Symbolisms:

PART ONE - THE HISTORY

It is not objectively simple to identify and decode subliminal symbolisms in Renaissance or 18th-century art, as they were deliberately hidden and intended exclusively for the initiated. The symbol thus became a clear message for those who, beyond possessing the key to its interpretation, in fact became co-participants and custodians of its meaning.

It is therefore essential, before identifying and interpreting some of these symbols, to retrace a partial historical path that might help us understand the profound sense of belonging that motivated their use.

The Platonic Academy

Several great Renaissance painters and thinkers were part of the "Neo-Hermetic" movement, which flourished in Tuscany at the time under the patronage of the Medici family. It was with the support of Cosimo de’ Medici that, in 1459, the Florentine Marsilio Ficino founded the Platonic Academy. In 1471, Ficino translated and experimented with the teachings of the Corpus Hermeticum, a collection of writings attributed to the mythical "Hermes Trismegistus"—the thrice-great—originally compiled by the Macedonian monk Michael Psellos (9th century) with roots in Egyptian tradition and reintegrated in Alexandria in the 3rd century.

Hermes Trismegistus is identified with "Thoth," the Egyptian god of the moon, the inventor of writing and sciences, and the guardian of the otherworld's gate, depicted with the head of an ibis.

The Academy included the most prominent figures of the Tuscan cultural scene, who believed they were living at the dawn of a transformative historical era—“the beginning of a new age”—that would radically change the world. As Neo-Hermetics, they hoped for the birth of a universal religion that would encompass Platonism, Hermeticism, and Christianity, anticipating the theosophical aims of the late 19th century.

Considering the overbearing dominance of the Papacy during that historical period, it becomes clear what difficulties such an association might have faced. Like a post-Columbian syncretism, it found both reason and necessity in the use of subliminal symbolisms. Among the artists participating in the cultural milieu of the Academy were Sandro Botticelli, Titian, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael, as well as illustrious writers like Poliziano and Pico della Mirandola.

Pico della Mirandola, in particular, embodied the figure of the "Magus." With an extraordinary intelligence, memory, and thirst for knowledge, Pico studied Arabic, Aramaic, and Hebrew. He became a driving force behind the Academy. In 1446, he authored a compendium of 900 Hermetic theses published in Rome, declaring his willingness to defend them even in debates with high-ranking prelates.

Pico’s mentor was Johanan Alemanno, a Jewish Kabbalist who claimed that, in addition to the Tablets of the Law, Moses had received the Kabbalah itself from God on Mount Sinai and introduced it into the Christian world. However, the Pope predictably forbade the debate and declared thirteen of Pico’s 900 theses heretical. Just as the situation began to turn dangerous for him, Pico died prematurely.

Historical Origins: Therapeutae, Johannites, Sabeans

According to the Genesis account, Enoch, the antediluvian patriarch and great-grandfather of Noah, is attributed three distinct texts in Judeo-Christian tradition. None of these are included in current Jewish or Christian biblical canons, except for the Book of Enoch, also known as the Ethiopian Book of Enoch, which is part of the Coptic Church’s Bible.

Around 300 BCE, south of Alexandria, near Lake Mariut, existed the Order of the Therapeutae. Of Jewish origin, they renamed Thoth as Enoch and translated his 42 books into Aramaic. About a century later, part of this group appeared in Palestine as a community that adhered to the same rules as the Therapeutae, including their attire, and likely adopted the name Essenes. Initially residing near the Dead Sea in Qumran and the surrounding areas, they also renamed Thoth as Enoch. This is evidenced by fragments of the Book of Enoch found in the Qumran caves in 1945.

John the Baptist was the leader and prominent figure of this community during Jesus Christ’s time. His disciples remained faithful to Johannite doctrine even after his death, later adopting the name Mandaeans. From the canonical Gospels, it can be inferred that after Jesus’ baptism by John—his cousin and a few months older—their baptizing missions continued inexplicably separate, each with distinct groups of followers, sometimes in opposition.

Some scholars hypothesize that, at that historical moment, two opposing politico-religious factions existed in Palestine: the vine and the fig tree, representing two distinctly different approaches. One advocated intransigence and armed struggle, while the other was more conciliatory, attentive to dialogue.

Numerous studies have explored the complex relationship between Christ and John the Baptist, offering various interpretations. The most moderate acknowledges Christ as a historical figure while framing their relationship as one of simple proselytizing rivalry.

Alternatively, a more Essenic perspective posits that, beyond theological narratives, the two figures may have been distinct or possibly conflated into one.

John’s name was no coincidence, as he was entrusted with the keys of Eternal Priesthood by the Melkite Essene priests. He was destined to become "Joannes," the Nasi ah-eddah, the Messiah of the Brotherhood of Light. According to Essene tradition, two messiahs were awaited: one from the lineage of David, a temporal messiah, and another of the lineage of Levi, namely a Levite, who would lead the chosen people in a religious capacity as High Priest.

Indeed, not only within the framework of the Priory of Sion did the Grand Masters become the "Johns," but throughout history, the Grand Master of a School or Order, embodying Oannes, the one who bridges Heaven and Earth, became the "John" or Prester John.
This Nomen Mysticum, so significant, is the most frequently recurring among pontiffs, appearing 25 times.
In fact, according to Western Tradition, the Supreme Pontiff is Melchizedek, whose figure connects to the most ancient Sumerian-Babylonian myths, where he was called Oannes.

Melchizedek is the High Priest of the Most High God, El Elyon, King of Peace and Justice. He is recognized by numerous peoples and traditions as the bearer of the Royal Priesthood’s true knowledge, the bringer of bread and wine, emerging from the Waters of Life, triumphant and victorious. The mystery surrounding this Great Being relates to the origin of humanity and its Genesis in the Garden of Eden, specifically his profound work in awakening the dormant consciences of mankind to return them to the bosom of the Divine Mother Nature.

Thus, Melchizedek, blessed forever, organized His Royal and Priestly Order of the Children of Light and taught humanity, in those great cosmic days, the Narrow Path that leads to the full awakening of consciousness. This path operates through one's inner fires, found within the human being: Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, manifesting respectively in the head, heart, and generative faculties.

In Sumer, Oannes was a sage or guide for a group of priests.
In Mycenae, the Master-Smith, head of the guild of smiths-alchemists, bore the title wanax, meaning "king," which only much later evolved into basileus. The Greek term anax precisely meant "king, lord, leader," and its plural, anakes, came to be associated with the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux).

