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See Also
See Again
© Getty Images
0 / 31 Fotos
Kondratii Selivanov
- Kondratii Selivanov was the founder of the Skoptsy sect in the Russian Empire in the 1760s. The sect infamously practiced castration of men and the mastectomy of women. According to Selivanov, Jesus was a castrate as well.
© Public Domain
1 / 31 Fotos
Ann Lee
- Ann Lee, also known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founder of United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, better known as the Shakers. Lee claimed to be the female incarnation of Christ.
© BrunoPress
2 / 31 Fotos
John Nichols Thom
- This Cornish man gave himself the title of "Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtney, King of Jerusalem." Thom, who also called himself "savior of the world," believing to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, was killed in a battle in 1832.
© Public Domain
3 / 31 Fotos
Bahá'u'lláh
- The founder of the Baháʼí Faith in 1863 believed he was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Second Coming of Jesus. Not only that, but he also claimed to be the "Promised One" of many other religions.
© Public Domain
4 / 31 Fotos
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
- The founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement claimed to be the Second Coming of Christ as well as Islam's awaited messianic figure, Mahdi.
© Public Domain
5 / 31 Fotos
William W. Davies
- The leader of Kingdom of Heaven did not claim to be Jesus, but archangel Michael. He also said he previously lived as other Biblical figures, including Adam and Abraham. Davies did claim, however, that his first son was the reincarnation of Jesus. And as for his second son, he was God himself.
© Public Domain
6 / 31 Fotos
Cyrus Teed
- Teed was an American physician and alchemist. He founded a set of beliefs called Koreshanity, which included a Hollow Earth theory. Of course, Teed gained all this knowledge because he was the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Or so he claimed.
© Public Domain
7 / 31 Fotos
Carl Browne
- The leader of the Coxey's Army protest movement didn't claim he was literally Jesus. Instead, he claimed to possess elements of the soul of Jesus.
© Public Domain
8 / 31 Fotos
John Hugh Smyth-Pigott
- John Hugh Smyth-Pigott, who was the successor of Henry Prince (pictured), claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus. Henry Prince was the founder of the sect known as The Agapemonites or Community of The Son of Man.
© Public Domain
9 / 31 Fotos
Haile Selassie I
- While the Emperor of Ethiopia never claimed to be Jesus as such, he believed to be the Second Coming, or the Rastafari messiah.
© Public Domain
10 / 31 Fotos
Krishna Venta
- Francis Herman Pencovic AKA Krishna Venta, was the founder of the WKFL (Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith and Love) Fountain of the World cult in California in the late 1940s.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
Krishna Venta
- In April 1948, Venta stated: "I may as well say it, I am Christ." Krishna Venta also claimed to have been born on planet Neophrates 240,000 years ago.
© Public Domain
12 / 31 Fotos
Sun Myung Moon
- The leader of the Unification Church in Korea claimed to be the Second Coming of Jesus. Moon also claimed that he and his wife, Hak Ja Han, were the "True Parents," as the restored Adam and Eve.
© Getty Images
13 / 31 Fotos
Sun Myung Moon
- The cult was famous for mass weddings, which Moon blessed. On this one pictured, in 1970, 790 couples tied the knot.
© Getty Images
14 / 31 Fotos
Reverend Jim Jones
- Not only did the founder of the cult called Peoples Temple claim to be Jesus, but he also saw himself as the reincarnation of Akhenaten, the Buddha, and Vladimir Lenin.
© Getty Images
15 / 31 Fotos
Reverend Jim Jones
- Jones infamously organized a mass murder suicide at Jonestown, Guyana on November 18, 1978. He took his own life shortly after the massacre.
© Getty Images
16 / 31 Fotos
Marshall Applewhite
- Marshall Applewhite and his wife Bonnie Nettles founded the cult 'Heaven's Gate' in 1974. In addition to being a reincarnation of Christ, Applewhite and his wife claimed to be the two witnesses described in the Book of Revelation.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
Marshall Applewhite
- Tragically, in 1997, the cult organized one of the largest mass suicides in the US where he and 38 others died.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
Charles Manson
- Charles Manson was the infamous leader of the Manson Family. He was responsible for numerous murders, including that of actress Sharon Tate in 1969. He too told his followers that he was Jesus Christ's reincarnation.
© Public Domain
19 / 31 Fotos
Yahweh ben Yahweh
- Born Hulon Mitchell Jr., the founder of the Nation of Yahweh in 1979, called himself the son of God.
© Getty Images
20 / 31 Fotos
Laszlo Toth
- Best known for vandalizing Michelangelo's Pietà with a hammer in 1972, Laszlo Toth shouted the following words during the attack: "I am Jesus Christ—risen from the dead."
