List of messiah claimants

{{Short description|None}} This is a list of notable people who have been said to be a messiah, either by themselves or by their followers. The list is divided into categories, which are sorted according to date of birth, if it is known.

==Jewish messiah claimants== {{Main|Jewish messianic claimants}} [[File:Jesusicon.jpg|thumb|150px|Icon of Jesus from Macedonia, 14th century]] In Judaism, "messiah" originally meant "a divinely appointed king" or "anointed one", such as Aaron the brother of Moses,{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} David, Cyrus the Great<ref>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=510&letter=M&search=messiah Jewish Encyclopedia: Messiah]: "In Isa. xlv. 1 Cyrus is called "God's anointed one," ...:</ref> or Alexander the Great.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=510&letter=M#1618 |title=Messiah: Alexander as Messiah |encyclopedia=Jewish Encyclopedia |access-date=2018-04-05}}</ref> Later, especially after the failure of the Hasmonean Kingdom (37 BC) and the Jewish–Roman wars (AD 66–135), the figure of the Jewish messiah was one who would deliver the Jews from oppression and usher in an Olam Haba ("world to come") or Messianic Age. However the term "false messiah" was largely absent from rabbinic literature. The first mention is in the Sefer Zerubbabel, from the mid-seventh century, which uses the term, ''mashiah sheker'', ("false messiah").<ref>William Horbury, Markus Bockmuehl, James Carleton Paget: ''Redemption and resistance: the messianic hopes of Jews and Christians in antiquity'' Page 294 : (2007) {{ISBN|978-0567030443}}</ref> * Jesus of Nazareth (c. 4 BC – 30/33 AD), a religious leader who was persecuted by the Roman Empire for alleged sedition and is believed by Christians to have been crucified and resurrected.<ref>Professor Bart D. Ehrman, ''The Historical Jesus'', Part I, p. 2, The Teaching Company, 2000.</ref> Jews who believed him to be the Messiah were originally called Nazarenes and later they were known as Jewish Christians (the first Christians).<ref name="FreedmanMyers2000">{{cite book|editor-first1=David Noel|editor-last1=Freedman|editor-first2=Allen C.|editor-last2=Myers|title=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qRtUqxkB7wkC|date=31 December 2000|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=978-90-5356-503-2|page=709}}</ref> Baháʼís,<ref>[https://bahaiteachings.org/the-ministry-of-christ/ The Ministry of Christ] bahaiteachings.org. Retrieved 30 August 2021.</ref><ref>[https://bahai-library.com/stockman_jesus_bahai_writings Jesus Christ in the Bahá'í Writings] bahai-library.com. Retrieved 30 August 2021.</ref> Muslims,<ref name="People-of-the-Book">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/empires/islam/faithpeople.html |title=People of the Book |work=Islam: Empire of Faith |publisher=PBS|access-date=2010-12-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/verses/004-qmt.php#004.157|title =Quran 3:46-158|url-status =dead|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150501064500/http://www.usc.edu/org/cmje/religious-texts/quran/verses/004-qmt.php#004.157|archive-date =2015-05-01}}</ref> and Christians<ref name="BBC">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/ataglance/glance.shtml Christianity at a glance] BBC. Retrieved 19 December 2011.</ref> (including Messianic Jews<ref name="Sherbok_170">{{Cite book |last= Cohn-Sherbok |first= Dan |author-link= Dan Cohn-Sherbok |title= Messianic Judaism |access-date= August 10, 2010 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5aOOlWdLpNwC |year= 2000 |publisher= Continuum International Publishing Group |location= London |isbn= 978-0-8264-5458-4 |oclc= 42719687 |page= 170 |chapter= Messianic Jewish theology |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5aOOlWdLpNwC&q=messianic+judaism+trinity+belief&pg=PA170 }} </ref>) believe him to be the Messiah. * Dositheos the Samaritan (mid 1st century), Origen wrote that Dositheos wished to persuade the Samaritans that he was the Jewish Messiah. (Hom. xxv in Lucam; ''Contra Celsum'', I, lvii).<ref>http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05136c.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Dositheans]: "Origen states that "Dositheus the Samaritan, after the time of Jesus, wished to persuade the Samaritans that he himself was the Messias prophesied by Moses" (Contra Celsum, VI, ii); He also wrote that Dositheus applied Deuteronomy {{bibleverse-nb||Deuteronomy|18:15}} to himself, and compares him with Theudas and Judas the Galilean.</ref><ref>See "Contra Celsum," i. 57, vi. 11; in Matth. Comm. ser. xxxiii.; "Homil." xxv. in Lucam; ''De Principiis'', iv. 17.</ref> * Simon bar Kokhba, born Simon ben Koseva, (d. 135 AD) who led the apical Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire. For three years, bar Kokhba ruled as the ''nasi'', or prince, of a semi-independent secessionist state in Israel. Some rabbinical scholars, including the great sage Akiva, proclaimed bar Kokhba as the Messiah. He died during the rebels' last stand at the fortress of Betar, after which the rebellion was brutally crushed and the land was left largely decimated, cementing both the slowly growing Jewish diaspora and the schism between Christianity and Judaism. * Shlomo Molcho, born Diogo Pires (1500–1532) in Lisbon to parents who were Jewish converts to Christianity. After meeting David Reuveni, he left his post as secretary to the king's council, traveled to Damascus, Safed, Jerusalem and later Solonika, where he studied kabbalah and became a mystic. He was eventually reunited with Reuveni, declared his aspirations as messiah, and was finally burned at the stake by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, for refusing to convert back to Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-05-13 |title=The False Prophet and the Pope – The Story of Shlomo Molcho |url=https://www.anumuseum.org.il/blog-items/false-prophet-pope-story-shlomo-molcho/ |access-date=2022-03-27 |website=Museum of the Jewish People |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=And May the Messiah Come Soon - Judaic Treasures |url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/and-may-the-messiah-come-soon-judaic-treasures |access-date=2022-03-27 |website=www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Benmelech |first=Moti |title=Shlomo Molcho : the life and death of Messiah Ben Joseph |publisher=Yad Ben Zvi |year=2016 |location=Jerusalem |language=he}}</ref> * Sabbatai Zevi (alternative spellings: Shabbetai, Sabbetai, Shabbesai; Zvi, Tzvi) (b. at Smyrna 1626;<ref>Scholem, ''Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah: 1626–1676'', pp. 103–106 has a whole discussion of the historical probabilities that he was really born on the 9th of Av, which according to Jewish tradition is the date of the destruction of both Temples and is also the date 'prescribed' in some traditions for the birth of the Messiah.