WMirzā Ghulām Ahmad was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya movement in Islam. He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Messiah and Mahdi—which is the metaphorical second-coming of Jesus (mathīl-iʿIsā), in fulfillment of Islam's latter day prophecies, as well as the Mujaddid of the 14th Islamic century.
WAhn Sahng-hong was a Korean Christian minister and founder of the Church of God Jesus Witnesses. In 1948, after receiving the baptism of the Seventh-day Adventist priest, he began to call for the restoration of the truth of the New Testament and the last religious reformation. In 1964, he officially established the Church of God Jesus Witnesses in Busan. Ahn Sahng-hong believed that Catholic and Protestant Sundays, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and wearing the cross should not be observed because they are not biblical doctrines, and he advocated the observance of Sabbath and the seven festivals including and Passover, Pentecost and Sukkot.
WKevin Michael "GG" Allin was an American punk rock musician and songwriter who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. Allin was best known for his controversial live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including self-mutilation and assaulting audience members, for which he was arrested and imprisoned on multiple occasions. AllMusic called him "the most spectacular degenerate in rock n' roll history", while G4TV's That's Tough labelled him the "toughest rock star in the world".
WIn Christian eschatology, the Antichrist, or anti-Christ, refers to people prophesied by the Bible to oppose Christ and substitute themselves in Christ's place before the Second Coming. The term Antichrist is found five times in the New Testament, solely in the First and Second Epistle of John. The Antichrist is announced as the one "who denies the Father and the Son."
WMarshall Herff Applewhite Jr., also known as Do, among other names, was an American cult leader who co-founded what became known as the Heaven's Gate religious group and organized their mass suicide in 1997, claiming the lives of 39 people.
WShoko Asahara , born Chizuo Matsumoto , was the founder and leader of the Japanese doomsday cult known as Aum Shinrikyo. He was convicted of masterminding the deadly 1995 sarin-gas attack on the Tokyo subway, and was also involved in several other crimes. Asahara was sentenced to death in 2004. In May 2012, his execution was postponed due to further arrests of Aum members. He was executed by hanging on July 6, 2018.
WSathya Sai Baba was an Indian guru and philanthropist. At the age of fourteen he claimed that he was the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, and left his home in order to serve the society and be an example to his followers.
WAlexander Bedward was the founder of Bedwardism. He was one of the most successful preachers of Jamaican Revivalism. Along with Joseph Robert Love, Bedward was one of the forerunners of Marcus Garvey and his brand of pan-Africanism.
WKalki Bhagawan, also known as Sri Bhagavan, is an Indian godman, cult leader, businessman and real estate investor. A former clerk in LIC, he gained popularity during the 1990s and early 2000s, after claiming to be Kalki, an incarnation of God according to Hinduism.
WJames Brighouse was a late-nineteenth-century American leader of a splinter sect in the Latter Day Saint movement called the Order of Enoch. Brighouse was one of the first people to claim to be the "One Mighty and Strong" that Joseph Smith, Jr. had prophesied of in 1832. He was born in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, on 14 September 1841. Brighouse died on 17 July 1916, in South Cottonwood, Utah, United States.
WChing Hai, commonly referred to as Suma or Supreme Master Ching Hai, is a Vietnamese spiritual leader of the Guanyin Famen (Chinese) or Quan Yin Method transnational cybersect. Based out of Taiwan, she is estimated to have 2 million followers worldwide. Ching Hai founded the Loving Hut vegan restaurant chain and vegan Celestial Shop fashion company under Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association.
WOn November 29, 2009, four police officers of Lakewood, Washington were fatally shot at the Forza Coffee shop, located at 11401 Steele Street #108 South in the Parkland unincorporated area of Pierce County, Washington, near Tacoma. A gunman, later identified as Maurice Clemmons, entered the shop, shot the officers while they worked on laptops, and fled the scene with a single gunshot wound in his torso. After a massive two-day manhunt that spanned several nearby cities, an officer recognized Clemmons near a stalled car in south Seattle. When he refused orders to stop, he was shot and killed by a Seattle Police Department officer.
WAntônio Conselheiro, in English "Anthony the Counselor", real name Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel was a Brazilian religious leader, preacher, and founder of the village of Canudos, the scene of the War of Canudos (1896–1897), a civil rebellion against the central government which was brutally stamped out with the loss of more than 15,000 lives.
WFranz Edmund Creffield, commonly known as Edmund Creffield and by the pseudonym Joshua, was a German-American religious leader who founded a movement in Corvallis, Oregon that became known locally as the "Holy Rollers". The movement, mainly popular among women, was widely regarded as a cult. Creffield, who believed himself the second coming of Jesus, had a number of run-ins with the authorities and the local citizenry over the next several years, often stemming from his relations with his female followers and his increasingly erratic behavior.
WÁlvaro Thais, better known by his nickname Inri Cristo, is a Brazilian self-proclaimed religious leader who claims to be the reincarnation of Jesus. Álvaro was raised in the interior of Blumenau and became an audio operator to a local radio station. He later moved to Curitiba, where he became famous as a persona in comedy television programs, getting to participate in a widely circulated advertising campaign.
