MIAMI, Florida (CNN) — “The minister has the number 666 tattooed on his arm. But Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda is not your typical minister. De Jesus, or “Daddy” as his thousands of followers call him, does not merely pray to God: He says he is God.
“The spirit that is in me is the same spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth,” de Jesus says.
De Jesus’ claims of divinity have angered Christian leaders, who say he is a fake. Religious experts say he may be something much more dangerous, a cult leader who really believes he is God…
The prophets, they spoke about me. It took me time to learn that, but I am what they were expecting, what they have been expecting for 2,000 years,” de Jesus says.
The church that he began building 20 years ago in Miami resembles no other:
Followers have protested Christian churches in Miami and Latin America, disrupting services and smashing crosses and statues of Jesus. De Jesus preaches there is no devil and no sin. His followers, he says, literally can do no wrong in God’s eyes. The church calls itself the “Government of God on Earth” and uses a seal similar to the United States…
…And what about the tattoo of 666 on his arm?
Although it’s a number usually associated with Satan, not the son of God, de Jesus says that 666 and the Antichrist are, like him, misunderstood.
The Antichrist is not the devil, de Jesus tells his congregation; he’s the being who replaces Jesus on Earth.
“Antichrist is the best person in the world,” he says. “Antichrist means don’t put your eyes on Jesus because Jesus of Nazareth wasn’t a Christian. Antichrist means do not put your eyes on Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Put it on Jesus after the cross.”
So far, de Jesus says that his flock hasn’t been scared off by his claims of being the Antichrist. In a show of the sway he holds over the group, 30 members of his congregation Tuesday went to a tattoo parlor to have 666 also permanently etched onto their skin.He may wield influence over them, but his followers say don’t expect them to go the way of people who believed in David Koresh and Jim Jones. Just by finding de Jesus, they say, they have achieved their purpose.
“If somebody tells us drink some Kool-Aid and we’ll go to heaven, that’s not true. We are already in heavenly places,” follower Martita Roca told CNN after having 666 tattooed onto her ankle.
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Is it wrong to wish a lightning bolt on someone?
yikes
ive always been curiouse how things would pan out in the light of the antichrist, and how, with all that most people know these days, could an antichrist come into the picture being under the raidar.
It would make sence that over time people in general would have to be made numb to the idea of an antichrist. and to some degree ideas and concepts would have to shift.
so is this guy just another shot of numbing shift to a world of new ideas and concepts
randy
i’m putting this exact post on my blog right now. holy crap.
of course, i’ll credit where credit is due.
Oh, yeah. I read about this hoser. Poor fella only gets three or four diamond-studded Rolex watches as gifts. What’s he gonna with that paultry offering to the antichrist/Christ dynamic duo in uno. The tat is just a classic over the top action. And his followers getting the same tat: that’s just devotion for ya.
I just checked out his website (thanks to your link on Brant’s blog). I like his FAQ, answering one question “Could Dr Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda be another false Christ?”. His answer is quite circular: Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22 say that false Christs and prophets will come with signs and wonders. Since de Jesus does not come with signs and wonders, he is therefore the true Christ.
Uhm, wouldn’t that make everyone the true Christ?