The Sheep Are Asleep!

And They’re In the Wrong Herd…

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
He leadeth me besides the still waters.
He restoureth my soul:
He leadeth me to the path of righteousness
For His name sake!” Psalm 23:1-3

A friend of mine recently showed me a video that really had me disheartened. It was of a man, Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, who started his own cult following, claiming that he was the second coming of Christ, which is one and the same as the antiChrist. I am aware that he has died, but this still is an issue that needs to be discussed.

The first thing that caught my attention was the fact that he was able to get anyone to believe that he was the second coming of Christ. It shouldn’t have been a surprise to me, since the Bible does forewarn us about many people rising and claiming that they are Jesus. But, the fact that there were so many red flags yet people were still able to be fooled is what bothered me the most.

In John 14 1-16, we find Jesus talking to His disciples before his ascension into heaven. They were sorrowful because of His soon departure, and He consoled them by saying “Let not your heart be troubled…I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter…” The Comforter that Jesus speaks of is the Holy Spirit. He tells us that it will dwell with us and be in us. This Comforter is NOT another Christ!

The belief that Christ returned to earth as another version of Himself is not one that is new to us. Rastafarians believe that Jesus Christ died and returned to the world as Ras (King) Tafari of Ethiopia, commonly known as Haile Selassie I (HIM, His Imperial Majesty). Well now we have De Jesus Maranda claiming to be the same.

Jose used the verse mentioned above and said that Christ promised another Christ. He went even further to call himself the antiChrist, not in the sense that he is against Christ because he hates him, but that he is against Christ because he is Him. Confused? Well then, you’re on the right track!

Furthermore, he had his congregation tatooing the number 666 on their bodies, but I won’t get into that.

The Bible tells us in Matthew 24:24 that many false Christs and prophets will show great signs and wonders, deceiving nations, so much so, that if it were possible the wise would be fooled. That verse tells us that everyone EXCEPT the wise will be fooled by the many “Christs” to come.

Now, any Christian who knows this verse will remain prayerful that they aren’t one of the many who will be deceived, but are one of the wise who will have the spirit of discernment in them. But how is it possible that Maranda has already gotten two million people in 30 countries (that is, by 2008) to be deceived if he hadn’t shown any great signs or wonders? It’s because the people are sleeping!

Many people refer to others as ‘sheep’ when trying to express a person, or group of people who follow a thought, leader, faith or religion faithfully. We often also use the word ‘asleep’ to demonstrate the state of being of these “sheep,” that they are not ‘awake’ or aware of what is going on, but instead they lie there ignorant, in a dream-land. The fact is, we all are sheep, it just depends on your shepherd.

In the popular Psalm 23, the psalmist David declares The Lord (God) as his shepherd. In order for this to be true, David must first consider himself a sheep and there must also be another shepherd to differentiate from. Any person who proclaims themselves as a Christian is accepting that they are sheep in Jesus’ herd.

Unfortunately, the followers of Maranda go by the Christian title. Because they belive that Maranda is Christ, they believe themselves to be a part of the true Christ’s herd. The problem is, Jesus Christ is NOT their shepherd! I will not say that they all are damned because I believe there are still some that can be saved, but I will say that we Christians have sheep sleeping in the wrong herd—albeit Maranda’s herd or any other herd that is not the Lord’s—and we need to get them out! We need awake them from their sleep so they can recognize their environment seek the true place to be! And for ourselves, we need to remain prayerful that we do not stray away from the way of the Lord, or the path of righteousness, but that we remain faithful until the end. God Bless You.