WAdi Da Samraj, born Franklin Albert Jones, was an American spiritual teacher, writer and artist. He was the founder of a new religious movement known as Adidam. He changed his name numerous times throughout his life; these names included Bubba Free John, Da Free John, Da Love-Ananda, Da Kalki, Da Avadhoota and Da Avabhasa, among others. From 1991 until his death, he was known as Adi Da Love-Ananda Samraj or Adi Da.
WDivine Truth is a spiritual movement based in Queensland, Australia, taught by Alan John Miller, also known as A.J., who claims to be Jesus of Nazareth, and his partner, Mary Suzanne Luck, who claims to be Mary Magdalene. The couple describe Divine Truth as non-religious.
WFather Divine, also known as Reverend M. J. Divine, was an African-American spiritual leader from about 1907, until his death. His full self-given name was Reverend Major Jealous Divine, and he was also known as "the Messenger" early in his life. He founded the International Peace Mission movement, formulated its doctrine, and oversaw its growth from a small and predominantly black congregation into a multiracial and international church. Due to his ideology, many consider him to be a cult leader.
WGlenn Taylor Helzer is a self-declared prophet, former cult leader and spree killer who founded and led the Children of Thunder. Helzer and his followers murdered five people as part of an extortion plot intended to culminate with Helzer taking over The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and hastening the return of Christ; among their victims was Selina Bishop, daughter of blues guitarist Elvin Bishop.
WHong Xiuquan, born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Hakka Chinese revolutionary who was the leader of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over varying portions of southern China, with himself as the "Heavenly King" and self-proclaimed younger brother of Jesus Christ.
WJesus, c. 4 BC – AD 30 / 33, also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Most Christians believe he is the incarnation of God the Son and the awaited messiah, prophesied in the Old Testament.
WJames Warren Jones was an American cult leader, mass murderer, political activist, preacher and faith healer who led the Peoples Temple, a new religious organization which existed between 1955 and 1978. Jones and his inner circle orchestrated a mass murder–suicide in his remote jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978.
WJosé Luis de Jesús Miranda was the leader of the Creciendo en Gracia cult, based in Miami, Florida. He claimed to be both the returned phase of Jesus Christ and the Antichrist; he was known for making statements that opposed the precepts of the Roman Catholic Church but that followed his interpretation of the Bible. He was previously known as el Jesucristo Hombre but shortly after his death, his followers granted him the title of Melchizedek because, as stated by his official site, he attained his new and final name which means king of justice and king of peace. Footage from one of his sermons as well as an interview with comedian Bill Maher are included in the 2008 documentary film Religulous.
WAndrew Keegan is an American actor best known for his roles in television shows including Trinkets, Moesha, Party of Five and 7th Heaven and in films such as 10 Things I Hate about You (1999), The Broken Hearts Club (2000) and O (2001).
WRua Kenana Hepetipa or Rua Kēnana Hepetipa was a Māori prophet, faith healer and land rights activist. He called himself Te Mihaia Hou, the New Messiah, and claimed to be Te Kooti Arikirangi's successor Hepetipa (Hephzibah) who would reclaim Tūhoe land that had been lost to Pākehā ownership. Rua's beliefs split the Ringatū Church, which Te Kooti had founded in around 1866/1868. In 1907 Rua formed a non-violent religious community at Maungapōhatu, the sacred mountain of Ngāi Tūhoe, in the Urewera. By 1900, Maungapōhatu was one of the few areas that had not been investigated by the Native Land Court. The community, also known as New Jerusalem, included a farming co-operative and a savings bank. Many Pākehā believed the community was subversive and saw Rua as a disruptive influence.
WDavid Koresh was an American cult leader who played a central role in the Waco siege of 1993. As the head of the Branch Davidians sect, an offshoot of the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Koresh claimed to be its final prophet.
WKrishna is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love and is one of the most popular and widely revered among Indian divinities. Krishna's birthday is celebrated every year by Hindus on Krishna Janmashtami according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, which falls in late August or early September of the Gregorian calendar.
WCharles Milles Manson was an American criminal and cult leader. In mid-1967, he formed what became known as the "Manson Family", a quasi-commune based in California. His followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in July and August 1969. Although the motive for the murders was disputed by Manson, the Los Angeles County District Attorney believed that Manson intended to start a race war. In 1971, he was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, including the film actress Sharon Tate. The prosecution contended that, while Manson never directly ordered the murders, his ideology constituted an overt act of conspiracy.
WMitsuo Matayoshi was a Japanese political activist, known for his perennial candidacy. He styled himself The only God Matayoshi Mitsuo Jesus Christ (唯一神又吉光雄・イエス・キリスト) or Jesus Matayoshi (又吉イエス). He was the leader of the World Economic Community Party (世界経済共同体党).
