Were the Knights Templars Jewish?

I found this and thought it was interesing and wanted to share it. I don't know how much of this is true, i had not heard that the creator of the Priory was the creator of the Templars. That is interesting if true:

www.bibliotecapleyades.net...

The Prieuré de Sion (Priory of Zion) was a chivalrous fraternity created in medieval France with the purpose of preserving the Merovingian bloodline and returning them to the throne of France. They were officially founded as the Order de Sion by Godfroi de Bouillon in 1099. This was just prior the First Crusade, which was also headed by de Bouillon. Their official headquarters was the Abbey of Notre Dame du Mont de Sion in Jerusalem. In March 1117 they had Baldwin I, King of Jerusalem (who, it is said, owed his throne to them due to their efforts on his behalf) negotiate the constitution of the Order of the Temple, a.k.a. the Knights Templar, as the military and administrative arm of the Order de Sion.

The Templar order, which had already been around more than a decade, was headed by Hughes de Payen, who was also a founding member of the Order de Sion. They are not mentioned again in history until 1152, when King Louis VII of France brought them 95 new members and gave them the priory of Saint-Samson at Orléans.

The Templars, according to tradition, were created for the purpose of safeguarding pilgrims on the road to the Holy Land, and they are most famous for their brave fighting on behalf of Christendom for the capture of Jerusalem. However, evidence indicates that this was not at all an orthodox Christian organization, but that their secret rituals and doctrine were much more mystical, hermetic, and occult-oriented, derived not from the Church, but from Christ himself.

The Knights Templar had quite a career after the Crusades. They basically took over Europe financially, dominating all of the major industries, especially that of money lending. They invented the modern checking system, and within a few years had all of Europe’s kings indebted to them. This is why, even though they were disbanded by the Pope and the Grand Master burnt at the stake for heresy, some people believe that the Templars still exist today, continuing to manipulate the affairs of Europe behind the scenes. The Swiss nation, especially, is believed to be controlled by them. The same can be said for the Priory of Sion, which continues to this day, according to the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.

In fact, a number of illustrious figures in history, including Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, and Jean Cocteau have served as the Priory’s Grand Masters, or Nautioniers (Navigators.) The Priory has been credited by some with the creation of the European Union. The same insignia which they proposed for the flag of the United States of Europe in the 1950s is being used on the flag of the EU today. Former President of France François Mitterand was believed to be a member of the Priory, and many other very powerful people. They are also said to be in league with the CIA, MI5, and the Mafia. As for the Merovingians, their bloodline continues on. Through incestuous intermarriage, most of the royal families of Europe can claim descent from them. And from these royal families, have come all 44 of the United States Presidents.

I just remembered while playing the amazing game Gabriel Knight 3, there is a mention of jews in France. I couldn't believe what i read when i loaded up the game:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/files/3c0465d127937c3c.jpg[/atsimg]

Septimania. From the Spanish Pyrenees up through Toulouse and Narbonne there was a strong Jewish contingent. In 759, Pepin III, in exchange from the Jewish leaders, made Septimania an independant kingship. The Jewish Septimanians chose as their king Theodoric, descendent of Sigisbert IV. Theodoric's descendents include Guillem de Gellone and Godfroi de Bouillon, Duke of Lorraine and conqueror of Jerusalem during the crusades.

Now isn't this interesting?!? I am going to research this more and try to find a connection between Theodoric and Godfroy de Bouillon.

This could possibly support my claim for atleast one of the members, if this turns out to be true!

Originally posted by muzzleflash

Originally posted by Kojack
Theres another book I read that you guys might find just as interesting.

Its called "The Last Templar" by Raymond Khoury and explores a kind of alternate world in which the templars had power over the vatican by the balls with something they found underneath the temple mount. But I won't go any further to spoil the book for you guys.

I've always been curious if the freemasons are direct descendants of the knights templars....

The arc of the covenant that Moses had is there, according to legend.

There are stories that state the Templars found it and carried it off.

There are also OTHER conflicting stories, that state it was carried off into Africa hundreds of years prior to that.

There is no way to know, but it sure makes some sense and is a definite possibility.

On top of that, it could probably be in America as well, seeing how they made landfall back in 1364 via the Kensington Runestone.

The only location of the arc of the covenant is in axum ethiopia the stories match up with the old legends about King Solomon and the Queen of Sheeba.

