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Qumran World Ages

© 2012 by Dylan Stephens

To understand the thoughts of the Essenes at Qumran, one needs to understand their prophesies from Enoch and Daniel. When Herod the Great came to power, he did so at an opportune time according to the predictions of Enoch. When he took Jerusalem in 37 BC, he was right at the cusp of the Essene World Age 8. Immediately understanding this luck, he pretended to foster the priestly line and to a lesser extend the David line, being of course careful to choose his own high priest and assigning Heli, the grandfather of Jesus, to be the king of the Diaspora (the Jews in foreign lands).

After the death of Herod in 4 BC and the deposing of his son Archelaus in 6 AD, the Age of Wrath, Rome started to exercise greater authority. The Zealots who opposed them militarily drew comfort from the prophesies that seemed to point to a time when they would get their country back.

John the Baptist, being a Zadok priest, was the perfect person to fulfill the prophecy of Testament of Levi (Contained in Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs): "the Lord raise up to the priesthood a new Priest", but Herod Antipas knew this and made sure that he was in prison when his this prophecy came true.

Jesus used the opportunity of Daniel 9:26 "After the sixty-two 'sevens'" (28 AD) to declare himself to be the Anointed One in 29 AD, however this came with a price: "the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing". Also, since the great jubilee of 600 (50*12) was also in 29 AD and although jubilees were mainly a priestly method, Jesus attempted to take John the Baptist's place and to give himself priestly authority along the lines of Melchizedek (11Q13/11QMelch and Hebrews 7). This gave him the title of the "Wicked Priest" and "the Spouter of Lies" in the Dead Sea Scroll Pesher Commentaries. John the Baptist saw the irony of his claim: "But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized by thee, and comest thou to me?" (Matt 3:14). John after all was the Zadok priest!

Integral to the Qumran World Ages was the king year of 70 years (10 sets of seven years). This would, of course, divide into the Age length of 490 which was 10 sets of 7 times 7 years. These sevens came about from the following requirement related to leaving the grown unplanted every seventh year and then after the 49th year (7 times 7) to declare a jubilee with the blowing of a trumpet (this image was used in Revelation). The jubilee was called the 50th year.

Two excellent discussions by James D. Dwyer are Chronology of Jubilees and The Significance of 70 Years.

Relevant references to Dead Sea Scrolls are shown.


Dead Sea Scroll Ages of Creation DSS 4Q180
The Pesher is concerning the ages made by God, all the ages for the accomplishment [of all events, past] and future. Before ever He created them, He determined the works of ... age by age. And it was engraved on [heavenly] tablets ... the ages of their domination. This is the order of the cre[ation of man from Noah to Abraham, un]til he begot Isaac; ten [weeks of (years)].(tr. Geza Vermes)
The Wicked and the Holy DSS 4Q181
... for guilt with the congregation of his people, for it has wall lowed in the sin of the sons of men; (and it was appointed) for great judgements and evil diseases in the flesh according to the mighty deeds of God and in accordance with their wickedness, In conformity with their congregation of uncleanness, (they are to be separated) as a community of wickedness until (wickedness) ends.