</ref> d. at Dulcigno (present day Ulcinj) 1676), a Sephardic ordained rabbi from Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey), who was active throughout the Ottoman Empire and claimed to be the long-awaited Messiah. He was the founder of the Sabbatean movement, whose followers subsequently were to be known as Dönmeh "converts" or crypto-Jews<ref>Rifa N. Bali (2008), pp. 91-92</ref> - one of the most important messianic movements, whose influence was widespread throughout Jewry.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} His influence is felt even today. After his death, Sabbatai was followed by a line of putative followers who declared themselves Messiahs and are sometimes grouped as the "Sabbethaian Messiahs".<ref>Gershom Scholem, ''Sabbatai Sevi: The Mystical Messiah: 1626-1676'', Routledge Kegan Paul, London, 1973 {{ISBN|0-7100-7703-3}}, American Edition, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1973 {{ISBN|0-691-09916-2}} (hardcover edn.); Gershom Scholem, "Shabbetai Zevi," in ''Encyclopaedia Judaica,'' Second Edition, Farmington Hills, Michigan, 2007, vol. 18, pp. 340–359. {{ISBN|978-0-02-865946-6}}.</ref> * Shukr Kuhayl I and Judah ben Shalom were a pair of preachers in Yemen in the 1860s and 1870s, who claimed to be the Messiah. Shukr Kuhayl I was an acsetic and was executed in 1865.<ref name="Klorman 1989">{{Citation |last=Klorman |first=Bat-Zion Eraqi |title=The messiah Shukr Kuḥayl II (1868–75) and his tithe (ma-aser): Ideology and practice as a means to hasten redemption |journal=Jewish Quarterly Review |volume=79 |issue=2–3 |pages=199–217 |year=1989 |postscript=. |doi=10.2307/1454252 |jstor=1454252}}</ref> Judah ben Shalom claimed in 1868 to be the resurrected Shukr Kuhayl and created an extensive, well-funded organization with himself at the head.<ref>{{Citation |surname=Klorman |given=Bat-Zion Eraqi |title=The messiah Shukr Kuḥayl II (1868–75) and his tithe (ma-aser): Ideology and practice as a means to hasten redemption |journal=Jewish Quarterly Review |volume=79 |issue=2–3 |pages=199–217 |year=1989 |doi=10.2307/1454252 |jstor=1454252}}</ref> Jacob Saphir wrote that most Temani Jews believed in them, and convinced rabbis in Jerusalem to publicly censure ben Shalom, leading to his defunding and downfall.<ref name="Klorman 1989" /> *Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902–1994), seventh Rebbe of Chabad Lubavitch; some of his followers believed that he was the Jewish Messiah during his lifetime, and some of them continue to believe so after his death in 1994.<ref name="Magid 2019">{{cite magazine |author-last=Magid |author-first=Shaul |date=3 July 2019 |title=Another Side of the Lubavitcher Rebbe |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/287321/another-side-of-the-lubavitcher-rebbe |url-status=live |magazine=Tablet Magazine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906165317/https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/another-side-of-the-lubavitcher-rebbe |archive-date=6 September 2022 |access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="Nadler 2010">{{cite magazine |author-last=Nadler |author-first=Allan |date=1 June 2010 |title=A Historian's Polemic Against 'The Madness of False Messianism' |url=https://forward.com/news/128454/a-historians-polemic-against-the-madness-of-false/ |url-status=live |magazine=The Forward |location=New York City |issn=1051-340X |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202080101/https://forward.com/news/128454/a-historians-polemic-against-the-madness-of-false/ |archive-date=2 December 2022 |access-date=21 May 2023}}</ref><ref name="Saul 2007">{{cite news |author-last=Sadka |author-first=Saul |date=10 February 2007 |title=The Lubavitcher Rebbe as a God |url=https://www.haaretz.com/2007-02-11/ty-article/the-lubavitcher-rebbe-as-a-god/0000017f-dc1a-df9c-a17f-fe1aa9c40000 |url-status=live |work=Haaretz |location=Tel Aviv |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102041753/https://www.haaretz.com/2007-02-11/ty-article/the-lubavitcher-rebbe-as-a-god/0000017f-dc1a-df9c-a17f-fe1aa9c40000 |archive-date=2 January 2023 |access-date=3 May 2023}}</ref> The number of believers grew in size after his death.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b71f69e20120a7caaa68970b-popup |title=Psak Din Rebbe Moshiach cropped |website=failedmessiah.typepad.com |language=en |access-date=2018-10-11}}</ref> Some of his followers believe that Schneerson never died.<ref name="Magid 2019"/><ref name="Nadler 2010"/><ref name="Saul 2007"/> While Schneerson remained cryptic about such assertions, many of his followers do believe he was the Jewish Messiah.<ref name="Magid 2019"/><ref name="Nadler 2010"/><ref name="Saul 2007"/> The issue remains controversial within both the Chabad movement and the broader Jewish community.<ref name="davidberger">{{cite book|last1=Berger|first1=David|title=The Rebbe, the Messiah, and the scandal of orthodox indifference|date=2008|publisher=Littman Library of Jewish Civilization|location=London|isbn=978-1-904113-75-1|edition=1. pbk.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4VHdJwAACAAJ&q=The+Rebbe,+the+Messiah,+and+the+Scandal+of+Orthodox+Indifference|access-date=16 June 2016}}</ref><ref name=josephtelushkin>{{cite book |last=Telushkin |first=Joseph |title=Rebbe: The Life and Teachings of Menachem M. Schneerson, the Most Influential Rabbi in Modern History |publisher=Harper Collins |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-06-231900-5 }}</ref>{{rp|420}}<ref name="davidberger2">''Messianic Excess'', Rabbi Prof. David Berger (Yeshiva University), The Jewish Week, June 25, 2004</ref><ref name="Toward">Peter Schäfer, Mark R. Cohen, Editors (1998) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=AT8GF9EciLEC&q=Schneerson+%22public+proclamation%22&pg=PA399 Toward the Millennium: Messianic Expectations from the Bible to Waco]'' BRILL, {{ISBN|9789004110373}}, p. 399</ref>

