Essene Of Arkashea:
(People Of Essence)

The Brotherhood of Arkashea, also known as The People Of Essence had its true beginnings in a long since forgotten providence of Lemuria called The Land Of The Twin Rivers. The People Of Essence, later to become known as The Essenes Of Arkashea, believed in and practiced the art of the reintegration of past lives. They did not participate in the mainstream of society, and did not participate in the political structure of neither, Lemuria nor Atlantis.

As we know, both lands do not exist today! Because of the beginnings of the natural movement of the plates of Earth, Lemuria sunk beneath the waves in two stages. Firstly, a huge quake split the landmass into two uneven halves and separated them by a large river which ran from coast to coast. During the second phase, all of Lemuria, in one great Earth Shake, sank beneath the sea.

Atlantis, on the other hand did survive Lemuria's sinking but its fate would soon become clear, as well. Atlantis was politically torn apart by three factions--the politicians who ruled Atlantis, the Scientists who sought to gain control of the future of Atlantis, and the spiritualists who tried to keep the honor of Atlantis more important than the politics. However, the Scientists' obsessions with power and weapons of destruction caused both, the downfall of the political system and the eventual sinking of Atlantis, itself.

However, before Atlantis and Lemuria had sunk, many residents fled to what would later become known as Egypt. Egypt was a vast, fertile, lowland marsh of Atlantis. When Atlantis sunk, the lowland marsh was raised. Although Egypt was fertile, it suffered a great spiritual loss; only scattered bits of ancient wisdom which made Lemuria and Atlantis great, survived.

After much time had passed, the once great spiritual wisdom of Atlantis and Lemuria took on the proportions of legends and myths. Though many myths were handed down from generation to generation, one myth rose to great prominence--the myth of the Triunity Of Creation.

According to the legend, The Triunity Factor descended from The Sea Of Un-created Futures. The first of the Triune Forces was called The Goddess Isis. Isis was the giver of all the LifeForce that is in the known Universe. The Second of the Triune Forces was called Anubis--The End Of All Illusions. Anubis was known not as Death, itself, but as the process of Death in all the known Universe. The Third of the Triune Forces was called Ptoh--The Preserver. It fell upon the powers of the God--Ptoh-- to decide the length of, and the quality of life in the known Universe.

The Legend of The Triunity Of Creation in the land that was to become Egypt expanded into many levels of complexity. The original belief-system was based upon the wisdom and the truths of the spirituality of Atlantis by way of The People Of Essence. This sect (The People Of Essence), because of the political climate and their battle against the Scientists, soon became an underground sect.

With the decline of The People Of Essence's public battle against the loss of honor (they went underground because they fell in disfavor before the eyes of the Pharaoh of the times), variations of the myth of Isis spread far and wide; and, eventually, it became the State Religion of Egypt. The People Of Essence, in the Spiritual underground movement, became known as the priests and the true guardians of spirituality for the true believers of Isis during the time when The Scientists-Priests of Egypt gained control of the political system. The now corrupt priests of Isis that were a part of the State Religion were known to be more interested in maintaining their political power base with the existing Pharaohs of the time, though they did secretly keep true some, but few, of the principles of Isis.

After many years, the State Religion of Isis came under siege by The Scientists-Priests who were now in control of the government of Egypt--the religion of Amen Re came into power. However, unlike the open religion of Isis, wherein all the people freely shared the wisdom that governed the cycles of the life and times of the flooding of the Nile River, the religion of Amen Re celebrated the wisdom of the Sun God in such a way that only Pharaoh and the priests of Amen Re would have access to its secrets. They did not believe that the common man should know what they knew. Ironically, most of what the Priests of Amen Re knew was learned from the Priests of Isis (As wisdom and knowledge were officially taken from the people, they slowly became the puppet slaves of both Pharaoh and his Scientist-Priests of Amen Re).

The priests of Amen Re were not, and never were, a body of wisdom for spirituality. They had their eye upon The Throne, itself. Generation after generation, the priests of Amen Re were impassioned to gain political power. They used what they learned from the Priests of Isis for their own purposes--they believed they could eventually become the power behind Pharaoh.

Over the ages, the priests of Amen Re had Pharaoh build Temples to themselves. The priests even politically maneuvered themselves with the Royal Family, so they and not the priests of Isis, would be the keepers of The State Religion. They eventually succeeded, and Amen Re became the new State Religion, forcing The People Of Essence underground even more. As a result of their politics and power games the priests of Amen Re sent Egypt into an extremely spiritually dark period.

Secretive were they, the priests of Amen Re, being very careful not to allow the masses access to the ancient wisdom that they themselves gleaned from the House of Isis; wisdom and knowledge such as the flooding cycles of the Nile river, predictions of droughts and positions of stars from one year to the next... To the common Egyptian, these were magical things that only disciples of the Gods could know.

Though the political power of the priests of Isis were replaced, The People Of Essence still practiced the true wisdom of Isis at the Temple of Heliopolis. There, they had been relegated for many generations as renegade priests.

