Posted: 3/29/2007 7:24:15 PM EDT
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Puerto Rican 'messiah' believes Miami is bridge to nations HOUSTON, Texas (BP)—A man who calls himself both "the Second Coming of Jesus" and "the Antichrist" is gathering followers among Hispanics in the United States after successfully spreading his no-sin, no-hell message through 30 other countries. Jose de Jesus, a 60-year-old Puerto Rican now preaching in Houston, told ABC News, "Before the presence of God, there's no more sin." He preaches that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ means sin no longer exists and people can do no wrong in God's eyes. It's not hard to understand why people would respond so readily to such a message, but de Jesus does draw a behavioral line. While morals are loose by any biblical Christian standard, he forbids drunkenness and drugs. Reared in a housing project in Puerto Rico, a teenage de Jesus stole to support his heroin addiction. He says two angels came to him in a 1973 vision in prison and the "spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth" entered him. After prison, he came to the United States to be a youth minister. According to de Jesus, Antichrist is not an evil being but is the next incarnation of Jesus on earth. His followers often get "666" tattoos to demonstrate their devotion. They ply him with expensive gifts and mariachi bands greet him at airports when he travels. With substantial numbers of disciples—perhaps a million—in Venezuela, Columbia, Cuba and other Latin American countries, de Jesus believes the time has come for him to spread his message in the United States. "Miami is the bridge for all nations," he told ABC News."That's where Hispanics are, and then eventually I'm going to find a lot of beautiful English-speaking people who will want to believe in me and I'm going to have millions of them." Tattoos a testament to allegiance MIAMI - Surrounded by a mob of news cameras, a group of smiling, well-dressed church members crowded into a South Beach storefront parlor on a recent muggy evening and got matching tattoos of their prophet's symbol: 666. Members of Growing in Grace, a controversial religious sect headquartered in Doral, Fla., said they were following the example of their leader, Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, who has claimed to be Jesus and recently declared himself the Antichrist. Critics have called De Jesus a cult leader who manipulates followers. Church members say he has brought them happiness and spiritual fulfillment. "This is backing up what I truly believe," said Alvaro Albarracin, 38, who heads a film production company and joined the church more than a decade ago. He showed a bandage that covered the freshly tattooed "666" on his forearm. "It's like a brand. It's like a sign." It's a sign most Christians would shun because for centuries the numbers have been associated with Satan. But for the 30 or so church members who branded themselves with 666 and SSS -- the initials of De Jesus' motto, "salvo siempre salvo," or "saved always saved" -- it's a mark of their absolute faith in De Jesus. Church members say the symbol doesn't connect them to Satan but rather to De Jesus' claim that he has replaced Christ's teachings with a new gospel. Scholars and critics of the movement say the tattoos offer frightening evidence of the influence De Jesus commands over his followers. "What is he going to do next to call attention to himself?" asked Daniel Alvarez, an instructor in the department of religious studies at Florida International University who has studied the movement. "This means that his control over people is so great that no matter what he says to them, they'll follow him." De Jesus was traveling in Puerto Rico and was not available to comment, said a church spokeswoman. De Jesus -- who preaches that sin and the devil were destroyed when Jesus died on the cross and that God's chosen already have been saved -- has built a massive movement around his claim to divinity. Followers call him "Daddy" and "God," and lavish him with $5,000 Rolexes and sometimes 40 percent or more of their salaries. De Jesus had just a few hundred followers when he launched his church in a Hialeah warehouse about 20 years ago. Today, he commands a global movement from his Doral headquarters that boasts 335 education centers, 200 pastors, 287 radio programs and a 24-hour Spanish-language TV network that's available to 2 million homes -- including by special request from some U.S. cable companies. Only De Jesus and his right-hand man, Carlos Cestero, are authorized to preach. In his sermons, De Jesus emphasizes wealth and success as a sign of God's favor. Many of his members are business owners who give a percentage of their corporate profits to De Jesus, said Alvaro Albarracin, who oversees corporate donations to the church and holds the title "entrepreneur of entrepreneurs." "Antichrist" is the latest in a string of titles De Jesus has bestowed on himself. In 1988, De Jesus announced he was the reincarnation of the Apostle Paul. In 1999, he dubbed himself "the Other," a spiritual superbeing who would pave the way for Christ's second coming. In 2004, he proclaimed himself to be Jesus Christ. That claim caused some prominent members to defect from the movement -- including De Jesus' first wife, Nydia, and his son Jose Luis Jr., who started his own church in Puerto Rico. Last month, during a packed worship service at the church, De Jesus took off his coat and revealed the numbers 666 on his forearm. "This is a congregation of Antichrists," De Jesus said, drawing whistles and cheers. The number 666 appears in the Book of Revelation, a portion of the New Testament that details the prophet John's apocalyptic vision of the rise of the Antichrist, the tribulation and Christ's return. In Revelation, a horned beast appears on earth and requires everyone to get his mark -- 666 -- on the right hand or forehead. Experts on new religious movements say De Jesus' opposition to other religions, and his claim to be the only legitimate spiritual authority, resemble the teachings of some cults. "It's clearly a personality-driven group," said Rick Ross, an anti-cult consultant based in New Jersey. "It is defined by the claims of De Jesus Miranda." |
Yeah, but does he have a beer volcano and a stripper factory? I THINK NOT. |
 I just about blew snot all over my desk
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I have to give credit where it's due. 
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Eight-year-olds, Dude. |
Hi Jesus!
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I had a guy in my platoon named Jesus (pronounced HAY-SOOS), and his tactical callsign was "SAVIOR".  This thread reminds me of this post I made the other day: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=560588 Directly related...but not a dupe for the hard on dupe police. |
