Pastor with 666 tattoo claims to be divine

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Ontario
www.poetrypoem.com
By John Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann
CNN


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.

"He's in their heads, he's inside the heads of those people," says Prof. Daniel Alvarez, a religion expert at Florida International University who has debated some of de Jesus' followers.
"De Jesus speaks with a kind of conviction that makes me consider him more like David Koresh or Jim Jones."
Is de Jesus really a cult leader like David Koresh, who died with more than 70 of his Branch Davidian followers in a fiery end to a standoff with federal authorities, or Jim Jones, the founder of the Peoples Temple who committed mass suicide with 900 followers in 1978?
Prophets 'spoke to me'

De Jesus and his believers say their church -- "Creciendo en Gracia," Spanish for "Growing in grace" -- is misunderstood. Followers of the movement say they have proof that their minister is divine and that their church will one day soon be a major faith in the world.
But even de Jesus concedes that he is an unlikely leader of a church that claims thousands of members in more than 30 countries.
De Jesus, 61, grew up poor in Puerto Rico. He says he served stints in prison there for petty theft and says he was a heroin addict.
De Jesus says he learned he was Jesus reincarnate when he was visited in a dream by angels.
"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.
Doing God's work with a Lexus and Rolex

If Creciendo en Gracia is an atypical religious group, de Jesus also does not fit the mold of the average church leader. De Jesus flouts traditional vows of poverty.
He says he has a church-paid salary of $136,000 but lives more lavishly than that. During an interview, he showed off a diamond-encrusted Rolex to a CNN crew and said he has three just like them. He travels in armored Lexuses and BMWs, he says, for his safety. All are gifts from his devoted followers.
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."
And de Jesus says that means him.
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.
 

tamarin

House Member
Jun 12, 2006
3,197
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Oshawa ON
Give me a half hour with him. I'll put him in a headlock, take sandpaper to his tattoo and make him apologize. Pro-active. Could be fun.
 

Sparrow

Council Member
Nov 12, 2006
1,202
23
38
Quebec
Slightly touched in the head if you ask me! How can people believe this crap? The big problem is that some poeple will blindly follow him putting themselves and their families in danger. This is a real example of a religious hoax.
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Ontario
www.poetrypoem.com
Slightly touched in the head if you ask me! How can people believe this crap? The big problem is that some poeple will blindly follow him putting themselves and their families in danger. This is a real example of a religious hoax.


The reality is that many, many people are spiritually lost. They ache for the comfort of faith, but lack the ability to find it. These charlatans come along and are quite capable of knowing just what to say to con these people into following them. I find it not only spiritually dangerous, but very sad.
 

selfactivated

Time Out
Apr 11, 2006
4,276
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Richmond, Virginia
The reality is that many, many people are spiritually lost. They ache for the comfort of faith, but lack the ability to find it. These charlatans come along and are quite capable of knowing just what to say to con these people into following them. I find it not only spiritually dangerous, but very sad.


Jim Jones bunch and another church had my Mother convinced that I was possessed. If it wasnt for family interveining I would have been drinking coolaid. Cults are unconsciable. I dont belong to a cult but I can see how people get drawn in.
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Ontario
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Anyone who claims special divinity or knowledge of god is dangerous. Messias have a tendency to die messy deaths and frequently take a few of the faithful with them.

In my city there is a fairly large Pentecostal church that is quite aggressive in its evangelization techniques. They bought this old factory on the outskirts of the city, a huge place, and converted it inot this mega-church.

They are what is refferred to as "prosperity-be healed" type funadamentalists.

When I had my very first parish back in 1996, two newcomers showed up one Sunday for Mass.
Naturally I made a beeline to introduce myself to them after Mass. Gary used two canes to get around. He was a man in his mid-40's at the time who had had a work-releated accident that gave left him disabled. I believe he had fallen from a ladder onto his back?

