The Essenes (the writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls) were known to be 100% accurate with their prophecies.

Most scholars believe the Dead Sea Scrolls were written by a group of Jewish men, who lived on the shores of the Dead Sea, in a community called Qumran. Scholars refer to this group of men as the Essenes. Also living in Qumran were the Zadok priests and men associated with the School of the Prophets. The Essenes disappeared in the first century and their scrolls remained hidden for almost 2,000 years.

As the Dead Sea Scrolls have been translated into English, insight into their writings has now become public. Dr. Ken Johnson, one of the translators of the Dead Sea Scrolls, is my primary source for information about the Essenes and their writings. His website is https://www.BibleFacts.org.

Josephus, the Jewish historian who lived during the time of Jesus, recorded in his writings that an Essene prophet named Menahem, gave a prophecy to a young boy named Herod. Menahem told this young boy that one day he would be a king, even though Herod did not come from a royal lineage. This is the same Herod who was later called King Herod the Great. After Herod became King, he asked Menahem how long his reign would last and the reply was ‘at least 30 years’. King Herod was pleased with this answer and therefore he gave special honors to the Essenes. Herod reigned for about 37 years. This is man who rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem and enlarged the surrounding area that is now known as the Temple Mount.

Most of the Essene prophecies listed below were recorded in the Dead Sea Scrolls over a hundred years before Jesus was born. The Essene beliefs and prophecies were recorded in the scrolls during the ‘400 silent years’ (the time period between the Old Testament and the New Testament). We now know that God was not silent. He was speaking the entire time to the Essenes and their prophets, who recorded what God spoke to them.

Essene Prophecies

  • They prophesied that a man from their ‘order’ (their School of Prophets) would be the one ‘crying in the wilderness’ to prepare the way of the Lord (Isaiah 44:3). This was John the Baptist, whom the Essenes called John the Immerser. (Matthew 3:3) The location where John the Baptist preached was only about 8 miles from Qumran, where the Essenes lived.
  • They prophesied that the Jewish Messiah would come to earth and reconcile humanity back to God.
  • They prophesied that the Messiah would be born of a virginand that he would be God incarnate (God and man).
  • They prophesied that the name of the Messiah would be Yeshua (the Hebrew name given to Jesus). When Jesus was born, 1 out of every 5 Jewish boys were named Yeshua (which means Salvation). The number of boys given this name shows that a percentage of the general population believed in the Essenes and their prophecies about the coming Messiah. Mother’s would name their son Yeshua, hoping he would be the Messiah.
  • They prophesied that the Jewish priesthood would become corrupt and that the priesthood would completely abandon the original solar calendar (which the Essenes said was ordained by God) for the pagan, lunar calendar. This happened during the Babylonian captivity. The Pharisees adopted the Babylonian calendar and then brought it back to Jerusalem as the new Jewish calendar.
  • They prophesied that the Pharisees would leave the true faith before the birth of the Messiah. According to the Essenes, this apostasy happened when the Pharisees adopted the Babylonian lunar calendar, during the Babylonian captivity. After they returned to Jerusalem, the Pharisees and Sadducees also decided who should be the man to serve as the High Priest, in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. This was done for political reasons and not according to the process which God outlined in the Old Testament.
  • They prophesied that the Messiah would ‘come’ (or be made known) around the year 32 AD (on the Gregorian calendar) and this is about the time when Jesus was crucified. 
  • They prophesied that the Messiah, whom they called the Teacher of Righteousness, would die, but then be resurrected.
  • They prophesied that the Teacher of Lies (whom they believed was the false High Priest) would put the Messiah to death and then lie about His resurrection.
  • They prophesied that when the corrupt priesthood rejected the Messiah, the curtain in the Jewish Temple would be torn in two as a sign that God had rejected the Levitical priesthood.
  • They prophesied that the Messiah would come two times; the first time to die for our sins (32 AD) and the second time to set up his earthly kingdom.
  • They prophesied that the Messiah would usher in a New Covenant, effectively replacing the Old Covenant.
  • They prophesied that a Benjamanite would come, after the Messiah, and explain the teachings of the Messiah. The Apostle Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin. 

These are just a few of the documented Essene prophecies. After the resurrection of Jesus, many of the Essenes became followers of Jesus and the Apostles. In essence, the Essenes became some of the first Christians and they influenced the early church with their teachings and beliefs. In fact, one of their scrolls, written after Jesus was crucified, contains a list of the prophets that the Essenes recognized as true prophets from their ‘order’. Their list includes the name of John the Immerser (John the Baptist) and Agabus, a New Testament prophet who is mentioned in Acts 21:10.

According to Dr. Johnson, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain a prophecy about the next Jubilee cycle, which will start in March of 2026. Dr. Johnson has said that this specific prophecy states that in the last Jubilee cycle, (from 2026 to  2075) many more scrolls will be found in the area of the Dead Sea. So, it will be exciting to see if new scrolls are found in the upcoming years and what new information they may contain.