==Christian messiah claimants== {{See also|Antichrist|List of people claimed to be Jesus|Second Coming}} [[File:Rev. Sun Myung Moon speaks, Las Vegas, NV, USA on April 4, 2010.png|thumb|150px|Sun Myung Moon]] The Christian Bible states that Jesus will come again in some fashion; various people have claimed to, in fact, be the Second Coming of Jesus. Others have styled themselves new messiahs under the umbrella of Christianity. The Synoptic gospels (Matthew 24:4, 6, 24; Mark 13:5, 21-22; and Luke 21:3) all use the term ''pseudochristos'' for messianic pretenders.<ref>Harris Lenowitz ''The Jewish Messiahs: From the Galilee to Crown Heights'' age 31 (2001) {{ISBN|978-0195148374}}</ref> * Ann Lee (1736–1784), a central figure to the Shakers,<ref>{{citation |last=Campion |first=Nardi Reeder |title=Ann the Word: The Life of Mother Ann Lee, Founder of the Shakers |location=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-316-12767-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/annwordlifeo00camp }}</ref> who thought she "embodied all the perfections of God" in female form and considered herself in 1772 to be Christ's female counterpart.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/topic/ann-lee |title=Mother Ann Lee (section Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Ann Lee) |publisher=Answers.com |date=2017-04-19 |access-date=2018-04-05}}</ref> * John Nichols Thom (1799–1838), who had achieved fame and followers as Sir William Courtenay and adopted the claim of Messiah after a period in a mental institute.<ref>{{citation|last=Rogers|first=P. G.|title=Battle in Bossenden Wood|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1961}}</ref> * Abd-ru-shin (Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, 18 April 1875 – 6 December 1941), founder of the Grail Movement.<ref name="Wilson1975">{{Bulleted list|{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=Bryan R.|author-link1=Bryan R. Wilson |year=1975 |title=The Noble Savages: The Primitive Origins of Charisma and Its Contemporary Survival |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kQE1mAKwUMUC&pg=PA114 |publisher=University of California Press |page=114 |isbn=978-0-520-02815-9 |quote=... but their prominence and relative success when compared with such figures as Louwrens van Voorthuizen (Lou) in Holland, Georges Roux in France, and Oskar Ernst Bernhardt in Germany and Austria, all of whom claimed to be the messiah—is striking. }}|<!--{{cite journal |last1=Vojtisek |first1=Zdenek |date=February 2006 |title=Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement |url=http://www.zvojtisek.cz/dokumenty/clanky/millennial_expectations.pdf |journal=Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=61–79|issn=1541-8480 |doi=10.1525/nr.2006.9.3.061 |quote=In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the “Conclusion” be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books. ... Four lectures and the “Conclusion” published in 1931 are omitted in the authorized postwar version. The reason for dropping three of the lectures is probably the same as the reason for omitting the “Conclusion” in 1937: they were too explicit in pointing to Bernhardt (Abd-ru-shin) as the Messiah. Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.<sup>28</sup> }}|{{cite web |date=14 February 2021| last1=Calvache |first1=Antonio Carlos |last2=Junior |first2=Roberto C. P. |title=Refutation of the text 'Millennial Expectations in the Grail Movement' by Zdenek Vojtisek |url=https://odsa.com.br/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Refutation.pdf |website=ODSA - O Dia Sem Amanhã |access-date=2024-01-18 |quote=Vojtisek’s claim that ''“In order to calm the public and hide his messianic claims, in 1937 Bernhardt ordered that the ‘Conclusion’ be cut out of all unsold In the Light of Truth books.”'' is false. Every author does have the right to revise his work when he sees fit, and when circumstances indicate such a need. Back then, removing the “Conclusion” had no intention to “calm” anyone, much less to hide anything. The statement ''“Of the omitted lectures, the fourth was probably unacceptable after the war due to ideas that might be considered racist.”'' is plain slanderous. (...) Abd-ru-shin has always indicated that all peoples should progress on their own, without foreign interference. He specifically describes this concept in the lecture “The beauty of the peoples”. None of the dissertations taken from the original edition has the slightest racist nature; besides, they would be in direct contradiction to the previously mentioned lecture “The beauty of the peoples”.}}|{{cite journal |last=Kürti |first=László |date=April 2001 |title=Psychic Phenomena, Neoshamanism, and the Cultic Milieu in Hungary |journal=Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=322–350 |doi=10.1525/nr.2001.4.2.322 |quote=Cultic milieu books, long familiar to Westerners, are being translated into Hungarian and sold in legitimate bookstores. The latest examples are Akashic Records by Victor Charon and The Message of the Grail by Abd-Ru-Shin [Oskar Ernst Bernhardt (1875-1941)]. Both are fashionable books involving esoteric worldviews with messianic claims, and both are widely distributed on the Hungarian publishing market. }}|« Etwa seit 1923 spürte O. E. Bernhardt seinen besonderen religiösen Auftrag. Er betrachtete sich selbst als Gottesgesandten und als den verheißenen "Menschensohn", der das unvollkommene Werk des "Gottessohnes" Jesus Christus vollenden sollte. 1924 ließ er sich scheiden und begann wenig später mit der Veröffentlichung von Abhandlungen in der von ihm herausgegebenen Zeitschrift "Gralsblätter". Dabei nannte er sich "Abd-ru-shin". » (Plagge 2003: 120-122).|« '''''Abd-ru-shin'''''<nowiki> (= Oskar Ernst Bernhardt; 1875-1941), ein Deutscher, sah das Werk Jesu Christi als gescheitert an und verkündigte sich selbst als den „wahren Christus“, welcher der Menschheit die rettende „Gralsbotschaft“ übermittelt. » (Gassmann 1999).</nowiki>|« Das dreibändige 1926 erschiene Werk ''Im Lichte der Wahrheit – Gralsbotschaft von Abd-ru-shin'' ist eine Sammlung von 168 Vorträgen und enthält die Hauptgedanken des Mannes, der sich als „Menschensohn“<sup>82</sup> verstand und in einer Pyramide auf dem Tiroler Vomperberg begraben ließ. » Diemling (2012: 153).|{{quote|EPILOGUE

