Excerpt from The Yahushaic Covenant volume iii Melchizedek and the Passover Lamb Rav Sha'ul $9.99 on Kindle - $15.00 on paperback   The Nazarenes (true sons of YHVH) by Rav Sha'ul   What John the High Priest was doing "in the wilderness", the Jordan River actually, was performing the ritual of cleansing rites called Mikveh in "living water" by Torah standards and properly teaching The Torah. He was teaching "salvation and repentance" like his father Zachariah had prophesied concerning John. It was John that would mentor Yahusha and this is where Yahusha learned and grew in the knowledge and spirit of YHVH. It is through Mikveh that YHVH takes our sin away and we become white as snow in His eyes! That is why YHVH said to Yahusha “see I have taken away your sin” in the desert, because he had just come from being Mikveh’d by the High Priest John. As I explained earlier in this book, the rightful anointed office of High Priest before YHVH (not Herod) went from Yahusha III to his first male heir which was his grandson John the Baptist. Then to his great grandson and next male heir (John's cousin) Yahusha the Messiah. John’s role as the “coming of Elijah” was to pave the way for The Messiah and properly teach salvation and repentance. The people of Israel knew John was the anointed High Priest and they went to him to be Mikveh’d (they did not go to the corrupted priests in The Temple). Those who followed John the Baptize were known as Notsi or “Nazarenes”. John was actively preparing Israel for the coming Messiah which he knew was Yahusha his cousin. He also knew Yahusha was the next heir to his office of High Priest when he became of age (30 years old, the traditional age man was considered a Rabbi). The people new Yahusha well, he too was a follower of John’s but they did not yet know he was The Messiah. Before we can come to understand what happened that day at the Jordan River when John cried out “Behold! The Passover Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” as Yahusha approached; We must know and understand what Mikveh is and what it means before we will ever know the real Messiah. We also need to look closer at “baptism” and what we have been taught by the Christian Church. In an effort to distance itself totally from all things Holy to YHVH (His people, His Temple, His Eternal City, His Laws, His Feasts, and His Sabbath) the Church of Rome turned its back on Mikveh as well as the priesthood established by YHVH. The pagan Roman Church created a "new" human priesthood in the form of Catholic Priests, Bishops, etc. and Christian Pastors. They also created a "new" baptism replacing YHVH’s Ordained Mikveh or ritual cleansing. So what is Mikveh and why was the High Priest John the “Baptist” performing it in the desert instead of the Temple? Let us first take a closer look at the Nazarenes to find insight. John the Great Nazarene – The Teacher of Righteousness In the Dead Sea Scrolls there is a figure called “The Great Notsri (Nazarene)” and “Teacher of Righteousness”. He was said to have the proper understanding of the Torah, qualified in its accurate instruction, and be the one through whom YHVH would reveal to the community “the hidden things in which Israel had gone astray”. He would rightfully be of the House of Zadok (a true High Priest). This was Yahusha’s mentor and teacher, John the Great Notsri who was of The House of Zadok and the “anointed High Priest” in succession to Yahusha III. This description of “The Great Notsri” is found in the Damascus Document of the Dead Sea Scroll which carbon dating has placed about 44 BC, the time John was acting as High Priest in the wilderness. John was prophesied to fulfill this very role by his father Zachariah: Luke 1:68-79 Zechariah’s Song 76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before YHVH to prepare the way for him (Yahusha), 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel. The Great Notsri, founder of the Nazarenes, at that time was undoubtedly John the Baptist who was the rightful High Priest from the House of Zadok. Although there is a “debate” about who this Great Notsri was among current scholars, there should be no doubt. Yahusha told us exactly who this great Teacher of Righteousness among the Nazarenes and Essences was, it was his own mentor: Matthew 11:11 “I tell you the truth, among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist. If there was no one greater than John ever born of a woman (that includes all men) then he is The Great Notsri. So much for that debate, Yahusha settled it. So, we have John "the prophesied Great Nazar" and "Teacher of Righteousness (Torah)" of the Nazarenes, mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and identified by The Messiah, consecrating Yahusha the Nazarene through Mikveh defined in The Torah. This significance cannot be overstated. Yahusha the Nazarene – follower of John Nazarenes were a sect among the Jews in Israel who followed John the Baptist at the time Yahusha lived. Under John’s direction, the Nazarenes knowing the prophecies of Daniel concerning the timing of the Messiah’s coming, bathed in the Mikveh daily in expectation of the Messiah’s arrival. Yahusha and many of his disciples were first followers of John the Baptize and were all... Nazarenes. When John consecrated Yahusha as his successor, his followers then followed Yahusha “the Nazarene” and accepted him as The Messiah. Nazarenes were spoken of as as guardians of The Torah, Prophets, and Messiah. It is a mistranslation in our Bibles where it says “Jesus of Nazareth”. Not only is his name not Jesus, not only did the town of Nazareth not exist then, but the terms "sect of the Nazarenes" and "Yahusha of Nazareth" are the same. They both employ the adjective nasraya (ܕܢܨܪܝܐ) or notsri meaning branch, which is referring to the prophecy in Isaiah concerning The Branch and prophecy of Zachariah concerning The Branch. The English word “Nazarene” (Greek “Nazaraios,” Aramaic “Natsraya,” or Hebrew “Notsri”) comes from the Hebrew word netser (branch), which itself is derived from the verb natsar which means “to guard, watch, keep, or preserve.” in context speaking of The Torah. Yahusha was indeed a Notsri and keeper of The Torah. That is why he was called Yahusha the Notsri (mistranslated as Jesus of Nazareth), keeper and guardian of The Torah. The Apostle Paul – Leader of the Nazarenes, follower of Yahusha The Apostle Paul too was a Nazarene or Notsri. After Paul was arrested in Jerusalem; he was escorted to Caesarea to appear before the governor, Felix. Under the authority of Ananias, the “unauthorized” high priest, Tertullus brought the charges before Felix. Notice his accusation: Acts 24:5-6 “For we have found this man a pestilent fellow [a plague], and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: Who also hath gone about to profane the temple: whom we took, and would have judged according to our law”. Next: The Mikveh

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