Members of Growing in Grace , a controversial
religious sect headquartered in Doral, said they
were following the example of their leader, Jose
Luis De Jesus Miranda, who has claimed to
be Jesus and recently declared himself
the Antichrist .
Critics have called De Jesus a cult leader who
manipulates followers. Church members say he
has brought them happiness and spiritual
fulfillment.
“This is backing up what I truly believe,” said
Alvaro Albarracin, 38, who heads a film
production company and joined the church
more than a decade ago. He showed a bandage
that covered the freshly tattooed “666″ on his
forearm. “It’s like a brand. It’s like a sign.”
It’s a sign most Christians would shun, because
for centuries the numbers have been associated
with Satan. But for the 30 or so church members
who branded themselves with 666 and SSS —
the initials of De Jesus’ motto, “salvo siempre
salvo,” or “saved always saved” — it’s a mark of
their absolute faith in De Jesus.
Church members say the symbol doesn’t
connect them to Satan but rather to De Jesus’
claim that he has replaced Christ’s teachings with
a new gospel.
Scholars and critics of the movement say the
tattoos offer frightening evidence of the influence
De Jesus commands over his followers.
“What is he going to do next to call attention to
himself?” asked Daniel Alvarez, an instructor in
the department of religious studies at Florida
International University who has studied the
movement. “This means that his control over
people is so great that no matter what he says to
them, they’ll follow him.”
De Jesus was was not available to comment, said
a church spokeswoman.
At the tattoo parlor, one woman wore a T-shirt
with De Jesus’ picture and the phrase “The Lord
Arrived” in Spanish. Others wore shirts and
baseball caps marked with 666. Spanish rap
music blared from a stereo in the back.
News cameras circled the tattoo chair as artist
Jessica Segatto, wearing pink rubber gloves and a
huge silver cross, carefully inked 666 on church
members’ ankles, forearms, backs and one
member’s neck. Some members said they
decided to attend the tattooing session — which
was prompted by a church announcement the
previous week — to prove their commitment to
De Jesus’ vision. Others said they hoped the
symbol would provoke questions about the
movement.
“I figured if I have it on my leg, people are going
to notice it, 666, and they’re going to ask,” said
church member and spokeswoman Axel Poessy.
De Jesus — who preaches that sin and the devil
were destroyed when Jesus died on the cross
and that God’s chosen already have been saved
— has built a massive movement around his
claim to divinity. Followers call him “Daddy” and
“God” and lavish him with $5,000 Rolexes and
sometimes 40 percent or more of their salaries.
Christian leaders have denounced De Jesus,
saying he distorts the Bible. The Rev. Julio Perez
of Nueva Esperanza, a faith-based community
group in Hialeah, said De Jesus was promoting
himself rather than helping members of his
church. “What he’s doing is trying to create his
own sect,” he said.
De Jesus had just a few hundred followers when
he launched his church in a Hialeah warehouse
about 20 years ago. Today, he commands a
global movement from his Doral headquarters
that boasts 335 education centers, 200 pastors,
287 radio programs and a 24-hour Spanish-
language TV network that’s available to 2 million
homes — including by special request from
some U.S. cable companies. Only De Jesus and
his right hand man, Carlos Cestero, are
authorized to preach.
In his sermons, De Jesus emphasizes wealth and
success as a sign of God’s favor. Many of his
members are business owners who give a
percentage of their corporate profits to De Jesus,
said Alvaro Albarracin, who oversees corporate
donations to the church and holds the title
“entrepreneur of entrepreneurs.” Albarracin, who
runs the film production company MiamiLa
Entertainment, said he gave 20 percent of his
profit to the movement when he sold his Web-
hosting company, Dialtone, for more than $16
million in 2001.
Martita Roca, 25, a South Florida singer and
actress from Guatemala, said she sometimes
gives 40 percent of her salary to Growing in
Grace. Giving a piece of her flesh by getting a
tattoo was another way to prove her
commitment, she said.
“For all of those people who pray for us to come
out of this movement, this shows that this is it,
there’s no going back,” Roca said of her tattoos.
“This is to make sure that everyone relates me to
that vision.”
Luz Fuentes, 51, a former Catholic who joined
Growing in Grace in 1990, said she and her
brother give Growing in Grace up to 50 percent of
profits from their Hallandale mortgage company,
Apos Mortgage. “Apos” is short for “apostle,”
one of De Jesus’ monikers. De Jesus is listed on
the company’s website as its CEO.
“Antichrist” is the latest in a string of titles De
Jesus has bestowed on himself.
In 1988, De Jesus announced he was the
reincarnation of the Apostle Paul. In 1999, he
dubbed himself “the Other,” a spiritual
superbeing who would pave the way for Christ’s
second coming. In 2004, he proclaimed himself
to be Jesus Christ. That claim caused some
prominent members to defect from the
movement — including De Jesus’ first wife, Nydia,
and his son Jose Luis Jr., who started his own
church in Puerto Rico.
In January, during a packed worship service at
the church, De Jesus took off his coat and
revealed the numbers 666 on his forearm.
“This is a congregation of Antichrists,” De Jesus
said, drawing whistles and cheers.
The number 666 appears in the Book of
Revelation, a portion of the New Testament that
details the prophet John’s apocalyptic vision of
the rise of the Antichrist, the tribulation and
Christ’s return. In Revelation, a horned beast
appears on earth and requires everyone to get
his mark — 666 — on the right hand or
forehead.
Experts on new religious movements say De
Jesus’ opposition to other religions, and his claim
to be the only legitimate spiritual authority,
resemble the teachings of some cults.
“It’s clearly a personality-driven group,” said Rick
Ross, an anti-cult consultant based in New Jersey.
“It is defined by the claims of De Jesus Miranda.”
Nick Woodbury, director of the evangelical group
Christ for Miami, said most mainstream
Christians would reject Growing in Grace’s
teachings as unbiblical.
“In the Christian evangelical sector, we would
consider them a sect,” said Woodbury, who has
served as a missionary in Colombia with the
Mimai-based group Latin America Mission. “They
take the Bible, but their interpretation is very
warped.”
De Jesus’ followers have lashed out against
organized Christianity because they believe their
prophet holds the true gospel, they say. His
adherents have disrupted Catholic processions
on Good Friday and protested outside an
evangelical church gathering in Miami’s Tropical
Park. Last July, they tore up literature published
by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and other Christian
movements during a march in downtown Miami.
Scholars who are concerned about the
movement’s growth say they hope De Jesus’
latest claim will insert doubt into the mind of
some members.
“The symbol of the Antichrist is so negative, the
only good thing that will come out of this is that
people will say, ‘Hold on, this man is going off
the deep end,”‘ FIU’s Alvarez said.
