A Glimpse of the individual eschatology in Gnostic and Manichaean Beliefs
Volume 31, Issue 2, June 2018, Pages 9-28
Roozbeh Zarrinkoob, Sayyed Toufigh Hosseini
Abstract Gnostic religions have been widely expanded in various parts of the ancient
Mesopotamian lands, also in northern Syria. This distribution of thoughts,
according to many scholars, influenced the great religions such as Jewish
and Christian. Manichaeanism is one of the most important religions in the
ancient world that developed in Mesopotamia; hence, many of Mani's
thoughts are combined with Gnostic ideas. One of the intricate and
mysterious Manichaean beliefs is the universal eschatology and the story of
life after death. Studying and comparing Gnostic thoughts of individual
eschatology, leads to the idea that the Gnostic beliefs affected the formation
of the eschatological beliefs of Manichaeanism. This paper mainly studies
the presence of Gnostic thoughts in Manichaeanism; and through
descriptive-analytical approach, examines gnostic thoughts and beliefs of
the individual's eschatology in religious texts. Finally, by analyzing and
comparing Mani's thoughts, the influence of Gnosticism on Manichean
thought is rebuilded.