The Fourth Gospel's Affinities with Qumran

1. "God has appointed two spirits in which to walk. . . truth and falsehood. Those born of truth spring from a fountain of light, but those born of falsehood spring from a source of darkness. All the children of darkness are ruled by the Prince of Light and walk in the ways of light, but all the children of falsehood are ruled by the Angel of Darkness and walk in the ways of darkness." (Community Rule 3:17-21)

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life. --John 8:12

Walk so you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in darkness, you do not know where you are going. Believe in the light so that you may become the children of light. --John 12:35-36

2. "And this shall be a sign for you that these things should come to pass. When the breed of iniquity is imprisoned, wickedness shall then be banished by righteousness as darkness is banished by light. As smoke clears and is no more, so shall wickedness perish for ever and righteousness be revealed like a sun governing the world. All who cleave to the mysteries of sin shall be no more; knowledge shall fill the world and folly shall exist no longer." (iQ 27: 1-5-7

You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free. -- John 8:31

3. "God has established the spirits in equal measure until the final age, and has set everlasting hatred between their divisions. Truth abhors the way of falsehood, and falsehood hates the ways of truth. And their struggle is fierce . . . for they do not walk together.

He does not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him. -- John 8:44

4. "To The Teacher of Righteousness God made known all the mysteries of the words of the prophets." Qumran commentary on Habbakuk

The Spirit of Truth will explain to you the things that are to come. -- John 16:13

5. "Make public the 24 books you wrote first [the Hebrew canon] . . . but keep back the seventy that were written last in order to give them to the wise among your people. For in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom, and the river of knowledge." --4 Ezra 14:45-47

The scriptures say, 'Out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water.' Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified. --John 7:38-39

5. As it is above, so it is also on the earth, for the likeness of that which is in the heavens is also on the earth. -- Ethiopian Enoch

No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above. John 3:3

Whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. . . Just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. -- John 5: 19 and 26