Someone claiming to be John the Baptist...really

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I recently received an end-of-the-world (or “beginning of the ‘age to come’”) message from someone. I thought it was a JW at first, but it turns out the guy claims to follow aspects of the Catholic faith (Rosary, the Pope…) AND, what really threw me for a loop, claims to be THE “resurrected John the Baptist”, the one same guy who “baptized [Christ]”, who has now gone to his third and final mission in the faith…“Petrus Romanus”.

I carried a very brief conversation with the guy to make sure he really believed what he claimed to believe, and eventually just let it go. Has anyone else run into something like this?
 
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How would anyone know if someone like that was the real deal or not?

Even if someone performed miracles now we wouldn’t be obliged to believe who they said they were, and if they are really who they say they are then they will understand that we are faithful to Our Lord and what He told us through the Gospels.
 
Lee1 said:
How would anyone know if someone like that was the real deal or not?

Even if someone performed miracles now we wouldn’t be obliged to believe who they said they were, and if they are really who they say they are then they will understand that we are faithful to Our Lord and what He told us through the Gospels.
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Yes, that’s right. Pretty much if they are going out and professing themselves, it’s a pretty sure bet that they are NOT the real deal. Jesus told us such would a sign of a fake.
 
ahs said:
Has anyone else run into something like this?
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Depends. I’ve met all sorts of people and your description doesn’t permit much beyond vague comparison.

He could have had a recent psychiatric episode and is still readjusting after it.
He could be an average Joe that had a recent conversion and is presently confused theologically.
He could be in between onset to full-blown psychosis (has he made that claim for long?)
He could know that what he’s saying isn’t true.
He could actually believe what he is saying.
He could be a variant of Buddhist/Hindu with a fusion of Christianity believing in reincarnation.
He could be something completely different.

In several religious systems what he is saying isn’t considered implausible. It would help to know his personal religious background and what he currently claims and aims.
 
Irishmom2 said:
No, I haven’t. Just say a prayer for him and forget about him.
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Trust me @Irishmom2 I’ve visited enough friends and acquaintances at the psychiatric hospital to not dismiss a person or their apparently bizarre claims.

What I tend to dismiss are lies and malefic intent, those get no sympathy from me.
 
Read 2 Peter 2:1-3. There is a clear warning of false prophets and Jesus warns against those claiming to be the messiah and claiming when the end times are coming. Jesus makes it VERY clear that not even He knows when the End of Time is, ONLY God the Father (Mark 13:32). So not only is this person not JTB (because theologically it makes zero sense) but also, even if he were, he wouldn’t know the end time date because even Jesus doesn’t know it, thus it isn’t him anyway.

Forget about it, and say a prayer for him
 
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adgloriam said:
He could have had a recent psychiatric episode and is still readjusting after it.
He could be an average Joe that had a recent conversion and is presently confused theologically.
He could be in between onset to full-blown psychosis (has he made that claim for long?)
He could know that what he’s saying isn’t true.
He could actually believe what he is saying.
He could be a variant of Buddhist/Hindu with a fusion of Christianity believing in reincarnation.
He could be something completely different.
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These are all good reasons.
The OP may have no way of of knowing if any of these are the case.
I would say a prayer anyway and leave it at that.
 
Yeah, really I don’t know if he’s having a psychotic episode, or truly delusional, or what. I know that he searched the internet for the [thousands…millions…] references to “Petrus Romanus” and then felt it his calling to contact every one of them to bring them [us] up to speed on the big day (which was Decebmer 30th…hope you all made it!).
I engaged him at first as though he were a JW in just another one of these end-times prophesies. When I started reading his “about me” profile, that’s when all the puzzle pieces started coming together, and he confirmed that he’s the prophet. I copied what he said, and removed the personal information (name) from it and will post it below. At the very least, maybe someone else on this forum received the same message from him (he’s been chugging at this for some time now) and can see how deep this actually gets (from your basic apologetics in light of his initial contact message, to the need for psychiatric evaluation in his personal profile).
Give me a bit…
 
[post deleted by OP to prevent disclosure of personal information being released of the person in question. See response by AdGloriam for reasoning.]
 
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[Some information redacted to preserve privacy]

And so, since he had posted this as a comment on my blog, I made a separate post just for him, and engaged him (intending to have an article for apologetics demonstration), until I read his “about me” section on his website, which led me to abandon the whole thing:

“Jesus…raised me from the dead.
[Claims to be THE John the Baptist, resurrected from the dead, born first as Elija the Prophet, etc…in fulfillment of 3 prophetic promises of Christ…]
… but I remain:
the resurrected John,
Prophet of the Most High,
whom Jesus Christ called…in the duty of … [Petrus Romanus as allegedly prophesied by St. Malachy]”
 
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The first thing I think you should do is erase that post (nº10 on this thread) with the URL’s because it’s a transcript of what the man said and any googling is bound the bring someone here because CAF ranks high on google.