The name Joannes can also be found in ancient Egypt, as reported in the Book of the Dead, where the dog-headed Jaani were the attendant spirits of Thoth.

Regarding the blending of the figures of Jesus and John as a single "Master of Justice," Jeremiah prophetically stated:

"Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as King and be wise, and shall execute justice and righteousness on earth. [...] This is the name by which he shall be called: Lord of Righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:5).

"Lord of Righteousness" or "King of Justice" is precisely the meaning of Joannes/Melchizedek (melk = King, zadiq = Justice).

But who was John the Baptist, really?

The Mandaeans, defined as "Christians of Saint John" or "Johannite Christians" (Mendayye Yahya or Followers of John), still live in present-day southern Iraq and southwestern Iran. They share close affinities with the Nazirites mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 6:1). This aspect is profoundly interesting, as Jesus was the Nazirite par excellence.

However, the Mandaeans revere John the Baptist rather than Jesus. One might wonder why, given the prominence of Jesus' figure. Could it be that, for the Mandaeans, Yeshua never existed? Is he to be regarded as merely a symbolic figure?

The Mandaeans speak a language derived from Aramaic, the same language spoken by Jesus and his disciples. Their belief system is deeply Gnostic, to the extent that theirs is the sole surviving Gnostic religion in the world today. They consider John the Baptist one of the most important leaders of their sect but claim to predate him.

It is likely that, originating from Palestine, which they claim to have left in the first century, they are a direct offshoot of the Nazirites. They may have had contact with the Essenes, if not been considered the last of them or the Essenes themselves.

The fact remains that they view John as a great Mandaean authority of his time, depicted as a Healer (Therapeut), Good Shepherd, and Fisher of Souls—titles also attributed to Jesus. One of the distinctive features of their initiatory cult is baptism in water, a rite famously practiced by John the Baptist in the Jordan. This ritual involves the immersion of the adept in river water to seek purification, during which a baptizing priest places hands upon the initiate’s head.

The Animal Skin

The biblical scholar C.H. Dodds maintained that the Nazirites were the sect to which John the Baptist belonged or, more precisely, the sect he led.
Jesus, on the other hand, was referred to as a Nazirite because he had been a disciple of John.

Why, then, this veneration for John, given that in the Gospels, including the apocryphal ones, Jesus is consistently the central figure?

The reason lies in the possibility that the two were (or might have been) the same person.

There are numerous points supporting this thesis, and it is worth examining them in sequence. John and the Essenes, with their Gnostic dualism, were deeply connected to Zoroastrian mysticism, which famously opposed Light (Ahura Mazda) to Darkness (Ahriman).

That John might have been the Zoroaster of the Essenes (the Grand Master Magus) can be demonstrated through the etymology of the term "Zoroaster," which in ancient Iranian means zara (yellow) and hustra (camel), or "he of the yellow, or old, camel."

Indeed, Matthew describes the Baptist as dressed in camel’s hair (Matthew 3:4). A reminiscence of Zoroastrian astral cults? Highly likely, given that ancient priests universally wore animal skins to symbolize their dominion over the animalistic, feral nature of man—thus mastering and controlling oneself and one's material instincts.

In Mithraic mysteries, the Master wore a lion’s skin. In Egyptian rituals, the priest donned a leopard’s skin. Animal skin has always symbolized "transition" and "rebirth": control and victory over the inner beast.

In Egypt, the birthplace of all initiations, rebirth or reintegration occurred through the rite of the tekenu. Evidence of the continuity of this tradition, from Egypt to Judaism, lies in the term used by Jewish Kabbalists to denote this restoration: tiqqun, remarkably similar to tekenu.
The Kabbalist Isaac Luria spoke eloquently of the tiqqun. Is he to be considered only a symbolic figure?

The Mandaeans speak a language derived from Aramaic, the same language spoken by Jesus and his disciples.
Their belief system is distinctly Gnostic, to the extent that today theirs is the only surviving Gnostic religion in the world.
They regard John the Baptist as one of the most important leaders of their sect but also claim to have existed long before his time.
It is highly likely that, originating from Palestine, which they state they abandoned in the first century, they are a direct offshoot of the Nazirites. They may have had contact with the Essenes, if not been considered their successors or even the Essenes themselves.
In any case, they consider John as a great Mandaean authority of his time, described as a Healer (Therapist), Good Shepherd, and Fisher of Souls—titles also attributed to Jesus.
One of the distinctive features of their initiation rites is undoubtedly baptism in water, a practice known to have been performed by John in the Jordan River. This ritual involves immersing the initiate in river water for purification, during which the baptizing priest lays hands on the initiate’s head.

The reason lies in the possibility that the two may have been the same person.
There are numerous points supporting this thesis, which are worth examining in sequence.

John and the Essenes, with their Gnostic dualism, were deeply connected to Zoroastrian mysticism, known for its contrast between Light (Ahura Mazda) and Darkness (Ahriman).
The notion that John was the Zoroaster of the Essenes (the Great Magus Master) can be supported by the etymology of the term "Zoroaster," which in ancient Iranian translates to zara (yellow) and hustra (camel), meaning "he of the yellow, or old, camel."

Interestingly, Matthew describes John the Baptist as wearing camel's hair (Matthew 3:4). Could this be a reminiscence of Zoroastrian astral cults? It seems likely, as ancient priests everywhere often wore animal skins as a testament to their dominance over the animalistic and feral nature of humans, signifying mastery and control over oneself and one’s material instincts.

In Mithraic mysteries, the Master wore a lion’s skin. In Egyptian rites, the priest donned a leopard’s skin. Animal skins have always symbolized "transition" and "rebirth"—the control and triumph over the inner beast.
In Egypt, the birthplace of all initiatory traditions, rebirth or reintegration was achieved through the tekenu ritual. Evidence of the continuity of this tradition from Egypt to Judaism is found in the term used by Jewish Kabbalists for this restoration: tiqqun, remarkably similar to tekenu.
The Kabbalist Isaac Luria spoke profoundly of tiqqun as a macrocosmic restoration process involving the particles of light scattered within matter.

The Egyptian tekenu focused on the microcosm (the individual) and secretly referenced the alchemical process of solve et coagula—gathering light within oneself to restore the "Man of Light."

The Egyptian ritual involved "passing through the skin" of a slaughtered animal, symbolizing rebirth into a new life (the end of the nigredo and the severing of the Ego’s head).
At this stage, the initiate would wear the animal’s skin, assume a fetal position, call themselves Tekenu, and lie under the transformative skin (Meshka), emerging as one reborn from the universal womb.
The skin, as a covering, was called ut, from which the term "uterus" derives, symbolizing a symbolic return to the womb.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead reads: “Behold, the tekenu lying beneath it [the skin] in the land of transformation.”

