Just saw this on TV: Pastor with 666 tattoo claiming to be Jesus

[TheMilstead]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/16/mia...her/index.html
Picture needed for full effect:

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm.
But Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or "Daddy" as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he is God.
"The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth," de Jesus says.
De Jesus' claims of divinity have angered Christian leaders, who say he is a fake. Religious experts say he may be something much more dangerous, a cult leader who really believes he is God. (Watch followers get 666 tattoos for their leader Video)
"He's in their heads, he's inside the heads of those people," says Prof. Daniel Alvarez, a religion expert at Florida International University who has debated some of de Jesus' followers.
"De Jesus speaks with a kind of conviction that makes me consider him more like David Koresh or Jim Jones."
Is de Jesus really a cult leader like David Koresh, who died with more than 70 of his Branch Davidian followers in a fiery end to a standoff with federal authorities, or Jim Jones, the founder of the Peoples Temple who committed mass suicide with 900 followers in 1978?
Prophets 'spoke to me'
De Jesus and his believers say their church -- "Creciendo en Gracia," Spanish for "Growing in grace" -- is misunderstood. Followers of the movement say they have proof that their minister is divine and that their church will one day soon be a major faith in the world.
But even de Jesus concedes that he is an unlikely leader of a church that claims thousands of members in more than 30 countries.
De Jesus, 61, grew up poor in Puerto Rico. He says he served stints in prison there for petty theft and says he was a heroin addict.
De Jesus says he learned he was Jesus reincarnate when he was visited in a dream by angels.
"The prophets, they spoke about me. It took me time to learn that, but I am what they were expecting, what they have been expecting for 2,000 years," de Jesus says.
The church that he began building 20 years ago in Miami resembles no other:
# Followers have protested Christian churches in Miami and Latin America, disrupting services and smashing crosses and statues of Jesus.
# De Jesus preaches there is no devil and no sin. His followers, he says, literally can do no wrong in God's eyes.
# The church calls itself the "Government of God on Earth" and uses a seal similar to the United States.
Doing God's work with a Lexus and Rolex
If Creciendo en Gracia is an atypical religious group, de Jesus also does not fit the mold of the average church leader. De Jesus flouts traditional vows of poverty.
He says he has a church-paid salary of $136,000 but lives more lavishly than that. During an interview, he showed off a diamond-encrusted Rolex to a CNN crew and said he has three just like them. He travels in armored Lexuses and BMWs, he says, for his safety. All are gifts from his devoted followers.
And what about the tattoo of 666 on his arm?
Although it's a number usually associated with Satan, not the son of God, de Jesus says that 666 and the Antichrist are, like him, misunderstood.
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."
And de Jesus says that means him.
So far, de Jesus says that his flock hasn't been scared off by his claims of being the Antichrist. In a show of the sway he holds over the group, 30 members of his congregation Tuesday went to a tattoo parlor to have 666 also permanently etched onto their skin.
He may wield influence over them, but his followers say don't expect them to go the way of people who believed in David Koresh and Jim Jones. Just by finding de Jesus, they say, they have achieved their purpose.
"If somebody tells us drink some Kool-Aid and we'll go to heaven, that's not true. We are already in heavenly places," follower Martita Roca told CNN after having 666 tattooed onto her ankle.

[Mo]

I love how his jacket reads "J.H." even though there is no h in Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda.
Jesus H. Christ?

[TheMilstead]

Kids, stay off of heroin.

[Rarely]

good pic, still bad thread

[GlasgowKiss]

De Jesus' claims of divinity have angered Christian leaders, who say he is a fake.

Any more information on the reasoning they used here?

[RenewRevive]

this guy is 61 and still kicking. at least the real jesus took one for the team.

[Rockin' Cherub]

Originally Posted by GlasgowKiss

Any more information on the reasoning they used here?

yeah i'd like to know that as well. what if someday the pope calls the actual second coming of christ a fake? i mean what if?

[SP4Me]

This guy is an idiot...

In short, here is what he has claimed...

In 1988, he claimed to be the reincarnation of the Apostle Paul.