Have you guys heard of Oak Island's "Money Pit" in Nova Scotia? That is a great mystery and it seems that the Templars could have easily hidden some treasure there.

en.wikipedia.org...

About eight years after the 1795 dig, according to the original articles and the memories of Vaughan, another company examined what was to become known as the "Money Pit." The Onslow Company sailed 300 nautical miles (560 km) from central Nova Scotia near Truro to Oak Island with the goal of recovering what they believed to be secret treasure. They continued the excavation down to approximately 90 feet (27.43 m) and found layers of logs or "marks" about every ten feet (3 m) and layers of charcoal, putty and coconut fibre at 40, 50 and 60 feet (12, 15 and 18 m).

According to one of the earliest written accounts, at 80 or 90 feet (27 m), they recovered a large stone bearing an inscription of symbols. Several researchers are said to have attempted to decipher the symbols. One translated them as saying: "forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried."[5] No photographs, drawings, or other images of the stone are known to have been produced prior to its claimed disappearance circa 1912. The symbols currently associated with the "forty feet down..." translation and seen in many books first appeared in True Tales of Buried Treasure, written by explorer and historian Edward Rowe Snow in 1951. In this book he claims he was given this set of symbols by Reverend A.T. Kempton of Cambridge, Massachusetts.[10] Nothing more is known about Kempton's involvement in the Oak Island tale.

Here is one of the reasons why i think it was the Templars:

The purpose of these fibres has been a source of heated debate among Oak Island researchers; a sample of this material was sent to the Smithsonian Institution in the early 20th century, where it was concluded that the material was coconut fibre.[30] Carbon dating was conducted on a sample in the 1960s and returned a date of 1200-1400 AD.[30] However, this testing method reveals only when the material was harvested, not when it was deposited at the site.

Originally posted by BeastMaster2012

In fact, a number of illustrious figures in history, including Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, and Jean Cocteau have served as the Priory’s Grand Masters, or Nautioniers (Navigators.) The Priory has been credited by some with the creation of the European Union. The same insignia which they proposed for the flag of the United States of Europe in the 1950s is being used on the flag of the EU today. Former President of France François Mitterand was believed to be a member of the Priory, and many other very powerful people. They are also said to be in league with the CIA, MI5, and the Mafia. As for the Merovingians, their bloodline continues on. Through incestuous intermarriage, most of the royal families of Europe can claim descent from them. And from these royal families, have come all 44 of the United States Presidents.

Actually, that whole bit has been proven as a hoax...

Plantard, together with his friend Philippe de Chérisey, produced a number of false documents,[5][6] including one which attached Plantard's family tree to an actual genealogy from an article by Louis Saurel in the French magazine Les Cahiers de l'Histoire No. 1 (1960).[5][7] Between 1965 and 1967 these documents, known as the "Dossiers Secrets" (Secret Files), were planted in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.[5][6] A third co-conspirator, French author Gérard de Sède (1921–2004), based his 1967 book L'Or de Rennes on these documents, "revealing" the Priory of Sion Rennes story to the world.[5][6]
Jean-Luc Chaumeil, Franck Marie,[13] Pierre Jarnac,[14] Massimo Introvigne and other researchers state that Plantard and de Chérisey planted documents in the Bibliothèque nationale between 1965 and 1985 and were a "brilliant" hoax.[5][6] Bill Putnam and John Edwin Wood, authors of The Treasure of Rennes-le-Château: A Mystery Solved, agree. When asked where to rank the Priory of Sion hoax among other hoaxes throughout history, both placed it "at the top."[9]

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by JoshNorton

Originally posted by BeastMaster2012

In fact, a number of illustrious figures in history, including Leonardo da Vinci, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Victor Hugo, Claude Debussy, and Jean Cocteau have served as the Priory’s Grand Masters, or Nautioniers (Navigators.) The Priory has been credited by some with the creation of the European Union. The same insignia which they proposed for the flag of the United States of Europe in the 1950s is being used on the flag of the EU today. Former President of France François Mitterand was believed to be a member of the Priory, and many other very powerful people. They are also said to be in league with the CIA, MI5, and the Mafia. As for the Merovingians, their bloodline continues on. Through incestuous intermarriage, most of the royal families of Europe can claim descent from them. And from these royal families, have come all 44 of the United States Presidents.

Actually, that whole bit has been proven as a hoax...