On the Cairo sarcophagus cataloged as number 28033, it is reported that the initiate would recite the following words: “I am lying in the kenmet skin.” While the ritual of passing through the skin was modified during the 19th Dynasty, the animal skin continued to represent mastery over earthly nature and the attained "divinization" of the body.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that the High Priest John the Baptist wore camel’s hair, as the camel symbolizes the four elements and material instincts.
It is also worth noting that John is known as the Preacher of the Desert, an initiate of the "Way of the Desert," and the camel is famously referred to as the "ship of the desert."

Can Jesus Be Identified with John?

From the Qumran texts, we learn that the Nasi (Hebrew for "Prince"), the Essene Messiah, was also referred to as the "Seed of David" and the "Star." In the Bible, Jesus is explicitly called the "Seed of David" and the "Bright Star" (Revelation 22:16).
Additionally, the well-known incident where Jesus forcefully expelled the merchants from the temple, referring to the Jerusalem priests as "soul merchants," aligns with the Essenes' retreat to Qumran due to their disdain for the corrupted Levitical priesthood in Jerusalem.
Paul himself, in the Letter to the Hebrews, openly places the Priesthood of Melchizedek (the Essene priesthood) above the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:11).

These examples (and there are many more) confirm the connection between Jesus and the Nasi of the Essenes.
They trained and prepared him, from the age of 12 to 30, to become the champion of the "fish."
The Essene priests, much like those in Heliopolis, Egypt, held the institutional role of preparing future rulers, the King-Priests and Masters of Justice of the branch of Jesse, to which Jesus belonged.

In their writings, however, the Essenes only mention the "nasi, the Messianic Prince," who will one day lead the forces of Light to final victory over Darkness.
As mentioned earlier, Nasi is a term that literally means Oannes, the Fisher King, the Bearer of Knowledge.
Nasi = Oannes = the Fisher King = the Bearer of Knowledge. Moreover, Oannes stands for Joannes, so Jesus was the Oannes-nasi of the Essene community, the Zadokite Oannite, the John or Prester John, a Grail king of Davidic lineage, and a "priest forever in the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrews 7:17), having realized the Christ within himself.
The name Jesus was likely a purely initiatory and cabalistic name.

In the Mysteries, it is mandatory for the adept to change their name during their spiritual evolution as a seal of the transmutation of their consciousness and the birth of the new man. This ritual is also traceable in the Bible: Simon, son of John, is called Cephas or Peter by Jesus (John 1:42), and Saul becomes Paul of Tarsus. The new name is defined as a nomen mysticum and is a constant among initiates.

This is the true and profound reason behind the concept of the "stage name," where "art" refers to Royal Art or the Great Alchemical Work. Bearing the initiatory name is equivalent to saying, "I is another."
To obtain the name, to be named, means "to come into existence."
Jesus was born as John-YHWH and was reborn initiatorily as Jesus-YHSWH after the baptism in the Jordan.

The critical role of John is evidenced by the fact that all four Gospels begin with him, presenting him as the precursor of Christ:
"And there came a man sent by God, his name was John" (John 1:6).
"Among those born of women, there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist" (Matthew 11:11).
In the Gospels, the Baptist says, "After me comes one whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie" (John 1:26).
John 1:30 is even more explicit: "This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I did not know him, but after the baptism, when the Spirit rested on him, I testified that this is the Son of God."

The expression "surpassed me" is typically initiatory and also appears in Exodus 33, where YHWH "passes before" Moses, who asks to see all His Glory:
"I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim my name […] but you cannot see my face […] you will see only my back."
This signifies that Moses was not ready for the full revelation of himself; only Jesus was destined to realize the Christic state, inaugurating a new era.

Those who have highlighted a supposed conflict between Jesus and John in recent years have failed to understand that when an initiate is baptized in the Font, they begin to realize the Christ within. In this context, John-Yahweh, the Old Man, becomes Jesus-Yashweh, the New Man, the Christ. The Son becomes the Father, and the Father becomes the Son.

This is the meaning of "after me comes a man" and "he surpassed me because he was before me." Christ represents the Divine Spirit in John (as in every man), preexisting the man-John. However, it is said that "he comes after" because the man-John must realize Him, conceive Him within, and make room for Him once the initiatory work is complete.

The true Son of God, of whom John speaks, is not John himself but the inner Christ, the Divine Spirit, whose birth the initiate must work towards by sacrificing themselves through the initiatory death on the cross of matter, symbolized by the alchemical beheading of the Baptist. The Baptist had to "die while alive" and make way for his Higher Consciousness.

This is the Son of Man who, through sacrifice, must lose mortal nature, exalting the awareness of the divine in human nature. An ancient Latin saying declares: ubi maior, minor cessat, meaning "when the greater appears, the lesser ceases to exist."

Even Paul addressed this fundamental theme multiple times:
"You must put away the old man with his former conduct, the man who is corrupted by deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, putting on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and true holiness" (Ephesians 4:22).

Christ is known to initiates as the Adam Kadmon, the primordial man, the perfect being.
The Sufis identified the kadmon (qdm or kdm) as the eternal, the ancient, "he who comes first and after."
This same concept appears in the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas: "…you will see your images that existed before you, which do not die and are not made manifest…"

This interpretation aligns with the "relay" between John and Jesus.
In Acts of the Apostles 13:25, this is confirmed:
"At the end of his mission, John said, 'I am not who you think I am.'"
This is equivalent to saying: "John is only my apparent identity; Christ is the true and spiritual one destined to bloom."
This meaning perfectly applies to John 1:20: "I am not the Messiah; the Messiah is yet to come," and John 3:28: "I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him. He must increase, but I must decrease."

The Baptist likely had not yet realized Christ within himself but had to "devour" his human component to allow the divine one to emerge. In this sense, the man-John decreases, and the God-Christ within increases.

The very year of the Baptist's death, 29 AD, is the same in which Jesus begins his mission.

It seems that behind the biblical story, intentionally narrated in a confused manner, lies a symbolism that unifies the two personalities into One. Few may have noticed the hidden meaning in the exclamation, "After me comes One."
The One who comes after John, who will replace him, is the Unified Being (and Triune), the Only-Begotten Son of God, which, take note, does not mean "Only Son" but rather "Made One"—Unified and no longer dual, like every other human being. Essentially, it is the Perfect Man, the Son of Man, in whom the two male-female natures have been unified.

