Damascus Doc Notes from the Damascus Doc 1. The doc opens by declaring that in the course of the time before the exile to Babylon when unfaithfulness was prevalent, inflicting God to result in his wrath upon the individuals. 2. Then there got here twenty years by which a remnant of the individuals knew their very own guilt and tried to discover a method to the trail of righteousness, till God supplied them with a “Instructor of Righteousness” who revealed the desire of God. three.
The instructor of righteousness was opposed by the Man of Mockery who led to persecution to the group led some of them into all kinds of unrighteous acts and sinfulness. The Man of Mockery led some of the individuals to sin via the defilement of the temple and inflicting the individuals “to surprise in a pathless wilderness…abolishing the methods of righteousness…” four. The instructor of righteousness was “handed away” in some unspecified time in the future and the author identified that the incident marked the start of the tip of all of the fighters who abandoned to the Liar.
The author additionally identified that interval lasted about forty years. It appears as if the author is saying that “passing away” of the instructor of righteousness (maybe killed) by the Man of Mockery, was started the forty yr lengthy warfare which ended all wars. 5. The righteous members of the group grew to become the “the Separatists” after they left the Holy Metropolis. 6. The author of the doc foretells the approaching of two Messiahs out to the “Home of Aaron and Israel. ” Maybe this will have been a reference to the John the Baptist (Home of Aaron) and to Jesus the Christ (Home of Israel).
The exception to this idea is that technically Jesus was from the Home of Judah, however collectively he Judah was Israel’s son, therefore, the home of Israel would suffice. 7. The author of the doc explains the executive hierarchy for members of the covenant. The one above all was the Overseer of the meeting. The doc instructs that the Overseer shall train the teams the ordinances of God and make choices as to who can be a part of the group and decide the rank that every may have. The Overseer “shall be from thirty to fifty years outdated and may have remaining say on all of the group’s actions. The Overseer was the last word authority that settled disputes between members. eight. The Doc additionally acknowledged that congregation shall be divided into teams of ten and each group of ten members required a priest that guidelines the group of ten. Every group of ten was to be registered by identify and the primary one to be enrolled was the priest; adopted by the Levites; after which got here the common Israelites with the proselytes being the final. The identical order adopted when members have been settled throughout meals and meeting conferences. Every of the members was assigned a rank. 9.
From right here the paperwork gives an extended succession of guidelines that ruled the members together with: protecting the Sabbath (even a restriction from aiding an animal to offer start or pull it out of pit if the animal falls on the Sabbath); prohibitions towards sleeping with a lady within the Metropolis of the Sanctuary; guidelines for bathing; restrictions towards promoting of clear animals or birds to gentiles in case they’d supply them in sacrifices; guidelines to members with youngsters that require them to pressure their youngsters to take an oath to the covenant upon the age of enrollment; directives to the members to contribute two days of each month’s incomes to the poor and needy; guidelines demanding all new members to review for a full yr below the Overseer before partial membership if granted; and guidelines prohibiting any membership for lunatics, the maimed, madmen, the deaf, the blind, simpletons, the lame, and the underage.