Much time passed and the religion of Amen Re grew stronger and stronger. The Scientist-Priests of Amen Re grew so powerful as to actually publicly contest the reigning Pharaoh--Thutmosis III. With this, the beginning of the war of power to rule Egypt truly began. However, there came to pass a time when Thutmosis III began to find a way to put the Scientist-Priests in their proper place--silent before The Throne. Another major political shift was to occur. But this time it was to be a shift for the sake of spirituality not for the sake of power.

A Pharaoh by the name of Akhenaten ascended the throne of Egypt. And, it was he who was to change the face of religion forever. He was the first known leader to believe in only one God. All other kings before him believed in many Gods, and placed Amen Re above them all. On a political level, because of Akhenaten's father--Thutmosis III, Akhenaten was to have the opportunity to, again, change the State Religion for all of Egypt.

Thutmosis III, who preceded Akhenaten as Pharaoh almost never ascended the throne of Egypt because the priests of Amen Re tried to stop him. However, they failed in their attempt; and, many were put to death by Thutmosis III. During his reign, Thutmosis III had to be very careful in his dealings with the priests, for they had much power with the people of Egypt. Thutmosis III nevertheless vowed to end their power. Since he could not directly attack them, nor could the priests directly attack Pharaoh, a stage for much intrigue was emerging.

Thutmosis III had a plan to chip away at the credibility of the priests of Amen Re. He sent his son, Akhenaten, the next heir to the Throne of Egypt, to the Temple Of Heliopolis where the so-called renegade priests practiced the Religion of Isis. There, Akhenaten would grow to adulthood and learn the wisdom of Isis, and not the wisdom of Amen Re.

The Priests of Amen Re were enraged that Pharaoh would try to invalidate their political structure. They vowed to strike back at Thutmosis III. And, once again, plotted against him. However, Pharaoh was now too strong a ruler to be directly attacked, so they decided to spread rumors about Thutmosis III and his bastard son, Akhenaten, in the hopes that the people of Egypt would realize that they were being ruled by an erratic leader. The battle for the people's allegiance continued for years until the Priests began hearing strange stories about Akhenaten.

It was reported that Akhenaten had visions and spoke of only one true God. This true God he called The Great Force--The Aten. Akhenaten spoke also of a world at peace, a world where people pursued spirituality and not war. He even spoke of letting all the people of Egypt have access to the temples and to the Arcane Wisdoms. He spoke that if God was God, then He was God to all.

Akhenaten, indeed, was contacted in his dream states by The GreatForce and received many visions steeped in great wisdom. He received much wisdom that was lost from the time of Atlantis and Lemuria. He rediscovered the concept of Arkashea. He learned about The Brothers of the Chain. He became one with His Higher-Self. Akhenaten was the first person since the time of Lemuria and Atlantis that was touched by The GreatForce.

The priests, being very fearful of Akhenaten, and at the same time relishing in a new weapon to wrest power from the future Pharaoh, informed military leaders that Akhenaten was having wild, incoherent visions of the future order of Egypt; that he would strip them [the army] of their ranks and even abolish the military altogether. Indeed, Akhenaten was going insane.

Of course the priests were very scared that if Akhenaten came to power that he would change The State Religion back to The Religion Of Isis... Akhenaten was one day going to rule Egypt and they could see very clearly that he would not allow them to continue in power. They were determine to make sure that if he did ascend the throne that he would not be there for very long.

But Akhenaten had different plans. He would eventually build a Temple to The Aten at what is now called Tel El Amarna and incorporate into his life-style the Arkashean concepts of Maat that he received from The GreatForce. He would try to teach the people of Egypt his visions of the One True God. He would create a totally new State Religion based upon The Aten and its shining rays of truth for all Egyptians.

Although Akhenaten became Pharaoh and did try to install a completely new State Religion, the priests of Amen Re soon thereafter succeeded in the murder of Akhenaten. His followers, known as The People Of Essence--The Essenes of Arkashea, were hunted down by the mad Scientist-Priests of Amen Re and their army wherein they were killed in the streets where they were found. Some were lucky enough to flee Egypt and to escape north into the Land of Hebron. There, the Essenes of Arkashea dispersed among all the 13 Tribes of the Land Of Hebron.

However, The People known as The Hokites existed as a collection of small tribes, each with its own Ruler. It was within one of these tribes that The Essene Ways were totally accepted, over time. The Essenes of Arkashea flourished; and, their wisdom eventually became so well respected among all the people that Essenes were soon considered as leaders and judges by all of The People known as Hokites of The Land Of Hebron.

All was good in the Land of Hebron until the world's weather patterns changed--a great drought occurred. It was so severe that it forced the leaders of the tribes to seek relief in a far-off land--the land called Egypt. Members from all the many tribes of The Land Of Hebron, led by one of the tribes of the people known as Hokites, formed a pilgrimage to Egypt to seek food.

