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This is a list of notable people who have been said to be a
messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
, either by themselves or by their followers. The list is divided into categories, which are sorted according to date of birth (where known).
Jewish messiah claimants
In
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
, "messiah" originally meant a divinely appointed king, such as
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
,
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
or
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
. Later, especially after the failure of the
Hasmonean Kingdom
The Hasmonean dynasty (; he, ''Ḥašmōnaʾīm'') was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity, from BCE to 37 BCE. Between and BCE the dynasty ruled Judea semi-autonomously in the Seleucid Empire, an ...
(37 BC) and the
Jewish–Roman wars
The Jewish–Roman wars were a series of large-scale revolts by the Jews of the Eastern Mediterranean against the Roman Empire between 66 and 135 CE. The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) and the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE) were nati ...
(AD 66–135), the figure of the
Jewish messiah
The Messiah in Judaism () is a savior and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology, who is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jewish people. The concept of messianism originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible a messiah is a king or ...
was one who would deliver the
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
from
oppression
Oppression is malicious or unjust treatment or exercise of power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how it is practiced. Oppression refers to discrimination w ...
and usher in an
Olam Haba
Jewish eschatology is the area of Jewish theology concerned with events that will happen in the end of days and related concepts. This includes the ingathering of the exiled diaspora, the coming of a Jewish Messiah, afterlife, and the rev ...
("
world to come
The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or par ...
") or
Messianic Age
In Abrahamic religions, the Messianic Age is the future period of time on Earth in which the messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood, without any evil. Many believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the consu ...
.
However the term "false messiah" was largely absent from
rabbinic literature
Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...
. The first mention is in the
Sefer Zerubbabel
Sefer Zerubavel ( he, ספר זרובבל), also called the Book of Zerubbabel or the Apocalypse of Zerubbabel, is a medieval Hebrew apocalypse written at the beginning of the 7th century CE in the style of biblical visions (e.g. Daniel, Ezekiel) p ...
, from the mid-seventh century, which uses the term, ''mashiah sheker'', ("false messiah").
*
Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
(c. 4 BC – 30/33 AD), leader of a "marginal Jewish apocalyptic cult"
who was
crucified
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
by the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
for alleged
sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
and is believed by
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
to have been
resurrected. Jews who believed him to be the Messiah were originally called
Nazarenes and later they were known as
Jewish Christian
Jewish Christians ( he, יהודים נוצרים, yehudim notzrim) were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Judea during the late Second Temple period (first century AD). The Nazarene Jews integrated the belief of Jesus ...
s (the first Christians).
Baháʼís,
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
,
and
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
[Christianity at a glance](_blank)
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. Retrieved 19 December 2011. (including
Messianic Jews
Messianic Judaism ( he, or , ) is a modernist and syncretic movement of Protestant Christianity that incorporates some elements of Judaism and other Jewish traditions into evangelicalism.
It emerged in the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier ...
[
]) believe him to be the Messiah.
*
Dositheos the Samaritan (mid 1st century),
Origen
Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an Early Christianity, early Christian scholar, ...
wrote that Dositheos wished to persuade the
Samaritans
Samaritans (; ; he, שומרונים, translit=Šōmrōnīm, lit=; ar, السامريون, translit=as-Sāmiriyyūn) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samarit ...
that he was the
Jewish Messiah
The Messiah in Judaism () is a savior and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology, who is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jewish people. The concept of messianism originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible a messiah is a king or ...
who was prophesied by Moses, and classes him with
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
,
Theodas, and
Judas of Galilee
Judas of Galilee, or Judas of Gamala, was a Jewish leader who led resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in Judea Province around 6 CE. He encouraged Jews not to register and those that did had their houses burnt an ...
as people whom the Jews mistakenly held to be the Christ (Hom. xxv in Lucam; ''Contra Celsum'', I, lvii).
*
Simon bar Kokhba
Simon ben Koseba or Cosiba ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כֹסֵבָא, translit= Šīmʾōn bar Ḵōsēḇaʾ ; died 135 CE), commonly known as Bar Kokhba ( he, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר כּוֹכְבָא, translit=Šīmʾōn bar ...
, born Simon ben Koseva, (d. 135 AD) who led the apical
Bar Kokhba revolt
The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Judea (Roman province), Roman province of Judea, led b ...
against the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. For three years, bar Kokhba ruled as the ''nasi'', or prince, of a semi-independent secessionist state in Israel. Some rabbinical scholars, including the great sage
Akiva, proclaimed bar Kokhba as the Messiah. He died during the rebels' last stand at the fortress of
Betar
The Betar Movement ( he, תנועת בית"ר), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Chapters sprang up across Europe, even during World War II. After t ...
, after which the rebellion was brutally crushed and the land was left largely decimated, cementing both the slowly growing
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of t ...
and the
schism between Christianity and Judaism.