Anyway, as I got to know these two I leanred they were refugees from this mega-church. Gary told me they had been banished from the church because of his lack of faith. You can imagine my astonishment. In pursuing the story I discovered that this place does a weekly "healing service". One of those "be healed" scenes you see on tv.

The senior members of the pastoral team had prayed for Gary to be healed. When he wasn't healed, they turned on him like wolves, telling him he wasn't healed because he lacked faith in Jesus and therefore would burn in hell.

I could not, but could not, believe that such a thing could be told to anybody.
These types of cults can do severe damage to a person's faith walk and their psyche.
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Jim Jones bunch and another church had my Mother convinced that I was possessed. If it wasnt for family interveining I would have been drinking coolaid. Cults are unconsciable. I dont belong to a cult but I can see how people get drawn in.

It's sad. As I said, I don't believe people are turning anti-spiritual as many would suggest. I think people in general are searching for a spiritual path and these cult types come along and take advantage of this genuine need. I've witnessed and dealt with groups in this city that have had their membership turn over all their jewellery to the pastor(because god dosen't want you to adorn yourself-don't ya know!), sign over pay-cheques, and a host of other exploitive
behaviours.
 

Vereya

Council Member
Apr 20, 2006
2,003
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And what about the tattoo of 666 on his arm?

Sanctus, I was always curious about this 666 number, so maybe you can answer a few questions for me? Do you happen to know just why exactly is 666 the number of Satan? I mean, why not 444? Or 267, for instance? What is the meaning behind these numbers? I tried to find some information concerning it, but I found nothing.
 

Zzarchov

House Member
Aug 28, 2006
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if "Anyone who claims to be divine" is nuts..

Then how will you know if Jesus returns? If you truly believe in a faith you have to believe in it, even the parts others find "cooky".

We say we are a land of religious tolerance, but we only tolerate you if you talk to god..not if he talks back. Whether or not its a tenant of your faith, you get shipped to the nut house.
 

sanctus

The Padre
Oct 27, 2006
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Sanctus, I was always curious about this 666 number, so maybe you can answer a few questions for me? Do you happen to know just why exactly is 666 the number of Satan? I mean, why not 444? Or 267, for instance? What is the meaning behind these numbers? I tried to find some information concerning it, but I found nothing.
[SIZE=+1]Who or What Is the Beast? [/SIZE]
The answer to this nearly 2000-year-old question depends on how you choose to interpret the Book of Revelation (a.k.a. the Apocalypse), the last book of the New Testament.
Near the middle of this highly symbolic book are descriptions of several strange creatures:​
  • First, "a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads"; it is described further after being defeated by Michael and his angels in a battle in heaven: "The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world--he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him" (Rev 12:3-18);
  • Second, "a beast rising out of the sea having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names... [it] was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority..." (Rev 13:1-10);
  • Third, "another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast..." (Rev 13:11-18).
At the end of the paragraph about this third beast, the author challenges the reader with an intriguing puzzle: "This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six." (13:18).
In order to understand this text, one must know that ancient Hebrew (like Greek and other ancient languages) did not have a separate set of characters to indicate numbers, but simply used the letters of its alphabet to represent numbers. This fact provides the basis for the ancient practice of "gematria," in which numerical equivalents of words and names are calculated (still a popular game today!).​
  • The basic idea is that every word has a number associated with it, obtained by adding up the numerical equivalent of each letter in the word.
    • This is mostly commonly done with names; thus every person has a number, the numerical value of his or her name.
  • There are several different ways of assigning numbers to the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, but the system most commonly used is this:
    alef = 1; bet = 2; gimel = 3; dalet = 4; hey = 5; waw = 6; zayin = 7; chet = 8; tet = 9; yod = 10; kaf = 20; lamed = 30; mem = 40; nun = 50; samek = 60; ayin = 70; pey = 80; tsadeh = 90; qof = 100; resh = 200; shin = 300; taw = 400.
    • For example, the name "David" has a value of 14 in Hebrew (since it is written dalet-waw-dalet, which is 4+6+4); see Matthew 1:17.
  • The same game can be played in any language by assigning numerical values to each letter of the alphabet: for example, a = 1, b = 2, c = 3, etc.
    • However, the results you want to get may determine which numerical system you choose; for example, you can get HITLER = 666 if you choose a system in which a=100, b=101, c=102, etc.
[SIZE=+1]So, Who Is the Person Whose Number Is 666? [/SIZE]
Throughout history, attempts have been made to identify 666 with many famous people (usually one's enemies)!
  • Since the Reformation (and still today!), some Protestants have tried to connect 666 with the Pope, either with the "Roman Pontiff" in general or with a specific Pope in particular. On the other hand, some Catholics used to see a link between the apocalyptic beast and Martin Luther.
Most biblical historians agree, however, that the Book of Revelation is simply referring to the Roman Emperor NERO, the most "beastly" ruler of the first Christian Century:
  • The Hebrew equivalent of "Emperor Nero" could be written NRWN QSR (nun-resh-waw-nun qof-samek-resh in Hebrew spelling); thus, the first word is 50+200+6+50, the second word is 100+60+200, and the total is no surprise!
  • For more extensive discussion of the first-century Roman Empire and the historical references behind the dragon, the sea beast, and the land beast in Rev 12-13, see any good biblical commentary on the Book of Revelation.
 

