Were the Essenes the first Christians?

Oh Prem, I am here to save the intellectual day. In a sense, the Essenes may have been the first "Christians"--or perhaps proto-Christians. Essenes were a mystical, ascetic , "Gnostic" branch of Judaism that existed alongside the Pharisees, Sadducees and Zealots in the 1st century BC. The Romans kind of left them alone because they were apolitical although they did have lore about a spiritual (not political) messiah. The NT description of John the Baptist closely coincides with the description of an Essene ascetic and the teachings and attitudes of Christ in the Gospels and some Gnostic apocrypha reflect Essene ideology. Some Gnostic texts, however, are "Christianized" versions of Hermetic and other pagan Gnostic texts. I've read material in passing that suggested that "Christian" ideas and minicults date even as far back as the 3rd centurhy BCE. Over quite a long time, the whole thing turned into a standardized form of Christianity that then tried very hard to wipe out it's past and anything that didn't fit the mold it made for itself. There's a scholarly book out called The Gnostics by Tobias Churton that sets aside a chapter about this and covers the entire history of Gnosticism from Zorostrianism to the Templars to Aleister Crowley of all folks (!) to the very present.

The church began on the day of Pentecost because that is the day the gospel of Christ took effect. The fist Christians were the 120 believers in the upper room on whom the Holy Ghost was poured out. That same day 3000 Jews who heard them speaking in tongues obeyed the gospel too.

Act 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Act 2:42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.

So no, the Essenes were not the first Christians. Neither were the first Christians taught by Essenes. They were taught by the apostles.

No. They existed before Jesus and prepared His way. Jesus, John the Baptist and John the Beloved were all essenes. They came down from the line of Moses and Joshua. The wicked priests and scribes came down from Arron.

No, Peter, James, John, and Andrew were amoung the first to join the new Christian Church.

the frist christians were Jewish. Christian origian was a sect of judisim until jesus followers got kicked out of the synogoes

Essenes were just separatists who stayed away from others like some Monks do.They were full on Jewish not Christian at all.

Jesus' disciples who were Jewish were the first Christians.

Yeshua Messiah [pbuh] was an Essene.

Peace be with you.