This seems to echo the Greek myth of the Dioscuri, where Castor represents John, and Pollux, the immortal, represents Christ.

If a series of symbolic clues encoded in sacred writings suggests that John and Jesus were the same person, are there clearer traces in religions or documents following the time these events occurred that might confirm this?

Such clues are not found only in the Gospels.
Early Christianity divided into various currents, and Catholicism was only one of them.
Among the Cathars of Languedoc, Christians with a belief system closer to the origins, we find, unsurprisingly, interesting connections to this hypothesis. The Cathars, in some of their accounts, left traces of the true identity of Jesus: John. In a Cathar text from the region of Foix, it is said that God asked the heavenly spirits who wanted to be His Son: “One of the spirits present, named John, then stood up and said that he wanted to be the Son of the Father.” That the Messiah’s name was John is also evident in an account by the chronicler William of Puylaurens regarding a debate at Verfeil in 1207 between the Bishop of Osma, Saint Dominic, and two Cathar preachers. The chronicler reports: “They touched upon what the Lord says in John 3:1: ‘No one has ascended to heaven...’. The Bishop of Osma asked them what they understood by this passage. One of them replied that John, who was speaking, identified himself as ‘the Son of Man who is in heaven.’”

The Cathar Belibasta, the last to be executed by the Inquisition, declared: “Only the heavenly Father is God. The Son of God, meaning Christ, is not God by nature but an angel, a messenger, for before coming into this world, his name was John.” The Albigensians similarly claimed that the Messiah bore a name different from Jesus, which was John—a view shared by the Florentine Cathars. Their writings state: "Dictum Johannem missum a Deo lucis", meaning, “Said John was sent by God in the form of light.” The Cathars were evidently well-versed in the ancient tradition of the great Oannes.

Early Coptic Christians, centered around Alexandria, also identified John the Baptist with the Chaldean god Oannes (Joannes), associated repeatedly with Melchizedek, the King of the waters and the world, whom the Sumerians called Ea (Lord of the Waters). Origen, the Alexandrian Gnostic, writes (Origen, Vol. II): “There are some who considered John the Baptist to be the Anointed One (Christ).” In the Codex Nazira II, it is said: "Johanan (John), the son of Abo Sabo Zacariah, will say to himself: ..." Words that would resonate well in the mouth of Jesus, as King of Righteousness and bearer of the Baptism of Fire, as expressed in Revelation.

John the Baptist and the Quran

If John was indeed the Messiah and one with Jesus, it would be necessary to find a source indicating that Jesus and John shared the same parents. Such a source exists: the Quran. The sacred Muslim text provides a description of Jesus’ family that aligns with the family of John the Baptist. According to the Quran, Jesus and John shared the same father: Zakaria (Zacharias), also called Josephus. Thus, the name Joseph in the Gospels refers to Jesus’ father. The biological mother, of course, was Elizabeth—the "Mary-Isis" of the Essene community. Surah 3:37 is explicit on this point:

“And Allah accepted Mary and made her grow as a good plant. Zakaria took her under his care, and every time Zakaria entered the sanctuary, he found provision with her. He said: ‘O Mary, from where is this coming to you?’ She said: ‘It is from Allah.’ And Zakaria prayed to his Lord, saying: ‘O my Lord, grant me a pure offspring from You.’ Then the angels called him while he stood in prayer: ‘Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya (John).’”

Therefore, according to the Quran, Mary was the wife of Zakaria, corresponding to Elizabeth of the Gospels, the mother of John the Elect—the one who bore the Christic seed to which John himself bore witness. This recalls the virgin and miraculous births, the prototype of which is that of Melchizedek by his mother, Sopanima, as narrated in the Book of Enoch.

The Old and the New Man

Emerging from the baptismal waters signifies rebirth. This helps clarify Matthew 3:15: “As soon as Jesus (the new man) was baptized, he came up from the water, and he (who? John or Jesus?) saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.” The dove has the same symbolic value as the Ba in Egyptian esotericism. The Ba-dove represents the purified soul, akin to Venus (of Botticelli) emerging from the waters. This signifies the albedo phase of transmutation, from which the dove (the soul or purified lunar body) arises. John the Baptist’s baptism with water represents the descent of Grace (the dove) into the human individual.

Is it a coincidence that among Hindus, Agni (comparable to Oannes-John-the Lamb of God) is born from water? Immersion in water has long symbolized death on the human plane and catastrophe on the macrocosmic plane. Water, dissolving all forms, has the power to disintegrate and regenerate, so that the one who emerges is like a child—sinless and without history. Symbolically, immersion in water equates to burial, a journey into the underworld, the depths of one’s inner earth (Vitriolum). Emerging from it signifies purification, renewal, and rebirth.

The Precursor

How can we identify in the Gospels this initiatory-symbolic process by which human John receives Christic energy and becomes Jesus? This consecration is present, albeit veiled, in the Gospel of Luke. The Benedictus, recited during John’s circumcision, is spoken by Zakaria, whom the Quran identifies as the father of Jesus:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has raised up a mighty Savior in the house of His servant David, as He spoke through His holy prophets of old... And you, child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare His way, to give His people knowledge of salvation...” (Luke 1:67-81)

This passage reveals that John was of Davidic lineage, the bloodline of the Holy Grail, destined to instruct on salvation from the Kingdom of Darkness. For those who can understand, it is clear that the true concept of the Messiah (“a man sent by God”) is not merely the man John-Jesus, but the Logos (the Christic energy) made flesh, which John, the Elect, would manifest within himself.

This idea aligns with an ancient Egyptian concept: the Pharaoh is the “Great House of God” (Per-aa-on in Egyptian), the Living Temple of God. In Egypt, the precursor was called Wapwawet or Upuaut, meaning “Opener of the Way” or “Pathfinder”—terms analogous to the English “wipeout,” which means to clear away obstacles. The symbolic connection between John the Baptist and Upuaut is evident in Greek. The Greek word bapto (to baptize) clearly derives from the Egyptian Wpwt. John exhorts: “Prepare the way of the Lord,” urging all to do as he does—to open the way for the Spirit of Light.

