17th century
- Rhys Evans, (1607 – c.1660) who later renamed himself 'Arise Evans' was a Welsh prophet who travelled to London to spread his premonitions. He was arrested and imprisoned around 1650 at Newgate Prison for impersonating Christ. [1] [2]
This is a partial list of notable people [a] who have been claimed, either by themselves or by their followers, to be the reincarnation or incarnation of Jesus, or the Second Coming of Christ.
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 is a king or High Priest traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil.
The Second Coming is the Christian and Muslim belief that Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his ascension to Heaven. The idea is based on messianic prophecies and is part of most Christian eschatologies. Other faiths have various interpretations of it.
The Great Disappointment in the Millerite movement was the reaction that followed Baptist preacher William Miller's proclamation that Jesus Christ would return to the Earth by 1844, which he called the Second Advent. His study of the Daniel 8 prophecy during the Second Great Awakening led him to conclude that Daniel's "cleansing of the sanctuary" was cleansing the world from sin when Christ would come, and he and many others prepared. When Jesus did not appear by October 22, 1844, Miller and his followers were disappointed.
The religious perspectives on Jesus vary among world religions. Jesus' teachings and the retelling of his life story have significantly influenced the course of human history, and have directly or indirectly affected the lives of billions of people, including non-Christians. He is considered by many to be one of the most influential persons to have ever lived, finding a significant place in numerous cultural contexts.
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad 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 Mahdī—which is the metaphorical second-coming of Jesus (mathīl-iʿIsā), in fulfillment of the Islamic prophecies regarding the end times, as well as the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century.
Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Messianism originated as a Zoroastrian religious belief and followed to Abrahamic religions, but other religions also have messianism-related concepts. Religions with a messiah concept include Hinduism (Kalki) Judaism (Mashiach), Christianity (Christ), Islam, Druze faith, Zoroastrianism (Saoshyant), Buddhism (Maitreya), Taoism, and Bábism.
Yahweh ben Yahweh was an American religious leader, black separatist and black supremacist and founder of the Nation of Yahweh, a new religious movement headquartered in Florida that, at its peak, had thousands of black American devotees. He preached that Jesus was black and that "white devils" temporarily rule over black people, and was accused of teaching hate. Yahweh was indicted on three counts of federal racketeering and extortion charges, of which he was found not guilty. However, he was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder.
Sergei Anatolyevitch Torop, known as Vissarion, is a Russian spiritual teacher and founder of the non-profit, religious organization Church of the Last Testament, described by many organizations as a cult.
Leland Jensen was the leader of a small apocalyptic cult called the Baháʼís Under the Provisions of the Covenant (BUPC). Jensen was originally a member of the mainstream Baháʼí Faith until he was excommunicated in 1960 for supporting Mason Remey's attempt at schism. He later left Remey's group due to infighting and began teaching that he would re-establish the Baháʼí Faith after a nuclear holocaust, which he predicted would occur in 1980. At its peak, his movement had 150-200 followers, mostly in Montana, but declined in size significantly by 1990 and beyond.
Jesus was criticised in the first century CE by the Pharisees and scribes for disobeying Mosaic Law. He was decried in Judaism as a failed Jewish messiah claimant and a false prophet by most Jewish denominations. Judaism also considers the worship of any person a form of idolatry, and rejects the claim that Jesus was divine. Some psychiatrists, religious scholars and writers explain that Jesus' family, followers and contemporaries seriously regarded him as delusional, possessed by demons, or insane.
The Church of Almighty God, also known as Eastern Lightning, is a monotheistic new religious movement which was established in China in 1991. Government sources estimate the group has three to four million members.
José Luis de Jesús Miranda 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 statements that opposed the precepts of the Roman Catholic Church but that followed his interpretation of the Bible. He was previously known as el Jesucristo Hombre but shortly after his death, 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. Footage from one of his sermons as well as an interview with comedian Bill Maher are included in the 2008 documentary film Religulous.
The relationship between Scientology and religious groups is very complex. There are significant contradictions between Scientology and most religions, especially the major monotheistic religions. Scientology texts written by its inventor, L. Ron Hubbard, claim that it is fully compatible with all existing major world religions, and that it does not conflict with them or their religious practices. Members are not allowed to engage in other similar mental therapies or procedures, religious or otherwise.
The Church of the Firstborn was a sect of the Latter Day Saint movement that formed as an offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1861 and was involved in the Morrisite War. Its adherents were known as Morrisites, and schismatic sects have been defunct since 1969, excepting the Order of Enoch.
The House of Yahweh (HOY) is a religious group based in Eula, Texas. The assembly has been controversial and is referred to as a cult by former members.
In Christian eschatology, Antichrist refers to a kind of person prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist is found four times in the New Testament, solely in the First and Second Epistle of John. Antichrist is announced as one "who denies the Father and the Son."
The Ahmadiyya branch in Islam has relationships with a number of other religions. Ahmadiyya consider themselves to be Muslim, but are not regarded as Muslim by mainstream Islam. Mainstream Muslim branches refer to the Ahmadiyya branch by the religious slur Qadiani, and to their beliefs as Qadianism a name based on Qadian, the small town in India's Punjab region where the founder of Ahmadiyya, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad was born.