Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered - The Preterist Archive

Surely [they are the to]t of Darkness. Their punishment (5) will be the eternal Pit. Amen. Amen. And
cursed be the Evi[1] One [in all] of his dominions, and damned be (6) all the sons of Bel[ial] in all
their times of service until their consummation [forever. Amen. Amen.'] (7) And [they are to repeat
and say, 'Cursed be you, Angel of the Pit and Spir[it of Destruction in al[1] the schemes of [your]
gu[ilty] inclination, (8) [and in all the abominable [purposes] and counsel of [your] Wick[edness. And
damned be you in [your] [sinful] d[omi]n[ion] (9) [and in your wicked and guilty rule,] together with
all the abom[inations of She]ol and [the reproach of the P]it, (10) [and with the humiliations of
destruction, with [no remnant and no forgiveness, in the fury of [God's] wrath [for]ever [and ever.]
Amen. A[men.] (11) [And cursed be al]1 who perform their [Evil schemes,] who establish your Evil
purposes [in their hearts against] (12) Go[d's Covenant,] so as to [reject the words of those who see]
his [Tru]th, and exchange the Judge[ments of the Torah . . .]
The Splendour of the Spirits
Manuscript B Fragment 1 (1) . . . as the[ir] teachers . . . (2) their . . . their honor . . . (3) their Glory, the
doors of their wonders . . . (4) the Angels of fire and the Spirits of cloud . . . (5) [the] embroidered
[Splen]dor of the Spirits of the Holy of Hol[ies . . .] (6) and firmaments of the Holy [of Holies . . .] (7)
months with all [their] festivals . . . (8) the Glorious Name of Yo[ur] God . . . (9) and all the servants of
Ho[liness . . .] (10) in the Perfection of th[eir] works . . . (11) in [their] wond[rous] Temples . . . (12)
[a]ll [their] servant[s . . .] (13) Your Holiness in the habitat[ion of . . .]
Fragment 2 (1) . . . them, and they shall bless Your Holy Name with blessing[s . . . (2) and they shall
bless] You, all creatures of flesh in unison, whom [You] have creat[ed . . . (3) beasts and birds and
reptiles and the fish of the seas, and all . . . (4) [Y]ou have created them all anew . . .
Fragment 3 (13) . . . The Holy Spirit [sett]led upon His Messiah . . .
42. Baptismal Hymn (4Q414)
On the heels of this text, we come upon a series of fragments relating to baptism. By baptism, of
course, the reader should realize that the proponents of this literature did not necessarily mean
anything different from traditional Jewish ritual immersion. The terminologies are synonymous,
though the emphasis on baptismal procedures at Qumran is extraordinary. This can be seen not only in
texts such as the one represented by these fragments and the well-known Community Rule,iii,1-4,
which in describing baptism makes reference to 'the Holy Spirit', but also the sheer number of ritual
immersion facilities at the actual ruins of Qumran - if these can be safely associated with the
movement responsible for this literature.
Once again, one is confronted with the vocabulary of 'Glory', this time in terms of 'a law of Glory'
(4.3), as well as, if our reconstruction is correct, 'the purity of Righteousness' or 'Justification' (4.4).
There is reference to 'making atonement for us', being 'cleansed from pollution' as one 'enters the
water', and the usual 'Laws of your Holiness' and 'Truth of Your Covenant'. There is also an interesting
allusion to a 'Jewish woman', which parallels the reference to 'a Jewish man' in the calendrical texts,
and shows the extent to which the usage 'Jew' had already taken hold in Palestine in the first century
BC and the first century AD.