© Public Domain
21 / 31 Fotos
José Luis de Jesús
- Oddly enough, the founder of the cult Growing in Grace didn't just claim that he had the spirit of Jesus Christ, but that he was also the Antichrist.
© Public Domain
22 / 31 Fotos
Shoko Asahara
- The leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, best known for the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, claimed to be Christ and the "lamb of God."
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
Thomas Harrison Provenzano
- A convicted murderer, Provenzano compared his execution with Jesus Christ's crucifixion. "Mr. Provenzano truly believed that he was Jesus Christ," said Provenzano attorney, Mary Kane.
© Public Domain
24 / 31 Fotos
David Koresh
- The leader of the religious sect Branch Davidian, better known for the Waco siege where over 70 people died, claimed to be "the Son of God, the Lamb."
© Public Domain
25 / 31 Fotos
Sergei Torop AKA Vissarion
- Former traffic police officer Sergei Torop is better known as Vissarion, or the "Jesus of Siberia." He founded the Church of the Last Testament and the spiritual community Ecopolis Tiberkul.
© Getty Images
26 / 31 Fotos
Sergei Torop AKA Vissarion
- Vissarion dresses and looks like Jesus, and even claims that despite having a biological mother, that his real mother is the Virgin Mary.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
Apollo Quiboloy
- The founder of the Restorationist church, the 'Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc.,' claims he's the "Appointed Son of God."
© Public Domain
28 / 31 Fotos
David Shayler
- The former MI5 agent, best known for being a whistleblower and conspiracy theorist, also claimed to be the Messiah.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
Maurice Clemmons
- This convicted murderer, infamously known for killing four police officers in Washington in 2009, referred to himself as Jesus. Sources: (The Richest) (BBC) (Grunge) (Clark Prosecutor) (The Telegraph) See also: Following the footsteps of Jesus: Biblical sites you can still visit
© Getty Images
30 / 31 Fotos
© Getty Images
0 / 31 Fotos
Kondratii Selivanov
- Kondratii Selivanov was the founder of the Skoptsy sect in the Russian Empire in the 1760s. The sect infamously practiced castration of men and the mastectomy of women. According to Selivanov, Jesus was a castrate as well.
© Public Domain
1 / 31 Fotos
Ann Lee
- Ann Lee, also known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founder of United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, better known as the Shakers. Lee claimed to be the female incarnation of Christ.
© BrunoPress
2 / 31 Fotos
John Nichols Thom
- This Cornish man gave himself the title of "Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtney, King of Jerusalem." Thom, who also called himself "savior of the world," believing to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, was killed in a battle in 1832.
© Public Domain
3 / 31 Fotos
Bahá'u'lláh
- The founder of the Baháʼí Faith in 1863 believed he was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Second Coming of Jesus. Not only that, but he also claimed to be the "Promised One" of many other religions.
© Public Domain
4 / 31 Fotos
Mirza Ghulam Ahmad
- The founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement claimed to be the Second Coming of Christ as well as Islam's awaited messianic figure, Mahdi.
© Public Domain
5 / 31 Fotos
William W. Davies
- The leader of Kingdom of Heaven did not claim to be Jesus, but archangel Michael. He also said he previously lived as other Biblical figures, including Adam and Abraham. Davies did claim, however, that his first son was the reincarnation of Jesus. And as for his second son, he was God himself.
© Public Domain
6 / 31 Fotos
Cyrus Teed
- Teed was an American physician and alchemist. He founded a set of beliefs called Koreshanity, which included a Hollow Earth theory. Of course, Teed gained all this knowledge because he was the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Or so he claimed.
© Public Domain
7 / 31 Fotos
Carl Browne
- The leader of the Coxey's Army protest movement didn't claim he was literally Jesus. Instead, he claimed to possess elements of the soul of Jesus.
© Public Domain
8 / 31 Fotos
John Hugh Smyth-Pigott
- John Hugh Smyth-Pigott, who was the successor of Henry Prince (pictured), claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus. Henry Prince was the founder of the sect known as The Agapemonites or Community of The Son of Man.
© Public Domain
9 / 31 Fotos
Haile Selassie I
- While the Emperor of Ethiopia never claimed to be Jesus as such, he believed to be the Second Coming, or the Rastafari messiah.
© Public Domain
10 / 31 Fotos
Krishna Venta
- Francis Herman Pencovic AKA Krishna Venta, was the founder of the WKFL (Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith and Love) Fountain of the World cult in California in the late 1940s.