*
Shlomo Molcho, born Diogo Pires (1500-1532) in
Lisbon
Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
to parents who were
Jewish converts to Christianity. After meeting
David Reuveni
David Reubeni (1490–1535/1541?) was a Jewish political activist, described by the ''Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia'' as "half-mysticism, mystic, half-adventurer." Although some scholars are reluctant to believe his claims to nobility, citing ...
, he left his post as secretary to the king's council, traveled to
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
,
Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and later
Solonika, where he studied
kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
and became a
mystic. He was eventually reunited with Reuveni, declared his aspirations as messiah, and was finally burned at the stake by the
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V
Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...
, for refusing to convert back to Christianity.
*
Sabbatai Zevi
Sabbatai Zevi (; August 1, 1626 – c. September 17, 1676), also spelled Shabbetai Ẓevi, Shabbeṯāy Ṣeḇī, Shabsai Tzvi, Sabbatai Zvi, and ''Sabetay Sevi'' in Turkish, was a Jewish mystic and ordained rabbi from Smyrna (now İzmir, Turk ...
(alternative spellings: Shabbetai, Sabbetai, Shabbesai; Zvi, Tzvi) (b. at Smyrna 1626; d. at Dulcigno (present day
Ulcinj
Ulcinj ( cyrl, Улцињ, ; ) is a town on the southern coast of Montenegro and the capital of Ulcinj Municipality. It has an urban population of 10,707 (2011), the majority being Albanians.
As one of the oldest settlements in the Adriatic coast ...
) 1676), a
Sephardic
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...
ordained
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
from
Smyrna
Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...
(now
İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
, Turkey), who was active throughout the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and claimed to be the long-awaited Messiah. He was the founder of the
Sabbatean movement, whose followers subsequently were to be known as
Dönmeh
The Dönme ( he, דוֹנְמֶה, Dōnme, ota, دونمه, tr, Dönme) were a group of Sabbatean crypto-Jews in the Ottoman Empire who converted outwardly to Islam, but retained their Jewish faith and Kabbalistic beliefs in secret. The mo ...
"converts" or crypto-Jews - one of the most important messianic movements, whose influence was widespread throughout Jewry. His influence is felt even today. After his death, Sabbatai was followed by a line of putative followers who declared themselves Messiahs and are sometimes grouped as the "Sabbethaian Messiahs".
See also Combination messiah claimants below.
Christian messiah claimants
The Christian Bible states that
Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
will come again in some fashion; various people have claimed to, in fact, be the second coming of Jesus. Others have styled themselves new messiahs under the umbrella of Christianity.
The
Synoptic gospels
The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...
(Matthew 24:4, 6, 24; Mark 13:5, 21-22; and Luke 21:3) all use the term ''pseudochristos'' for messianic pretenders.
*
Ann Lee
Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers.
After nearly two decades of participation in a r ...
(1736–1784), a central figure to the
Shakers
The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...
, who thought she "embodied all the perfections of God" in female form and considered herself to be Christ's female counterpart in 1772.
*
John Nichols Thom
John Nichols Tom (sometimes spelt Thom; 1799 – 31 May 1838) was a Cornish wine-merchant and maltster who re-invented himself as Sir William Courtenay, stood for parliament in Canterbury, was convicted of perjury in a smuggling case, spent thr ...
(1799–1838), who had achieved fame and followers as Sir William Courtenay and adopted the claim of Messiah after a period in a mental institute.
*
Abd-ru-shin (Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, 18 April 1875 – 6 December 1941), founder of the
Grail Movement.
*
Lou de Palingboer
Lou de Palingboer (19 February 1898 - 23 March 1968) was the founder and figurehead of a new religious movement in the Netherlands.
Information
Lou was born Louwrens Voorthuijzen in Breezand. He had a strong religious interest from an early age, ...
(Louwrens Voorthuijzen)
(1898-1968), a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
charismatic leader who claimed to be God as well as the Messiah from 1950 until his death in 1968.
*
Father Divine
Father Divine (September 10, 1965), also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African-American spiritual leader from about 1907 until his death in 1965. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "t ...
(George Baker) (c. 1880 –1965), an
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
spiritual leader from about 1907 until his death, who claimed to be God.
*
André Matsoua (1899–1942),
Congolese founder of
Amicale, proponents of which subsequently adopted him as Messiah in the late 1920s.
*
Samael Aun Weor
Samael Aun Weor ( he, סמאל און ואור; March 6, 1917 – December 24, 1977), born Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez, was a spiritual teacher and author of over sixty books of esoteric spirituality. He taught and formed groups under the ...
(1917–1977), born Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez,
Colombian citizen and later
Mexican, was an author, lecturer and founder of the '
Universal Christian Gnostic Movement', according to him, 'the most powerful movement ever founded'. By 1972, he referenced that his death and resurrection would occur before 1978.
*
Ahn Sahng-hong
Ahn Sahng-hong (
; 13 January 1918 – 25 February 1985) was a South Korean Christian minister and founder of the Church of God Jesus Witnesses. In 1948, after receiving the baptism of the Seventh-day Adventist priest, he began to call for ...
