Dr. James F. McGrath in Dr. Deborah Saxon's class at Butler University about the Mandaeans, the last surviving Gnostic group to survive from ancient times to the present day, and their fascinating texts, beliefs, and practices as well as their current situation. March, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNFAWI-lgqg

It is indeed possible they are descendants of disciples of John the Baptist, who 2,000 years ago had a large number of followers which believed him to be a great Master and Prophet, if not the awaited Messiah. After John's death, the New Testament portrays Jesus as being the spiritual successor, but other leaders in John's community might have seen things differently. Like Jesus, others might also have claimed to be John's successor and thus would have become the leaders of a John-community that maintained its independence from the Jesus Movement, instead remaining what they were -- an unorthodox baptismal sect of the Trans-Jordan. The origins of the Mandaeans do go back to the Jewish tradition of first century AD Palestine and the region of the Jordan River. Eventually the community settled in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, where they could continue the ritual of baptizing initiates in "living waters" (rivers) symbolizing the connecting of their souls with "heavenly Jordan rivers of Light." The role of the Heavenly Messenger is to give the mystic experience of light to souls and eventually guide them back up to the Place of Light, the Mandaean term for the highest heaven where the Great Life (God) resides. The mystical encounters recorded in the scriptures of the Mandaeans may seem at times like ancient near-death experiences (NDE's), the visions of souls who were embraced the Light long ago.

"Moksha from Earth" about the lighttrap: https://bit.ly/3ghTUZU
"Archons rule Earth" about the 7 planetary rulers: https://bit.ly/3D0RDfl
"Dark Side of Jesus" about John, the true Christos: https://bit.ly/3xZLP24

!!! MUST WATCH - Psychic project on "Freedom from Soul-Loosh Harvesting"!!! https://www.bitchute.com/video/bO6fdCNMRinU/

Literature:
Lynn Picknett, Clive Prince - The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ
Lynn Picknett, Clive Prince - The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About the Life of Jesus
Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley - The Mandaeans: Ancient Texts and Modern People
Andrew Philip Smith - John the Baptist and the Last Gnostics: The Secret History of the Mandaeans
G.R.S. Mead - Gnostic John the Baptizer: Selections from the Mandaean John-Book
E.S. Drower - Secret Adam: A Study of Nasoraean Gnosis https://archive.org/details/DrowerE.S.TheSecretAdam.AStudyOfNasoraeanGnosis