Curiosity

Senate Member
Jul 30, 2005
7,326
138
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California
Messianic Complex or even more deeply disturbed or perhaps has a schtick!

There are untold numbers of these guys - this one bearing a tattoo available in most towns for a small price.... and a bible.... also easily available.... and the gift of talk..... also available ....

Some are actually mentally unstable and some are great cons running their mouths for money....

Caveat emptor...
 

darleneonfire

Electoral Member
Jan 12, 2007
203
2
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Ontario
if "Anyone who claims to be divine" is nuts..

Then how will you know if Jesus returns? If you truly believe in a faith you have to believe in it, even the parts others find "cooky".

We say we are a land of religious tolerance, but we only tolerate you if you talk to god..not if he talks back. Whether or not its a tenant of your faith, you get shipped to the nut house.

Well, it seems to me that if Jesus were to actually return, we'd know who He was!
 

AmberEyes

Sunshine
Dec 19, 2006
495
36
28
Vancouver Island
Well, it seems to me that if Jesus were to actually return, we'd know who He was!

I agree! I think that if another strong healer were to return we would in fact know him immediatly. Not because of what we're told, but because of how we'd feel after meeting him. I have met many strong healers (and Jesus was a healer, among other things) and they project a feeling of a peace and tranquility amongst all who surround them. I think that the feeling would increase ten fold if Jesus were amongst us today.
 

Libra Girl

Electoral Member
Feb 27, 2006
723
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By John Zarrella and Patrick Oppmann
CNN


If Creciendo en Gracia is an atypical religious group, de Jesus also does not fit the mold of the average church leader. De Jesus flouts traditional vows of poverty.
He says he has a church-paid salary of $136,000 but lives more lavishly than that. During an interview, he showed off a diamond-encrusted Rolex to a CNN crew and said he has three just like them. He travels in armored Lexuses and BMWs, he says, for his safety. All are gifts from his devoted followers.

He's either a candidate for the funny farm with the rubber wallpaper, or an extremely able confidence trickster, and laughing all the way to the bank! Amazing that people actually follow him...
 

BmOnline

New Member
Feb 24, 2007
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www.bmonline.no
Yes, so it is.

Here's some more real info about the realism of the Word:

Prayer
When your pastor prays for you, say, "Well, he must not be a man of God, or God would've heard his prayer." What about your faith? It's your faith that touches God, not altogether his prayer. You're obeying God's Word. And when you obey God's Word, God's under obligation to answer you, if you believe Him. It lays in you. Don't blame the other man.