In traditional understanding, the Spirit of Light—the Christic energy—is associated with the Sun. This announcement is made regarding John in Revelation 22, where Jesus states: “I am the Morning Star,” referring to his human identity as John the Baptist, known among the Essenes as the “Star” (Kokba) and the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” (Revelation 5:5).John is the Morning Star, as he is the precursor, meaning he heralds, like the Morning Star heralds the rising of the Sun (a symbol of the Living Spirit).
John, therefore, represents what in alchemy is called the "Rough Stone," the raw material that must be worked and refined to become the "Cornerstone."
Jesus described Himself as: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” and John is the one who symbolizes both Alpha and Omega. This union of beginning and end was encoded by the ancients in the figure of Janus, the two-faced deity (Juana-John), associated with the astronomical moments of the two Solstices, tied to the figures of the two Johns, the Baptist and the Evangelist. This again underscores the merging of human identification of Jesus with John.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says: “He (John) is more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:...” (Matthew 11:10).
This passage affirms that John is the precursor, the one who carries within himself the Christic seed, Elijah.
Thus, Jesus-John declares that the prophets, such as Isaiah, who spoke of a new messiah, were referring to John, as he is the reincarnation of Elijah.
Therefore, John is the messiah foretold by the prophets, as the Christic spirit, already present in Elijah, the prototype of the Messiah, is in him.
That Elijah is the soul of John-Jesus is also demonstrated by the invocation on the cross when John-Jesus calls out to Elijah: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.” Another plausible theory is that the Eli whom Jesus invokes is the Father, the Most High, known as El Elyon.

There are also contradictions in the Gospels arising from the separation of the figures of John and Jesus.
In the Gospel of John, the Baptist, in response to the Jews who questioned him about whether he was Elijah, says: “I am not” (John 1:21).
Yet, as we have seen, Matthew unequivocally states that John is the reincarnation of Elijah.
This can only mean one thing: John embodied Elijah but did not consider himself to be so because, at that moment, he had not yet received the dove and, therefore, did not yet feel like the Messiah, the new Elijah.

Another contradiction appears in the following passage:
“The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus passing by, he said... And the two disciples, hearing him say this, followed Jesus. Jesus turned around and, seeing them following, asked, ... They answered him: ... He said to them: ...” (John 1:35).
This passage is clearly and intentionally ambiguous.
In fact, the two disciples who followed Jesus were essentially following John, within whom Christ dwelled.
Indeed, the passage states that the two disciples followed Jesus, but it later adds: “One of the two disciples who heard John speak and followed him…”

So, the question is legitimate: did the disciples follow Jesus or John?
From our analysis, it emerges that they followed John-Jesus.
The expression “gazing at Jesus as he passed by” is also emblematic, linking to John 1:30: “After me comes a man who has surpassed me.”
In an initiatory sense, it is always the New Man, the Risen One, who surpasses the Old Man through the latter’s sacrifice.
Thus, initiatically, the paradigm of sacrifice is reversed: the sacrificer is Christ (Melchizedek-Cain), the spiritual Man, the Adam Kadmon of the Kabbalists; the sacrificed is the Lamb (Agni-John-Abel), the material man, the human.
For this reason, in Genesis 4:4, Abel’s lamb offering is accepted by the Lord, while Cain’s sacrifice is rejected.
It is Abel, the lamb, who must be sacrificed to bring forth the new man, Cain. This is so true that cohen in Hebrew means “priest,” and kainos in Greek means “new.” The analogous Greek verb kainumai means “to shine, excel, surpass, prevail, emerge.”

St. Paul, in his Letter to the Romans 6:13, states that one must offer oneself to God as those alive who have risen from the dead, meaning as new men.
Only a few initiates can properly interpret the figure of Cain, historically and universally considered a manifestation of human brutality.
In truth, Cain’s story and figure are an initiatory allegory, based on which it can be affirmed, without fear of contradiction, that Jesus is initiatically “Cain, the Superior Being self-generated and self-renewed, the self-made Man.”

Cain is the Divine Man created through Sacrifice, deriving his essence and origin from Sacrifice.
In many primordial myths, this initiatory truth is expressed through heroes or gods battling monsters, dragons, serpents, bulls, and other wild forces, representing the various material aspects of human nature that, through this symbolic process, are divinized.
It signifies the mastery of bodily instincts, whereby the soul binds itself increasingly to the celestial twin rather than the earthly one.
Thus emerges the birth of a God, arising from the chaos that reacts against itself, dismantles itself, and spiritually ascends to a higher vibrational plane of consciousness.
This is the meaning of the “Self-Sacrifice.”

In sacrifice, the initiate ignites and renews themselves, restoring the essence of a God.
They attract and confront wild forces to exercise a dominating and transfiguring act upon them.
This is the true meaning of Cain’s story; otherwise, it would be challenging to comprehend why the sacred seal was placed on his forehead, the symbol of the Elect and those touched by Grace.

The History of the Mandaeans

Upon the death of the Baptist, the Mandaeans—certainly more numerous than the disciples of Jesus—decided to separate from the proto-Christian community to remain faithful to their master and doctrine.
They left Palestine and relocated to modern-day northern Iraq.
Around 100 CE, many settled in Harran, in what is now Anatolia.
There, they encountered an ancient Babylonian culture with pagan worship practices venerating stellar deities and preserving the Hermetic tradition of Thoth, brought from Alexandria via the caravan route through Edessa.

It can be inferred that the Mandaeans chose this place deliberately, as they coexisted peacefully with the local population for several centuries.
In 830 CE, when these lands became Islamic, the local inhabitants were forced by Caliph Al-Ma'mun to convert to Islam or declare and demonstrate adherence to a pre-existing religion mentioned in the Quran. Here’s the English translation:

Thus, the indigenous population of Harran, together with the Mandaeans, adopted the name Sabians—"the Washed"—as mentioned (the People of the Book) in the Quran, under the esoteric prophet Idris, also referred to as Khidr (the Green).
The Sabians also declared their veneration for the prophet Hermes Trismegistus (the Egyptian god Thoth).

It was here that the definitive fusion occurred between the Mandaeans and the inhabitants of Harran, later referred to in history as the Sabians.

In the same period, around 800 AD, the "Brotherhood of Builders" was founded, derived from Gnostic Israelites who had taken refuge in what is now southern Iraq. About a century later, in Cairo, their secret doctrines (of the Israelites) were compiled in 50 treatises, consisting of the Forty-Two Books of Thoth and the Epistles of the Pure Brethren.

Around 1000 AD, this secret doctrine was introduced to Toledo, Spain, by the esoteric scholar Maslama, who is believed to have been part of a Sabian community established there over time. In 1085, due to Christian persecution, Maslama's esoteric school was forced to flee Toledo and was welcomed in France at the school of Rabbi Rashi, who had earlier, in 1070, founded his Qabalistic school at the court of Blois and Champagne, later establishing its permanent seat in Troyes under the protection of a wealthy and powerful patron: the Count of Champagne.