In accordance with the mercies of God, according to His goodness and wonderful glory, He caused some of the sons of the world to draw near (Him).. to be counted with Him in the community of the 'gods' as a congregation of holiness in service for eternal life and (sharing) the lot of His holy ones ... each man according to his lot which He has cast for ... eternal life ... (tr. Geza Vermes)
Book of Enoch Book 5: Epistle of Enoch Chapter 92
1 The book written by Enoch: Enoch indeed wrote this complete doctrine of wisdom, (which is) praised of all men and a judge of all the earth for all my children who shall dwell on the earth. And for the future generations who shall observe uprightness and peace.
2 Let not your spirit be troubled on account of the times; For the Holy and Great One has appointed days for all things.
3 And the righteous one shall arise from sleep, Shall arise and walk in the paths of righteousness, And all his path and conversation shall be in eternal goodness and grace.
4 He will be gracious to the righteous and give him eternal uprightness, And He will give him power so that he shall be (endowed) with goodness and righteousness. And he shall walk in eternal light.
5 And sin shall perish in darkness for ever, And shall no more be seen from that day for evermore. (tr. R.H. Charles 1906)
Book of Enoch Book 5: Epistle of Enoch Chapter 93
1,2 And after that Enoch both gave and began to recount from the books. And Enoch said:
Concerning the children of righteousness and concerning the elect of the world, And concerning the plant of uprightness, I will speak these things, Yea, I Enoch will declare (them) unto you, my sons:
According to that which appeared to me in the heavenly vision, And which I have known through the word of the holy angels, And have learnt from the heavenly tablets.
3 And Enoch began to recount from the books and said:
...
11-14 For who is there of all the children of men that is able to hear the voice of the Holy One without being troubled ? And who can think His thoughts?
and who is there that can behold all the works of heaven?
And how should there be one who could behold the heaven, and who is there that could understand the things of heaven and see a soul or a spirit and could tell thereof, or ascend and see all their ends and think them or do like them?
And who is there of all men that could know what is the breadth and the length of the earth, and to whom has been shown the measure of all of them?
14 Or is there any one who could discern the length of the heaven and how great is its height, and upon what it is founded, and how great is the number of the stars, and where all the luminaries rest? (tr. & following R.H. Charles 1906)

Once every Jubilee long cycle (7 weeks (years) times 7 = 49), a special Jubilee year is declared which is a special 50th Year
(the Year of Jubilee: Leviticus 25:10 - "Set aside and consecrate the fiftieth year to declare liberty throughout the land for all of its inhabitants.
It is to be a jubilee for you. Every person is to return to his own land that he has inherited. Likewise, every person is to return to his tribe.").
Thus one must count every 50 years not 49.
Week (sets of 490 years)Start DateSeventyths
(1-7)
JubileeEvent
Age 1 Creation 0-490 Anno Mundi
13047 BCCreationAdam & Eve on the sixth day
7Birth of Enoch"I (Enoch) was born the seventh in the first week (Enoch), While judgement and righteousness still endured." (Bk5 Epistle of Enoch 93:3)
Age 2 Noah & the Flood 490-980 Anno Mundi
22557 BCNoah & Flood"And after me there shall arise in the second week (Enoch) great wickedness, And deceit shall have sprung up; And in it there shall be the first end. And in it a man shall be saved; And after it is ended unrighteousness shall grow up, And a law shall be made for the sinners." (Bk5 Epistle of Enoch 93:4)
Age 3 Abraham 980-1470 Anno Mundi
32067 BCAbraham"And after that in the third week (Enoch) at its close A man shall be elected as the plant of righteous judgement, And his posterity shall become the plant of righteousness for evermore." (Bk5 Epistle of Enoch 93:5)
Age 4 Moses & Exodus 1470-1960 Anno Mundi
41577 BCMoses & Exodus"And after that in the fourth week (Enoch), at its close, Visions of the holy and righteous shall be seen, And a law for all generations and an enclosure shall be made for them." (Bk5 Epistle of Enoch 93:6)
Age 5 First Temple Built 1960-2450 Anno Mundi
51087 BCFirst Temple built"And after that in the fifth week (Enoch), at its close, The house of glory and dominion shall be built for ever." (Bk5 Epistle of Enoch 93:7)

4Q247 "[And afterwards will co]me the fif[th]week ... four hundred [and ninety years (not 430) (after the exodus from Egypt)] Solo[mon] (built the Temple)" Solomon's reign 970 to 931 BC thus previous building from the time of Saul
Age 6 Fall of Jerusalem and Captivity 2450-2520 Anno Mundi
(This span was only 70 years, not 7*70)
Jeremiah 25:11 "This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years."
6597 / 596 BCFall of the First Temple"And after that in the sixth week (Enoch) all who live in it shall be blinded, And the hearts of all of them shall godlessly forsake wisdom. And in it a man shall ascend; And at its close the house of dominion shall be burnt with fire, And the whole race of the chosen root shall be dispersed." (Bk5 Epistle of Enoch 93:8)
Wikipedia: "The deportation occurred prior to Nisan of 597 BC, and dates in the Book of Ezekiel are counted from that event."

