“Seth material” search engine (Jane Roberts)

Give us a moment. Now. The Essenes had deep roots in some of the mystery religions of the Greeks. Some of the Essenes set up schools that were not what they appeared to be. Subterfuge was used. There were various tests applied before an initiate could come close to the interior doctrines. (Pause.) There were other groups of Essenes, therefore, beside the one generally spoken of.

Now these were men filled out like sails with the energy of their roles, yet they had to have the personality characteristics of their time. They had to appear as men before men, before Christ could proclaim himself as anything beyond the natural man.

The entanglements were those that were necessary in the context of that religious drama. They were creative in that they bore within them the only seeds that could grow, in your terms, within that place and that time. (More heartily): Now, we do not have to be so formal. Book dictation is over.

Now: Records were often falsified; completely doctored, and false records were often planted. Religion was politics. It implied sway and power over the masses. It was the business of the rulers to know in which direction the religious winds blew. There were deliberate falsifications of fact, then and later. Some sects kept false records on purpose as blinds, so that if these were stolen, the robbers would think they had what they were after.

(10:06.) There were various marks made, however, to distinguish the various sets of records, true and false. (Jane paused as Seth, a hand to her eyes.) Now, I do not know whether or not we can get this through clearly… Give Ruburt a piece of paper, and together we will see.

Now, number one is an attempt to get at number two, which was simply a sign of a copy made, a distorted or doctored copy. The middle one, (three), was a mark made for a much less distorted copy, and the last mark, (five), was for an undoctored record.

(Concerning symbols… In 1947 scholars began acquiring the seven now famous Dead Sea Scrolls. They had been found in a cave situated above the usually dry Qumran wadi, or riverbed, which leads to the Dead Sea a mile or so away. Excavations in the Judaean desert nearby soon revealed the ruins of a monastery which had been occupied by a divergent Jewish group, for varying periods, between 180 B.C. and A.D. 68. The Qumran settlement was but fifteen miles from Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It has been linked with the peaceful Essene sect by some authorities, while others just as strongly associate it with the more aggressive Zealots.

(10:17.) Now, in some of these records, the dating, for example, would be just off enough so that only one well-versed would recognize a discrepancy. Some would include an obvious error. Those in the know would immediately recognize that the record was a fake.

Now you may take your break. (A gesture to Sue): She is not used to my speaking so slowly.

(Now Seth returned as Sue and I began to discuss the drawings Jane had done in trance.)

(10:24. At break, Jane told us she couldn’t draw versions of the symbols based upon those she’d done in trance. “I saw them quite clearly, mentally, when I was doing them,” she said. “I don’t see anything now, though.” Looking at the last drawing, number five, Jane did say that the serpent’s tail was supposed to be represented by the lower loop. Resume at 10:45)

Now: Give us a moment. (Pause.) In many cases records were faithfully reproduced, but with the names changed to protect the innocent.

Again, those in the know had no worries. They would not be misled. To them the information was clear and the distortions obvious. Now the Scrolls are full of such protective distortions. The signs mentioned were but some of the clues used. They appeared in many guises, sometimes intertwined with signatures.

Now you may take a break or end the session as you prefer.

Now, I will not keep you from your beauty sleep.

(“I feel that it’s available now.”)