(1918–1985), founder of the
World Mission Society Church of God
The World Mission Society Church of God is a new religious movement that is influenced by the Church of God (Seventh-Day) and originated in South Korea in 1964.James, Jonathan D., Edith Cowan University, editor"The Southern Factor: Prospects and C ...
and worshiped by the members as the Messiah.
*
Sun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon (; born Yong Myung Moon; 6 January 1920 – 3 September 2012) was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for conservative political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unif ...
(1920–2012), founder and leader of the
Unification Church
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...
established in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, who considered himself the
Second Coming of Christ
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...
, but not Jesus himself.
[Moon At Twilight: Amid scandal, the Unification Church has a strange new mission]
Peter Maass
Peter Maass (born 1960) is an American journalist and author.
Life and career
Maass was born in Los Angeles and graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. He has worked for ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Wa ...
''New Yorker Magazine
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', September 14, 1998. "Moon sees the essence of his own mission as completing the one given to Jesus--establishing a "true family" untouched by Satan while teaching all people to lead a God-centered life under his spiritual leadership."..."Although Moon often predicts in his sermons that a breakthrough is near, Moffitt realizes that Moon may not come to be seen as the messiah in his lifetime." It is generally believed by Unification Church members (
"Moonies") that he was the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
and the
Second Coming of Christ
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...
and was anointed to fulfill Jesus' unfinished mission.
*
Cho Hee-Seung
Cho or CHO may refer to:
People
* Chief Happiness Officer
Surnames
* Cho (Korean surname), one romanization of the common Korean surname
* Zhuo (), romanized Cho in Wade–Giles, Chinese surname
* Cho, a Minnan romanization of the Chinese sur ...
(1931-2004) founder of the
Victory Altar
The Victory Altar (Korean ''SeungNiJeDan'') is a Christianity, Christian new religious movement founded in South Korea in 1981. It teaches that Jesus Christ was a false messiah and that the real Christ is its founder, Cho Hee-Seung (1931–2004), ...
New Religious Movement, which refers to him as “the Victor Christ” and “God incarnated”. Died in the midst of a series of legal battles in which he was alternately convicted and acquitted on charges fraud and instigation of the murders of multiple opponents.
*
Yahweh ben Yahweh
Yahweh ben Yahweh (born Hulon Mitchell Jr.; October 27, 1935 – May 7, 2007) was an American religious leader, Black separatist and founder of the Nation of Yahweh, a new religious movement headquartered in Florida that had thousands of Blac ...
(1935–2007), born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr., a
black nationalist
Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race (human categorization), race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black natio ...
and
separatist
Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...
who created the
Nation of Yahweh
The Nation of Yahweh is predominantly a Black Hebrew Israelite religious movement which was founded in 1979 in Miami by Hulon Mitchell Jr., who went by the name Yahweh ben Yahweh. (Yahweh is the proper name of the Abrahamic god, so Yahweh ben Ya ...
and allegedly orchestrated the murder of dozens of people.
*
Laszlo Toth
Laszlo Toth ( hu, Tóth László; born 1 July 1938) is a Hungarian-born Australian geologist. He achieved worldwide notoriety when he vandalised Michelangelo's ''Pietà'' statue on 21 May 1972. He was not charged with a criminal offence aft ...
(born 1938) claimed he was Jesus Christ as he battered
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
's ''
Pieta'' with a geologist hammer.
*
Wayne Bent
The Lord Our Righteousness Church, sometimes called Strong City, is a religious community near Clayton, New Mexico, Clayton, Union County, New Mexico. It originated with a group of about eighty adherents who migrated to the area from Sandpoint, Ida ...
(born 1941), also known as Michael Travesser of the
Lord Our Righteousness Church
The Lord Our Righteousness Church, sometimes called Strong City, is a religious community near Clayton, Union County, New Mexico. It originated with a group of about eighty adherents who migrated to the area from Sandpoint, Idaho in 2000. In 2008 ...
, also known as the "Strong City Cult", 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
, also known as or was a Japanese political activist known for his perennial candidacy. He was the leader and founder of the World Economic Community Party ().
He was born in Ginowan, Okinawa on February 5, 1944. After graduating from Chuo Univ ...
(1944-2018); in 1997 he established the World Economic Community Party based on his conviction that he was God and the Christ.
*
Jung Myung Seok (born 1945), a
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n who was a member of the
Unification Church
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or "Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Spi ...
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
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...
, but not Jesus himself. 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
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
is false but that people can be saved through him.
*
Claude Vorilhon, now known as
Raël
Raël (born Claude Maurice Marcel Vorilhon, 30 September 1946)[Cult leader Raël ...](_blank)
"messenger of the Elohim" (born 1946), a
French professional test driver and former car journalist who became founder and leader of
UFO religion
A UFO religion is any religion in which the existence of extraterrestrial (ET) entities operating unidentified flying objects (UFOs) is an element of belief. Typically, adherents of such religions believe the ETs to be interested in the welfar ...
the
Raël Movement in 1972. Raëlism teaches that
life on Earth Life on Earth may refer to:
Science
* Life
* Earliest known life forms
* Evolutionary history of life
** Abiogenesis
Film and television
* ''Life on Earth'' (film) (''La Vie Sur Terre''), a 1998 Malian film
* ''Life on Earth'' (TV series), a 197 ...
was scientifically created by a species of
extraterrestrials, which they call
Elohim
''Elohim'' (: ), the plural of (), is a Hebrew word meaning "gods". Although the word is plural, in the Hebrew Bible it usually takes a singular verb and refers to a single deity, particularly (but not always) the God of Israel. At other times ...
