In many parts of the world today, from the most modern society to the most primitive settlements, persons everywhere are claiming that they are the messiah or the "promised one". In this regard, one should exercise care in joining, associating, reading, or even to listening to them.

Here are a few guidelines to be able to spot a fake claimant to messiahship. If your proposed religious leader can be identified with any one or more of the following criteria, then he is a false claimant to the religious way of life.

1. If there are claims that only he or his teachings can save your soul - a teacher is only a guide but only the person himself can save his soul.

2. If he tries to coerce you to believe in him or his teachings upon the penalty of eternal death and suffering in hell - no matter how wicked or evil a person is, he is not totally and forever beyond salvation. There is no hell to torment him; through reincarnation, he will gain wisdom to change his ways.

3. If he claims he knows God or his word is from God or that he recieves instructions, dreams, voices, and visions from God, saints or aliens - it may be an early sympton of insanity.

4. If he encourages the use of drugs and other substances foreign to the body to gain insights and universal understanding - true insight, understanding and wisdom can be gained by moderate living.

5. If there is a monetary consideration in exchange for his teachings or joining his group - true knowledge is not withheld from the student when he is ready.

6. If the leader's teachings and dogma are not clear and subject to misinterpretations - true religious knowledge should be issued in simple, clear and easy to understand wordings. It should not be mysterious nor ambigous to avoid misunderstandings, schisms, and misinterpretations in widely diferent ways. He makes his teachings easy to understand to his followers because he wants to impart knowledge, knowing quite obviously that such is the purpose of teaching, having the listener's welfare in mind. If his teachings are frequently subjected to extreme and destructive interpretations, then he failed as a leader.

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Recommended Links

Why Jesus Didn't Qualify - explains why the Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah, outlines the qualifications to be a messiah, and the "Second Coming" referred to by the Christians as nonexistent in the Jewish bible.

Was Jesus the Messiah? Let Us Examine the Facts - presents facts to substantiate the conviction that almost everything Christians claim for Yeshua as the Jewish Messiah is false.

Why Don't Jews Believe In Jesus? - according to the older Jewish religion, there are five reasons why the Jews do not accept Jesus as the messiah ranging from he did not fulfill the messianic prophecies to mistranslations in the bible.