WEduard Albert Meier, commonly nicknamed "Billy", is the founder of a UFO religion called the "Freie Interessengemeinschaft für Grenz- und Geisteswissenschaften und Ufologiestudien" and alleged contactee whose UFO photographs are claimed to show alien spacecraft. Meier claims to be in regular contact with extraterrestrial beings he calls the Plejaren. He also presented other material during the 1970s such as metal samples, sound recordings and film footage. Meier claims to be the seventh reincarnation after six prophets common to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Enoch, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Immanuel (Jesus), and Mohammed.
WElizabeth Ann Smart was kidnapped at age fourteen on June 5, 2002, by Brian David Mitchell from her home in the Federal Heights neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. She was held captive by Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, and later, in San Diego County, California. Her captivity lasted approximately nine months before she was discovered in Sandy, Utah, approximately 18 miles (29 km) from her home.
WSun Myung Moon was a Korean religious leader, also known for his business ventures and support for political causes. A messiah claimant, he was the founder of the Unification movement, and of its widely noted "Blessing" or mass wedding ceremony, and the author of its unique theology the Divine Principle. He was an anti-communist and an advocate for Korean reunification, for which he was recognized by the governments of both North and South Korea. Businesses he promoted included News World Communications, an international news media corporation known for its American subsidiary The Washington Times, and Tongil Group, a South Korean business group (chaebol), as well as other related organizations.
WMusaylimah short for Musaylimah al-Kadhdhāb otherwise known as Maslamah ibn Ḥabīb d.632, was a preacher of monotheism from the Banū Ḥanīfah tribe, and one of a series of people who claimed to be a prophet in 7th-century Arabia. He was a leader during the Wars of Apostasy. He was considered by Muslims to be a false prophet.
WIn the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish movement, the Ohel is an ohel in New York City at which the two Jewish messiah claimants the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok Schneersohn, are buried. The Ohel is visited by thousands of Jews and non-Jews each year. Approximately 50,000 people make a pilgrimage each year on the anniversary of Schneerson's death.
WRyuho Okawa is the CEO and founder of the Happy Science religious organization and the Happiness Realization Party in Japan. He is also chairman of two companies affiliated with the organization, Newster Production and ARI Production.
WThomas Harrison Provenzano was a convicted murderer executed by means of lethal injection by the state of Florida. Provenzano said he believed himself to be Jesus Christ and also compared his execution with Christ's crucifixion.
WApollo Carreon Quiboloy is a Filipino pastor and church leader of the Philippines-based Restorationist church called the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. He has made claims that he is "The Appointed Son of God" as well as being "The Owner of the Universe".
WRaël is a French journalist who founded and currently leads the Raëlian Movement, an international UFO religion.
WRiaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi is a spiritual leader and founder of the spiritual movements RAGS International and Anjuman Serfaroshan-e-Islam.
WDavid Shayler is a British former MI5 officer and whistle-blower. Shayler was prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act 1989 for passing secret documents to The Mail on Sunday in August 1997 that alleged that MI5 was paranoid about socialists, and that it had previously investigated Labour Party ministers Peter Mandelson, Jack Straw and Harriet Harman.
WCyrus Reed Teed was a U.S. eclectic physician and alchemist turned religious leader and self-proclaimed messiah. In 1869, claiming divine inspiration, Teed took on the name Koresh and proposed a new set of scientific and religious ideas he called Koreshanity, including a unique Hollow Earth theory that posits the Earth and sky exist inside the inner surface of a sphere.
WJohn Nichols Tom was a Cornish wine-merchant and maltster who re-invented himself as Sir William Courtenay, stood for parliament in Canterbury, was convicted of perjury in a smuggling case, spent three years in the Kent County Lunatic Asylum, and, following his release, gathered a small band of followers and paraded in the Kent countryside. He, using the title Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtney, King of Jerusalem, along with several of his followers, was killed in a confrontation with British Army soldiers in Bossenden Wood, in what has sometimes been called the last battle to be fought on English soil.
WKrishna Venta was the leader of a California religious group in the 1940s and 1950s. Venta founded his WKFL Fountain of the World cult in Simi Valley, California.
WThe Victory Altar is a Christian new religious movement founded in South Korea in 1981. It teaches that Jesus Christ was a false messiah and that the real Christ is its founder, Cho Hee-Seung (1931–2004), “the Victor Christ.” The movement had some 400,000 members in the early 1990s. By 2017, however, membership declined to around 100,000. The decline came after Cho's arrest 1994 and death in 2004.
WLee Arthur Carter, known professionally by his stage name Viper, is an American rapper and producer. Viper has been producing music since childhood, but he received widespread attention online for his 2008 album, You'll Cowards Don't Even Smoke Crack. The prolific nature of his work, together with his commitment to self-production, has garnered him a cult following as an outsider artist, with comparisons drawn to rapper Lil B and musician Wesley Willis.
WSergey Anatolyevitch Torop, known as Vissarion, is a Russian mystic and leader of the cult, Church of the Last Testament.