This is a list of people who have been said to be a messiah either by themselves, or by their followers. The list is divided into categories, which are sorted according to date of birth (where known).
Jewish Messiah Claimants
This list features people who are said, either by themselves or their followers, to be the Jewish Messiah.
- Jesus of Nazareth (c. 4 BCE–c. 30CE)
- Theudas (44-46) in the Roman province of Judea
- Menahem ben Judah partook in a revolt against Agrippa II in Judea
- Simon bar Kokhba (died c. 135), defeated in the Second Jewish-Roman War
- Moses of Crete (5th century)
- Isḥaḳ ben Ya'ḳub Obadiah Abu 'Isa al-Isfahani of Ispahan lived in Persia during the reign of the Umayyad Caliph 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (684-705).
- Yudghan, lived and taught in Persia in the early eighth century disciple of Isḥaḳ ben Ya'ḳub Obadiah Abu 'Isa al-Isfahani of Ispahan
- Serene (Sherini, Sheria, Serenus, Zonoria, Saüra) (c. 720)
- David Alroy or Alrui (c. 1160)
- Abraham Abulafia (b. 1240)
- Nissim ben Abraham (c. 1295) active in Avila.
- Moses Botarel of Cisneros (c.1413
- Asher Lemmlein (1502) a German near Venice.
- David Reuveni and Solomon Molko early sixteenth century.
- Isaac Luria (or, Yitzhak Luria) (1534-1572), noted Kabbalist
- Hayim Vital (1542-1620)
- Sabbatai Zevi (alternative spellings: Shabbetai, Sabbetai; Tvi, Tzvi) (1626-1676
- Barukhia Russo (Osman Baba), succesor of Sabbatai Zevi.
- Miguel (Abraham) Cardoso (b. 1630)
- Mordecai Mokiaḥ ("the Rebuker") of Eisenstadt (active 1678-1683)
- Jacob Querido (d. 1690), said to be the reincarnation of Shabbetai Zevi.
- Löbele Prossnitz (Joseph ben Jacob), early eighteenth century
- Jacob Joseph Frank (1726-1791), founder of the Frankist movement.
- R. Nachman of Bratslav early (1772-1811)
- Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994)
Christian messiah Claimants
This list features people who are said, either by themselves or their followers to be Jesus Christ, or a Messiah under the umberella of Christianity.
- Jesus of Nazareth (c. 4 BCE–c. 30CE)
- Aldebert (eighth century)
- Tanchelm of Antwerp (c. 1110)
- Ann Lee (1736-1784) central figure to the Shakers.
- Hong Xiuquan, China (1812-1864), claimed to be the younger brother of Jesus.
- Haile Selassie of Ethiopia (1892-1975), Messiah of the Rastafari religion.
- Georges-Emest Roux (1903-1981), the Christ de Montfavet, founder of the Eglise Chrétienne Universelle
- Sun Myung Moon (b. 1920), founder of the Unification Church
- Vince Taylor (1939-1991), rock and roller who ended his career by claiming to be Jesus.
- Michael Travesser, born Wayne Bent (b. 1941). Claims to be the Second Coming of Jesus.
- Inri Cristo (b. 1948) a claimant to be the second Jesus in Curitiba, Brazil
- David Icke (b. 1952), the British former footballer and football commentator who became famous in the early 1990s for claiming to be the Son of God.
- David Koresh (1959-1993)
- Maria Devi Christos (born 1960), founder of the "Great White Brotherhood"
Muslim messiah claimants
Other Messiah Claimants
This list features people who are said, either by themselves or their followers to be some form of a messiah outside of the sphere of Judaism and Christianity.
See also
References
Shabbetai Zevi