. He claimed he met an extraterrestrial humanoid in 1973 and became the Messiah.
[Raël, ''Intelligent Design''.] He then devoted himself to the task he said he was given by his "biological father", an extraterrestrial named
Yahweh
Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...
.
[Raël, ''Intelligent Design''; 290-1.]
*
José Luis de Jesús
José Luis de Jesús Miranda (April 22, 1946 – November 17, 2013) was the leader of the Creciendo en Gracia cult, based in Miami, Florida. He claimed to be both the returned phase of Jesus Christ and the Antichrist; he was known for making st ...
(1946–2013), founder and leader of ''Creciendo en Gracia'' sect (Growing In Grace International Ministry, Inc.), based in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. He claimed to be both Jesus Christ returned and the
Antichrist
In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist (including one plural form) 1 John ; . 2 John . ...
, and exhibited a "
666
666 may refer to:
* 666 (number)
* 666 BC, a year
* AD 666, a year
* The number of the beast, a reference in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament
Places
* 666 Desdemona, a minor planet in the asteroid belt
* U.S. Route 666, an America ...
" tattoo on his forearm. He has referred to himself as ''Jesucristo Hombre'', which translates to "Jesus Christ made Man".
*
Inri Cristo
Álvaro Thais (; March 22, 1948) is a Brazilian astrologer, better known as Inri Cristo () who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus. He later moved to Curitiba, where he became famous as a persona in comedy television programs, getting to par ...
(born 1948) of
Indaial
Indaial is a city in the States of Brazil, state of Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, Brazil. It is located on the left bank of Itajaí-Açu River, Itajaí River, and 160 km from the capital of the state, Florianópolis.
The city is of ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, a claimant to be the second Jesus.
*
Apollo Quiboloy (born 1950), founder and leader of the
Kingdom of Jesus Christ religious group, who claims that Jesus Christ is the "Almighty Father," that Quiboloy is "His Appointed Son," and that salvation is now completed. He proclaims himself to be the "Appointed Son of God".
*
Brian David Mitchell
Elizabeth Ann Smart was kidnapped at age fourteen on June 5, 2002, by Brian David Mitchell from her home in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. She was held captive by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, on the outskirts ...
, (born 1953 in
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
), believed himself the
fore-ordained angel born on earth to be the
Davidic
The Davidic line or House of David () refers to the lineage of the Israelite king David through texts in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and through the succeeding centuries.
According to the Bible, David, of the Tribe of Judah, was the t ...
"servant" prepared by God as a type of
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
who would restore the divinely led
kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
of
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
to the world in preparation for Christ's
second coming
The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messi ...
. Mitchell's belief in such an
end-times figure – also known among many
fundamentalist Latter Day Saints as "the
One Mighty and Strong
The One Mighty and Strong is the subject of an 1832 prophecy by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. The prophecy echoes and parallels the words and prophecies contained in Isaiah 28:2 and Isaiah 11:11; 2 Nephi 3:21-25. ...
" – appeared to be based in part on a reading of the biblical
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BC ...
by the independent
LDS
LDS may refer to:
Organizations
* LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion
* Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups
**The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within t ...
Hebraist
A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...
,
Avraham Gileadi, with whom Mitchell became familiar as a result of his previous participation in Stirling Allan's American Study Group.
*
Ante Pavlović (1957 - 2020), was Croatian self-proclaimed chiropractor who claimed to be reincarnation of Jesus Christ and "a Christ who came", about to become president of Croatia.
![Dr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Dr._Ante_Pavlovi%C4%87.jpg)
*
David Koresh
David Koresh (; born Vernon Wayne Howell; August 17, 1959 – April 19, 1993) was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993. As the head of the Branch Davidians, a religious sect and offshoot of the Davidian Sev ...
(Vernon Wayne Howell) (1959–1993), leader of the
Branch Davidians
The Branch Davidians (or the General Association of Branch Davidian Seventh-day Adventists) were an apocalyptic new religious movement founded in 1955 by Benjamin Roden. They regard themselves as a continuation of the General Association of ...
, renaming himself in honor of
King David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and
Cyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
. He and his followers were killed after a
ATF
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...
raid and
siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
which ended with their compound catching fire.
*
Maria Devi Christos
Marina Tsvigun ( ua, Марина Цвігун), or Maria Devi Christos by assumed name, (born 1960) is a religious sect leader of the New Community of Enlightened Humanity, also known as "YUSMALOS" (YUS - Youann Swami KA Yuri Krivonogov, her co- ...
(born 1960), leader of the
Great White Brotherhood popular in the
former Soviet Union
The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...