Abdruschin has now completed His Message to mankind. In him has arisen

IMANUEL,

the Envoy of God, the Son of Man, whose coming to judge and to save those who have not cut themselves adrift from salvation, was foretold by Jesus the Son of God in corroboration of the prophecies of the prophets of old. He carries the insignias of His high Office: the living Cross of the Truth radiating from Him and the Divine Dove above Him, the same in-signias as were borne by the Son of God.

Awaken, oh man! For your spirit is asleep!|Abdruschin|In the Light of Truth. GRAIL MESSAGE. GREAT EDITION 1931}}|-->{{cite book | last=Janson | first=Marloes | title=Crossing Religious Boundaries: Islam, Christianity and 'Yoruba Religion' in Lagos, Nigeria | publisher=Cambridge University Press | series=The International African Library | year=2021 | isbn=978-1-108-83891-7 | chapter=6. Beyond Religion. The Grail Movement and Eckankar | chapter-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/crossing-religious-boundaries/beyond-religion/FF5C16A811F1FF57E7A7B6D8DB2AF909 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eVctEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 | access-date=2024-07-06 | page=154 | quote=The Grail Movement was founded by the self-proclaimed Messiah Oskar Ernst Bernhardt... | doi=10.1017/9781108979160.007 | lccn=2020055275}}}}</ref> * Lou de Palingboer (Louwrens Voorthuijzen){{sfn|Wilson|1975|p=114}} (1898-1968), a Dutch charismatic leader who claimed to be God as well as the Messiah from 1950 until his death in 1968. * Ahn Sahng-hong (1918–1985), founder of the World Mission Society Church of God and worshiped by the members as the Messiah.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.watv.org/ |title=World Mission Society Church of God |publisher=English.watv.org |access-date=2018-04-05}}</ref> * Sun Myung Moon (1920–2012), founder and leader of the Unification Church established in Seoul, South Korea, who considered himself the Second Coming of Christ, but not Jesus himself.<ref name=maass>[http://www.petermaass.com/articles/moon_at_twilight/ Moon At Twilight: Amid scandal, the Unification Church has a strange new mission], Peter Maass ''New Yorker Magazine'', September 14, 1998. "Moon sees the essence of his own mission as completing the one given to Jesus--establishing a "true family" untouched by Satan while teaching all people to lead a God-centered life under his spiritual leadership."..."Although Moon often predicts in his sermons that a breakthrough is near, Moffitt realizes that Moon may not come to be seen as the messiah in his lifetime."</ref> It is generally believed by Unification Church members ("Moonies") that he was the Messiah and the Second Coming of Christ and was anointed to fulfill Jesus's unfinished mission.<ref name=maass /> * Anne Hamilton-Byrne (born Evelyn Grace Victoria Edwards; 30 December 1921 – 13 June 2019), founder of The Family, Australia, claimed to have been the reincarnation of Jesus.<ref>{{cite web |date=25 September 2018 |title=Inside The Family, the bizarre and brutal Australian cult |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/conversations-thefamily-rpt/10279232 |access-date=21 July 2023 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> * {{Ill|Cho Hee-seung|ko|조희성}} (1931–2004), founder of the Victory Altar New Religious Movement, which refers to him as “the Victor Christ” and “God incarnated”. Died in the midst of a series of legal battles in which he was alternately convicted and acquitted on charges of fraud and instigation of the murders of multiple opponents.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Su-ki |date=2004-06-20 |title=Cult leader linked to killings dies |url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2004/06/20/socialAffairs/Cult-leader-linked-to-killings-dies/2430599.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=koreajoongangdaily.joins.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cho |first=Hyun |date=2021-02-10 |title=Controversial religious group at epicenter of COVID-19 cluster in Bucheon |url=https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/982744.html |access-date=2023-06-28 |website=english.hani.co.kr}}</ref> * Lee Man-Hee (born 15 September 1931), founder of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a new religious movement based in South Korea. Also known as The One Who Overcomes, he claims to be chosen by Jesus to be the next immortal savior of the world<ref>{{cite web |title=Coronavirus: South Korea sect leader to face probe over deaths |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51695649 |website=BBC |access-date=4 January 2025}}</ref> * Jung Myung-seok (born 1945), a South Korean who was a member of the Unification Church in the 1970s, before breaking off to found the dissenting group<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cnrs.fr/Cnrspresse/n400/html/en400foot03.htm| title=After the Moon sect: South Korea and indoctrination through the sacred game of football| publisher=CNRS| last=Luca| first=Nathalie| date=March 2002| access-date=2008-02-27| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051019143435/http://www.cnrs.fr/Cnrspresse/n400/html/en400foot03.htm| archive-date=2005-10-19}}</ref> now known as Providence Church in 1980.<ref name="guru">{{cite news | title=Guru said to have raped prospective brides before mass weddings | newspaper=Asahi Shimbun | date=3 August 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Concerns raised about cult led by fugitive | newspaper=Asahi Shimbun | date=28 July 2006 }}</ref> He also considers himself the Second Coming of Christ, but not Jesus himself.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/claims-sect-using-social-groups-to-recruit-members/2007/03/09/1173166991757.html|title=Claims sect using social groups to recruit members| newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald| date=2001-03-10|access-date=2008-02-27}}</ref> He believes he has come to finish the incomplete message and mission of Jesus Christ, asserting that he is the Messiah and has the responsibility to save all mankind.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/05/117_2823.html |title=Suspect of Corrupt Cult Founder Arrested in China |newspaper=The Korea Times |date=2007-05-13 |access-date=2008-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913080827/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2007/05/117_2823.html |archive-date=2007-09-13 |url-status=live }}</ref> He claims that the Christian doctrine of resurrection is false but that people can be saved through him. Jung Myung-seok was convicted of rape by the Supreme Court of Korea and spent 10 years in prison (2008-2018). He was again indicted in South Korea on October 28, 2022, for sexually assaulting two female followers between 2018 and 2022.