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False
Messiahs / False Christs
| Those
Who Claimed to be the Jewish Messiah |
| Judas of Galilee(?), son of
Hezekiah/Ezekias, member of the Zealots faction who led a bloody revolt
against a Roman census in AD 6. |
| Simon (ca. 4 BC), a former
slave of Herod the Great who rebelled. |
| Athronges (ca. 3 BC) |
| Theudas (? - 46), who
attempted a short-lived revolt against the Romans before being slain. |
| "Egyptian Prophet",
c.55, (an allusion to Moses), with 30,000 unarmed Jews doing The Exodus
reenactment massacred by Procurator Antonius Felix |
| Menahem ben Judah (?),
allegedly son of Judas of Galilee, partook in a revolt against Agrippa II
before being slain by a rival Zealot leader. |
| Simon bar Kokhba (?- ca.
135), founded a short-lived Jewish state before being defeated in the
Second Jewish-Roman War |
| Moses of Crete (?), who in
about 440-470, convinced the Jews of Crete to attempt to walk into the sea
to return to Israel; he disappeared after that disaster. |
| Ishak ben Ya'kub Obadiah Abu
Isa al-Isfahani (684-705), who led a revolt in Persia against the Umayyad
Caliph 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.
Yudghan (?), a disciple of Abu 'Isa who
continued the faith after Isa was slain. |
| Serene (?), who around 720
claimed to be the Messiah and advocated expulsion of Muslims and relaxing
various rabbinic laws before being arrested; he then recanted. |
| David Alroy (?), born in
Kurdistan, who around 1160 agitated against the caliph before being
assassinated. |
| Nissim ben Abraham (?),
active around 1295. |
| Moses Botarel of Cisneros
(?), active around 1413; claimed to be a sorcerer able to combine the
names of God. |
| Asher Lemmlein (?), a German
near Venice who proclaimed himself a forerunner of the Messiah in 1502. |
| David Reubeni (1490-1541?)
and Solomon Molcho (1500-1532), adventurers who travelled in Portugal,
Italy, and Turkey; Molcho was eventually burned at the stake by the Pope. |
| A mostly unknown Czech Jew
from around the 1650s. |
- Sabbatai Zevi (1626-1676), an Ottoman
Jew who claimed to be the Messiah, but then converted to Islam; still
has followers today in the Donmeh.
- Barukhia Russo (Osman Baba),
successor of Sabbatai Zevi.
- Jacob Querido (?-1690), claimed
to be the new incarnation of Sabbatai; later converted to Islam
and led the Donmeh.
- Miguel Cardoso (1630-1706),
another successor of Sabbatai who claimed to be the "Messiah
ben Ephraim."
- Mordecai Mokia (1650-1729),
"the Rebuker," another person who proclaimed himself
Messiah after Sabbatai's death.
- Lobele Prossnitz (?-1750), a
proven fraud who nevertheless attained some following amongst
former followers of Sabbatai, calling himself the "Messiah
ben Joseph."
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| Jacob Joseph Frank
(1726-1791), who claimed to be the reincarnation of King David and
preached a synthesis of Christianity and Judaism. |
| Menachem Mendel Schneerson
(1902-1994), a Lubavitch rabbi who tried to "prepare the way"
for the Messiah; some followers believe him to be the Messiah |
| Those
Who Claimed to be the Second Coming of Messiah |
| Simon Magus,
mid first century |
| Montanus, who claimed to be
the promised Paraclete, mid second century |
| Adalbert, a bishop who
claimed miraculous powers circa 744; he was excommunicated by the Pope. |
| Tanchelm of Antwerp (ca.
1110), who violently opposed the sacrament and the Eucharist. |
| Ann Lee (1736-1784), a
central figure to the Shakers who thought she "embodied all the
perfections of God" in female form. |
| John Nichols Thom
(1799-1838), a Cornish tax rebel. |
| Hong Xiuquan of China
(1812-1864), claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus. |
| Baha'u'llah (1817-1892), born
Shiite, he claimed to be the promised one of all religions, and founded
the Baha i Faith. |
| Halie Selassie of Ethiopia
(1892-1975), Messiah of the Rastafari movement. Never claimed himself to
be messiah, but was proclaimed by Leonard Howell, amongst others. |
| Georges Emest Roux
(1903-1981), the "Christ of Montfavet," founder of the Eglise
Chretienne Universelle. |
| Sun Myung Moon (b. 1920),
founder of the Unification Church. Claims he is the Second Coming of
Christ[4]. |
| Yahweh ben Yahweh
(1935-2007), born as Hulon Mitchell, Jr., a black nationalist and
separatist who created the Nation of Yahweh and allegedly orchestrated the
murder of dozens of persons. |
| Iesu Matayoshi (b. 1944), in
1997 he established the World Economic Community Party based on his
conviction that he is God and the Christ. |
| Jung Myung Seok (b. 1945),
claims to be the Second Coming of Christ, founder of Providence Church,
and fugitive wanted for rape among other crimes |
| Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda
(b. 1946), Puerto Rican preacher who has claimed to be "the Man Jesus
Christ", who is indwelled with the same spirit that dwelled in Jesus.
Founder of the Growing in grace" ministries. |
| Inri Cristo (b. 1948) of
Curitiba, Brazil, a claimant to be the second Jesus. |
| David Icke (b. 1952), of
Great Britain, has described himself as "the son of God," and a
"channel for the Christ spirit." |
| David Koresh (Vernon Wayne
Howell) (1959-1993), leader of the Branch Davidians. |
| Maria Devi Christos (b.
1960), founder of the Great White Brotherhood. |
| Sergei Torop (b. 1961) who
started to call himself "Vissarion," founder of the Church of
the Last Testament and the spiritual community Ecopolis Tiberkul in
Southern Siberia. |
| David Shayler (b. 1965)
("Righteous Chav") who declared himself the Messiah in 2007. |
| James L. Robison (b. 1972)
claimed to be the Messiah throughout the year 2007 |
| Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy (b.
1950) claims that Jesus replaced the Father, the Father replaced the
Spirit, so Pastor Apollo now replaces Jesus. He is called "His
Appointed Son" by thousands in the Philippines and now in other
countries. |
| Marshall Applewhite and
Bonnie Nettles led the "Heaven's Gate" New Age cult in
which some male members underwent voluntary castration. The cult's end
coincided with the appearance of the Hale-Bopp Comet in 1997, when
Applewhite convinced 39 followers to commit suicide so that their souls
could take a ride on a spaceship which they thought was hiding behind the
comet. |
| James Warren (Jim) Jones
(1931-1978) In 1978 Jim Jones forced 913 of his followers to commit mass
suicide at his enclave The Peoples Temple in Jonestown, northern Guyana. |
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