.
*
Sergey Torop (born 1961), who started to call himself "Vissarion", founder of the
Church of the Last Testament and the spiritual community
Ecopolis Tiberkul in
Southern Siberia
South Central Siberia is a geographical region north of the point where Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia come together.
Regions of Asia
North Asia
The Four Corners
At approximately , the borders of Russia, China, Mongolia and Kaza ...
.
*
Alan John Miller
Divine Truth is a movement based in Queensland, Australia, taught by Alan John Miller, also known as A.J., who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus of Nazareth, and his partner, Mary Suzanne Luck, who claims to be the reincarnation of Mary ...
(born 1962), founder of
Divine Truth
Divine Truth is a movement based in Queensland, Australia, taught by Alan John Miller, also known as A.J., who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, and his partner, Mary Suzanne Luck, who claims to be the reincarnation of ...
, a new religious movement based in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Also known as A.J. Miller, he claims to be Jesus of Nazareth through reincarnation. Miller was formerly an
elder in the
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
.
See also Combination messiah claimants below.
Muslim messiah claimants
Islamic tradition has a prophecy of the
Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
, who will come alongside the return of
Isa (Jesus).
*
Muhammad Jaunpuri
Mohammed Mehdi Mauood, Jaunpuri ( ur, ; 9 September 1443 – 23 April 1505), was a Muslim mystic and self-proclaimed Mahdi and founded the breakaway Mahdavia sect. Hailing from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh Jaunpuri traveled extensively throughout I ...
(1443–1505), who traveled
Northeastern India
, native_name_lang = mni
, settlement_type =
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, motto =
, image_map = Northeast india.png
, ...
; he influenced the
Mahdavia
Mahdavia ( ar, مهدوي ''mahdavi'') or Mahdavism is an Islamic movement founded by Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri in India in the late 15th century. Syed Muhammad claimed to be Mahdi at the holy city of Mecca, in front of the Kaaba in 1496, and ...
and the
Zikris
Mahdavia ( ar, مهدوي ''mahdavi'') or Mahdavism is an Islamic movement founded by Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri in India in the late 15th century. Syed Muhammad claimed to be Mahdi at the holy city of Mecca, in front of the Kaaba in 1496, an ...
.
*
Báb
The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...
(1819–1850), who declared himself to be the promised Mahdi in
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As o ...
,
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, in 1844. His followers became Baha'is and claim that, among religions which expect a pair of messengers, he is the first of that pair. (Related to Baháʼí claims—see Combination messiah claimants section below.)
*
Baháʼu'lláh
Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
, Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri,(1817-1892). See Combination messiah claimants section below.
*
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphoric ...
of
Qadian
Qadian (; ; ) is a city and a municipal council in Gurdaspur district, north-east of Amritsar, situated north-east of Batala city in the state of Punjab, India.
Qadian is the birthplace of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the Ahmadiyya m ...
, India (1835–1908), proclaimed himself to be both the expected Mahdi and
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
,
[Andrea Lathan (2008]
‘The Relativity of Categorizing in the Context of the Aḥmadiyya’
''Die Welt des Islams'', 48 (3/4): 376 being the only person in
Islamic history
The history of Islam concerns the political, social, economic, military, and cultural developments of the Islamic civilization. Most historians believe that Islam originated in Mecca and Medina at the start of the 7th century CE. Muslims r ...
who claimed to be both. Crucially, however, he claimed that Jesus had died a natural death after surviving crucifixion,
and that prophecies concerning his future advent referred to the Mahdi himself bearing the qualities and character of Jesus rather than to his physical return alongside the Mahdi. He founded the
Ahmadiyya Movement
Ahmadiyya (, ), officially the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community or the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at (AMJ, ar, الجماعة الإسلامية الأحمدية, al-Jamāʿah al-Islāmīyah al-Aḥmadīyah; ur, , translit=Jamā'at Aḥmadiyyah Musl ...
in 1889 envisioning it to be the rejuvenation of Islam. Adherents of the Ahmadiyya movement claim to be strictly Muslim, but are widely viewed by other Muslim groups as either disbelievers or heretics.
*
Muhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad ( ar, محمد أحمد ابن عبد الله; 12 August 1844 – 22 June 1885) was a Nubian Sufi religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, as a youth, studied Sunni Islam. In 1881, he claimed to be the Mahdi, an ...
("The Mad Mahdi") (1844–1885), who declared himself the Mahdi in 1881, defeated the
Ottoman Egyptian authority, and founded the
Mahdist Sudan
The Mahdist State, also known as Mahdist Sudan or the Sudanese Mahdiyya, was a state based on a religious and political movement launched in 1881 by Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah (later Muhammad al-Mahdi) against the Khedivate of Egypt, which had ...
.
*
Sayyid Mohammed Abdullah Hassan (1864–1920), who led the
Dervish State
The Dervish Movement ( so, Dhaqdhaqaaqa Daraawiish) was a popular movement between 1899 and 1920, which was led by the Salihiyya Sufi Muslim poet and militant leader Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, also known as Sayyid Mohamed, who called for independe ...
in present-day
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
in a two-decade long resistance movement against the
Ethiopian
Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...