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/02/113_19368.html |title=Cult Leader Extradited to Korea |newspaper=The Korea Times |date=2008-02-21 |access-date=2008-02-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080401134040/http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/02/113_19368.html |archive-date=2008-04-01 |url-status=live }}</ref> * Claude Vorilhon, now known as Raël "messenger of the Elohim" (born 1946), a French professional test driver and former car journalist who became founder and leader of UFO religion the Raël Movement in 1972. Raëlism teaches that life on Earth was scientifically created by a species of extraterrestrials, which they call Elohim. He claimed he met an extraterrestrial humanoid in 1973 and became the Messiah.<ref name="Raël, ''Intelligent Design''.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design''.</ref> He then devoted himself to the task he said he was given by his "biological father", an extraterrestrial named Yahweh.<ref name="Raël, ''Intelligent Design'', 290-1.">Raël, ''Intelligent Design''; 290-1.</ref> * José Luis de Jesús Miranda (1946–2013), founder and leader of ''Creciendo en Gracia'' sect (Growing In Grace International Ministry, Inc.), based in Miami, Florida. He was a Puerto Rican preacher who had claimed to be both "the Man Jesus Christ" and the Antichrist at the same time, and exhibited a "666" tattoo on his forearm, a behavior his followers also adopted. He has referred to himself as ''Jesucristo Hombre'', which translates to "Jesus Christ made Man". He claimed he was indwelled with the same spirit that dwelled in Jesus. Miranda died on August 14, 2013, due to liver cancer. * Inri Cristo (born 1948) of Indaial, Brazil, a claimant to be the second Jesus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.inricristo.org.br/EnglishSite/SummaryINRICRISTOslife.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606052710/http://www.inricristo.org.br/EnglishSite/SummaryINRICRISTOslife.html|url-status=dead|title=Summary of INRI CRISTO's life|archive-date=June 6, 2008}}</ref> * Apollo Quiboloy (born 1950), Filipino founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ religious group, who claims that Jesus Christ is the "Almighty Father," that Quiboloy is "His Appointed Son," and that salvation is now completed. He proclaims himself to be the "Appointed Son of God". On November 11, 2021, Quiboloy was indicted by the United States Department of Justice for allegedly coercing girls and young women to have sex with him. These victims were threatened with eternal damnation and physical punishment if they didn’t comply. The indictment also included allegations that Quiboloy ran a sex-trafficking operation. Girls as young as 12 were allegedly trafficked through the fraudulent California charity “Children’s Joy.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.kingdomofjesuschrist.org/2/kd/holyOne.html#top6|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090910042354/http://www.kingdomofjesuschrist.org/2/kd/holyOne.html|url-status=dead|title=Kingdom of Jesus Christ | Kingdom Doctrines | Holy One|archive-date=September 10, 2009}}</ref> Quiboloy was arrested by Philippine police on September 8, 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Argosino |first=Faith |date=2024-09-08 |title=Apollo Quiboloy has been arrested – DILG chief Abalos |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1981164/apollo-quiboloy-has-been-arrested-dilg-chief-abalos |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=INQUIRER.net |language=en}}</ref> * Brian David Mitchell (born 1953) was convicted May 25, 2011, for the 2002 kidnapping and rape of Elizabeth Smart. He believed himself the fore-ordained angel born on earth to be the Davidic "servant" prepared by God as a type of Messiah who would restore the divinely led kingdom of Israel to the world in preparation for Christ's Second Coming. Mitchell's belief in such an end-times figure – also known among many fundamentalist Latter Day Saints as "the One Mighty and Strong" – appeared to be based in part on a reading of the biblical Book of Isaiah by the independent LDS Hebraist, Avraham Gileadi, with whom Mitchell became familiar as a result of his previous participation in Sterling Allan's American Study Group.<ref name=MakingOf>{{cite news|work = Sunstone magazine|url = https://www.scribd.com/doc/33669792/Brian-David-Mitchell-The-Mormon-Fringe-Duffy|date = October 15, 2003|title = The Making of Immanuel: Brian David Mitchell and the Mormon Fringe|first = John-Charles|last = Duffy|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131211093635/http://www.scribd.com/doc/33669792/Brian-David-Mitchell-The-Mormon-Fringe-Duffy|archive-date = December 11, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50793974-76/mitchell-demier-interview-mental.html.csp?page=6|page = 6|newspaper = Salt Lake Tribune|title = Mitchell defense rests in Smart kidnap case|first1 = Pamela|last1 = Manson|first2 = Cimaron|last2 = Neugebauer|date = December 3, 2010}}</ref> * Ante Pavlović (1957–2020), a Croatian self-proclaimed chiropractor who claimed to be a reincarnation of Jesus Christ.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Umro samoprozvani kiropraktičar Ante Pavlović |url=https://www.index.hr/clanak.aspx?id=2199819 |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=www.index.hr |language=hr}}</ref> * Sergey Torop (born 1961), who started to call himself "Vissarion", founder of the Church of the Last Testament and the spiritual community Ecopolis Tiberkul in Southern Siberia. * Alan John Miller (born 1962), founder of Divine Truth, a new religious movement based in Australia. Also known as A.J. Miller, he claims to be Jesus of Nazareth through reincarnation. Miller was formerly a Jehovah's Witness.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://au.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/australian-cults-part-two-divine-truth-14322/ |title= Australian Cults: The Grim, The Bad And The Ugly - Pt. Two, Divine Truth |last= Reid |first= Poppy |date= 2020 |website= au.rollingstone.com |publisher= Rolling Stone |accessdate= 2023-01-20}}</ref> * Yang Xiangbin (born 1973) is believed to be the identity of a woman referred to as "Lightning Deng" and "the female Christ" in the literature of Eastern Lightning, a Chinese Christian new religious movement. Zhao Weishan, founder and administrative leader of Eastern Lightning, claimed that Yang revealed herself to be the Second Coming of Christ in 1992.<ref>{{cite news| url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/10/13/the-murderous-chinese-cult-that-thinks-jesus-has-returned-and-shes-chinese/|title = The murderous Chinese cult that thinks Jesus has returned — as a Chinese woman|newspaper = The Washington Post|first = Terrence|last = McCoy|date = October 13, 2014}}</ref>