Plantard, together with his friend Philippe de Chérisey, produced a number of false documents,[5][6] including one which attached Plantard's family tree to an actual genealogy from an article by Louis Saurel in the French magazine Les Cahiers de l'Histoire No. 1 (1960).[5][7] Between 1965 and 1967 these documents, known as the "Dossiers Secrets" (Secret Files), were planted in the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris.[5][6] A third co-conspirator, French author Gérard de Sède (1921–2004), based his 1967 book L'Or de Rennes on these documents, "revealing" the Priory of Sion Rennes story to the world.[5][6]
Jean-Luc Chaumeil, Franck Marie,[13] Pierre Jarnac,[14] Massimo Introvigne and other researchers state that Plantard and de Chérisey planted documents in the Bibliothèque nationale between 1965 and 1985 and were a "brilliant" hoax.[5][6] Bill Putnam and John Edwin Wood, authors of The Treasure of Rennes-le-Château: A Mystery Solved, agree. When asked where to rank the Priory of Sion hoax among other hoaxes throughout history, both placed it "at the top."[9]

en.wikipedia.org...

Thanks for pointing that out. I now remember reading about this. It's too bad because he was all over the place in Holy Blood Holy Grail. That is a great book nonetheless.

I hadn't realized that the Jews were in Babylon. That is pretty interesting stuff. Not only were they in Egypt but also Babylon. What's next, jews in China? Maybe Joseph Smith was right and the jews did make it to America. What if the jews are the bearded people that helped the Central and South AMericans?

www.aish.com...

The story of the Jews of Babylon of necessity begins some 1,000 years before our current timeline -- in the 434 BCE, when the Babylonians first marched on Israel as part of their campaign to stake claim to the former Assyrian empire. In that first foray, the Babylonians did not destroy the Temple, nor send the Jews into exile. However, they did succeed in taking into captivity 10,000 of the best and brightest Jews. (See Part 22)

While it seemed like tragedy at the time, these brilliant men, Torah scholars all, immediately established a Jewish infrastructure upon arrival in Babylon. A dozen years later when the Temple was destroyed, the Jews who were exiled to Babylon found there yeshivas, synagogues, kosher butchers, etc., all the essentials for maintaining a Jewish life. (See Part 23)

Seventy years later, when the Babylonians fell to the Persians and the Jews were permitted to return, only a small number did. Of what was probably a million Jews living in the Persian Empire, only 42,000 went back, meaning that the vast majority stayed in Babylon under Persia domination.

During the Second Temple period, up until its destruction in 70 CE, the Jewish community in Babylon -- far from the eye of the storm that raged in the Land of Israel -- continued to flourish.

Indeed, this is where the center of Jewish rabbinic authority came to rest after the Roman Empire shut down the Sanhedrin in 363 CE.

The head of the Jewish community of Babylon -- who was officially recognized by the Persian authorities -- was called Resh Galusa in Aramaic, which means Rosh Galut in Hebrew, and "Head of the Diaspora" in English.

The Resh Galusa was a person who was a direct descendant of the House of King David. Even though he was not a king in the land of Israel, he was recognized as not only being the representative of the Jewish community in Babylon but as also having noble status.

Over 1,500 year history of the Jewish community in Babylon approximately 40 people held that title, all tracing their ancestry back to King David. This was a noble line that was always preserved in Jewish history.

Well, i found some more evidence.

www.pyramid.net...

1) Why were the Templars set up?

The original name for the order was; "The Order of the Poor Soldiers of Christ & The Temple of Solomon." They were created by bloodline descendants from well-established French families, who one thousand years prior, had escaped Roman besieged Jerusalem. These descendants of the original Templars were the actual priests of the Temple itself, as well as the descendants of Jesus and his blood brother James, who were of the royal blood-line of King David. Boaz and Jachin, the temple pillars, the Priests and Kings of Yahweh and Mary Magdalene herself giving such a child. Jesus was a man at the time and so had a sex life as other men, as do we all while living in the flesh.

1. He (Jesus) was originally a member of the Essene community that after his crucifixion later set up the Jerusalem Church at odds with Peter and Paul, the Roman gentile version of "Christian" faith.

2. Shocking to the Catholics but true. The Templars were created by the descendants of those genuine kings and priests of Israel, who were each told the story of the sacred temple treasures, generation following generation, they were also told of the truth of their divine legacy, awaiting as a birthright to claim.