,
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, and
Italian Empire
The Italian colonial empire ( it, Impero coloniale italiano), known as the Italian Empire (''Impero Italiano'') between 1936 and 1943, began in Africa in the 19th century and comprised the colonies, protectorates, concessions and dependencie ...
s between 1900 and 1920.
*
Juhayman al-Otaybi (1936–1980), who
seized the
Grand Mosque in
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red ...
in November 1979 and declared his brother-in-law the Mahdi.
*
Hasan Mezarcı (11 May 1954), conservative Islamist politician and member of the
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...
(1991-1995) who was expelled from the
Welfare Party
The Welfare Party ( tr, Refah Partisi, RP) was an Islamist political party in Turkey. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal, and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, National Order Party (MNP) and Nationa ...
and imprisoned for his extreme view against
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations.
Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...
. He claimed to be
Isa himself after his imprisonment.
*
Adnan Oktar
Adnan Oktar (; born 2 February 1956), also known as Adnan Hoca or Harun Yahya, is a Turkish religious sex cult leader, creationist/ anti-evolutionist, conspiracy theorist, preacher and pamphleteer.Filiu, ''Apocalypse in Islam'', 2011: p.171 I ...
(2 February 1956), an
Islamic creationist cult leader, active in
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
since 1979. He believes himself to be the
Islamic Messiah and focuses his brand of Islam on close reading of the Quran, with dramatic presentations similar to Christian televangelism, and is the author of ''
The Atlas of Creation
''The Atlas of Creation'' (or, in Turkish, ''Yaratılış Atlası'') is a series of creationist books written by Adnan Oktar under the pen name ''Harun Yahya''. Oktar published volume 1 of ''The Atlas of Creation'' with Global Publishing, Istanb ...
''.
See also Combination messiah claimants below.
Zoroastrian Messiah claimants
*
Bahram Chobin
Bahrām Chōbīn ( fa, بهرام چوبین) or Wahrām Chōbēn ( Middle Persian: ), also known by his epithet Mehrbandak ("servant of Mithra"), was a nobleman, general, and political leader of the late Sasanian Empire and briefly its ruler as ...
, after he usurped the throne of the
Sassanian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
, declared himself to be the Messiah in the midst of the eschatological times of the late 6th century AD
Combination messiah claimants
This list features people who are said, either by themselves or their followers, to be the messianic fulfillment of two or more religious traditions.
*
Baháʼu'lláh
Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
, Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri, (1817–1892), born
Shiite
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
, adopting
Bábism
Bábism (a.k.a. the Bábí Faith; fa, بابیه, translit=Babiyye) is a religion founded in 1844 by the Báb (b. ʻAli Muhammad), an Iranian merchant turned prophet who taught that there is one incomprehensible God who manifests his will in ...
in 1844 (see "Bab" in Muslim messiah claimants section above). In 1863, he claimed to be the promised one of all religions, and founded the
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...
. He claimed to be the fulfillment of the prophecies of the coming of a promised figure found in all 6 of the major prophetic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism and Buddhism) as noted in the authoritative history of the
Baha'i Faith
Baha (also transliterated as Bahaa, ar, بهاء) may refer to:
People
* Baha (name)
Places
*Al Bahah, a city in Saudi Arabia
Trademark
* Cochlear Baha, a hearing aid manufactured by Cochlear
Title
* Al-Muqtana Baha'uddin (979–1043), Druze ...
. He also claimed to be the prophet predicted by the Bab (see Muslim messiah claimants section above) as "He Whom God shall make manifest" His followers have also claimed that his coming fulfilled prophecies of various smaller (often native) religions.
*
Jiddu Krishnamurti
Jiddu Krishnamurti (; 11 May 1895 – 17 February 1986) was a philosopher, speaker and writer. In his early life, he was groomed to be the new World Teacher, an advanced spiritual position in the theosophical tradition, but later rejected thi ...
(1895-1986) in 1909 renounced the status of Messiah and
Maitreya
Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...
incarnation given him by the
Theosophical Society
The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...
.
*
Peter Deunov
Peter Dunoff ( ; bg, Петър Дънов ; July 11, 1864 – December 27, 1944), also known by his spiritual name Beinsa Douno ( bg, Беинса Дуно, links=no ), and often called the Master by his followers, was a Bulgarian philosopher an ...
Bulgarian white brotherhood sect leader
*
Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi
Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi ( ur, ) (born 25 November 1941) is a spiritual leader and founder of the spiritual movements ''RAGS International'' (now known as Messiah Foundation International) and ''Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam''.
He is the author ...
(born 25 November 1941) is a spiritual leader and the founder of the spiritual movements
Messiah Foundation International (MFI) and ''Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam''.
He is controversial for being declared the
Mehdi Mehdi () is a common Arabic masculine given name, meaning "rightly guided". People having the name Mehdi are in general originating from Iran mostly and sometimes India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, France, Morocco, Algeria, ...