==Muslim messiah claimants== {{See also|List of Mahdi claimants}} [[File:Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (c. 1897).jpg|thumb|216x216px|Mirza Ghulam Ahmad]] Islamic tradition has a prophecy of the Mahdi, who will come alongside the return of Isa (Jesus).

* Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, India (1835–1908), proclaimed himself to be both the expected Mahdi and Messiah.<ref name="jstor.org">Andrea Lathan (2008) [https://www.jstor.org/stable/27798273?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents ‘The Relativity of Categorizing in the Context of the Aḥmadiyya’] ''Die Welt des Islams'', 48 (3/4): 376</ref><ref>{{cite book| first = Antonio R.| last = Gualtieri| title = Conscience and Coercion: Ahmadi Muslims and Orthodoxy in Pakistan| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iCwHaOabz7YC&pg=PA20| year = 1989| publisher = Guernica Editions| isbn = 978-0-920717-41-7| page = 20 }}</ref> Crucially, however, he claimed that Jesus had died a natural death after surviving crucifixion,<ref name="jstor.org"/> and that prophecies concerning his future advent referred to the Mahdi himself bearing the qualities and character of Jesus rather than to his physical return alongside the Mahdi. He founded the Ahmadiyya Movement in 1889 envisioning it to be the rejuvenation of Islam. Adherents of the Ahmadiyya movement claim to be strictly Muslim, but are widely viewed by other Muslim groups as disbelievers and heretics.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8711026.stm|title = Who are the Ahmadi?|date = 28 May 2010|access-date = 19 April 2015|work = BBC News|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100530013220/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8711026.stm|archive-date=30 May 2010 |url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = When Muslims are not Muslims: the Ahmadiyya community and the discourse on heresy in Indonesia|last = Burhani|first = Ahmad Najib|publisher = University of California|year = 2013|isbn = 9781303424861|location = Santa Barbara, California|url = https://alexandria.ucsb.edu/lib/ark:/48907/f3707zhx}}</ref> * Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi (born 25 November 1941) is a spiritual leader and founder of the spiritual groups Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam<ref name="GSMFI">{{cite web |title=Messiah Foundation International Site about Shahi |url=http://www.goharshahi.com |access-date=March 13, 2010 |publisher=Messiah Foundation International}}</ref><ref name="About GS.PK">{{cite web |title=Website from Pakistan Sector |url=http://goharshahi.pk/images/ie-about.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022060215/http://goharshahi.pk/images/ie-about.html |archive-date=October 22, 2010 |access-date=March 12, 2010 |publisher=goharshahi.pk}}</ref> and RAGS International'','' now known as Messiah Foundation International.<ref name="Guardian">{{Citation |last1=Gabbatt |first1=Adam |title=Apocalypse now and again … your choice of dates for the end of the world |date=28 September 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/apocalypse-now-and-again-your-choice-of-dates-for-the-end-of-the-world |access-date=1 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="independent">{{Citation |title=End of the world: The apocalypses that await us if we make it through today |date=7 October 2015 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/end-of-the-world-the-apocalypses-that-await-us-if-we-make-it-through-today-a6685046.html |access-date=7 October 2015}}</ref><ref name="jobshire">{{Citation |title=End Of The World 2015: NASA Slams Conspiracy Theorists' Apocalypse Threats, Says No Scientific Basis For Imminent Mass Destruction |date=1 October 2015 |url=http://www.jobsnhire.com/articles/28714/20151001/end-world-2015-nasa-slams-conspiracy-theorists-apocalypse-threats-scientific-basis-imminent-mass-destruction.htm |access-date=2 October 2015}}</ref> MFI reports that Shahi claimed to be the Mahdi, Messiah, and Kalki Avatar.<ref name="UNHCR2">{{Citation |title=Structure and objective of the Mehdi Foundation and the perception of this movement in Pakistan |date=5 December 2008 |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/49997ae7d.pdf |access-date=9 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="BBCUrdu12">{{cite web |date=25 April 2007 |title=Jail upon burning the Pakistani Passports |url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/india/story/2007/04/070425_passport_burnt_np |access-date=25 April 2010 |publisher=British Broadcasting Cooperation (Urdu)}}</ref><ref name="BBCUrdu22">{{cite web |date=25 April 2007 |title=Jail upon burning the Pakistani Passports page 2 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/specials/1244_pkpics_wk17_zs/page3.