They’re believed status as Rex Deus, or kings of God, sustaining an almost fanatical dedication. So a good motive at the time, you must agree, very 6th ray.

That website is rather "flimsy", so there is much to research. This site has given me a lot to think about and i have been researching many subjects from France and it is a very interesting place.

Just today, i posted in a thread about a TV show that Comedy Central may start to develop that is about Jesus. In the thread i posted a link to the South Park episode Fantastic Easter Special. You can view it here:

www.southparkstudios.com...

It is a parody of the DaVinci Code and when they got to the part about the Last Supper, they pointed out something that makes sense if what i quoted above is true: It appears Da Vinci oddly gave Peter a knife that he is somewhat hiding from Jesus. He is also making a strange gesture with his left hand, it appears that he is making a cutting motion to the person to Jesus' right, whom in the Davinci Code they say is Mary Magdalene.

Interesting, no? The above quote speaks of Peter being at odds with Jesus, did Da Vinci know about this and try to hide it in the painting?

I am not familiar with Peter or the bible, and Wiki tells me that Peter may have cut the ear of one of the arresting roman guard's ear, so it could very well be a reference to him. But i found this in Wiki very odd.

At the beginning of the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples' feet. Peter initially refused to let Jesus wash his feet, but when Jesus responded: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me", Peter replied: "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head".[Jn. 13:2-11] The washing of feet is often repeated in the service of worship on Maundy Thursday by some Christian denominations.

I don't know the signifance of asking a man to first not wash his feet but than to demand to wash his own hands and head. Isn't that a pushing it a little? Someone please enlighten me on this subject.

Any insight to this would be greatly appreciated.

if you really want to grip this whole issue by the balls read custodians of truth by Tim Wallace-Murphy and Marrylin Hopkins. i wanted to do a big thing on this and might later but im on my way out the door for work. The book is about the Rex Deus bloodlines. They are the reason the knights templar came to be and can be track to over a thousand year's before jesus waseven born.

thanks, i would like to hear your thoughts on this. I may have to get that book.

Christianity has its roots in the tora and jews, so might many christians. Doesnt make them jewish, but the 2 are closely related, so it could be considered nitpicking. In the end its all about influencial and powerfull people.

check this out!

This in a rather interesting discussion of the Templars and why they made Roslyn church look like the 1st temple or Solomans.

What the Templars found was the existance of another Jewish sect that didn't like the 2nd temple and considered it impure and evil. The Templars found that Jesus was of the Essene sect of Jewish religion and they were distinct from the two others, Pharisee and Sadducee of the 2 nd temple beliefs.

The Essene were considered to be the most Pious and Honest of the three sects, and they were basically rather socilaistic and lived communally. Jesus, Mary, Joseph lived around the Mt. Carmel group of the Essene up around that area that would be called Nazareth. Persons like John the Baptish was associated with the Dead Sea group of the Essene that were much more Monastic. And another group lived in Jerusalem and were considered the Guradians of the Tomb of David, and they had their own gate in the wall, the outside the wall toilet and bathing facilties, which was all part of their beliefs that were different than the Pharisee and Saducee.

The 2 nd temple was considered to be the un-pious temple based upon the Babylon Talmud, and they took their lead from the times of Nimrod and faked up beliefs on religion down to the times of Nabuchanezzar. They put in the games of burt offerings, as this was part of the Nimrod methods and in the times of the Babylon Captivity the Jewish wrote the Babylon Talmud that captured too much of these bad religion ideas.

It was from this difference that Jesus and the Essene considered the 2nd temple to be the Synagogue of Satin, as it values and burnt offerings were derived from the evil tyrant methods handed down from Nimrod. The Mystery Schools contain these histories of religions and lots of these were handed off to the Egyptians systems of relgion and Mystery School knowledge. The Essene basically trained Pythogarias at Mt. Carmel.

The Essene were pure white robes and the Knights Templar adoped a very similar white tunic with a Red Cross to remember the Christ or Jesus. When the Templars were digging around the old 2nd Temple's ruins they likely found some things similar to the Dead Sea Scrolls that told about the Essene and how different they were from the 2nd temple.s adoption of the Babylon system of religion.