,
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
, and
Kalki Avatar
Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exis ...
by the MFI.
[
]
*
Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda (1946–2013), a
Puerto Rican preacher who had claimed to be both "the Man Jesus Christ" and the Antichrist at the same time. He claimed he was indwelled with the same spirit that dwelled in Jesus; however, Miranda also contradicted his claims of being Christ incarnate by also claiming he was the Antichrist, even going as far as tattooing the
number of the beast (666) on his forearm, a behavior his followers also adopted. Founder of the "Growing in Grace" ministries, Miranda died on August 14, 2013, due to liver cancer.
*
Ryuho Okawa (born 7 July 1956), is the founder of
Happy Science
, formerly known as The Institute for Research in Human Happiness, is a controversial new religious and spiritual movement, which has been characterized as a cult.
The Happy Science group includes a publication division called IRH Press, sch ...
in Japan. Okawa claims to channel the spirits of Muhammad, Christ, Buddha and Confucius and to be the incarnation of the supreme spiritual being called El Cantare.
Other messiah claimants
This list features people who have been said, either by themselves or their followers, to be some form of a messiah that do not easily fit into only Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
*
Cyrus Teed
Cyrus Reed Teed (October 18, 1839 – December 22, 1908) was a U.S. eclectic physician and alchemist turned pseudoscientific religious leader and self-proclaimed messiah. In 1869, claiming divine inspiration, Teed took on the name Koresh and pr ...
(1839–1908), proponent of the
Hollow Earth
The Hollow Earth is a concept proposing that the planet Earth is entirely hollow or contains a substantial interior space. Notably suggested by Edmond Halley in the late 17th century, the notion was disproven, first tentatively by Pierre Bougue ...
theory who created a distinct model in which the world is an inverted sphere that the rest of universe can be seen from by looking inward and claimed to be the incarnation of Jesus Christ after being electrocuted when attempting to practice
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
with doses of magnetism during 1869.
![Selassie restored](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Selassie_restored.jpg)
*
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Haile Selassie I
Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia ('' ...
of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
(1892–1975),
Emperor of Ethiopia
The emperor of Ethiopia ( gez, ንጉሠ ነገሥት, nəgusä nägäst, "King of Kings"), also known as the Atse ( am, ዐፄ, "emperor"), was the hereditary monarchy, hereditary ruler of the Ethiopian Empire, from at least the 13th century ...
and Messiah of the
Rastafari movement
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control o ...
. Never claimed himself to be Messiah, but was thus proclaimed by
Leonard Howell
Leonard Percival Howell (16 June 1898 – 23 January 1981), also known as The Gong or G.G. Maragh (for ''Gangun Guru''), was a Jamaican religious figure. According to his biographer Hélène Lee, Howell was born into an Anglican family. He was one ...
, amongst others.
*
André Matsoua (1899–1942),
Congolese founder of
Amicale, proponents of which subsequently adopted him as Messiah.
*
Samael Aun Weor
Samael Aun Weor ( he, סמאל און ואור; March 6, 1917 – December 24, 1977), born Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez, was a spiritual teacher and author of over sixty books of esoteric spirituality. He taught and formed groups under the ...
(1917–1977), born Víctor Manuel Gómez Rodríguez, Colombian citizen and later Mexican, was an author, lecturer and founder of the Universal Christian Gnostic Movement. By 1972, Samael Aun Weor referenced that his death and resurrection would be occurring before 1978.
*
Nirmala Srivastava
Nirmala Srivastava (née Nirmala Salve; 21 March 192323 February 2011), also known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, was the founder and guru of Sahaja Yoga, a new religious movement sometimes classified as a cult. She claimed to have been born fully ...
(1923–2011),
guru
Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverentia ...
of
Sahaja Yoga
Sahaja Yoga (सहज योग) is a religion founded in 1970 by Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011). Nirmala Srivastava is known as Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi (trans: ''Revered Immaculate Mother'') or, simply, as "Mother" by her followers, who a ...
, proclaimed herself to be the
Comforter
A comforter (in American English), also known as a doona in Australian English, or a continental quilt (or simply quilt) or duvet in British English, is a type of bedding made of two lengths of fabric or covering sewn together and filled with in ...
promised by Jesus (that is, the incarnation of the Holy Ghost / Adi Shakti).
*
Raël
Raël (born Claude Maurice Marcel Vorilhon, 30 September 1946)[Cult leader Raël ...](_blank)
, founder and leader of
Raëlism
Raëlism, also known as Raëlianism or Raelian Movement is a UFO religion founded in 1970s France by Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël. Scholars of religion classify Raëlism as a new religious movement. The group is formalised as the Inte ...
(born 30 September 1946); Rael claimed he met an extraterrestrial being in 1973 and became the Messiah.
