According to Christian tradition, the gospels of Matthew (24:5), Mark (13:6) and Luke (21:8), Jesus said, "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Many people have claimed to be the Christian Messiah during the many centuries of the A.D. period. Per Wikipedia.com, this partial list of Messiah claimants concludes with...
- Yahweh ben Yahweh (1935–2007), born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr., a black nationalist and separatist who created the Nation of Yahweh and allegedly orchestrated the murder of dozens of persons. In 1991, Mitchell was convicted of conspiring to murder white people as an initiation rite to his cult, as well as former members who disagreed with him, in one case by decapitation. He was released on parole in 2001 on the condition of not reconnecting with his old congregation. He died of prostate cancer in 2007.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Laszlo Toth (1940-2012) was a Hungarian-born Australian geologist. He achieved worldwide notoriety when he vandalised Michelangelo's Pietà statue on 21 May 1972; claimed he was Jesus Christ as he battered the statue with a geologist hammer. Toth was subdued by bystanders, including American sculptor Bob Cassilly, who was the first person to pull him away from the Pietà. In view of his apparent insanity, Toth was never charged with the crime. On 29 January 1973, he was committed to an Italian psychiatric hospital and later was released in 1975 and immediately deported to Australia where he had studied prior to the attack; Australian authorities did not detain him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Wayne Bent (born 1941), also known as Michael Travesser of the Lord Our Righteousness Church, also referred to as the "Strong City Cult". Rev. Wayne Bent, once a Seventh-day Adventist pastor, left his denomination with others of like mind in 1987 and has since referred to that church as one of the "daughters of the great harlot", condemned in the book of Revelation. Bent claims that, during an experience in his living room in June 2000, God told him, "You are the Messiah." Bent has since stated, "I am the embodiment of God. I am divinity and humanity combined." He was convicted December 15, 2008 of one count of criminal sexual contact of a minor and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor in 2008.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Iesu Matayoshi (born 1944), is a Japanese political activist and styles himself "The only God Matayoshi Mitsuo Jesus Christ or Jesus Matayoshi". In 1997, he established (and became the leader of) the World Economic Community Party based on his conviction that he is God and the Christ. According to his program he will do the Last Judgment as Christ but within the current political system. Then Matayoshi will reign over the whole world with two legitimate authorities, not only religious but also political. After his Judgment he will throw the corrupt into the Fire (see Book of Revelation).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Jung Myung Seok (born 1945), a South Korean who was a member of the Unification Church in the 1970s, before breaking off to found the dissenting group [now known as Providence Church] in 1980. He also considers himself the Second Coming of Christ, but not Jesus himself in 1980. He believes he has come to finish the incomplete message and mission of Jesus Christ, asserting that he is the Messiah and has the responsibility to save all mankind. He claims that the Christian doctrine of resurrection is false but that people can be saved through him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Claude Vorilhon now known as Raël "messenger of the Elohim" (born 1946), a French professional test driver and former automobile journalist became founder and leader of UFO religion the Raël Movement in 1972, which teaches that life on Earth was scientifically created by a species of extraterrestrials, which they call Elohim. He claimed he met an extraterrestrial humanoid in 1973 and became the Messiah. Then devoted himself to the task he said was given by his "biological father", an extraterrestrial named Yahweh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- José Luis de Jesús (1946–2013), founder and leader of Creciendo en Gracia sect (Growing In Grace International Ministry, Inc.), based in Miami, Florida. He claimed to be both Jesus Christ returned and the Antichrist, and exhibited a "666" tattoo on his forearm. He has referred to himself as Jesucristo Hombre, which translates to "Jesus Christ made Man". Shortly after his death [in 2013] his followers granted him the title of Melchizedek because, as stated by his official site, he attained his new and final name which means king of justice and king of peace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Inri Cristo (born 1948) born Álvaro Theiss in Indaial, Santa Catarina state, Brazil, is a Brazilian educator who claims to be Jesus Christ reincarnated (or the second Jesus). In 1969, at the age of 21, Inri began his public life as a self-professed prophet and astrologer, introducing himself as "Iuri de Nostradamus". In 1979, obeying the same powerful voice that he claims to have heard since childhood, he underwent a fast in Santiago, Chile. On this occasion, he says, the voice said in a rasping voice, "I am your Father", and revealed itself to be the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. This voice, he says, said that he was the same Christ crucified two thousand years ago under Pontius Pilate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Apollo Carreón Quiboloy (born 1950), is the founder and leader of the Philippines-based Restorationist church, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, who claims that Jesus Christ is the "Almighty Father," that Quiboloy is "His Appointed Son," and that salvation is now completed. Proclaims himself as the "Appointed Son of the God" not direct to the point as the "Begotten Son of the God" in 1985. The sect's main Cathedral is located in Davao City; his followers refer to their community as a "Kingdom Nation." They claim about 2 million "Kingdom citizens" abroad and 4 million in the Philippines.