Thursday, April 19, 2007

Miami pastor sports '666' tattoo; claims to be Antichrist, 'the best person in the world'

Previously posted on Feb. 19. Moved back to the top to reflect the 4/19/07 update.

Just what we need, another reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

And of course, like the Original, this one is pissing off other religious leaders. He's already being compared to Jim Jones and David Koresh, though no one's drinking Kool-Aid® or marrying eleven-year olds quite yet.

Not only does Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda, or "Daddy" as his thousands of followers call him, sport a "666" tattoo, he claims to be God.

"The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth," de Jesus says.

The "mark of the devil" and a God-complex.... Ah, the Pharisees and Sadduces, the Catholics and the Baptists will all have a field day with this man. Already branded as a "cult-leader" by cult experts Rick Ross and Prof. Daniel Alvarez, de Jesus is poised to soon become famous. He has appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 [watch video on YouTube] recently, and NBC's Today Show (where he referred to himself as "Jesus Christ Man") several months ago. CNN published yet another article about him today.

De Jesus is proud of his 666 tattoo, saying not only has the Anti-Christ been misunderstood, but that he is the Anti-Christ. The Antichrist is not the devil, de Jesus tells his congregation; he's the being who replaces Jesus on Earth.

"Antichrist is the best person in the world," he says. "Antichrist means don't put your eyes on Jesus because Jesus of Nazareth wasn't a Christian. Antichrist means do not put your eyes on Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Put it on Jesus after the cross."

Apparently his particular "vision" is working. He was born poor in Puerto Rico 61 years ago, has survived prisons stints for petty theft, and is a former heroin addict. His church, which boasts "thousands of members in more than 30 countries," pays him a $136,000 per year salary. He sports Rolex watches and drives BMWs and Lexuses, which he says are gifts from members. He formed the group "Growing in Grace" in the 1980s, after his 1973 epiphany in which the resurrected Christ "integrated himself within me."

His church members love him. Last week, 30 of them gathered in Miami to go en masse to a tattoo parlor to get their very own "666" tats.

UPDATE Thurs., April 19: The Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have banned Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda from entering their countries. Miranda was scheduled to be in Guatemala on April 21 and 22 to celebrate his 61st birthday with his followers. Thanks to Jennifer Emick at altreligion.about.com for the heads-up on this update.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't believe this is actually happening. The bible totally predicts people like this to pop up in "the last days." i guess i never really thought it would come true...but, it's real - false prophets like this guy saying they're Jesus/God. and i don't get how people can be so deceived and mindless??? i just don't get it..

Anonymous said...

If De Jesus is truly 'God', why does he have to ride in armored vehicles?
Is God not the Alpha & Omega, Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent?

The Bible speaks about false teachers... 1 Timothy 1: 3-10

v6: Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. 7They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

Anders Branderud said...

There is easy way to test a prophet. That way was taught by Ribi Yehoshua and is also found in Devarim (“Deuteronomy”) 13:1-6.

I think that the website www.netzarim.co.il will be of interest to you. It contains logical and scientific research about Ribi Yehoshua (the Messiah) from Nazareth and what he taught.

Anders Branderud

Anonymous said...

If he says he is the real Jesus he is contradicting himself. As the prophecy haven't been completed.
Deuteronomy 13:12-14
Revelation 22:19