Some of those sites seem dubious because they go into private revelations that have been condemned by the church and I also think that shouldn’t be on CAF.

Lastly, the man who wrote that is obviously going through some difficulties. I wish him the best, and part of that is preserving his privacy and downplaying here any reference that can lead back to him some day in the future. Because it can happen that some comments bound to be written here will add to his own/family and friends difficulties.
 
I think these claims of his border heresy but since I haven’t personally experienced it, I don’t know for sure. But as I said, it is theologically impossible he is JTB and furthermore, it is impossible that any countdown would know when the end of times is, as not even Jesus knows, only the Father.

I always get a kick out of people freaking out over these doomsday claims, like 12/21/2012 and another in 2015 and 2017. By definition these are all untrue because if we think we know when the end of times is, it can’t be the end of times since Jesus says everyone will be surprised, so we must stay vigilant.

Read Luke 21:8-36 for an actual depiction of what the End of Times will be like, according to Jesus Himself!
 
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GospelOfMatthew said:
I think these claims of his border heresy
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Yes, that’s what I told him. I told him that his predictions were based on a false history (Malachy’s “prophecy” was unheard of until 477 years AFTER his death), a reliance on a false apparition, and basically calling Jesus a liar, which made this person a false prophet.
I wished him the best, but sternly told him to stop the charade. That’s when I started to consider that he might really believe all of this.
 
It is possible he believes what he says. It’s also very true that after someone lies for long enough, the truth is hard to remember and the lies start to become the reality the liar genuinely believes. This sounds like a person who needs some prayers.
 
ahs said:
And so, since he had posted this as a comment on my blog,
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Ok, noteworthy -foremost- is that the man is very likely Catholic because those are the references he is engaging in. Then, I’d say he either got lost or overwhelmed by the enormity of Catholic culture, with some bad and ill advised taste in his picking of private revelations.

I won’t judge him as disturbed or unbalanced, there aren’t clear elements for that. You get more than enough sane&healthy people believing all sorts of nonsense. If the person in question goes for Catholic themes, we should say that’s actually a plus 🙂 and it could be much worst…So his pick of private revelations isn’t sound (somewhat sensationalist) but overall let’s pray for the chap to find his way…

Now, as for him claiming to be a prophet - in particular his claim of being ‘the precursor reincarnated’. My guess is that he has gone through a very rough period. Additionally, I think he must have undergone an intense experience of some sort (probably prompting his conversion, and likely his return to religion since his claims aren’t conductive of a long term practicing Catholic) - and his research and study reflected in his references were the best sense he could make of things. He’s not extremely well read nor versed in formal theology, mystical or otherwise. He is probably isolated and not church going -which is worrisome and prompts firstly compassion- but hopefully he’ll overcome such delusions and finds his way back to some priests/laity that can help him make some sense of things.

Addressing his content would be a mistake in engaging him. He should be treated charitably, with great patience and compassion. Kind words and friendliness are the best things to give him.

As a final thought, I should add that if you interview a few hundreds of people you will find that a significant percentage of average Joe’s/Jane’s will report personal religious experiences -however mild- of the mystical kind and those are very personal. However ill guided and inconsistent with doctrine they should be respected as personal except in the case where they pose significant threat of scandal or to the faith of others. I don’t think a single prophet wreaking havoc on blogs and FB prompts any worry.

In a way, I sympathize with the man, his ordeal, his plight, his testimony, his self-proclaimed office of prophet. The same way I don’t dislike the street corner preacher shouting the Gospel and publicly elaborating on morality for the passerby’s of a busy street. It’s a human thing to do…
 
ahs said:
I recently received an end-of-the-world (or “beginning of the ‘age to come’”) message from someone. I thought it was a JW at first, but it turns out the guy claims to follow aspects of the Catholic faith (Rosary, the Pope…) AND, what really threw me for a loop, claims to be THE “resurrected John the Baptist”, the one same guy who “baptized [Christ]”, who has now gone to his third and final mission in the faith…“Petrus Romanus”.

I carried a very brief conversation with the guy to make sure he really believed what he claimed to believe, and eventually just let it go. Has anyone else run into something like this?
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Yes. I talked with his psychiatrist and he asked me if I knew of his mental disorder.

Bahá’u’lláh (1817-1892) declared that he was the “Promised One” of all religions and the most recent Manifestation of God. He wrote a letter to Pope Pius IX to tell him so, and to many others.
 
adgloriam said:
[snip, but desiring to quote the full of the post…]The same way I don’t dislike the street corner preacher shouting the Gospel and publicly elaborating on morality for the passerby’s of a busy street. It’s a human thing to do…
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Beautifully stated. Thank you.
 
We get kooky letters like this all of the time, just throw it away.
 
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