Manual of Discipline). See discussion at
http://www.world-destiny.org/q1/rulesofcommunity.htm.
In Column 13 and 14 we find remarks again pertinent to the
Return of Jesus, the coming destruction, and the rescue of God's people.
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13:22 These are the regulations for the Instructor, to
walk in them
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13:23 in the appointed time when God visits the earth,
when the word will be fulfilled which said: (Isa 7:17) There shall come upon your
people days
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14:1 such as have not come since the day on which Ephraim
became separated from Judah, and (to) all those who walk in them,
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14:2 the covenant of God is faithful to save them from
all the nets of the pit, but (Prov 27:12) the ignorant walk on, and are punished.
The word translated as Instructor is maskiyl which
means to be instructive. It derives from sakal, to be circumspect, hence
intelligent. It denotes to be prudent, wise, and to ponder. This individual cares
for God's people, and gives of himself in prudence and wisdom to help rescue them.
Although I have refrained from using the "B" version of the
Damascus Document, since I believe it was written by men at Qumran who were
expounding on the revelations they had been given, nevertheless we find pertinent
remarks. Those men strongly believed in the God's word. In spite of their strong
faith they could not help but conflate upon that knowledge.
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Column B:9
5: But over all those who despise the precepts
6: and the ordinances may be emptied over them the punishment
of the wicked, when God visits the earth.
7: when there comes the word which is written by the hand
of the prophet Zechariah: (Zech 13:7) Wake up sword against
8: my shepherd, and against the male who is my companion
— oracle of God — strike the shepherd, and
the flock may scatter.
9: and I shall turn my hand against the little ones.
Those who revere him are (Zech 11:11) the poor ones of the flock.
10: These shall escape in the age of the visitation: but
those that remain shall be delivered up to the sword when there comes the messiah
11: of Aaron and Israel. As happened in the age of the first
visitation, as Ezekiel said
12: by the hand of Ezekiel: Blank Ezek 9:4 . . .
To mark with a tau the foreheads of those who sigh and groan.
13: But those who remained were delivered up to the sword,
which carries out the vengeance of the covenant. Thus will be the judgment of all
those entering
14: his covenant, who do not remain steadfast in these precepts;
they shall be visited for destruction at the hand of Belial.
15: This is the day when God will make a visitation, as he
said: (Hos 5:10) The princes of Judah will be like those who move
16: the boundary. Upon them he will pour out his fury
like water. For they entered the covenant of conversion,
17: but have not left the path of traitors and have defiled
themselves by paths of licentiousness and with wicked wealth,
18: avenging themselves, and each one bearing resentment
against his brother, and each one hating his fellow. Each one became obscured
19: by blood relatives, approached for debauchery and bragged
about wealth and gain (. . .)
20: Each one did what was right in his eyes and each one
has chosen the stubbornness of his heart. They did not keep apart from the people
21: and from their sins. And they have rebelled with insolence.
walking on the path of the wicked ones.
22: about whom God said: (Deut 32:33) Their wine is serpents'
venom and cruel poison of asps. The serpents
23: are the kings of the peoples and their wine is their
paths, and the asps' poison is the head
24: of the kings of Greece, who comes upon them to execute
vengeance. . . .
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We can see that those men believed when God visits the
earth a great punishment would come upon mankind, Line 6. The poor ones of the
flock, Line 9, would escape during the time of Visitation, Line 10. Those who reject
the teaching offered by the Instructor will be delivered up to the sword.
Their confusion is shown by the messiah of Aaron and Israel.
They are confusing two different destiny periods, one without the Messiah, now,
and one with the Messiah, in the future.
Again, destruction at the hand of Belial could be the coming
Great Tribulation, but could also be the work of the Devil when he appears in human
form at the end of the Millennium, Line 14. God will visit the earth now, Line 6,
and then perhaps again at the closing of the Millennium, Line 15.
Just prior to the Great Holocaust that will destroy our civilization
the Devil will bring a Great Tribulation. This is specified:
However, the remarks following Line 16 shows the great licentiousness
and wicked wealth obtained by men living today. Great animosity exists today, with
enmity and resentment, with men hating one another. Debauchery is rampant today
among mankind. A reprimanding hand today is insolently rejected, with serpents venom
and the cruel poison of asps, Line 22.
Yet again, the writer of Version B inserts the word ivan,
Javan, to denote Greece, but this is his understanding of the holy texts.
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