Dlux is right in saying that Jesus was an Essene and that the Essene philosophy formed the basis of Christianity.
The Essenes were also known as the Therapeutae and were renowned healers.
Their first known first settlement was around Lake Moeris, Egypt circa 1350BC, if my memory is correct. Maybe they were nomadic prior to this.
It has also been said that they were the remnants of the survivors from Atlantis which probably sat between the continents of North America and North Africa, the Canary Islands being all that survives above sea level to this day. Atlantis did not go down in one event , but three over a considerable period of time, and thus it would be surprising if many of their people had not emigrated to nearby North Africa.
The completed sinking of Atlantis is supposed to have occurred about 9,500 BC, and it is interesting that geological weathering of the Sphinx at the main pyramid complex in Egypt, supports this time period for its' sculpting.
The Old testament with the God of Wrath, Jehovah, comes from the Judaic tradition and 'explains' why it is so disparate to that of the New Testament.
The Essenes were not a sect of Judaism, anymore than Christianity is a sect of Judaism. The confusion seems to arise from an ignorance of Israel during the time of Herod, when by law all who lived in the land were forced to prove that they had good knowledge of the basic tenets and laws of Judaism. If they failed, then they were expelled from the country.
Addit. These are my understandings, and am fully aware others will be credulous re-Atlantis. DYOR on the subject.