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- David Icke (born 1952) has described himself as "the son of God", and a "channel for the Christ spirit". He is an English writer, public speaker and a former professional footballer and sports broadcaster. He promotes conspiracy theories about global politics. In 1990, a psychic told him that he was a healer who had been placed on Earth for a purpose, and that the spirit world was going to pass messages to him. In March 1991 he held a press conference to announce that he was a "Son of the Godhead".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Brian David Mitchell was born on October 18, 1953 in Salt Lake City, Utah, he believed himself the fore-ordained angel born on earth to be the Davidic "servant" prepared by God as a type of Messiah who would restore the divinely led kingdom of Israel to the world in preparation for Christ's second coming. Mitchell is an American former street preacher convicted in United States Federal District Court in Utah for the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping following six years in psychiatric custody. He was sentenced to life in prison on May 25, 2011.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- David Koresh (Vernon Wayne Howell) (1959–1993) was the American leader of the Branch Davidians religious sect, believing himself to be its final prophet. In 1983, Koresh began claiming the gift of prophecy; he claimed to become a Christian in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, before joining a splinter group, based at the Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas. Here he competed for dominance with another leader named George Roden, until Roden was jailed for murdering another rival. But it was the serving of arrest and search warrants by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as part of an investigation into illegal possession of firearms and explosives that provoked the historic 1993 raid on the center. David Koresh died in the raid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Maria Devi Christos (born 1960), founder of the Great White Brotherhood. Tsvigun predicted the Time of Apocalypse and the coming of the Holy Spirit on November 10, 1993. The event was supposed to be accompanied by her sermons in the Sophia Cathedral. On the appointed day, the members of the Brotherhood stormed the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev and were arrested. In August 1997, Tsvigun was freed as a part of an amnesty on the 6th anniversary of the independence of Ukraine. Tsvigun changed her name to Victoria Victorovna Preobrazhenskaya. Under the name of Victoria, she started a new multidimensional project "Cosmic Poliart of the Third Millennium of Victoria Preobrazhenskaya" and tried to renew the Great White Brotherhood registration as a public organization, which was denied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- Sergey Torop (born 1961), who started to call himself "Vissarion", was founder of the Church of the Last Testament and the leader of spiritual community Ecopolis Tiberkul in Southern Siberia. Vissarion claims to be a reincarnation of Jesus. He teaches reincarnation, veganism, the impending end of the world (or at least of civilization as mankind knows it), and the belief of aliens. On August 18, 1990, when he was 29 years old, Vissarion claims that he had a revelation that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ. Today, he has over 10,000 followers worldwide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Alan John Miller (born 1962), a spiritual leader and founder of Divine Truth, established his religious movement in Australia in 2007. Alan John Miller claims to be Jesus of Nazareth through reincarnation, a revelation that occurred over a one-week period. Miller insists that he can remember everything that has happened over the last 2,000 years, including crucifixion and resurrection. Miller was formerly an elder in the Jehovah's Witnesses Church. Miller's spiritualist teachings about Divine Love, Divine Truth, Spiritual Spheres, The Hells, and the Law of Attraction appear earlier from James E. Padgett (1852-1923), and the prayer for divine love on Miller's website appeared in Padgett's writings in 1916. However, a Padgett website has posted numerous objections in denial of Miller's claim to be Jesus, and some of his teachings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- David Shayler (born 1965) is a former MI5 agent and whistleblower who declared himself the Messiah on 7 July 2007. Not only did he claim to be Jesus, Shayler believes he is the reincarnation of various historical figures. Following the release of the 9/11 Commission Report, David Shayler joined the 9/11 Truth Movement. In an article in the London Evening Standard in 2009, David Shayler further discussed the Messiah claim and revealed that he was living as a woman in a squat in Abinger Hammer, Surrey. Shayler has since told newspapers that his transvestite 'alter ego' is called 'Delores Kane'.