In 1999, he named himself "The Other"... a spiritual superbeing who would pave the way for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

In 2004, he claimed to actually be Jesus Christ.

In January of this year, he proclaimed to his church "This is a congregation of antichrists."

There are people in his congregation who give him 50% of their income on a regular basis.

I can't believe people... This guy found a way to con them and take their money... and they are falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

[burnt njal]

it's a lifestyle. some people put hooks in their backs, some people give all their money to a pig

[TheMilstead]

The chick on the news last night was ecstatic about following him and proudly showed her 666 tattoo. Don't these people read the Bible for themselves? I don't get the cult mentality.

[DeviousJ]

Originally Posted by SP4Me

This guy is an idiot...

In short, here is what he has claimed...

In 1988, he claimed to be the reincarnation of the Apostle Paul.

In 1999, he named himself "The Other"... a spiritual superbeing who would pave the way for the second coming of Jesus Christ.

In 2004, he claimed to actually be Jesus Christ.

In January of this year, he proclaimed to his church "This is a congregation of antichrists."

There are people in his congregation who give him 50% of their income on a regular basis.

I can't believe people... This guy found a way to con them and take their money... and they are falling for it hook, line, and sinker.

Yeah but, prove he's not Jesus

[SP4Me]

For starters, according to the bible, the antichrist is not a good thing. So, I find it a little hard to believe that Jesus would make the statement, "This is a congregation of antichrists", while proudly displaying a 666 tattoo.

Besides, I don't need proof.... I have common sense.

[DeviousJ]

Originally Posted by SP4Me

For starters, according to the bible, the antichrist is not a good thing. So, I find it a little hard to believe that Jesus would make the statement, "This is a congregation of antichrists", while proudly displaying a 666 tattoo.

Besides, I don't need proof.... I have common sense.

Well the Bible said a lot of things, then Jesus came along and said a lot of different things, and then you get the new testament/covenant.

Mind you, the same thing happened to Jesus last time. People cast him out, called him a liar and a charlatan, religious groups conspired to defame him...

[SP4Me]

Yes, but it doesn't matter which testament you read, Jesus never claimed to be anyone but Jesus...

This guy is having serious identity problems....

He's been 4 people in the last 19 years!

[SP4Me]

Actually, this guy knows exactly what he's doing. He's playing people and taking their money....

He may be an idiot, but apparently he's a smart one.

[DeviousJ]

Yeah but he thought he was just Jesus, not the son of God - then he found out and it was a big deal for him. Why would he have claimed to be anyone else? Jesus hadn't been around before, except now this could be the second coming and this guy could have only just found out the truth. Who are you to say how God should do things? You're just assuming this guy isn't Jesus, you don't know at all

[DeviousJ]

So in summary hail Jesus

[SP4Me]

You're just trying to provoke me, so I'm bowing out of this one...

[Shapan]

hey man when jesus was claiming to be the son of the big guy everyone was like no way turned out he was the son of the big guy.

im just sayin.

[SP4Me]

Yes, but 3 years after claiming to be Jesus, he now claims to be the antichrist and has people getting 666 tattoos.

[Shapan]

you never know man.

you never know.

[DeviousJ]

Originally Posted by SP4Me

You're just trying to provoke me, so I'm bowing out of this one...

I am messing you around sure, but the point is it's completely reasonable to believe this guy is Jesus if you actually believe that Jesus Christ is going to return

[SP4Me]

What is reasonable about it? He has a 666 tattoo and is encouraging his congregation to get one as well. That doesn't sound very Jesus like to me!

[bardy]

so after reading the current britany spears thread,

has he gotten to her too?

[SP4Me]

She needs to be checked for a 666 tattoo!

[DeviousJ]

Originally Posted by SP4Me

What is reasonable about it? He has a 666 tattoo and is encouraging his congregation to get one as well. That doesn't sound very Jesus like to me!

Wow a number! Clearly if Jesus told people to get 666 tattooed on themselves then everyone would be forced to reject him. How anti-establishment, not like the son of God at all!