Thus, this secret doctrine, particularly the Epistles of the Pure Brethren of the Ismailis, reached France at Rashi's school, where it is likely that Stephen Harding, prior of Cîteaux and mentor to Bernard of Clairvaux (Bernardo di Chiaravalle), came into possession of them.

The orientalist Allan Oslo suggests in his studies that the Epistles of the Pure Brethren of the Ismailis, written in symbolic language, required an esoteric key for interpretation, known only to initiates of the "Brotherhood of Builders." He hypothesizes that one purpose of the Templar Order’s establishment was to seek these interpretative keys in the Holy Land, written in Arabic.

As later occurred during the Renaissance in Tuscany, this land, under the domain of the Count of Champagne—a man of great splendor and wealth—became the stage for the birth of the Cistercian Order, the Order of Sion, and the Order of the Knights Templar. This region near the Pyrenees, known as Languedoc, gradually became a theater of unresolved mysteries and a subject of research into the Cathars and their horrific crusade, the Templars, the Cistercian monks, and the entire literature about Mary Magdalene and the Merovingian lineage.

During the Crusades, the Holy Land was a crossroads and melting pot of cultures, traditions, and religions. It is now certain that the Templars had relations with the Druze, a Muslim community whose religious beliefs span from the Quran to Pythagorean, Platonic, and Hermetic writings.

It is thus highly possible that the Templars had contact with members of the Brotherhood. As I have mentioned, it is not excluded that Harding, upon learning of the content of the Epistles, discovered something significant that compelled him to organize excavations at the ruins of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, thus leading to the birth of the military religious order.

FOLLOWERS of the King of LIGHT
MANDAEANS - SABIANS

In the 17th century, Jesuit missionaries returning from the region around the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in present-day Iraq reported the existence of a sect they called the "Christians of St. John." Although they lived among Muslims and were surrounded by Arabs, they adhered to a form of Christianity centered on John the Baptist. Their rituals revolved around baptism, not only as a ceremony to welcome a new member into the congregation but as a significant moment in all rites.

The "Christians of St. John" venerate John the Baptist but cannot be defined as "Christians." They believe Jesus was a false prophet, a deceiver who deliberately misled his people. However, they assumed this name to defend themselves from the constant threat posed by Jews, Muslims, and Christians.

As their sacred book, the Ginza, states:
"When Jesus oppresses you, say: ‘We belong to you.’ But let it not be so in your hearts; do not deny the voice of your Master, the high King of Light, for the false Messiah has not been revealed the mystery."

Today, this community exists in southern Iraq and southwestern Iran and is identified as Mandaeans. They are a deeply religious and peaceful group whose faith prohibits war and bloodshed. Most live in villages and communities, with many working in cities as goldsmiths and silversmiths. They have their own language and script, both derived from Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus and John.

In 1978, their population was estimated at just under 15,000, but after the persecution ordered by Saddam Hussein following the Gulf War, they may have nearly vanished; the political situation in Iraq makes accurate estimates impossible.

“Mandaeans” literally means "Gnostics" (from the Aramaic manda, gnosis), a term that properly refers only to the laity, though it is often applied to the entire community. Their priests are called "Nazoreans."

Until 1880, no one had seriously studied the Mandaeans. The most comprehensive studies remain those conducted by Ethel Stevens Drower in the years immediately preceding World War II. By overcoming their justified reserve and mistrust, Drower managed to uncover the main tenets of their doctrines, the most important events in their history, and even gain access to the secret papyri containing their sacred texts. Here is the English translation:

She also gathered photographic documentation of their rituals and copies of their sacred books. (In the 19th century, German and French scholars had unsuccessfully tried to break through that wall of secrecy.) However, it is certain that many secrets of the Mandaeans remain hidden from outsiders.

The Mandaeans possess many sacred texts, the most important of which is the Ginza ("Treasure"), also known as the Book of Adam. Other significant texts include the Sidra d-Yahia or Book of John (sometimes called the Book of Kings) and the Hawan Gawaita, which is a history of the sect.

The Ginza dates back at least to the 7th century AD, while the Book of John seems to have been compiled later. In the latter text, John the Baptist is identified by two names: "Yohanna" (Mandaean) and "Yahia," the Arabic name by which he appears in the Quran. The frequent use of the Arabic name suggests that the book was written after the Muslim conquest of the region around the mid-7th century, though it also contains older passages. The critical question is how old those passages are.

It was traditionally thought that the Mandaeans wrote the Book of John and described the Baptist as a prophet to avoid Muslim persecution, as Islam tolerated—i.e., did not consider pagan—only those peoples who adhered to a religion with a sacred book and a prophet.

However, the Mandaeans appear in the Quran under the name "Sabians," which means they were known even before the 7th century. By the 14th century, however, they were nearly annihilated by Islamic rulers.

The region where the Mandaeans live today is the final stop in a long exile, consistently marked by persecution. Their legends, as well as modern studies, indicate that they came from Palestine, from which they were exiled in the 1st century AD. Over the following centuries, they migrated east and south.

Today, only a few representatives of a once widespread religion remain.

The Mandaean religion is frankly a confused mixture. Its theological framework blends elements of Old Testament Judaism, heretical Gnosticism, Christianity, and Iranian dualistic beliefs. It is difficult to determine what their original beliefs were, especially as the Mandaeans themselves seem to have forgotten them. However, meticulous analyses have allowed scholars to propose some hypotheses, particularly regarding the figure of John the Baptist.

The Mandaeans represent the only surviving Gnostic religion in the world: their ideas about the universe, creation, and the gods are clearly Gnostic. They believe in a hierarchy of gods and demi-gods, male and female, with a clear division between the spirits of light and those of darkness.

The supreme being, the creator of the universe and the lesser divinities, has various names that can be translated as "Life," "Mind," or "King of Light." He created five "beings of light," who in turn automatically brought forth five opposing beings of darkness.

The emphasis on light is typically Gnostic, and every page of the Pistis Sophia uses this metaphor. For the Gnostics, "to be enlightened" means "to enter the world of light." As in other Gnostic systems, these demi-gods created and govern the material universe and the Earth. Humanity was also created by a demi-god who, depending on the version of the myth, is named Hiwel Ziwa or Ptahil.

The first physical humans were Adam and Eve, called Adam Paghia and Hawa Paghia, with their "hidden" counterparts, Adam Kasya and Hawa Kasya. The Mandaeans believe they descended from one parent of each opposing pair: Adam Paghia and Hawa Kasya.