*
World Teacher (unknown), a being claimed to be the
Theosophical Maitreya and the
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
(promised one) of all religions. He is said to have descended from the
higher planes
Higher may refer to:
Music
* The Higher, a 2002–2012 American pop rock band
Albums
* ''Higher'' (Ala Boratyn album) or the title song, 2007
* ''Higher'' (Ezio album) or the title song, 2000
* ''Higher'' (Harem Scarem album) or the title song ...
and manifested a physical body in early 1977 in the
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, then on 19 July 1977 he is said to have taken a commercial
airplane
An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...
flight from
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. He is currently said to be living in secret in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
;
promoted by New Age activist
Benjamin Creme
Benjamin Creme (5 December 1922 − 24 October 2016) was a Scottish artist, author, esotericist, and editor of ''Share International'' magazine.
He asserted that the second coming, prophesied by many religions, would come in the form of ''Ma ...
and his organization,
Share International
Share International Foundation is a non-profit religious organization founded by Benjamin Creme (1922–2016) with its main offices in London, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Berkeley, California. Melton J. Gordon, Gale Research Inc, Jerome Clark, Aidan A. ...
(See
Maitreya (Benjamin Creme)
Benjamin Creme (5 December 1922 − 24 October 2016) was a Scottish artist, author, esotericist, and editor of '' Share International'' magazine.
He asserted that the second coming, prophesied by many religions, would come in the form of ''M ...
).
*
David Icke
David Vaughan Icke (; born 29 April 1952) is an English conspiracy theorist and a former footballer and sports broadcaster. He has written over 20 books, self-published since the mid-1990s, and spoken in more than 25 countries.
In 1990, Icke ...
(born 29 April 1952),
New Age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
conspiracy theorist who came up with the idea of
Draconians and claimed to be the "son of God" during an interview on
Wogan
''Wogan'' is a British television talk show which was broadcast on BBC1 from 1982 until 1992, presented by Terry Wogan. It was usually broadcast live from the BBC Television Theatre in Shepherd's Bush, London, until 1991. It was then broadcast ...
in 1991.
*
Shoko Asahara
, born , was the founder and leader of the Japanese doomsday cult known as Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the deadly 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, and was also involved in several other crimes. Asahara was sentenced ...
(1955–2018), the founder of the Japanese
doomsday-cult group
Aum Shinrikyo
, formerly , is a Japanese doomsday cult founded by Shoko Asahara in 1987. It carried out the deadly Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 and was found to have been responsible for the Matsumoto sarin attack the previous year.
The group says tha ...
. In 1992 Asahara published ''Declaring Myself the Christ'', within which he declared himself Christ, Japan's only fully enlightened master, and identified with the Lamb of God. Following the
Tokyo subway sarin attack
The was an act of domestic terrorism perpetrated on 20 March 1995, in Tokyo, Japan, by members of the cult movement Aum Shinrikyo. In five coordinated attacks, the perpetrators released sarin on three lines of the Tokyo Metro (then ''Teito Rapi ...
of 1995, Asahara was arrested and executed by hanging in 2018.
*
Ezra Miller
Ezra Matthew Miller (born September 30, 1992) is an American actor. Their feature film debut was in '' Afterschool'' (2008), which they followed by starring in the drama '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2011) and '' The Perks of Being a Wallf ...
(b. 1992), an actor, has claimed to be Jesus, the next Messiah, and the
devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
, saying they would bring about a Native American revolution.
See also
*
List of avatar claimants
This is a list of notable people who have explicitly claimed and are considered by others to be the Avatars of the Supreme Being or of a more limited expansion of Ishvara or other expression of divinity. This list does not include the traditional ...
*
List of Buddha claimants
This is a list of notable people who have claimed to have attained enlightenment and become buddhas, claimed to be manifestations of bodhisattvas, identified themselves as Gautama Buddha or Maitreya Buddha, or been honored as buddhas or bodhisattv ...
*
False prophet
In religion, a false prophet is a person who falsely claims the gift of prophecy or divine inspiration, or to speak for God, or who makes such claims for evil ends. Often, someone who is considered a "true prophet" by some people is simultaneou ...
*
Jerusalem syndrome
Jerusalem syndrome is a group of mental phenomena involving the presence of religiously themed obsessive ideas, delusions, or other psychosis-like experiences that are triggered by a visit to the city of Jerusalem. It is not endemic to one single ...
*
List of people who have been considered deities
This is a list of notable people who were considered deities by themselves or others.
Imperial cults and cults of personality
Posthumous deification
Involuntary deification
Self-deification
See also
* Advaita Vedanta
* Apotheosis
* A ...
*
Messiah complex
A messiah complex (Christ complex or savior complex) is a state of mind in which an individual holds a belief that they are destined to become a savior today or in the near future. The term can also refer to a state of mind in which an individual ...
*
Messianic Age
In Abrahamic religions, the Messianic Age is the future period of time on Earth in which the messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood, without any evil. Many believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the consu ...
*
Messianism
Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Messianism originated as a Zoroastrianism religious belief and followed to Abrahamic religions, but other religions have messianism-related concepts ...
References
Other sources
* Hogue, John ''Messiahs: The Visions and Prophecies for the Second Coming'' (1999) Elements Books
* ''
Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
'', a public-domain work hosted a
www.jewishencyclopedia.com/
Messianism, *
Messiah claimants