Prayers and Hymns of the Manichaean Church

A Manichaean apocalyptic hymn preserved in Parthian (Middle Iranian), from the communities of Central Asia that carried Mani's religion eastward along the Silk Road. This "Hymn on the Second Coming of Jesus" is a dialogue: a believer asks the Redeemer when the age of persecution will end and the Kingdom of Light will triumph. Jesus answers with prophetic signs — the rivers of time flowing faster, the oppressors brought low, the springs of Living Water opening their mouths in praise. The hymn's language is Persian with Parthian vocabulary, reflecting the multilingual character of Manichaean worship in Iran and Central Asia. Source digitized from gnosis.org.

Hymn on the Second Coming of Jesus

Speak to me, Lord and Friend, and reveal to me, Son of the most beloved, the time of your coming, when you will appear at the end.

Oh great Redeemer, my Teacher, speak of that time and its signs.
The speakers, the righteous and chosen ones, who must live in the Realm of the Lie, do not accumulate herds and belongings.

Therefore they are persecuted.

Ha, this irate potentate! How long will he continue to rule?
How long will the poor and the Family of Peace be persecuted?
Tell me what reward the wise and righteous ones that are now persecuted will have.

You of compassionate race, tell of the coming subjugation of the sinners who are now exalted.

The strong and valiant Son of the Most Beloved taught me what I asked him:

That time, the coming years and periods, will be different from now, because of the ensuing battles.

For they shall flow like water in the rivers, now that time is near at hand.

The covetous heretics that now rejoice shall you then vanquish, you Wrathful One.
They will be persecuted, as they have persecuted, and they shall do penance for their offences.

Then shall those who have wept be joyful, and those who now laugh weep.

He who is grieved and belongs to the Family of Peace shall be rewarded with prosperity and protection.

Then the righteous religion shall hold sway over the false teachings and nations.

Then shall the springs of Living Water open their mouths in praise.
Lament, give honor and praise, for the time is near, of which these are the signs.

. . . the anointed.
The vihidan (?) of the Ruler are called.
Persecution and suppression shall then be recompensed by eternal life.

. . .

Colophon

A Manichaean apocalyptic hymn in Parthian (Middle Iranian), translated from the original by an unidentified scholar. The hymn survives among the Manichaean texts recovered from the Turfan oasis in Central Asia (now in the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin), where Manichaean communities flourished from the seventh to the eleventh centuries. The dialogue form — a believer questioning Jesus about the signs of the end — places this hymn within the broader tradition of apocalyptic revelation literature shared across Christianity, Judaism, and Manichaeism.

The Sub-Miko removed a bullet-point artifact from the heading, cleaned a duplicate introductory line, normalized capitalization and punctuation, corrected "annointed" to "anointed," and wrote the blockquote and colophon. The lacunae at the end of the hymn reflect damage to the original manuscript.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

🌲