The closest equivalent to a demon is the goddess Ruha, who governs the realm of darkness but is also regarded as the Holy Spirit. The emphasis on the existence of equal and opposing forces of good and evil, male and female, is characteristically Gnostic and exemplified in the phrase:

"The Earth is like a woman, and the sky like a man, because he makes the Earth fertile."

An important goddess to whom many prayers are directed in Mandaean texts is Libat, identified with Ishtar.

For the Mandaeans, celibacy is a sin, and men who die without having married are condemned to reincarnation. Except in this case, the Mandaeans do not believe in the cycle of rebirth. At death, the soul returns to the world of light from which it came, aided in its journey by prayers and ceremonies reminiscent of ancient Egyptian funeral rites.

Religion permeates every aspect of daily life for the Mandaeans, but the key sacrament is baptism, which also features in weddings and funerals. Baptisms are performed by full immersion in specially constructed pools connected to a river called the "Jordan." The ritual involves a series of handshakes between priests and the baptized. Their sacred day is Sunday.

Communities are led by priests, who also take the title of "king" (malka), but some religious duties can be performed by laypeople. The priesthood is hereditary and has three ranks: ordinary priests (tarmide or "disciples"), bishops, and a "head of the people," a position that has not been filled for more than a century.

The Mandaeans regard John the Baptist as one of the most important leaders of their sect but claim to have existed long before him. They also assert that they left Palestine in the 1st century AD, originating from a mountainous region they call Tura d-Madau, which has not yet been identified by scholars.

In the 17th century, when Jesuits discovered their existence, it was thought that the Mandaeans were descendants of the Jews baptized by John. Today, however, it is believed that their origins may be much older.

They preserve traces of their life in first-century Palestine: their script is similar to Nabatean writing, which was used in the Arab kingdom bordering Perea, where John the Baptist preached. Clues from the Hawan Gawaita suggest they left Palestine in 37 CE, around the time of the crucifixion, but the reasons remain unclear. It is hypothesized that they were driven out by the followers of Jesus.

Until recently, it was believed that the Mandaeans originated from a splinter Jewish sect, but it is now recognized that they lack Jewish roots. Although their writings mention figures from the Old Testament, they are unfamiliar with Jewish traditions, and their sacred day is not the Sabbath. This indicates they likely lived near the Jews but were not part of them.

Scholars have found the Mandaeans' insistence on their Egyptian origins puzzling. As E. S. Drower noted, they consider themselves “coreligionists” of the ancient Egyptians. One of their texts asserts: “The people of Egypt followed our religion.” Furthermore, they claim their religion was born in the mysterious mountainous region of Tura d'Madai, inhabited by a people who came from Egypt. The name of the demigod ruling the world, Ptahil, closely resembles that of the Egyptian god Ptah, and their funerary rituals are reminiscent of ancient Egyptian practices.

After leaving Palestine, the Mandaeans lived in Parthian and Persian territories under Sassanian rule but also settled in the city of Harran, which holds particular relevance in this context.

The Mandaeans have never claimed that John the Baptist founded their sect or instituted baptism, nor do they consider him superior to any other leader of their sect, known as a nasurai (adept). They assert that Jesus was also a nasurai but became a “heretical rebel who led men astray and betrayed the secret doctrines [...].”

The Book of John tells the story of John and Jesus. John's birth is announced in a dream and marked by the appearance of a star that remains above Enishbai (Elizabeth). John's father, Zakhria (Zacharias), is described as elderly and childless, similar to the Gospel account.

After John's birth, the Jews conspire against him, leading him to be hidden by Anosh (Enoch) on a sacred mountain. He returns at the age of twenty-two, becomes the leader of the Mandaeans, and is notably portrayed as a healer.

John is called the “fisher of souls” and the “good shepherd,” titles also associated with Isis, Mary Magdalene, Jesus, Simon Peter, and various ancient Mediterranean deities, such as Tammuz and Osiris. The Book of John includes a lament by John over a lost sheep stuck in the mud for worshipping Jesus.

According to legend, John marries Anhar, but she plays a minor role. Strangely, there is no mention of his death, except for a poetic image in the Book of John where his soul is carried away in the form of a child by the god Manda-d-Hiia. This seems more like a poetic representation of what the Mandaeans believed should happen to John than a historical account.

The Book of John also describes Jesus, referred to as “Yeshu Messiah,” “Messiah Paulis” (likely from a Persian word meaning “imposter”), or “Christ the Roman.” While the text is somewhat obscure, Jesus appears as a student seeking to become John's disciple. He is an outsider who, upon arriving at the Jordan to request baptism, is initially deemed unworthy by John. Jesus persuades John, and during his baptism, Ruha, the goddess of the underworld, appears as a dove and traces a cross of light on the Jordan.

After becoming John's disciple, Jesus, like Simon Magus in Christian tradition, “distorts John's teachings, alters the Jordan baptism, and gains wisdom through John,” according to Kurt Rudolph.

The Hawan Gawaita accuses Jesus, saying, “He distorted the words of light and turned them into darkness, converted those who were mine, and altered all cults.”

The Ginza warns, “Do not believe [in Jesus], for he practices sorcery and deception.”

In their convoluted chronology, the Mandaeans eagerly anticipate the coming of a figure called Anosh-Uthra (Enoch), who will “accuse Christ the Roman, the liar, son of a woman not from the light,” and “expose Christ the Roman as a deceiver; he will be bound by the hands of the Jews, his devotees will bind him, and his body will be slain.”

Another legend tells of a woman named Minai (Miriam or Mary), daughter of “those who rule Jerusalem,” who flees with her lover while her family desperately tries to bring her back (though she is initially referred to as a “bitch in heat” and “debauched”). The woman lives with her husband at the mouth of the Euphrates, where she founds the Mandaean community and becomes a prophetess, seated on a throne and reading passages from the Book of Truth. If this story is an allegory of the sect’s migrations and persecutions, it suggests that a Jewish faction joined a non-Jewish group to form the Mandaeans. However, the name Miriai, her portrayal as a “prostitute,” and her role as a prophetess after leaving her homeland evoke the story of Mary Magdalene.

The Mandaeans’ sacred scrolls are illustrated with depictions of deities resembling those found in Greek and Egyptian magical papyri studied by Morton Smith.