© Getty Images
11 / 31 Fotos
Krishna Venta
- In April 1948, Venta stated: "I may as well say it, I am Christ." Krishna Venta also claimed to have been born on planet Neophrates 240,000 years ago.
© Public Domain
12 / 31 Fotos
Sun Myung Moon
- The leader of the Unification Church in Korea claimed to be the Second Coming of Jesus. Moon also claimed that he and his wife, Hak Ja Han, were the "True Parents," as the restored Adam and Eve.
© Getty Images
13 / 31 Fotos
Sun Myung Moon
- The cult was famous for mass weddings, which Moon blessed. On this one pictured, in 1970, 790 couples tied the knot.
© Getty Images
14 / 31 Fotos
Reverend Jim Jones
- Not only did the founder of the cult called Peoples Temple claim to be Jesus, but he also saw himself as the reincarnation of Akhenaten, the Buddha, and Vladimir Lenin.
© Getty Images
15 / 31 Fotos
Reverend Jim Jones
- Jones infamously organized a mass murder suicide at Jonestown, Guyana on November 18, 1978. He took his own life shortly after the massacre.
© Getty Images
16 / 31 Fotos
Marshall Applewhite
- Marshall Applewhite and his wife Bonnie Nettles founded the cult 'Heaven's Gate' in 1974. In addition to being a reincarnation of Christ, Applewhite and his wife claimed to be the two witnesses described in the Book of Revelation.
© Getty Images
17 / 31 Fotos
Marshall Applewhite
- Tragically, in 1997, the cult organized one of the largest mass suicides in the US where he and 38 others died.
© Getty Images
18 / 31 Fotos
Charles Manson
- Charles Manson was the infamous leader of the Manson Family. He was responsible for numerous murders, including that of actress Sharon Tate in 1969. He too told his followers that he was Jesus Christ's reincarnation.
© Public Domain
19 / 31 Fotos
Yahweh ben Yahweh
- Born Hulon Mitchell Jr., the founder of the Nation of Yahweh in 1979, called himself the son of God.
© Getty Images
20 / 31 Fotos
Laszlo Toth
- Best known for vandalizing Michelangelo's Pietà with a hammer in 1972, Laszlo Toth shouted the following words during the attack: "I am Jesus Christ—risen from the dead."
© Public Domain
21 / 31 Fotos
José Luis de Jesús
- Oddly enough, the founder of the cult Growing in Grace didn't just claim that he had the spirit of Jesus Christ, but that he was also the Antichrist.
© Public Domain
22 / 31 Fotos
Shoko Asahara
- The leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, best known for the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995, claimed to be Christ and the "lamb of God."
© Getty Images
23 / 31 Fotos
Thomas Harrison Provenzano
- A convicted murderer, Provenzano compared his execution with Jesus Christ's crucifixion. "Mr. Provenzano truly believed that he was Jesus Christ," said Provenzano attorney, Mary Kane.
© Public Domain
24 / 31 Fotos
David Koresh
- The leader of the religious sect Branch Davidian, better known for the Waco siege where over 70 people died, claimed to be "the Son of God, the Lamb."
© Public Domain
25 / 31 Fotos
Sergei Torop AKA Vissarion
- Former traffic police officer Sergei Torop is better known as Vissarion, or the "Jesus of Siberia." He founded the Church of the Last Testament and the spiritual community Ecopolis Tiberkul.
© Getty Images
26 / 31 Fotos
Sergei Torop AKA Vissarion
- Vissarion dresses and looks like Jesus, and even claims that despite having a biological mother, that his real mother is the Virgin Mary.
© Getty Images
27 / 31 Fotos
Apollo Quiboloy
- The founder of the Restorationist church, the 'Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc.,' claims he's the "Appointed Son of God."
© Public Domain
28 / 31 Fotos
David Shayler
- The former MI5 agent, best known for being a whistleblower and conspiracy theorist, also claimed to be the Messiah.
© Getty Images
29 / 31 Fotos
Maurice Clemmons
- This convicted murderer, infamously known for killing four police officers in Washington in 2009, referred to himself as Jesus. Sources: (The Richest) (BBC) (Grunge) (Clark Prosecutor) (The Telegraph) See also: Following the footsteps of Jesus: Biblical sites you can still visit
© Getty Images
30 / 31 Fotos
People who claimed to be Jesus
Is the Messiah among us?
© Getty Images
Many of those familiar with the Bible and Christianity know that Jesus Christ is supposed to return. But what will the Second Coming be like? Or has it actually happened already? According to some people, who claim(ed) to be Jesus Christ, this might just be the case.
As for us mere mortals, let's just click through the following gallery and find out more about these people.
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