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502223922/http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/specials/1244_pkpics_wk17_zs/page3.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2007 |access-date=25 April 2010 |publisher=British Broadcasting Cooperation (Urdu)}}</ref><ref name="UNHCR">{{cite web |date=5 December 2008 |title=Structure and objective of the Mehdi Foundation and the perception of this movement in Pakistan |url=http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/49997ae7d.pdf |access-date=9 October 2009}} </ref><ref name="BBCUrdu1">{{cite web |date=25 April 2007 |title=Jail upon burning the Pakistani Passports |url=https://www.bbc.com/urdu/india/story/2007/04/070425_passport_burnt_np |access-date=April 25, 2010 |publisher=British Broadcasting Cooperation (Urdu)}}</ref><ref name="BBCUrdu2">{{cite web |date=25 April 2007 |title=Jail upon burning the Pakistani Passports page 2 |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/specials/1244_pkpics_wk17_zs/page3.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502223922/http://www.bbc.co.uk/urdu/specials/1244_pkpics_wk17_zs/page3.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2007 |access-date=April 25, 2010 |publisher=British Broadcasting Cooperation (Urdu)}}</ref> Shahi has been also accused of claiming the status of a prophet.<ref name="DAWN">{{cite news |date=18 November 1997 |title=Gohar Shahi, chief of Anjuman-e-Sarferoshan-e-Islam |newspaper=Karachi News |location=Karachi |agency=DAWN}}</ref><ref name="moon">{{cite web |author=Ardeshir Cowasjee |author-link=Ardeshir Cowasjee |date=10 February 2002 |title=The Man in the Moon |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1072545/the-man-in-the-moon |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023234052/http://www.dawn.com/weekly/cowas/20020210.htm |archive-date=23 October 2010 |access-date=13 July 2013 |publisher=Dawn newspaper}}</ref> Shahi's supporters claim that his face became prominent on the Moon, Sun, nebula star and the Black Stone in Mecca, and that these appearances are signs from God that Gohar Shahi is the awaited Mahdi, Messiah, and Kalki Avatar.<ref name="hrrpt">{{cite web |date=23 February 2003 |title=Country Reports on Human Rights Practices by United States of America |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/sa/710.htm |access-date=7 March 2010 |publisher=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> According to MFI's website, Shahi claimed to be Awaited Messiah, but not the second coming of Jesus and claim that Jesus has also returned to support the Shahi.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Imam Mehdi |url=http://www.goharshahi.us/about/ |access-date=13 July 2013}}</ref> Gohar Shahi claimed to have met with Jesus in America.<ref name="GoharJesus">{{cite web |title=Return of Lord Jesus: Lord Jesus meets Lord Gohar Shahi in America |url=http://www.goharshahi.us/index.php?/about/meeting-with-jesus/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130522005656/http://www.goharshahi.us/index.php?%2Fabout%2Fmeeting-with-jesus%2F |archive-date=22 May 2013 |access-date=1 July 2012}}</ref> Mainstream Muslim scholars have rejected Shahi's claims, and condemned his teachings as blasphemous.<ref name="Daily Times">{{cite web |date=8 July 2004 |title=Pakistan's Supreme Court upholds ban on a Shahi disciple's book |url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_8-7-2004_pg7_43 |access-date=13 July 2013 |publisher=The Daily Times}}</ref>

== Baháʼí messiah claimants == [[File:Bahá'u'lláh (Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Núrí) in 1868.jpg|thumb|209x209px|Baháʼu'lláh]] This list features people who are said, either by themselves or their followers, to be the messianic fulfillment of two or more religious traditions. * Baháʼu'lláh, Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri, (1817–1892), born Shiite, adopting Bábism in 1844 (see Báb or "Ali Muhammad Shirazi" in List of Mahdi claimants). In 1863, Baháʼu'lláh claimed to be the promised one of all religions, and founded the Baháʼí Faith.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Balyuzi |first1=H.M. |title=Baháʼu'lláh |date=1963 |publisher=George Ronald |location=Oxford |isbn=0-85398-014-4 |pages=11–12, 33–34 |edition=1973}}</ref> He claimed to be the fulfillment of the prophecies of the coming of a promised figure found in all 6 of the major prophetic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism and Buddhism) as noted in the authoritative history of the Baha'i Faith.<ref>Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1944, pgs 94-97</ref> He also claimed to be the prophet predicted by the Báb as "He Whom God shall make manifest"<ref>Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1944, pg 97</ref> His followers have also claimed that his coming fulfilled prophecies of various smaller (often native) religions.