Comparisons have been drawn between Mandaean doctrines and those of the Manichaeans, followers of the Gnostic master Mani (circa 216–276). Indeed, it is thought that the Mughtasilah sect, to which Mani’s father belonged and in which Mani was raised, may have been the Mandaeans. Their teachings strongly influenced European Gnostic sects, including the Cathars.

G.R.S. Mead highlighted the strong similarities between Mandaean sacred texts and the Pistis Sophia. He considered a section of the Book of John titled "Treasure of Love" as an “echo of an earlier phase” of that work. There are also parallels with several Nag Hammadi documents linked to the "baptismal movements" of the time and with some Dead Sea Scrolls.

Another intriguing consideration concerns Harran, a center in Mesopotamia where the Mandaeans lived for some time. Until the 10th century, Harran was home to the Sabian sect, an important group in the history of esotericism. Its members were Hermeticists and heirs to Egyptian Hermeticism, profoundly influencing mystical Muslim sects like the Sufis, who in turn appear to have impacted southern French culture in the Middle Ages, including the Templars. As Jack Lindsay writes in The Origins of Alchemy in Greco-Roman Egypt:
“A strange blend of Hermetic beliefs, many connected to alchemy, persisted among the Sabians of Harran in Mesopotamia. They survived as a pagan sect within Islam for at least two centuries.”

The Mandaeans are still referred to as Sabians (or Subba) by contemporary Muslims, suggesting a possible identification with the philosophers of Harran. Could it be hypothesized that, in addition to Hermeticism, they passed down to the Templars their veneration of John the Baptist and possibly some of their secrets?

Kurt Rudolph, probably the foremost contemporary scholar of Mandaean culture, emphasizes the connections between their writings and the Fourth Gospel:
Many 20th-century scholars believe that parts of the Gospel of John, particularly the prologue, were “borrowed” from the writings of John the Baptist’s followers. Some suggest these texts shared a common origin with the sacred books of the Mandaeans. In early 1926, H.H. Schaeder proposed that the prologue of the Gospel of John was “a Mandaean hymn absorbed by Baptist circles.”

E. Schweizer compared the discourse of the Good Shepherd in the Gospel of John with the Good Shepherd section in the Book of John, concluding that they come from the same source. According to Rudolf Bultmann, contemporary Mandaeans are descendants of John the Baptist’s followers. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Mandaeans are simply a branch of the "Johannite Church."

W. Schmithals observed:
“On the one hand, the Gospel of John reveals close connections with the Gnostic worldview. The source of the discourses that John incorporates or aligns with is of Gnostic origin. The similarities with Mandaean writings, whose oldest traditions date back to the early Christian era, are particularly striking.”

It has also been suggested that the apocalyptic material in Q (the source of the Synoptic Gospels) derives from the Mandaean Ginza. Similarly, it has been proposed that the Christian sacrament of baptism originates from Mandaean rites.

The implications of these hypotheses could be revolutionary: is it possible that the Gospels, so central to Christianity, are not about Jesus but his rival, John the Baptist?

The earliest recorded references to the Mandaeans date to 792 CE when the Syrian theologian Theodore bar Konai explicitly stated, citing the Ginza, that they were derived from the followers of Dositheus, an heretical sect founded by one of John’s early disciples.

Jesus himself was called a "Nazorean," a term associated with sects in Samaria and Galilee that predated Jesus and claimed to be the custodians of Israel’s true religion. Noting that the Mandaeans also call their adepts "Nasurai," Hugh Schonfield remarked:
“There is good reason to believe that the heirs of these Nazoreans [...] are the current [...] Mandaeans of the region south of the Euphrates.”

The eminent English biblical scholar C.H. Dodd concluded:
The Nazoreans were the sect to which John the Baptist belonged or, more accurately, the sect he led; Jesus was called by that name because he had been a disciple of John.

Mandaean traditions support many of these hypotheses:

• Jesus was initially a disciple of John the Baptist but broke away to create his own movement.

• John the Baptist was highly popular and had a significant following—a true “church” that survived his death.

• John’s followers recounted events from his life that were later adapted and incorporated into the Gospels.

• John’s followers connected the massacre of the innocents to him, as Herod feared he might be the true "King of Israel."

• Two of John’s disciples, Simon Magus and Dositheus, founded Gnostic sects influential in Alexandria and deemed heretical by early Christianity.

• Some Gnostic elements in the Gospel of John derive from the writings of John’s followers.

  The Mandaeans, presumed heirs of the "Church of John," are Gnostics, which could lead to the conclusion that John the Baptist himself was a Gnostic. In this context, the affinities between Mandaean writings, those of Simon Magus, the Gospel of John, and Coptic Gnostic texts, especially the Pistis Sophia, which has been significant in our research on Mary Magdalene, could also be explained.

  The sects connected to John the Baptist (Mandaeans, Simonians, and followers of Dositheus) all originated in Palestine (two of them in heretical Samaria) and did not adhere to the Jewish religion. This suggests that John himself may not have been Jewish.

  Moreover, while Gnosticism draws from various cultures, particularly Persian, the influence of ancient Egyptian religion is predominant. Many of Jesus's teachings and actions reflect Egyptian cults, and the Mandaeans themselves claim that their ancestors came from Egypt.

  A subgroup of theirs, the Nazoreans, had John the Baptist as a leader, although it was founded long before his time. The followers honor him but regard him only as a historical guide and prophet.

  The Mandaeans were persecuted first by the Jews and later by Christians. Driven out of Palestine, they moved further east to territories where they still reside today.

  According to the Jewish Talmud, the Mandaeans believe that Jesus was a deceiver and a demonic sorcerer. They accuse him of leading the Jews "astray" and claim he was executed as an occultist.

  The sects associated with John the Baptist, taken together, constituted a significant movement. The Mandaeans, Simonians, followers of Dositheus, and perhaps even the Templars, were persecuted by the Catholic Church.

  A small group of Mandaeans remained in Iraq, but elsewhere, even in Europe, the "Johannites" continued to exist in secrecy.

  In European occultist circles, it was said that the Templars derived their knowledge from the "Eastern Johannites." Other esoteric secret movements, such as Freemasonry—particularly its branches that claim direct descent from the Templars and the Egyptian Rites—as well as the Priory of Sion, have always venerated John the Baptist.

  Furthermore, if the Gospel of John includes many parts written by followers of John the Baptist, it would explain not only the interest the "Johannites" have always shown in this Gospel but also the deliberate confusion between John the Evangelist and John the Baptist.

  Undoubtedly, the Mandaeans originated in the Middle East, and it is likely that during the Crusades, they came into contact with the Templars.