People who believed and trusted in God always have the upper hand compared to sinners of the world. God's followers knew that God was always 6with them where ever they are. God is always good to his people. God's people know his strengths. God grants those who are not evil in their hearts eternal life. God followers are full of righteousness because of their trust in the Lord. The Lord is truly faithful to the ones who love him dearly. God's people listen to his word and follow his command. God's people live under his law so that they will surely be rewarded in the end. When God comes to bring his people home he will not use weapons of mass destruction nor create a war. .
There are several reasons why I think this script was written by the Essenes. The Bible says "But those who fear the Lord and follow him and his ways shall rise up to eternal life, and their life shall be in the Lords light, and it shall never end. " Accept death, so that in God's mercy I may get you back again along with your brothers 92Macc:29). The Essenes believed in immortal souls. Believing in immortal souls meant believing in life after death. Most like the Christians of today, we believe that after this life our spirt will go to live with jesus forever. They also believed there was a heaven and a hell. This was the only sect that believed in a life after death with God. According to the Essenes doctrine "after death the bodies are corruptible, and the matter they are made of is not permanent: but their souls are immortal, and continue forever, they then are set free from the bonds of flesh and sent to mount upward. "(Josephus) .
The Sadducees believed there was no such thing as a life after death with God or anyone for that matter. From the writings of Josephus, in Antiquities 18.1.4 states "The Sadducees believed their souls die with their bodies. " Their high social status was reinforced by their priestly responsibilities, as mandated in the Torah.
