Customer Reviews

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

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I bought "The Secret Initiation of Jesus at Qumran" because I had read Robert Feather's previous book, "The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran" and I wanted to see where his research had led. I settled into the "serious reading" chair in my home office that is very different from my "fun reading" chair (which actually consists of lounging on the living room sofa). I figured that I would need intense concentration and I even had a notepad handy to try to keep the names and dates orderly.

Perhaps it would be best to describe what this book isn't. I was prepared for a typical, dry, academic study. That would consist of a brief statement of facts followed by a seemingly endless series of footnotes. The purpose of the notes would be to show how other experts agreed with the wisdom being presented. There would be long paragraphs that needed to be diagramed to keep my understanding from getting untracked. That was the reason for my notepad.

This book reads more like a novel. Mr. Feather provided me with a map, charts, a compass, and a flashlight. The preface warned that it would be necessary to understand the basic history before the conclusions would be apparent. But then I was introduced to a kind of adventure hunt/thriller. I first met a noted academic in a spooky apartment and all the facts changed from memory challenges to clues in a puzzle. Whenever there was an overload of facts coming at me from every direction, Feather provided a chart that made it all clear. The impressive thing about this was that he even made clear the reasoning of those who reached different conclusions from his own. You could easily choose which horse you wanted to bet on. I readily understood the evolution of the Hebrew/Jewish concepts of resurrection and afterlife. I could even tell you which historian had used what data to put a date and name on the Essene's "Teacher of Righteousness."

I enjoyed his unusual chapter titles, such as "Scribblers, Squabblers, and Scholars" and "Paul's Smoking Gun." After 224 pages of preparation, Mr. Feather went back to the spooky apartment and re-introduced all the prime characters. I felt as if I now knew them and how they might act. The book then became a rapid page-turner, hurtling toward the conclusion. Instead of dry prose, you read phrases such as "It was one of those nerve-tingling moments." I could actually feel the thrill of the discoveries.

The preface promised a trip of discovery. Feather shined light behind the curtains and into the caves. At he end, he delivered on his promise of an unexpected turn of events and the finding of someone he wasn't originally looking for. It seemed as if he set out not to prove something but rather to discover it. I felt as if I was there when he did.

I whole-heartedly recommend this masterpiece to the "Da Vinci Code" fans, as well as to anyone who has ever curled up in front of a roaring fireplace to read a good mystery. Robert Feather is all about facts and logic, which might normally make it hard to keep one's fire, lit. But that's not the case with this fantastic story. Each turned page heats up more and more, making the book very difficult to put down.
It's a must read in today's world of religious uncertainty. It takes the reader behind the embryonic scenes of a new kind of Judeo-Christian-Islamic triangle, told in a way that only this author could, considering his background and extensive knowledge of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
As the pages were turned faster I could sense Mr. Feather's jubilant circumspection of the findings, which lead to this testament about missing (and perhaps deliberately hidden) links, within the corpus of those three religions. It's the stuff of Secret Societies and it may even be telling us where the bodies are buried! Until now, only by being a member of a select group or two, could one come to the same conclusions which Mr. Feather offers up for consumption by anyone who merely takes the time to read. "The Secret Initiation of JESUS at QUMRAN" is an easy and enjoyable path to enlightment.

You will enjoy the thorough scholarship in this engaging book more if you've already read Feather's Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran. In this sequel, Feather builds on his research into the connections between Akhenaten and the monotheism that became Judaism.
For almost fifty years after their discovery, a small team of scholars prevented access to the Dead Sea Scrolls. What were they afraid of? What were they hiding? Did the Essenes practice a purer form of Judaism? Was this the path to which Jesus was calling people? For those who have pondered these questions, Feather's research provides a wealth of well-documented information.
Feather provides convincing evidence that the primary communities initially connected with Jesus's Way correspond to known Essene communities. This is exciting news to those who seek the truth and it clears up many previously inexplicable details in both chronology and doctrine. Some of the "hard sayings" that caused people to leave the Jesus movement could well be based on the stringent demands of the Essenes.
Be ready for lots of scholarly details presented in a highly readable format. Feather's interviews with Jozef Milik and his wife Yolanta gave him an inside track to uncovering some of the cover-ups of the Dead Sea Scrolls officials.
Though sources are cited in the extensive footnotes, the book could profit from a bibliography to make it easier for interested scholars to find related materials.
A great gift for those willing to leave their Sunday School paradigm behind.

I have done quite a bit of research on both the Essenes, and the Egyptian connection to Christianity. Nothing I have read to date was more conclusive than this book. The evidence that not only Christianity came from Essenic traditions, but that many of the early converts to Christianity were Essene, including its originators in Jesus and the John the Baptist, is quite clear. That said, Robert Feathers does not draw a conclusion for you, but shows you the perspective a variety of scholars, and explains why he doesn't agree with them. After reading this book, I realized how much the religion has changed from its original form to become what we see today. To quote Robert Feathers, "It really seems as though the wrong side won."
Things such as baptismal rights, the ressurection, and even the severe persecution that the early Christians face became much clearer after reading this book. The reasoning for so many of the Christian symbols having Egyptian origins also became clear, and though there are many theories, that attempt to explain why this is, Robert Feathers' conclusions, in my opinion, really hit the nail on the head. I have always been a follower of Christ, and even though I was raised by a Methodist Reverend, I have never had a "traditional" outlook on the bible. There were too many things in "traditional" christianity that just didn't seem to make sence to me, even as an adolecent.
After studying the Essenes, and with particular reference to Robert Feathers' work, I now better understand why I have always questioned the "traditionally accepted" forms of Christianity. I would reccomend this book to any true scholar of Christianity, to any one that doesn't just believe what they have been told, but allows themselves to think critically on the subject. Any such scholar will find Robert Feathers' work extraordinary.