4Q247 "(It was destroyed in the time) [of Zede]kiah king of Judah" (puppet king)
597 BC6(00)Jeremiah's letter sent
590 BC6(07)
583 BC6(14)
576 BC6(21)Jubilee (572 BC)Ezekiel 1:1,2 "Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month (See Memorial Day + 4) , as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw divisions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity." (8th year of Nebuchadnezzar is 597 BC- 5th year- 20 years to next jubilee= 572 BC) A great jubilee cycle 12*50=600.
569 BC6(28)
562 BC6(35)
555 BC6(42)
548 BC6(49)
541 BC6(56)
534 BC6(63)
Age 7 Restoration of the Temple 2520-3010 (Back to 490 year span)
7527 / 526 BCRestoration of the Temple"And after that in the seventh week (Enoch) shall an apostate generation arise And many shall be its deeds, And all its deeds shall be apostate." (Bk5 Epistle of Enoch 93:9)

Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks (490 years) are determined concerning thy people and concerning thy holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy."
527 BC1Jubilee (522 BC) & (472 BC)A decree to rebuild has been issued(Note: how it shows 7x7=49+1 is Jubilee cycle)
457 BC2Jubilee (422 BC)Ezra officiates at Jerusalem
387 BC3Jubilee (372 BC) & Jubilee (322 BC)Malachi prophesies
317 BC4Jubilee (272 BC)
247 BC5Jubilee (222 BC)Establishment of the Plant of Righteousness at Qumran on the Dead Sea by the Essenes in 207BC:
"And at its (7th week-Enoch) close shall be elected the elect righteous of the eternal plant of righteousness, to receive sevenfold instruction concerning all His creation." (Bk5 Epistle of Enoch 93:10)
"And in the fifth week (5th jubilee) they shall return into their desolate country, and shall renew the house of the Lord." (T.Levi 5:10)
"390 years after he had given them into the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, He visited them, and He caused a plant root to spring from Israel and Aaron to inherit His Land and to prosper on the good things of His earth." (Damascus Document CD 1:6-9) (597-390=207)
177 BC6Jubilee (172 BC) (167 BC Antiochus IV king of Seleucid Empire outlawed Jewish rites)
"And in the seventh (actually 6th jubilee) shall, be such pollution as I cannot express before men, for they shall know it who do these things. Therefore shall they be taken captive and become a prey, and their land and their substance shall be destroyed. (T.Levi 5:8-9)
135/134 BC6(06) "... there came around the year in which the Jews are wont to remain inactive, for they observe this custom every seventh year, just as on the seventh day." (Josephus Antiquities Book 13:8:1, Wars 1.2.4).
(8)107 BC7Jubilee (122 BC)(Hasmonean dynasty)
(Should have been Enoch week 8 (527-490) but postponement due to 6th 70 years above and as Menahem the Essene 'prophesies' Herod's reign in the 8th week (Enoch) (Josephus Ant 15:10:5)
"And in the seventh week (7th jubilee) shall become priests, who are idolaters, adulterers, lovers of money, proud, lawless, lascivious, abusers of children and beasts. And after their punishment shall have come from the Lord, the priesthood shall fail." (T.Levi 5:11-12)
Age 8 Birth of the Anointed One 3010-3080 Anno Mundi
(Back to accelerated time of 70 years until the Last Judgement)
837 / 38 BC Herod the GreatHerod the Great becomes king Birth and ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus
Daniel 9:25 "Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ (490 to the beginning of Herod the Great 37-36 BC) It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble."
37 BC8(00)5Sabbat (37 BC)Antiquities, Josephus 15.1.2 "At this time Herod, now he had got Jerusalem ... the Sabbatic year, which was still going on, and forced the country to lie still uncultivated, since we are forbidden to sow our land in that year"
30 BC8(07)
23 BC8(14)
20 BC8(17)HT1Herod rebuilds Temple
16 BC8(21)
9 BC8(28)Birth of John the Baptist & Jesus.(Having pushed the jubilee forward a jubilee for Herod's reign, it was simple to push it forward one more (2*49=100) years from Enoch 7th week: 107 BC) to be Levi's culminating seventh week)
Then the Lord shall raise up a new priest. And to him all the words of the Lord shall be revealed; and he shall execute a righteous judgement upon the earth for a multitude of days. And his star shall arise in heaven as of a king. Lighting up the light of knowledge as the sun the day, and he shall be magnified in the world. He shall shine forth as the sun on the earth, and shall remove all darkness from under heaven, and there shall be peace in all the earth. The heavens shall exult in his days, and the earth shall be glad, and the clouds shall rejoice; And the knowledge of the Lord shall be poured forth upon the earth, as the water of the seas; And the angels of the glory of the presence of the Lord shall be glad in him. The heavens shall be opened, and from the temple of glory shall come upon him sanctification, with the Father's voice as from Abraham to Isaac. And the glory of the Most High shall be uttered over him, and the spirit of understanding and sanctification shall rest upon him in the water. For he shall give the majesty of the Lord to His sons in truth for evermore; And there shall none succeed him for all generations for ever. And in his priesthood the Gentiles shall be multiplied in knowledge upon the earth, and enlightened through the grace of the Lord. In his priesthood shall sin come to an end, and the lawless shall cease to do evil. And he shall open the gates of paradise, and shall remove the threatening sword against Adam, and he shall give to the saints to eat from the tree of life, and the spirit of holiness shall be on them. And Beliar shall be bound by him, and he shall give power to His children to tread upon the evil spirits. And the Lord shall rejoice in His children, and be well pleased in His beloved ones for ever. Then shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob exult, and I will be glad, and all the saints shall clothe themselves with joy." (T.Levi 5:11-29)

