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The word on the street is that you want people to believe that you’re Jesus Christ. Throughout time there have always been men that have claimed to be the second coming. I mean why not? It is a pretty cool gig if you can get it. If people think you are Jesus, then you can have their money, and get pretty much any woman that you want, and have ridiculous amounts of power. That's what one man in the Philippines has done, with little opposition.
The thing about self-proclaimed Jesus is that if you do horrible things, you can just claim that you were told to do so by the word of God. No wonder there have been so many guys playing the Jesus card over the years.
Sometimes it is obvious that these people said they were Jesus to take advantage of their followers and to get money, women and power; other times, it is clear that some of these people claimed to be Jesus purely because they were totally insane. No wonder there have been some unusual mass murders in history, include the infamous Jonestown Massacre.
People will believe anything when it comes to religion, whether their leader is a psychopath (Jim Jones, anyone?) or a peaceful individual. Either way, there is one thing TheRichest can say we are pretty sure of - none of these people actually were/are Jesus Christ. Here is our list of Ten People Who Claim To Be Jesus.
10. AJ Miller - He Met Plato
Via blog.kyabra.com
The 4th Jesus of this list founded in 2007 a group called "The Divine Truth" and hails from Australia. Miller figured out he was Jesus over a one week period, and claims he can remember everything over the last 2,000 years, meeting the likes of Plato, Socrates, and even Gandhi among other important figures! Sadly for him, he even remembers being crucified.
Miller might actually believe what he is saying. He doesn't seem to be treating his followers all that horribly although he seems to be making some money from it. A lot of them donated land to be near Miller, so who knows? Before becoming Jesus, Miller was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses, until he was kicked out for leaving his wife for another woman.
9. Jim Jones - The Mass Murderer
via nypost.com
Jones, one of the most infamous cult leaders of all time, was the head of the infamous Peoples' Church. This fake Jesus organized a mass suicide of over 900 followers at Jonestown.
Members of his church were convinced to give up their money, their homes and even their children. Jones would also have sex with many members of his church, sometimes on stage in front of the rest of the members. Come on, would Jesus do that? It all ended at Jonestown, where Jones organized a mass suicide, then shot himself. If you have ever heard the phrase "Don't drink the Kool-Aid," this is where it comes from.
8. Sergey Torop - The Traffic Cop
Via www.penki.lt
Known as Jesus reincarnate to his disciples, Russia's Sergei Torop commands thousands of followers in the Sayan Mountains of Siberia. The former traffic cop announced he was the son of God in 1990 following a revelation. How else is he supposed to convince people, right?
Going by the name of Vissarion, his followers believe Torop has come to save the world. His teachings include veganism and aliens among other things. Critics have accused him of brainwashing and embezzling many of his followers. Apparently, Vissarion has six children and two wives.
7. Shoko Asahara - The Terrorist
Via www.morbidofest.com
Asahara is from Japan and was the leader of the religious group Aum Shinrikyo. He claimed to be Christ, and the Lamb of God. He published a book that said so! He predicted Armageddon, and that almost everyone would die, except for the few that joined him.
He was responsible for numerous terrorist attacks, including a sarin gas attack in a Tokyo Subway in which 13 people died. Asahara was convicted of murder and attempting to overthrow the government. He remains on death row.
6. Oscar Ramiro Ortega-Hernandez - The Assassin
Via www.independent.co.uk
In 2011, Hernandez an unemployed 21-year-old at the time, fired 9 shots at the White House. He did so because he believed himself to be Jesus Christ, and that he needed to kill American President Barack Obama, who he believed to be the anti-Christ.
A few weeks before the event, Hernandez started telling acquaintances that Obama was controlling people, that he had to be stopped and was going to put tracking devices into children. He also sent a video to Oprah Winfrey claiming that he was Jesus Christ. He is currently serving 25 years in prison.
5. Sun Myung Moon - The Moonie Cult
Via www.nydailynews.com
Moon was the leader of the totally loony Unification Church. While to his followers he was the Messiah and the second coming of Christ, to most observers he was the leader of a cult. He and his wife were to be considered the second coming of Adam and Eve. At its height the Unification Church had 30,000 members, although the church claims many more.
Moon was nothing like Jesus. He served time in North Korea for bigamy and adultery and was imprisoned in the US for tax charges. Some church members claimed that Moon believed humans must have sex to be purified. Of course having sex with him would cleanse their bodies and souls.
4. Marshall Applewhite - To Space And Beyond
Via www.fangoria.com
Applewhite once posted a message that began "I, Jesus—Son of God" on a forum. Well, okay then. Applewhite was the leader of the infamous Heaven's Gate Cult.
Why were they so infamous? Well, you might recall a bunch of people that killed themselves in 1997 because they thought they were going to be picked up by a spaceship that was hiding behind the Hale Bopp comet? The guys that wore the Nikes? Yeah, that was them. Who knows, maybe they all flew away on that comet and he really was Jesus, but somehow we doubt it.
3. Inri Cristo - Jesus Look-A-Like
Via desliguemseuspagers.blogspot.com
Cristo is one of the more harmless people claiming to be Jesus on this list. He hails from Brazil and claims that he has always heard a powerful voice in his head, but didn't realize that is was God until 1978, when the voice told him that he was, in fact, Jesus.
While Cristo is a bit of a celebrity in Brazil, appearing on many TV shows and lecturing in colleges, he has not been quite so lucky abroad. He has traveled to over 27 countries trying to spread the word but has not been too successful. He has been kicked out of the United States, and has been detained over 40 times because of his appearance and things that he says.
2. David Koresh - Son Of Guns
Via www.mirror.co.uk
Koresh is without a doubt a pretty creepy Jesus. While he never actually said he was Jesus, he did claim to be the Son of God, which is pretty much the same thing.
Koresh was the leader of the infamous Branch Davidian cult, from Waco, Texas. Koresh married numerous women who were his followers, and was said to have had sex with many underage girls in the Branch Davidian compound. He also was into having lots of guns before the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms led a siege. The compound burned to the ground, leaving many adults and children dead, including Koresh.
1. Apollo Quiboloy - The Brainwasher
Via www.apolloquiboloy.com
Our next Jesus comes from the Philippines. Apollo Quiboloy runs the Restorationist Church and claims that he is the "Son of God." It seems like it might be a tad easier being Jesus in the Philippines than other places, because he has a fair amount of power. How he managed garner 4 million followers in his home country is beyond me.
It isn't all easy being Jesus though. He has been accused of brainwashing followers, holding children against their will, and being involved in murders of people who refused to sell him land.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org; www.mirror.co.uk; www.history.com; www.toptenz.net;
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