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Do orthodox Essenes believe that they alone have salvation?
While Orthodox Essenes believe passionately and with deep conviction that they have the Truth as it is revealed by God within the Three Pillars of the Faith (Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, Holy Revelation), that being said, they do not stand in judgment of others who may not share their beliefs or who have differing views on a wide variety of religious topics.
Orthodox Essenes believe that if a person had lived and died without ever having had any awareness of God in their personal life or any knowledge of God's Will, that such a person, out of God's infinite compassion, would be given the opportunity in the afterlife to turn to Him and make themselves subservient to the Divine Will of the God of the Universe at that time. Such a person would be taught the Divine Truth by God's angels and saints. Even at this point the individual human soul or spirit has the complete freedom to choose to accept the knowledge that has been presented to them by these heavenly messengers or not as the case may be. If they do choose to accept this Divine Truth, then they are given rest and eventual eternal Life. Essenes also believe that those who are living in the time of Messiah's return to earth, who are without knowledge of His Will, also have the opportunity to accept His teaching at that time, according to Messiah's own judgement. 
Regarding who will and who will not have this opportunity is told to us in the Scriptures. There are those specific individuals whom Messiah will reject upon His return. "Many will say to me in that day, Mari, Mari, have we not prophesied in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name performed many miracles? And then I will declare to them: I have not known you; depart from me, you workers of wickedness." (Matt. 7:22-23)
Here we see clearly that there will be such individuals, living at this moment who will be claiming that they have done works in His Name, however, Yeshua will tell them, "I never knew you." Thus, it is clear from the Scriptures that there will be some individuals, living in our day, that will not be spared by God, and this is due to such individuals' willful disobedience to God and His righteous requirements. Furthermore, the orthodox Essene community is fully aware of the fact that there are many souls, regardless of how they may have started out in life, where they lived, what they believed in the flesh or how they died, who, upon their entrance into the afterlife, were taught Divine Truth and became obedient to God's Will and entered into the Communion of Saints. These saints did not practice the Essene Way of life in their earthly lifetime, but the Assembly of Jerusalem believes fully that these saints accepted the truths of Messiah in the afterlife and are currently promoting the Will of God from their respective places and pointing people, both on the earth and in the afterlife, in the direction of the Truth of God's Three Pillars. The Assembly of Jerusalem, which is the Assembly of the Orthodox Essenes worldwide, respects the rights and beliefs of every person and never seeks to force its beliefs on anyone. Neither does it wish to use "scare tactics" to coerce an individual to believe anything, which is a tactic found very often in some of today's modern religious sects. These actions would be in violation of Yeshua's command to love one's neighbor as one loves one self. While the Assembly respects an individual's right to follow the religion or philosophy of their choosing, Essenes recognize their God-given responsibility to speak Truth to everyone. Part of speaking Truth is shining a light where the Truth is deliberately obscured or omitted. John the Baptizer did not refuse to say, "Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand" to a generation of vipers because it was not politically correct. Sometimes speaking Truth can offend those who are comfortable living what is in direct opposition to the Will of God. It is the responsibility of all true believers to expose falsehoods, lies and deceit and the very real dangers and threats that can be found within certain religious groups, cults, sects, denominations and world-views, and even when they must do this, it is always their intention to do so in a non-judgemental manner. To put this plainly: No one likes to be judged and mankind is not in a position to judge. But the Essenes are not judging, merely stating what God has already judged and has asserted what is and what is not acceptable in His eyes which can be found in Torah and echoed in the Gospels. An Essene will bring to light falsehood for the sole purpose of helping others return to the Narrow Path, and never to condemn them for having heartfelt beliefs. One of the requirements of Orthodox Essenes is not to judge people of other religions because Essenes know that Messiah's compassion is beyond human understanding and such judgment is left up to Him in such matters as to who will gain salvation and who will not. One of the greatest gifts freely given to humankind is free will - to choose what each person believes to be true and to live according to that truth. If a person is living a life of upstanding morality, integrity and ethics and always make a point to be compassionate to others, then it is not the place of any person, especially an Essene, to say who will or will not be with Messiah - outside what He has already taught in the Holy Writings. Only He can make the determination as to who are His Sheep and who are not. Essenes were made the shepherds of Messiah's flock. Their goal is to keep those who love Him on the Narrow Path whether now or later when they enter the afterlife, and to keep them from getting lost to the darkness that is all around them in this day and age. Copyright © 1997-2010 by the Church of Jerusalem. |