John the Baptist born September, 8 BC; Jesus born in March, 7 BC
2 BC8(35)James, brother of Jesus, born in 1 AD
Simeon the Essene declares 7x7 years until the Restoration. (Rev 8:6)
6 AD8(42)Age of WrathJesus' Bar Mitzvah (symbolic birth Luke 2:1-7 "And it came to pass in those days, there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world be enrolled -- his enrollment first came to pass when Cyrenius was governor of Syria -- ... Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, that is called Bethlehem, because of his being of the house and family of David, to enroll himself with Mary his betrothed wife, being with child. The days were fulfilled for her bringing forth, and she brought forth her son -- the first-born, and wrapped him up, and laid him down in the manger, because there was not for them a place in the guest-chamber" )
"The first (not an angel) did sound, and there came hail and fire, mingled with blood, and it was cast to the land, and the third of the trees was burnt up, and all the green grass was burnt up." (Rev 8:7) This is Judas the Galilean who is killed in the insurrection - The First (real) Angel being Ananus the Elder who became High Priest (6-15 AD).
14 AD8(50)Death of Augustus in 14 AD, succeeded by Tiberius
The Second Angel is Eleazar Annas will be High Priest (16-17 AD). (Rev 8:10)
20 AD8(56)Third Angel is John the Baptist (son of Zechariah, the Zadok Priest) practicing as Nazarite in the desert. (Rev 8:12)
26 AD8(62)sixty-two 'sevens'Daniel 9:26 "After the sixty-two 'sevens', the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed."
"And in the Age of Wrath (6 AD)... they perceived their iniquity and recognized that they were guilty men,
yet for twenty years (Damascus Document CD 1:9-11)(6AD + 20 = 26AD) they were like blind men groping for the way. And God observed their deeds, that they sought Him with a whole heart, and raised for them a Teacher of Righteousness (John the Baptist) to guide them in he way of His Heart." (Cairo-Damascus Document Chapter 1.5-16)
Pontius Pilate is made prefect in 26 AD
27 AD8(63)HT46John the Baptist is Pope in 27AD. The Fourth Angel is Jonathan Annas who aligned himself with John and takes over after his imprisonment and death (Rev 8:12).
John 2:19,20 "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. The Jews, therefore, said, 'Forty and six years was this sanctuary building, and wilt thou in three days raise it up?'" (The Jews are followers of John the Baptist. Means 27 AD, the year of the start of John the Baptist's ministry equals the 46th year (HT46) of the rebuilding of the Temple by Herod the Great begun in 20BC (HT1). Thus one Jubilee (49 years later: HT49) brings the Restoration of the Jewish Kingdom to 30AD. Jesus is saying that he believes the Restoration to be three and a half years later at 33AD because the Great Jubilee of 29AD needed to be moved forward three years and a half years to account of the desecration of the Temple in in 167 BC. Its failure at his Crucifixion was declared a victory for the Christians. (The word 'day' was 'year', having been altered to correspond to the 'three days in the tomb' myth.)
(Related to Daniel 12:11 "1290 days" meaning 1290/360= 3.6 There are 360 days in the calendar with four 31 day months. (See Essene Solar Calendar))
29 AD8(65)JubileeStart of Jesus' ministry after 62 sevens and at the Great Jubilee yearA Great Jubilee cycle (50*12)=600 from Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 34:23-24 "I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken."