==Zoroastrian messiah claimants==

* Bahram Chobin, after he usurped the throne of the Sassanian Empire, declared himself to be the Messiah in the midst of the eschatological times of the late 6th century AD<ref>Stephen Shoemaker, Imperial Eschatology in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018, pp. 108-110</ref>

==Other messiah claimants== This list features people who have been said, either by themselves or their followers, to be some form of a messiah that do not easily fit into Jewish, Christian, Islamic or other eschatological traditions. * Cyrus Teed (1839–1908), proponent of the Hollow Earth theory who created a distinct model in which the world is an inverted sphere that the rest of universe can be seen from by looking inward and claimed to be the incarnation of Jesus Christ after being electrically shocked when attempting to practice alchemy with doses of magnetism during 1869.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Matt|last=Simon|title=Fantastically Wrong: The Legendary Scientist Who Swore Our Planet Is Hollow|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/07/fantastically-wrong-hollow-earth/|magazine=WIRED|date=Jul 2, 2014|access-date=2021-09-17}}</ref> * Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) of Nazi Germany has been claimed by some practitioners of Esoteric Nazism as the messiah, including Colin Jordan,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-04-27 |title=Colin Jordan: Leading figure in British fascism |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/colin-jordan-leading-figure-in-british-fascism-1675214.html |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> Savitri Devi,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Blake |date=2016-12-17 |title=Writings of French Hindu who worshipped Hitler as an avatar of Vishnu are inspiring the US alt-right |url=http://scroll.in/article/823142/writings-of-french-hindu-who-worshipped-hitler-as-an-avatar-of-vishnu-are-inspiring-the-us-alt-right |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=Scroll.in |language=en-US}}</ref> and Miguel Serrano.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Goodrick-Clarke |first=Nicholas |title=Black sun: Aryan cults, esoteric Nazism, and the politics of identity |date=2003 |publisher=New York Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-8147-3155-0 |edition=1. publ. in paperback |location=New York, NY}}</ref> Hitler had never claimed to be the messiah during his life, having had changing views towards religion. * Nirmala Srivastava (1923–2011), guru of Sahaja Yoga, proclaimed herself to be the Comforter promised by Jesus (that is, the incarnation of the Holy Ghost / Adi Shakti).<ref>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p27 "She began her mission of salvation in earnest, establishing a reputation as a faith healer ... Then, on December 2nd, 1979, in London, she unequivocally declared her divinity to her followers: '[Today] is the day I declare that I am the One who has to save the humanity. I declare, I am the one who is Adi Shakti, who is the Mother of all the mothers, who is the Primordial Mother, the Shakti, the purest desire of God, who has incarnated on this Earth to give meaning to itself...' Since then, she is most often understood by her followers to be the Devi, the Goddess of Indian mythology, returned to save the world."</ref> * World Teacher, a being claimed to be the Theosophical Maitreya and the Messiah (promised one) of all religions. He is said to have descended from the higher planes and manifested a physical body in early 1977 in the Himalayas, then on 19 July 1977 he is said to have taken a commercial airplane flight from Pakistan to England. He is currently said to be living in secret in London;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://share-international.org/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102002835/http://www.share-international.org/index.htm|url-status=dead|title=Share International on the Reappearance of Maitreya the World Teacher|archive-date=November 2, 2014|website=share-international.org}}</ref><ref name=SI1>{{Cite web|url=https://www.share-international.org/magazine/old_issues/2009/2009-07.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409071736/http://share-international.org/magazine/old_issues/2009/2009-07.htm|url-status=dead|title=Share International magazine July / August 2009 issue|archive-date=April 9, 2014|website=www.share-international.org}}</ref><ref>Niebuhr, Gustav. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3D71F39F933A15754C0A960958260 "New Millennium, Great Expectations."] ''The New York Times'', July 20, 1996</ref> promoted by New Age activist Benjamin Creme and his organization, Share International (See Maitreya (Benjamin Creme)). * David Icke (born 29 April 1952), New Age conspiracy theorist who came up with the idea of Draconians<ref>{{cite web|last=Robertson|first=David|title=David Icke's Reptilian Thesis and the Development of New Age Theodicy|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273932797|date=September 2013|access-date=2021-09-19}}</ref> and claimed to be the "son of God" during an interview on Wogan in 1991.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Day David Icke Told Terry Wogan 'I'm the Son of God'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/only-in-britain/david-icke-terry-wogan-interview/|publisher=The Telegraph|date=Apr 29, 2016|access-date=2021-09-19}}</ref> * Ezra Miller (born 1992), an actor, has claimed to be Jesus, the next Messiah, and the devil, saying they would bring about a Native American revolution.<ref name="VanityFair">{{cite magazine |first=Julie |last=Miller |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/09/inside-ezra-millers-dark-spiral-messiah-delusions |title=Ezra Miller's "Messiah" Delusions: Inside The Flash Star's Dark Spiral |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=September 18, 2022 |access-date=September 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918173927/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/09/inside-ezra-millers-dark-spiral-messiah-delusions |archive-date=September 18, 2022}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist|2}}

==Other sources== * Hogue, John ''Messiahs: The Visions and Prophecies for the Second Coming'' (1999) Elements Books {{ISBN|1-86204-549-6}} * ''Jewish Encyclopedia'', a public-domain work hosted at [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/index.jsp www.jewishencyclopedia.com/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628180823/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/index.jsp |date=2011-06-28 }} * Andreas Plagge: "Oskar Ernst Bernhardt". In: ''Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' (BBKL). Band 22, Bautz, Nordhausen 2003, {{ISBN|3-88309-133-2}}, Sp. 120–122, [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311132436/http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/b/bernhardt_o_e.shtml]. * Lothar Gassmann: ''Zukunft, Zeit, Zeichen. Aufruf zur Wachsamkaeit'', Verlag für Reformatorische Erneurung, Kaiserstr.78, D-42329 Wuppertal, 103 Seiten, [https://web.archive.org/web/20161019225131/http://www.aktion-leben-fulda.de/html/img/pool/222_verfuehrung.pdf]. * Patrick Diemling: ''Neuoffenbarungen Religionswissenschaftliche Perspektiven auf Texte und Medien des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts'', Universitätsverlag Potsdam, 2012, [https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/files/6161/diemling_diss.pdf].

* Messiah claimants Category:Self-declared messiahs