I have finished reading "The Secret Initiation Of Jesus At Qumran" just a few days ago and I think Mr. Feather's connection of Pharoah Akhenaten, Qumran, Jesus, John The Baptist and the Essenes is exactly correct. I have been studying the Dead Sea Scrolls for over twenty years and I have never read any other book that fills in the gaps and resolves so many questions concerning the 'Scrolls'. The personal interviews with learned scholars on the subject only added more spice to the already seasoned subject of Dead Sea Scrolls. I thought I had some idea of the nature and origins of the 'Scrolls' until I read this book. I was partly right on some conclusions I had drawn and mostly wrong on a whole array of other ideas I held about the 'Scrolls'; especially the origin. Mr. Feather is right on and I recommend his 'Books' to everyone. I just purchased his 'Copper Scroll' book from Amazon.com and I understand he is working on another book, although I don't know the subject. I'm going to buy a copy as soon as it is available.

Henry Parker
4-16-2008

Very well written and the information is presented in a fashionable way. I recommend this book to all those who have the hunch that Jesus and Johnny the Baptist have close ties with the Essenes.

This book sheds light on why the Dead Sea Scrolls have been kept from the public.Great history lessons not known to most.Gives great information of how Moses was connected to the true bloodline of Jacob and Joseph (not
Jesus father).
How Jacob influenced the Pharoh into becoming the first "Royal blood line"
to become a follower of the "ONE GOD".The archaeological evidence of how the Pharoh and his wife Nefertiti knew Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, the true dates that put into prespective the occurances that was happening
during the time of Christ.

Great information leading to the "True Teachings" that never have been given to the public that the Master Jesus really taught.

Was always interested of the history of the the Essenes. For anyone who has looked into the deeper history of the bible and wondered why so many gaps in the history of Mary and her lineages Robert Feather has truley done his homework.
Recommend both his books!

As in his book on the Copper Scroll, the depth and breadth of Feather's research is extraordinary, and the arguments regarding the possibility that Jesus and John the Baptist were Essenes at least during part of their lives, and the connections with Egypt, are very persuasive. For a Christian, I would imagine, the implications are mind-blowing.

Future editions would benefit from more thorough Hebrew copy-editing (e.g. "ribonim" for pomegranates, "Torah haMelech"), and the possible etymological relationship between the ancient Egyptian Ka-Ba-Akh with the Hebrew root q.b.r. seems questionable, but apart from that, for a layman such as myself, the reasoning seems hard to fault. Feather's explanation of the heavenly chariots in the mosaic floors of synagogues in the Galilee is certainly the most plausible one I've ever heard.

Some of the ideas and theories in this book are very interesting and I will do further research on this subject. It appears there are a lot of books on Egypt and early Christian connections. But Feather just does too much speculation (lots of footnotes that don't seem to fit) about way too many things to connect the dots. Here is just one example. Feather postulates that Onias IV was Teacher of Righteousness and I will pick up the text here "There are three highly cohesive references in the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Wicked Priest and Teacher that fit the situation of Onias IV precisely and confirm that he was Teacher" He goes on to list the three with #2 being pursued the Teacher in his place of exile at a time when he was occupied with a religious ceremony. As proof of this he states that if Onias IV was Teacher then he could have been pursued by Menalaus because the Essenes used a different calender to the rest of Jewish groups at that time but gives no text or reference that Menalaus ever pursued or was ever in Egypt or even that Onias IV was even an Essene but then goes on to state that since he fits all criteria he must be TOR.

Mr. Feather strikes me as a defense attorney who is trying to set-up reasonable doubt but I like my theories better argued that this. Several things are possible in this book but they are poorly argued, look elsewhere.

Read this book as wishful thinking, not as a realistic account on Jesus. Scholarship here has pushed its doors wide open to subjectivism, and from such a standpoint all is allowed, even a connection with Akhenaton dedicated to monotheism, a myth severely mauled by Donald Redford of the El Amarna project.

A life of Jesus seasoned with a secret initiation at Qumran is the heartthrob of many writers and is accountable to the innumerable similarities between the Scroll community and the Gospel communities in terms of beliefs, organization and lexicology. It is further reinforced by the supposed coexistence of both Essene and Christian communities during the first decades of the new era. Several scholars have issued the idea that Jesus as well as John the Baptist and the main apostles could have had a connection with the Qumran sectarians and justifies the inspiration of this book.

There is however no direct and indisputable "Scroll" evidence of Jesus having lived in Qumran. As there is no evidence either, except from biblical sources that a man Jesus of outstanding spiritual caliber ever scolded Jerusalem and suffered a death sentence there during the days assigned to Him.

The great merit of this book is to enhance the idea that Jesus is connected some way or other to the Scroll community and that Jesus and John the Baptist represented rival groups. This is immensely important as a starting block for anyone who wants to understand the story the Gospels relate. But the real story is miles apart to the one given by Feather. The connection to be found is between the Scrolls' Messiahs and the Gospels' Messiahs. The link will soon receive a convinging explanation.