Today, some of these same issue of discovery are coming into the light as archiology digs around Jerusalem are finding the Essene Gate, their bath areas and toilet areas. They have found the special areas around Mt. Carmel that was the Essene's temple and the area that taught Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to resist the Babylon Talmud's corruption of religion. The Essenes high valued the 1st temple's teachings, those of David and Solomon. Thus, in the times of Jesus they were the Guardians of the Tomb of David and over that area sits the Upper Room that as the last supper. This was the Essene area of old Jerusalem. Digs have even turned up a very special symbol of the first Christian Church that has a three part symbol with the Minorah, The Star of David, and the Jesus Fish symbol all combined. The Templars likely found those artifacts as well.

There is lots more to the story, but if you recognize these differences all the rest of the stories will become your enlightments of what the Termplars found and treasured in the same sense as the Essene and Jesus. Their system mimiced the Essene's methods of Communal living, the White Tunics, and a pious belief in only the 1st temple, or Solomon's temple only.

Good thread. I'll pass you some S and F for bringing these issues into the Forums discussions for everyone's enlightenments.

Here is a little more to help folks along:

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The Seal of the First Church--which shows the progression from Minorah, to David, to Jesus-----the Pious Belief's high road of the Essene

www.threemacs.org...

===

The Jerusalem Archiological Records showing the Essene Gate and Area of the Essene in Jerusalam in Jesus time:

www.centuryone.org...

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The Essene Temple area at Mt. Carmel, near Haifa, Israel area:

www.essene.com...

www.essene.com...

====

All nice and well, but the Tempar legends live on in both elite Catholic and espcially Protestant circles (of which Scottish Rite and various Templar orders are part of), not in Jewish.

Originally posted by MagnumOpus
It was from this difference that Jesus and the Essene considered the 2nd temple to be the Synagogue of Satin, as it values and burnt offerings were derived from the evil tyrant methods handed down from Nimrod. The Mystery Schools contain these histories of religions and lots of these were handed off to the Egyptians systems of relgion and Mystery School knowledge. The Essene basically trained Pythogarias at Mt. Carmel.

great reply, thanks a lot! What do you mean, that the Essene's trained the Pythagorean's? Did they train Pythagoras himself, or influence the originals? I have always had an interest in their beliefs, they seem to have held amazing knowledge. I am really interested in Venus, which lead me to the venus-earth pentagram which i noticed that the pathagoreans were interested in the pentagram sign:
web.eecs.utk.edu...

Pythagoras may have become acquainted with the Pentagram during his sojourns in Egypt and Babylon (perhaps 554-533 BCE); in any case the Pythagoreans used it as a sign of recognition (Iambl., Vita Pyth. XXXIII). They called the Pentagram "Hugieia," which is usually translated "Health," but has more the sense of Soundness or Wholeness, and, more generally, any Divine Blessing (LSJ s.v. hugieia, Suppl. s.v. hugieia).

Anyways i was wondering if you heard of the Therapeatae that existed in Egypt. I read about them once and it's hard to find information on them, but they seem pretty amazing. I made a thread about it and i post some information on it a few replies down:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thanks again for the reply, info and links!

what part of the book store do you go to if you wish to purchase the davinci code ?

fiction !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by Jason1865
All nice and well, but the Tempar legends live on in both elite Catholic and espcially Protestant circles (of which Scottish Rite and various Templar orders are part of), not in Jewish.

Hello,

The Masons tend to be more than a little bit deceptive in their persuits. Sometime read their 17th Degree and find that high level Masons swear allegence to the 2 nd temple---the Babylon Talmud issues some consider evil. Which means the highest of their order are basically Jewish oriented.

The Masons main lodge that lords over all the others is in London. The Royals in the UK have become a bit confused over time, but the throne is supposed to belong to the decendants of the line of David.

This confusion tends to have the Irish Catholics in battles with the Protestants in Ireland and Britain. When the Rothschilds ran to Britain and bought off Churchill in WWII, Britain's Royals worshiped the 2 nd temple values too.

Originally posted by BeastMaster2012

Originally posted by MagnumOpus
It was from this difference that Jesus and the Essene considered the 2nd temple to be the Synagogue of Satin, as it values and burnt offerings were derived from the evil tyrant methods handed down from Nimrod. The Mystery Schools contain these histories of religions and lots of these were handed off to the Egyptians systems of relgion and Mystery School knowledge. The Essene basically trained Pythogarias at Mt. Carmel.

great reply, thanks a lot! What do you mean, that the Essene's trained the Pythagorean's? Did they train Pythagoras himself, or influence the originals? I have always had an interest in their beliefs, they seem to have held amazing knowledge. I am really interested in Venus, which lead me to the venus-earth pentagram which i noticed that the pathagoreans were interested in the pentagram sign:
web.eecs.utk.edu...

