JESUS AND THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

In this enlightening read, Dr. John Bergsma demonstrates how the Dead Sea Scrolls--the world's greatest modern archaeological discovery--can deepen our appreciation of Scripture and strengthen our understanding of faith.

A major new work on the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest sacred documents of Judaism, which reveals their surprising connections to early Christianity.

The first major work on the Dead Sea Scrolls in two decades, Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls shows how the mysterious and long-forgotten scrolls, discovered in an Egyptian cave in 1947, reveal more fully the Jewish roots of Christianity. Dr. Bergsma presents an illuminating text that reveals a Jewish community predating Christianity whose existence, beliefs, and practices have long been ignored by scholars and the public for social and political reasons: the Essenes. Bergsma, one of only a handful of American scholars who has had access to the original Dead Sea manuscripts reveals how this radical, pre-Christian Jewish religious community directly influenced the beliefs and practices of early Christianity. This connection offers new information on how early Christians lived their lives, worshiped, and eventually went on to influence the Roman Empire. Bergsma also looks to Hebrew Scriptures and Jewish tradition to frame a story of how a simple Jewish peasant could go on to found a religion and a philosophy that still resonates 2,000 years later.

Dr. John Bergsma is an active, credentialed Biblical scholar who regularly presents at the prestigious Society of Biblical Literate annual congress, as well as other professional associations, and boasts dozens of publications in peer-reviewed journals and essay collections from top-tier academic publishers including Brill, Oxford, Kolhammer, and others. Bergsma is active in professional biblical scholarship, and has particular expertise in covenant scholarship, the Pentateuch (its dating and sources), the book of Ezekiel, and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

From award-winning scholar John Bergsma comes an intriguing book that reveals new insights on the Essenes, a radical Jewish community predating Christianity, whose existence, beliefs, and practices are often overlooked in the annuls of history. Bergsma reveals how this Jewish sect directly influenced the beliefs, sacraments, and practices of early Christianity and offers new information on how Christians lived their lives, worshipped, and eventually went on to influence the Roman Empire and Western civilization. Looking to Hebrew scripture and Jewish tradition, Bergsma helps to further explain how a simple Jewish peasant could go on to inspire a religion and a philosophy that still resonates 2,000 years later.

In this enriching and exciting exploration, Bergsma demonstrates how the Dead Sea Scrolls—the world's greatest modern archaeological discovery—can shed light on the Church as a sacred society that offered hope, redemption, and salvation to its member. Ultimately, these mysterious writings are a time machine that can transport us back to the ancient world, deepen our appreciation of Scripture, and strengthen our understanding of the Christian faith.