Florida Church Members Get '666' Tattoos

CBN News

February 27, 2007

CBNNews.com - DORAL, Fla. - The leader of a Doral, Florida church who claimed to be Jesus -- and recently declared he was the Antichrist -- has gotten a '666' tattoo.

Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, the religious head of Growing in Grace church, has also talked his followers into getting the '666' 'mark of the beast' tattoo.

A native of Puerto Rico, De Jesus says he was poor, and admits to going to prison and having a heroin addiction.

De Jesus says that he learned he was Jesus incarnate when angels visited him in a dream.

Critics call De Jesus a fake who manipulates his followers.

CNN reports that Prof. Daniel Alvarez, a religion expert at Florida International University, has debated some of de Jesus' followers.

Alvarez says, "De Jesus speaks with a kind of conviction that makes me consider him more like David Koresh or Jim Jones."

But De Jesus' church members defend their leader -- and their tattoos. They say the tattoos don't connect them to Satan, but to De Jesus, who claims that he has replaced Christ's teachings with a new gospel.

De Jesus preaches that sin and the devil were destroyed when Jesus died on the cross, and that God's chosen already have been saved.

The leader has built a huge following around his claim to divinity. According to CNN, De Jesus' church has thousands of members in over 30 countries.

De Jesus' supporters call him "Daddy" and "God," and buy him expensive gifts.

Sources: Associated Press, CNN

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