BELIEVEST THOU THIS 50-0115


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Sometimes we go off on a tantrum somewhere and not think about God, not pray over it, ask the Lord whether we should do it or not, and we find out that our supply of blessings is cut off. Then we wonder sometime, "Well, wonder why I can't have no more blessings." You don't watch, you let down in your prayer life. You say, "Well, I'm a Christian." Well, that's the more sign you should pray, more than ever. Read the Bible every day. Pray every day. Don't make any decisions too harshly or too quickly, without first considering God about it. Ask Him, "Shall I do this, Father?" Ask Him, "Is it Your will for me to do this?" Then see what the Holy Spirit will speak to you. He might not give you a vision, but He will speak in some way to you, to let you know, if you'll be sincere and ask Him.

THE PROPHET ELISHA 54-0723


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Devils tremble when the weakest of saints goes to their knees. What a power and a privilege has been given to the Church of the living God. When you fall to your knees in prayer even the devils tremble, to the weakest of them. Think of it.

JESUS CHRIST THE SAME YESTERDAY TODAY AND FOREVER 55-0116E


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Prayer is not a--a perhaps. Prayer is a sincere thing. Prayer is talking to God. Prayer is not get down, shut your eyes, and thinking about your washing or your work you're doing, say, "Lord, help me and John, and heal Miss Jones and so forth." That's not prayer. That's repeating some words. But prayer is to come into an atmosphere where you realize that you're in the Presence of God and you're moving to then in the deepest of sincerity. First you say a little worship, "O Jehovah, how I love You." You see it? Then after the worship of prayer, then you come with a sincere heart asking.

THE SUPERNATURAL 56-0129


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Why, my dear brother and sister, the morals of this nation has become so low till it would make a dog ashamed. It would make a hound blush if it could do so, the immorals of our people. The people, even years ago the things that we have, that the nation has done, the things that the people has done, it's all the lack of prayer.

A BLUSHING PROPHET 56-1125E


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An Angel's a servant. We're sons and daughters. Which is the most thought of, your servant or your son or daughter? Oh, my. Prayer from a saint will go a million times higher than an Angel (Yes, sir.), because he's a son.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 59-1223


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It's our business to pray till our children are saved. Keep our house in order.

THE WAY OF A TRUE PROPHET 63-0119


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Brother, sister, if Jesus had to pray earnestly, how much more have we got to pray earnestly. If Christ, the God of heaven made flesh, had to pray earnestly, then how much more are we, sinners saved by grace, pray earnestly? If--if the decision throwed the Son of God into despair, what will it do to you and I? Desperately we must cry.

DESPERATIONS 63-0901E


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Jesus said, "When you pray, pray like this manner, 'Our Father Who Art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thine will be done." Who, find where we do that? We're always wanting God to run errands for us or do something for us. But when we're willing to say, "Thy will be done," commit ourselves to Him, commit our ways to Him, all that we are, commit it to Him. That's when God will move, when you're willing to let Him work on you, not you work on Him.

THE WORLD IS AGAIN FALLING APART 63-1127


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It isn't necessary to come up here and kneel down, and pray through until you--until you're saved. You're saved already, but you have to accept it. Your praying doesn't do it. Your faith is what you're saved by, not by prayer. But by faith are you saved: same thing by healing.

A PARADOX 65-0117


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Now, you must pray over the church that you are fellowshipping in. Remember, churches have spirits. Now, I don't want to be critical, but I realize that I'm an old man, and I got to leave here one of these days. I've got to answer at the day of the judgment for what I say tonight or any other time, and I--therefore, I've got to be dead earnest and truly convicted. But you go into a church, and if you'll watch the behavior of that church, you just watch the pastor awhile, and you'll usually find that the church acts like the pastor. Sometimes I wonder if we just don't get one another's spirit instead of the Holy Spirit.

THE.CHOOSING.OF.A.BRIDE 65-0429E

(William M. Branham)

BmOnline