The War Scroll
The War Scroll and how its vision of the final battle between good and evil are similar to or different from that of the Book of Revelation
In the War Scroll, Armageddon is described as the war that ends all other wars. The description paints a picture of inevitable conflict, which is the final foci of human nature’s dark side and the ultimate end that ushers in an era of peace (Schultz). The War Scroll gives a description of the eschatological final battle in vivid detail, where evil is completely destroyed, and righteousness takes on full victory. This account offers insight into how at the time that Jesus walked on Earth, the Jews perceived Armageddon (Schultz). The War Scroll lays a framework in its first lines of the 3-stage conflict that would arise between the members of Yahad, who are the Sons of Light, against the Sons of Darkness. Kittim of Assyria leads the first battle against the adversaries. The Kittim of Ashur forms an alliance with Philistia, Ammon, Moab, and Edom, the biblical enemies. The Jewish violators of the covenant also cooperate in this unholy alliance. These Jews are those that had spurned the Yahad message and, by doing so, had aligned themselves with the Sons of Darkness. The war’s second stage expands its influence to the Kittim living in Egypt and finally to the Northern Kings (War Scroll).
The war is thought to go on for 40 years, yet, the writer was concerned more with giving the details of the final battle day. In the last battle, there are six bloody engagements with a deadlock tie of 3-3 between the Sons of Light and the Sons of Darkness. In the final confrontation, the 7th one, the War Scroll writer notes that “…the great hand of God shall overcome [Belial and al]l the angels of his dominion, and all the men of [his forces shall be destroyed forever]” (IQM 1:14-15). The scroll then elaborates in detail on the trumpets used in battle, the banners raised on the battlefield, and the operational matters of the war. Additionally, the priestly prayers made in the different conflict phases are recorded, followed by the final battle day’s seven savage engagements. The war culminates with a thanksgiving ceremony.
Similar to biblical apocalyptic representations such as the book of Revelation and Ezekiel 38-39 as examples, a person can lose sight of the work’s primary purpose. The purpose is not in the text’s mysterious and intricate detail, but rather, the author of the War Scroll was more concerned with the hopelessness and tribulation that the readers were experiencing at that time. The author built the encouragement he had for the readers on the theology of rescue, more specifically, the defeat by David of the giant Goliath; and the drowning in the Red Sea of Pharaoh and his chariots. Along this aspect of rescue, the author understands that as part of God’s will, man’s suffering is before he is finally redeemed. The crucible of God is seen as a necessary component in the existence of man as long as evil prevailed on Earth. God’s ultimate purpose was exalting the Sons of Light and, at the same time, putting the Sons of Darkness into judgment. The War Scroll has a message of hope. In the face of such evil, the Sons of Light are encouraged to be more perseverant to the end. God was getting ready to intervene and wanted to bring the problem of evil to a permanent solution (War Scroll).
In the Book of Revelation, the world is growing in darkness, but this darkness arises on defeatism where the idea that evil is stronger and appears more real than goodness. However, this is the opposite of truth as evil can never prevail over good because evil denies the only fundamental truth: God. All the catastrophes that man faces on Earth are warnings of the final catastrophes that God will unleash in His anger at the end of man’s days on Earth. Any severe disasters that man faces on Earth are a foretaste of things to come. The flood during Noah’s time and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are a few examples of God’s warning signs in human history as well as the more recent tornados, hurricanes, diseases, and earthquakes, among others. These are warnings of the devastation that will occur across the globe just before the return of Jesus Christ to Earth to take the redeemed.
In Revelations Chapter 16, the battle between Good and Evil is described as Armageddon. The war, as described, will be over very fast, and Jesus will return. The world believes that it can completely annihilate the children of God; it can destroy the Sons of God and can even defeat God. However, things do not turn out as the world anticipates. Jesus Christ comes on a white horse, and He is called ‘The Word of God (NIV).’ Jesus smites the people of darkness, and an angel carrying the keys to the abyss comes from heaven. The angel lays hold of the serpent, also known as Satan, binds him for a thousand years, and throws him into an abyss. The serpent is sealed shut in the abyss for a thousand years so that he is not able to deceive the nations anymore. Hence, both the book of Revelations and the War Scroll describes Armageddon, but the differences are in the time span in the accounts given as well as those described herein.
Works Cited
New International Version Bible
Schultz, Brian. Conquering the World: The War Scroll (1QM) Reconsidered. Vol. 76. Brill, 2009.
The War Scroll. Available at: https://www.wildbranch.org/teachings/powerpoint/The%20War%20Scroll.pdf
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Question 
Look at the War Scroll and compare how its vision of the final battle between good and evil are similar to or different from that of the Book of Revelation
Since the Scrolls don’t mention Jesus and were mostly written before he lived, how could they be relevant for the study and understanding of early Christianity? From the list below, choose any one of the following items and find some good sources (whether from the FIU library or the internet) and then write 3 pages. explaining how the Scrolls help us understand the Jesus movement based in the specific example you have researched.
The War Scroll
Topics:
- Read 4Q521 Works of the Messiah and 4Q246 Aramaic Son of God text and explain what light these texts shed on the question of Jewish expectations of the Messiah at the time of Jesus and how they relate to what the Gospels say of Jesus
- Look at the War Scroll and compare how its vision of the final battle between good and evil are similar to or different from that of the Book of Revelation
- Compare how one joined the Qumran Community with how one joined the early Church in the New Testament. What do you think this says about the nature of the two communities?
- Study the role of the mevaqqer (overseer) and compare it with the role of the bishop (Greek episkopos, which can also be translated as overseer) in the New Testament
- Examine the rules of punishment and exclusion from the Qumran Community and compare them with the same in the Early Church Hint: For the latter, look especially at Matt. 18:15-17; Acts 7; 1 Cor. 5:11; ; Gal. 6:1-5; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; 1 Tim. 5:20; Titus 3:10)
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