The tribe that believed in the ways of the Essenes of Arkashea led the audience with the existing pharaoh with success; in that, they struck a bargain with The House Of Egypt--the people from the land of Hebron would stay under Pharaoh's protection; they would be fed, clothed, and sheltered in exchange for the labor needed in the building of Pharaoh's cities. All were in agreement. Soon thereafter, a great exodus from Hebron descended upon Egypt.

For many years, all was well. Those who stayed behind in Hebron were brought food by those who now lived in Egypt. The people from Hebron who remained in Egypt came to be known as Hebrews by the Egyptians, because the people came from The Land Of Hebron.

However, as time passed, the Hebrews were becoming converted more and more to Egyptian ways. They took on the blood sacrifices and adultery practices of the Egyptians. They even married into Egyptian society.

They were paid well by Pharaoh. They became wealthy, fat, and lazy. Their workmanship became poor. No longer did they want to honor the agreement with The House Of Egypt... Though during this time they never directly approached Pharaoh, their actions spoke louder than did their words.

There remained, however, believers in the ways of The Essenes of Arkashea who saw the developing trend, and pleaded with the other Hebrews to put an end to their newly adopted ways. The people would not listen. They were steadfast and stubborn for the pleasure of their new ways; they would not keep true the honor of the bargain with The House Of Egypt.

The Essenes foresaw the possibility of the slavery of the Hebrews by The House Of Egypt, for want to honor the bargain. Egypt had paid a great price for the labor of the Hebrews. The Hebrews were given land, cattle, sheep, goats, and all manner of sustenance. Now, with the passage of time, the payment of Egypt was not being thusly honored.

To avoid the coming disaster, the Essenes of Arkashea gave back to The House Of Egypt all their lands and half of all their cattle, sheep, and goats in full payment of the bargain. With Pharaoh of Egypt's blessings, those who remained true to the belief of Arkashea left Egypt and returned to the Land of Hebron. Those that were left behind, regardless of the tribe of their origin became slaves of the House Of Egypt and eventually became a part of what the world now calls The People of Israel.

There is, however, a time shift in the world's way of keeping track of events in this time period... Two Essene groups emerged not one. Firstly, The Essenes of Israel (who were the People that would not leave Egypt) and Secondly, The Arkashean Essenes (who were the people that journeyed back to the land of Hebron). One Essene group came to know slavery, the other did not.

The original Essenes, the Essenes of Arkashea, who kept pure the teachings of the Egyptian Pharaoh Akhenaten, actually have their modern-day roots in the Land of Hebron, while the Jewish Essenes of today have their modern-day roots in Egypt during the time of the Pharaoh Ramses.

The Hebrew Nation of today, along with the Jewish Essenes, emerged from Egypt under the guidance of Moses, while the Arkashean Essenes were lost track of in the Land of Hebron. History sometimes refers to a lost 13th tribe, the tribe that the Hebrews had hoped to be reunited with... but, in fact, this lost 13th tribe was never part of Israel, nor a part of the Hebrew Nation.

The Essenes of Arkashea remained secret in their ways, even until this day... Since the time of The House of Egypt, The Essenes of Arkashea have only emerged in history three times--first, in Egypt (where the two sects lived together until The People Of Essence left Egypt); second, at the Fortress of Masada (where the Essenes of Israel were invited to spend some time in Masada, the unknown home of The People Of Essence), during the time of Jesus; and, third, today here in the United States.

At the Fortress of Masada, The Essenes of Arkashea mingled with the history of The Essenes Of Israel when The Essenes of Arkashea accepted them to share life at the Fortress of Masada. However, the ongoing war between the Zealots and the Romans made no sense to the Essenes of Arkashea; so, they abandoned the fortress to the Essenes of Israel and the Zealots. Later it came to pass that all who remained in the Fortress committed suicide rather than be captured by the Romans.

During the time period of Masada, it was because of the close ties that then existed between the Essenes of Arkashea and the Essenes of Israel, that the suicide of the Essenes of Israel and the Zealots forced the Essenes of Arkashea to break ties. The Essenes of Arkashea did not wish to be associated with the suicide of the Essenes of Israel and the suicide of the Zealots. According to the belief system of the Essenes of Arkashea, suicide is an offense against the LifeForce.

During the time of Jesus, the Essenes of Arkashea and the Essenes of Israel once again shared close ties. As providence would have it, the Essenes of Arkashea owned and operated a system of hostels throughout what is today known as The Holy Lands. At that time, the hostel/grotto that was owned and operated in Bethlehem was in a state of disrepair and was thusly used as a stable. It was during this time of the great tax migration that Mary and Joseph (both Essenes of Israel) were forced to take refuge in the stable because there were no rooms available in the inns. During the night, Mary gave birth and the child Jesus was laid in the manger.

Today, The Essenes of Arkashea and the Essenes of Israel have little actual contact; but, in the minds of the western world they are often confused with one another.