Pythagoras may have become acquainted with the Pentagram during his sojourns in Egypt and Babylon (perhaps 554-533 BCE); in any case the Pythagoreans used it as a sign of recognition (Iambl., Vita Pyth. XXXIII). They called the Pentagram "Hugieia," which is usually translated "Health," but has more the sense of Soundness or Wholeness, and, more generally, any Divine Blessing (LSJ s.v. hugieia, Suppl. s.v. hugieia).

Anyways i was wondering if you heard of the Therapeatae that existed in Egypt. I read about them once and it's hard to find information on them, but they seem pretty amazing. I made a thread about it and i post some information on it a few replies down:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Thanks again for the reply, info and links!

=======
It appears the Essene Masters School at Mt. Carmel taught Pythagoras.

Yes, the Essene were known as the "healers". See:

www.essene.com...

Mount Carmel - A spiritual stronghold of the northern Essene movement. A place spoken of in reverence by ancient Egyptian Priests, a place where Pythagoras (the father of mathematics and philosophy) studied, the place of the Oracle and Altar of Elijah the Prophet, a place where Yeshua (Jesus) is said to have been taught and a place whence a remnant of Hebrew speaking followers of Yeshua inspired the formation of the Catholic Carmelite Order

====

www.essene.org...

While "vulgar" people were not permitted access to Mount Carmel, it was a haven for holy pilgrims from various countries. In The Life of Pythagoras written in the 2nd century by Jamblichus, we learn that the great sage Pythagoras, as a young seeker, visited the Essene sanctuary atop Mount Carmel:


"In Phoenicia he [Pythagoras] conversed with the prophets who were descendants of Moses.... After gaining all he could from the Phoenician mysteries, he found that they had originated from the sacred rites of Egypt. This led him to... Egypt. Following the advice of his teacher Thales, he left... through the agency of some Egyptian sailors, and landed on the coast under Mount Carmel."


Pythagoras then climbed Mount Carmel where he evidently received powerful teachings from the Essene Nazarenes; for when he returned to the ship, the sailors, who had hatched a secret plan to sell young Pythagoras into slavery, were mesmerized by his spiritual luminosity and unable to harm him. Whatever teachings Pythagoras had studied and practiced during his stay with the Essenes atop Carmel, they had obviously served to transform him!


HE HAD CLIMBED THE MOUNTAIN AS AN ADVANCED SEEKER; HE DESCENDED THE MOUNTAIN A MASTER. The sailors, reports Jamblichus, believed Pythagoras had become "supernatural". We know that Pythagoras went on to become a chief exponent of vegetarianism, reincarnation, fasting and sacred geometry -- all Essene teachings -- and that he and his followers wore only white linen garments, in the fashion of the Essenes of Mount Carmel.


We have seen above that no killing -- not even animals -- was permitted on Mount Carmel, and that ALL of Judaism was bound by that law, not only the Essenes. That made Mount Carmel the perfect place for the Essenes to create their international headquarters. In Spiritual Vegetarianism, Abbot George Burke supports that assessment:

---------

Before turning our attention to Nazareth and the Essene community at Mount Carmel, let us identify a third Essene community which was the probable sanctuary of the holy family when they fled to Egypt: THE ESSENE COMMUNITY OF THEREPUTAE AT LAKE MAREOTIS. You will recall that Mary and Joseph took baby Yahshua to Egypt to escape Herod. And we know from the writings of Philo, a Jewish philosopher who lived about 2,000 years ago, that there was indeed an Essene community of "theraputae" or "healers" at Lake Mareotis, in Egypt. Almost certainly, that Essene community was the place of sanctuary enjoyed by the Essene Holy Family.

Originally posted by BeastMaster2012
why would they possibly build the church to mimic Solomon's temple?

Solomon's Temple mimics the human body. Holiest of Holies in the smaller area at the top (the head.. has most holes)... ark of the covenant within the skull..

why wouldn't they want a church to do the same? seems sensible since all religion at it's core is the root wisdom of how to elevate your spirit and hence your vessel (body) to higher levels of ability to be in communication with all that is (the divine)..