Tag: Ken Johnson

12-48 The Mysterious Jewish Sect Behind the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Essenes

12-48 The Mysterious Jewish Sect Behind the Dead Sea Scrolls: The Essenes

Show Summary: Those “400 years of silence” between the Old and New Testaments? It turns out they weren’t. The Essenes were driven from the priesthood by the Pharisees and Sadducees but kept the faith and kept prophesying. Incredibly accurately as it turns out. Maybe it’s because the Essenes correctly predicted the coming of the Messiah. To the year. A Jewish “Deep State”? Find out why they wanted to bury the Essenes and largely succeeded in driving them from history. Except even that ended up fulfilling prophecy.

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The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: Nov 26th & 27th, 2022 | Guest: Dr. Ken Johnson

This Week – The Essenes

Since it’s the start of the Holiday Season, we thought we’d take a break from our usual and bring you a story most people have probably heard little or nothing about. You’ve undoubtedly heard about the Dead Sea Scrolls. But you probably don’t know very much about the Essenes, the mysterious Jewish sect who wrote, guarded them, and then hid them away before disappearing into history.

Many churches today talk about the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments. When God appeared to go silent and no longer talk through His prophets. But it turns out God never stopped talking. It’s just that the Jewish religious authorities at the time, the Pharisees and Sadducees, tried to silence them.

Tune in to hear about the Jewish civil war that happened between the close of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament. A war that drove the existing priesthood from power, seized both the religious and political power, and then did everything they could to keep the truth hidden from their own people and the world.

The Essenes: Keepers of the True Faith

This week, we welcome Dr. Ken Johnson, a Dead Sea Scrolls scholar and researcher, who has written 33 books. He walks us through the history of the Essenes and the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Dr. Ken Johnson’s personal website is BibleFacts.org

The Dead Sea Scrolls are partial or complete copies of every book in the Hebrew Bible (except the book of Esther). But the Dead Sea Scrolls are not “just” copies of books of the Old Testament. There are tons of extra-Biblical writings as well. Apocryphal books like the Book of Enoch and the Book of the Giants. The Testaments of the Patriarchs, which the Essenes held to be the true doctrine, not the Pharisees’ oral tradition allegedly passed on to them from Moses. The Essenes’ commentary and interpretation on the books of the Bible. Their prophecies. Incredibly accurate ones, as it turns out. And the Essenes’ unique and sacred calendar. In fact, they considered the Jewish calendar, based on a lunar cycle, to be an abomination.

The Essenes’ calendar, divided into seven ages and further divided into various cycles and subdivisions, was central to their belief system. And they used it to make those incredibly accurate prophecies. Which is why you might want to tune in to hear how close we are to the end of that calendar.

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Research, Links Mentioned & Additional Info

  • Dr. Ken Johnson’s website is a treasure trove of Dead Sea Scrolls knowledge and information. It can be found at BibleFacts.org
  • Dr. Ken does a weekly live stream Monday nights, including a Q&A. Find his channels on Rumble, Telegram, or YouTube.
  • Check out Ken Johnson’s appearances on Prophecy Watchers., including the episode mentioned during our show where Dr Johnson showed the calendar “sundial.”
  • The Dead Sea Scrolls calendar website. Find today’s date in the Essenes’ reckoning. And see the difference between the Essenes’ calendar and the current Jewish (Pharisee) calendar. They are way off!
  • Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library. (Note however that include other caches of scrolls found and lump them in with the Essenes’ scrolls.)
  • The Miraculous Timing of the Dead Sea Scrolls Discovery (Charisma News, Nov 1, 2016)
    • “The scrolls remained hidden for anyone to find for nearly 2,000 years. And on the very day, the very day, that Israel’s rebirth was confirmed, a Jewish professor confirms the existence of ancient Israel.”
Restoring Easter – Why it Matters as One of America’s National Holidays

Restoring Easter – Why it Matters as One of America’s National Holidays

Show Summary: With Easter fast approaching, we welcome back Dr. Scott Powell, author of the book, Rediscovering America: How the National Holidays Tell an Amazing Story about Who We Are, to talk in depth about Easter. Its traditions, its history, its meaning, and its importance to America as a national holiday.

Coverage Map of I Spy Radio Show broadcast areas, as of June 2021
Current I Spy Radio broadcast areas. Click for full-size map.

The I Spy Radio Show airs weekends, six different times, on seven different stations. Listen anywhere through the stations’ live streams! Check out when, where, and how to listen to the I Spy Radio Show. Podcast available Mondays after the show airs on out network of stations.

Original Air Dates: April 9th & 10th, 2022 | Guest: Dr. Scott Powell

This Week – Restoring Easter

We welcome back Dr. Scott Powell, author of the terrific new book, Rediscovering America: How the National Holidays Tell an Amazing Story about Who We Are. One of the national holidays he spotlights is Easter.

Rediscovering America - Scott Powell
Rediscovering America is available now!

Easter was the first Christian holiday celebrated by the early church. But coming up through ancient Rome, celebrating the Son of God was not an easy thing to do. And could put one’s life in danger. Tune in to hear why normally “tolerant” Rome (tolerant of other religions and gods, at least) was so intolerant of Christianity.

We also talk with Dr. Powell about Easter’s alleged “pagan origins”, Easter celebrations in the early colonies, and as America grew. And don’t miss fascinating stories about George Washington’s early realization of God’s hand on his life. Or about the Dead Sea scrolls’ authors whose own devotion to preserving the true calendar and holidays and their ties to prophecy led to incredibly accurate predictions of the coming Messiah.

The I Spy Radio Show Podcast Version

Trapped under a heavy object? Missed the show? Don’t worry—catch the podcast version. I Spy Radio is now available on your favorite platform, or you can grab it right here. See the full list of podcast options.

Research, Links, & Further Information

Be sure to order Dr. Scott Powell’s book, Rediscovering America: How the National Holidays Tell an Amazing Story about Who We Are.

  • The Growth of Christianity in the Roman Empire (HistoryHit.com, 2018)
    • “Since its foundation, Ancient Rome was a deeply religious society and religious and political office often went hand in hand. Julius Caesar was Pontifex Maximums, the highest priest, before he was elected as Consul, the highest Republican political role.”
  • College of Pontiffs, Ancient Rome (via Wikipedia)
    • “The title pontifex comes from the Latin for “bridge builder”, a possible allusion to a very early role in placating the gods and spirits associated with the Tiber River, for instance”
    • “The pontifex maximus was the most important member of the college. Until 104 BC, the pontifex maximus held the sole power in appointing members to the other priesthoods in the college.”