Luke 4:21 "He (Jesus) began to tell them, 'Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'"
30 AD8(66)HT49Prior to Passover, to prevent riots because of the coming Restoration (see 27AD), John the Baptist is arrested by Herod
33 AD8(69)Crucifixion of Jesus
Age 9 Restoration of the Priests and line of David Kings 3080-3150 Anno Mundi
(However, it became the inauguration of the new Christian Era and the destruction of the Temple)
934 / 35 AD
34 AD9(00)Pentecost (referring to cycle of 70)The Fifth Angel is Theophilus Annas (High Priest 37- 41 AD) (Rev 9:1)
"And in the day of the Pentecost being fulfilled, they were all with one accord at the same place." (Acts 2:1)
37 AD9(03)Jonathan Annas is excommunicated as Stephen
Saul is blinded in Damascus and is baptized as Paul
Caligula becomes emperor
40 AD9(06)Herod Agrippa I is King of his grandfather Herod the Great's kingdom by his friendship with Caligula
41 AD9(07)Assassination of Emperor Caligula; Claudius becomes emperor
The Sixth Angel is Matthew Annas (High Priest 43 AD) who in 44 AD began the assembly of the Four Gospels (Rev 9:14)
44 AD9(10)Assassination of Herod Agrippa I
"Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn't give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms, and he died." (Acts 12:23)
Abortive attempt by Theudas to declare the Restoration by Crossing the Jordan River. (Age of Wrath 6AD + 38 in anticipation of 40 year crossing of Moses)
46 AD9(12)40th anniversary of the peace party from the Age of Wrath. Council meets to remove circumcism requirement
48 AD9(14)The Seventh Angel is 'Lamb" (Jesus still alive) who participated with the canonizing of the Four Gospels in 48 AD (Rev 10 and Rev 6)
55/56 AD9(21)(An ancient Deed of Loan was recovered at Wadi Murabba near Bethlehem that explicitly stated that a 'year-of-release' was underway in the 2nd year of Nero Caesar.)
57 AD9(23)Magian Books are burned. Founded 100 years prior in 44 BC
58 AD9(24)Apollos stages an abortive reinactment of the 'Walls of Jericho'
60 AD9(26)Felix and Paul go to Rome for trial and Jesus comes with them
62 AD9(28)James, the brother of Jesus, is killed by high priest Ananus Ananus
64 AD9(30)Great Fire in Rome
Peter and Paul put to death by Nero
69 AD9(35)
70 AD9(36)The fall of Jerusalem under Titus
Daniel 9:27 "He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
76 AD9(42)
83 AD9(49)
90 AD9(56)
97 AD9(63)
Age 10 Last Judgement 3150-3220 Anno Mundi
(No Last Judgement. New Heaven and New Earth for a thousand years)
10104-105 ADLast Judgement(Book 5: Epistle of Enoch Chapter 91:7-10) "A great chastisement shall come from heaven upon all these, And the holy Lord will come forth with wrath and chastisement To execute judgement on earth. In those days violence shall be cut off from its roots, And the roots of unrighteousness together with deceit, And they shall be destroyed from under heaven. And all the idols of the heathen shall be abandoned, And the temples burned with fire, And they shall remove them from the whole earth, And they (the heathen) shall be cast into the judgement of fire, And shall perish in wrath and in grievous judgement for ever. And the righteous shall arise from their sleep, And wisdom shall arise and be given unto them."
104 AD10"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. In these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ; and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:6)
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